Is There Always a Negative Causality between Human Health and Environmental Degradation? Current Evidence from Rural China

Wei Zhou, Fan Zhang, Shihao Cui and Ke-Chiun Chang ()
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Wei Zhou: College of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Fan Zhang: College of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Shihao Cui: College of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Ke-Chiun Chang: School of Economics and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: This study explores the incidence and trend of zoonoses in China and its relationship with environmental health and proposes suggestions for promoting the long-term sustainable development of human, animal, and environmental systems. The incidence of malaria was selected as the dependent variable, and the consumption of agricultural diesel oil and pesticides and investment in lavatory sanitation improvement in rural areas were selected as independent variables according to the characteristics of nonpoint source pollution and domestic pollution in China’s rural areas. By employing a fixed effects regression model, the results indicated that the use of pesticides was negatively associated with the incidence of malaria, continuous investment in rural toilet improvement, and an increase in economic income can play a positive role in the prevention and control of malaria incidence. Guided by the theory of One Health, this study verifies human, animal, and environmental health as a combination of mutual restriction and influence, discusses the complex causal relationship among the three, and provides evidence for sustainable development and integrated governance.

Keywords: One Health; zoonosis; environmental health; sustainable development; integrated governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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