Safeguarding natural ecosystems can protect population health: advancing approaches to bridge the health–ecology divide

Human health stands to benefit from a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which ecosystems affect health and wellbeing. However, achieving this understanding requires overcoming conceptual and practical challenges in both public health and ecology. Despite growing recognition of the importance of natural ecosystems for human health, the health sector has yet to fully integrate this ever-growing body of evidence to inform policy and practice. Substantial conceptual differences underpin the disciplinary divide between health and ecology. For example, environmental health research disciplines, such as epidemiology, emphasise the adverse effects of environmental exposures, such as water and air pollutants, as well as naturally occurring hazards, such as radon or arsenic. By contrast, ecology focuses on nature’s contributions to people through ecosystem services, including food provision, climate regulation, or disaster management. These conceptual differences create a misalignment in evidence generation, in setting priorities for policy, and in the implementation of solutions. Methodological differences further complicate the alignment of health and ecology datasets, particularly when exposures and outcomes occur across different spatiotemporal scales. The disciplines also differ on how to define pathways from exposure to health and how to quantify and communicate effects. Consequently, each discipline often reinforces its existing views instead of leveraging the combined knowledge base for a broader understanding. This Personal View outlines practical steps to bridging the divide and fostering transdisciplinary collaboration by recognising the dynamic interactions between health and natural ecosystems, integrating conceptual frameworks across disciplines, and addressing methodological challenges in assessing impacts.