What is planetary health?

 

Planetary health is a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analysing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to Earth’s natural systems on human health and all life on Earth.

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We are now in a new geological era, the Anthropocene, characterised by humanity’s dramatic impact on Earth’s biophysical conditions. And though the average global citizen’s health has improved over the past century, the stability of our planet’s life support systems has sharply declined—putting recent public health and development gains at risk.

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It is not just climate change, we are also facing the 6th mass extinction of life on Earth; air, water, and soil pollution; shortages of arable land and freshwater; pervasive changes in land use and cover; and degradation of marine systems.

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These anthropogenic environmental changes affect the quality of the air we breathe and of the water we drink, the quality and quantity of food we produce, our exposure to infectious diseases, and even the habitability of the places where we live. Changes to natural life support systems are already impacting our health and are projected to drive the majority of the global burden of disease over the coming century, hitting today’s most vulnerable people and future generations the hardest.

Everything is connected — changing our planet’s natural systems comes back to affect us, and not always in ways that we would expect. Understanding and acting upon these challenges calls for massive collaboration across disciplinary and national boundaries to safeguard our health.

 

Some more resources

• What is planetary health: from the Planetary Health Alliance

• Planetary health bibliography: resources in depth!

• From public to planetary health: a manifesto.

• Planetary Health 101: Rockefeller Foundation / Panorama

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