The Biodiversity, Health, and Livelihoods Program (BHL) is an effort to integrate approaches from ecology, economics, sociology and public health to better understand the dynamics that inextricably link people to their environment. Within BHL, we explore the relative importance of poverty and health as drivers of natural resource use, and, conversely, the way changes in biodiversity influence human health and livelihoods.
To date, research in BHL has focused on rural sites in Africa where, like many regions of the world, communities are economically marginalized and the sustainable use of natural resources is essential to survival. By quantifying feedbacks that link humans to their local environment our research will help mitigate the impacts of global change on livelihood and biodiversity sustainability.
BHL is comprised of researchers at various ages and career stages who venture beyond disciplinary boundaries to build new models of collaboration and inquiry. While our program is based at UC-Berkeley, all work in BHL is conducted in close association with African partners from local universities, agencies and non-profit organizations. This coordination among a diverse set of stakeholders is a critical piece of our effort to conduct locally-relevant work at the scales of households and individuals. Our extensive engagement of partners also fosters opportunities for building local capacity through workshops, on the job training and educational outreach.
We are excited by the rapid growth and impact of the Biodiversity, Health, and Livelihoods Program. BHL is still in its infancy, but we think it’s off to a good start. We welcome new partners and supporters, and encourage interested parties to get in touch!
