Re-infestation by Aedes aegypti1

Note: 1. Mosquito responsible for the transmission of yellow fever and dengue fever.

Infected areas 1970

2002

Source: UNEP, Global Environment Outlook GEO 4: Environment for development, 2007.

Figure 2.4

2002 virtually the only areas unaffected by these

tropical diseases were the southern

portions of the continent (figure 2.4) (UNEP, 2007).

The extent to which mortality is attributable to climate change remains a matter of intense debate. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) for 2000 indicate that, in Latin America and the Caribbean, there were between 2 and 40 deaths per million inhabitants from floods, malaria and diarrhoea (figure 2.5). In terms of regions, the most severe health effects have been in Africa, though significant effects are also being felt in Latin America and in certain parts of Asia. This is creating a major economic impact on the health systems of the countries of these regions.

Biodiversity is vitally important to human well-being, given that it supports a wide range of services on which human societies have depended. Ecosystem services can be divided into four categories, namely those related to provision,

regulation, support and

cultural (CBD, 2010). There are species at risk of extinction due to the destruction of their habitat, overexploitation of the resource, indiscriminate hunting and illegal traffic. However, for many species that are sensitive to even small variations in climate, the threat is primarily that of climate change. Variations

Estimated deaths attributable to climate change, 2000

Number of deaths per million inhabitants

from 80 to 120 from 40 to 80

No data available from 0 to 2 from 2 to 40

Source: ECLAC, Climate Change and development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Overview 2009, on the basis of WHO, Climate Change and Human Health. Risks and Responses. Summary, 2003.

Figure 2.5 19