"The Value of Plants, Animals, and Microbes to Human Health" April 17 and 18, 1998
The American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation will co-sponsor a symposium, "The Value of Plants, Animals, and Microbes to Human Health" on April 17 and 18, 1998, to examine the vital role Earth's biological diversity plays in maintaining human health. An international group of scientists, environmentalists, physicians, and other health professionals will explore the importance of plants, animals, and microbes as models for medical research and sources of new medicines. The speakers will also consider the pervasive health hazards created when the ecosystems that support the planet's species are altered, compromised, or destroyed. The public is invited to the discussion of these issues and of their implications for resource management and policy decisions.
Loss of biodiversity is a crucial factor in the emergence and spread of infectious diseases and its protection is therefore critical to human health as well as to maintaining the quantity and quality of our air, food, and water.
"The Value of Plants, Animals, and Microbes to Human Health" will convene a multidisciplinary group of experts to alert the public to the very real threats to human health posed by the destruction of biodiversity, and to forge effective solutions to the degradation of the global environment. Each day of the symposium will include presentations, panel discussions, and audience questions (schedule attached). The content and conclusions of the conference will be published in a variety of electronic and traditional formats.
The symposium is sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History's Center
for Biodiversity and Conservation, Harvard Medical School's Center for Health
and the Global Environment, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the
Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health
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Contact: Elizabeth Chapman
chapman@amnh.org
212-769-5800
American Museum of Natural History
27-Mar-1998