The World Health Organization (WHO), through its Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health (ECH), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Friends of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (FEBA) network are establishing a new expert working group (EWG) on Biodiversity, Climate, One Health and Nature-based Solutions. This initiative builds upon and expands the scope of work carried out by the Inter-agency Liaison Group on biodiversity and health, co-chaired by WHO and the Convention on Biological Diversity between 2015 and 2020.

The EWG will develop guidance and tools to support the operationalization of One Health approaches and Nature-based Solutions by: (1) identifying co-benefits and trade-offs for human and ecosystem health, (2) strengthening social and ecological resilience and (3) supporting a healthy, green and just recovery from COVID-19.

The EWG will aim to catalyze health sector leadership, while ensuring cross-sectoral policy alignment, coordination and coherence across international policy processes. It will focus on embedding ecosystem health, biodiversity and climate change in One Health policies, plans and projects, and driving knowledge exchange on the environmental and social determinants of health. The group will also seek to systematically integrate health co-benefits in the development, design and implementation of Nature-based Solutions to climate change.