The changing global environment and children's health

Children's health and development are profoundly affected not only by their immediate surroundings but also by the larger global environment. The global environment is undergoing rapid change on a massive scale. This change is driven in large part by the consequences of unprecedented growth in the human population over the past century and the way societies are choosing to use natural resources. Four areas of wide-scale environmental change that have important implications for human health are loss of biodiversity, deforestation, desertification and ocean degradation, and climate change. These changes in the global environment cannot be halted in the next several decades, but they can be made either better or worse. Short-term prevention activities can address current deficits in managing the risks of global environmental change. In the longer term, decision-makers need an increased appreciation of global interconnectedness between humans and the environment.