Page - 332 - in Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

332 a key message. Moreover, 91% even considered this message regarding integrated approaches to be very important. Whilst the expert panel had to rate a number of other possible key messages for policy makers regarding the nature-health theme as well (such as the need for research on the human immune system), the need for integrated approaches ranked highest. In this chapter, we introduce first several relevant international/European and then several national nature and health network initiatives that have the ambition to foster building bridges between nature and health both within and between science, policy and practice. The initiatives present themselves and their main activities, complemented with a self-assessment of what works well and what the challenges are. In this way this chapter provides an overview of initiatives that can offer inspiration to people and groups that have similar ambitions. Finally, we draw some conclusions, summarize challenges, and make suggestions for next steps involved in facilitating further networking, capacity building and integration. Although the purposes of these initiatives vary, all the described initiatives have in common that synthesising both nature- and health-related information, as well as facilitating discussion between experts and practitioners from both nature- and health-related sectors, forms a core part of their main activities. 15.2 International/European Initiatives 15.2.1 ESP Thematic Working Group Ecosystem Services and  Public Health 15.2.1.1 Introduction The Ecosystem Service Partnership (ESP) is an independent non-governmental worldwide network for enhancing the science, policy and practice of ecosystem services for conservation and sustainable development. Part of the work is organized in thematic working groups (TWGs). One of these TWGs is related to health. This TWG was set up in January 2013 to facilitate dialogue between scientists and stake- holders on the connections between ecosystems and human health. In its work, the Public Health TWG helps to build the evidence base on the linkages between eco- systems and human health, and to support communication of key messages to scien- tists, policy makers and stakeholders. It refers to several international initiatives and work programmes that embrace ecosystem approaches to health. The ESP TWG aims to support these by collating data and expertise, and contributing to the con- tinuing development of conceptual frameworks for ecosystem approaches to health. 15.2.1.2 Main Activities The main activities have been the organization of special sessions at ESP conferences (one in 2013 and one in 2016) and the organization of a survey. H. Keune et al.