This completion report synthesizes the key activities supported by the projects, focusing on key research findings and outputs, significant outcomes and lessons learned from the five-year implementation of the project components including research, capacity building, and knowledge translation.

The ecohealth approach promoted by IDRC is largely accepted by the ecohealth community. While ecohealth has been promoted for a relatively long time in Latin America and Africa, it has only been more recently introduced in South East Asia (SEA) for the last 15 years. Ecohealth is useful for addressing complex health and environmental issues in developing countries, in particular in SEA where agricultural intensification processes have profound implications for ecosystems and health. Agriculture intensification can be beneficial for human health in terms of increased food security and socioeconomic development; there are also negative impacts on people and environmental health.

This project concentrated on the building the field of ecohealth in the region by integrating research, capacity building, policy and networking that can solve human health problems associated with agricultural intensification in SEA countries.

Participants of the FBLI final workshop in Kunming, China, September 2016

The findings of this program have demonstrated that i) agricultural intensification increases risks to human, animal, and environmental health; ii) application of Ecohealth approach can address some of the negative effects of agricultural intensification; iii) Increasing the capacity and involvement of farmers and other relevant stakeholders to apply Ecohealth principles and practices contributes to improved agricultural practices and health; iv) Capacity building activities – such as training for future leaders – improve the leadership skills and capabilities of current and future Ecohealth practitioners and v) Building up and sustaining the Ecohealth field in the region requires concerted efforts in research, capacity building and knowledge translation, underpinned by appropriate support from policy makers.

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