Page - 17 - in Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

17© The Author(s) 2019 M. R. Marselle et al. (eds.), Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8_2 Chapter 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and  Climate Change: A  Synthesis of  Recent Evidence Sarah  J.  Lindley, Penny  A.  Cook, Matthew  Dennis, and  Anna  Gilchrist Abstract We are at a point in history marked by unprecedented changes in the environmental foundations of human health and well-being. At the same time, the demands from human populations have never been greater, with profound differ- ences in how we engage with the natural environment. By the middle of this century, when climate change impacts are further increasing, the United Nations expects the global population to be approaching 10  billion. In this chapter, we provide a synthe- sis of published evidence of the complex and important relationships between ele- ments of biodiversity, health and climate change. We draw primarily on reviews conducted in the past five  years supplemented with evidence on additional themes. We also develop a detailed case study example focused on urban climate, climate change and biodiversity, taken from the perspective of a large and representative conurbation. The case study uses a body of existing published evidence together with new data and insights to demonstrate important pathways, impacts and out- comes. We end by identifying a set of research questions and stress the need for even more extensive multi-disciplinary and multi-sector approaches. Nevertheless, despite the need for more knowledge, it is already clear that more effective action could, and should, be taken. Keywords Biodiversity · Health · Climate · Review · Mechanisms · Urban S. J. Lindley (*) · M. Dennis Department of Geography, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK e-mail: sarah.lindley@manchester.ac.uk P. A. Cook School of Health and Society, The University of Salford, Salford, UK e-mail: p.a.cook@salford.ac.uk A. Gilchrist Department of Planning and Environmental Management, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK e-mail: anna.gilchrist@manchester.ac.uk