| Sumario: | Ecohealth Field Building Leadership Initiative is a regional operational
research network in Southeast Asia and China that
focuses on solving human health problems associated with agricultural
intensification. FBLI has 3 focus areas, namely research,
capacity building and knowledge translation. FBLI gathers
researchers, policy makers, community members and other stakeholders
from 4 focused countries (China, Indonesia, Thailand
and Vietnam). Here we describe the operational research component
that focuses on aspects of agriculture intensification on
health and the environment including animal waste from pig
production (Vietnam), dairy production (Indonesia), pesticide
use in vegetable production (China), and health risks in rubber
plantation (Thailand). Integrated approaches to the research
component including survey, participatory and cross-cutting
methods are discussed.
The research results from Vietnam and Indonesia showed
health and environmental impacts of manure management
options, in particular the biogas system and turning waste to
value. In Hanam of Vietnam, the health risks from biogas effluent
reuse include E. coli infection (19–22% of population
exposed) and G. lamblia infection (45–55% of population
exposed). In Pangalengan, Indonesia, the Ecohealth approach
was used to promote the production of medicinal worm and
casting biofertilizer from cow manure as an environmentallyfriendly
fertilizer alternative. In Chachoengsao Province of Thailand,
key findings include evidences for higher risk of vectorborne
diseases (dengue and chikungunya) in rubber plantation
areas as well as higher microbial and heavy metal contamination
of water and soil. In six villages of three townships in a County
of Yunnan Province, China, issues identified were lack of farmer
knowledge of pesticides, pesticide abuse, and ineffective policy
to reduce pesticide abuse. Pesticide contamination was recorded
from 6.1% to 12.7% of vegetables depending on sampling location
in the field or market. The findings from 4 countries illustrate
how Ecohealth research has been applied in health and agriculture and serve as basis for interventions for reduce health
and environmental risks.
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