EcoHealth: Health, Well-Being and Watersheds

This fact sheet from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) introduces 'Ecohealth,' a conceptual approach that links human well-being to the health of ecosystems, specifically focusing on the role of watershed management in improving both social and environmental determinants of health.

• Ecohealth is based on the premise that human well-being is a direct result of healthy ecosystems. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health (NESH) argue that watershed management is a critical tool for this because it simultaneously addresses the environmental and social determinants of health.
• Maintaining ecosystem services through watershed management is often more cost-effective than engineering artificial alternatives. For example, New York City invested US$1.5 billion to restore ecosystem services in the Catskill Watershed, avoiding the construction of a water filtration plant that would have cost between US$8 billion and US$10 billion.
• Climate change increases water-related risks in Canada, as higher temperatures and more frequent or intense precipitation may lead to more water-borne disease outbreaks and water contamination. Globally, it is estimated that poor hygiene, sanitation, and water quality contribute to nearly 10 percent of the total burden of illness.
• Integrating the currently disconnected 'silos' of public health and watershed management can increase efficiency in health care investments. Proactive protection of people through watershed management may be a more efficient use of scarce resources than traditional health spending.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). EcoHealth: Health, Well-Being and Watersheds. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/brochure_ecohealth.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. EcoHealth: Health, Well-Being and Watersheds. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/brochure_ecohealth.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=EcoHealth: Health, Well-Being and Watersheds |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/brochure_ecohealth.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndecohealth, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{EcoHealth: Health, Well-Being and Watersheds}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/brochure_ecohealth.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }