Planetary health is a field of study that focuses on the links between human activity and the health of our planet. This page examines the challenges and solutions for maintaining a healthy planet for future generations.
What is Planetary health?[edit | edit source]
Planetary health is a multi- and transdisciplinary research paradigm, a new science for exceptional action, and a global movement. Planetary health refers to "the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends". In 2015, the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health launched the concept which is currently being developed towards a new health science with over 25 areas of expertise.
Drawing from the definition of health – "a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" - as well as principles articulated in the preamble of the constitution of the World Health Organization, the report elaborated that planetary health refers to the "achievement of the highest attainable standard of health, wellbeing, and equity worldwide through judicious attention to the human systems – political, economic, and social – that shape the future of humanity and the Earth's natural systems that define the safe environmental limits within which humanity can flourish."
The Lancet Commission's report laid down the overarching principles guiding the idea of planetary health. One is that human health depends on "flourishing natural systems and the wise stewardship of those natural systems". Human activities, such as energy generation and food production, have led to substantial global effect on the Earth's systems, prompting scientists to refer to the modern times as the anthropocene.
A group of Earth system and environmental scientists led by Johan Rockström from the Stockholm Resilience Centre proposed the concept of nine planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come. According to a 2015 update, four of the planetary boundaries – climate change, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows, and land-system change – had already been exceeded.
The report concluded that urgent and transformative actions are needed to protect present and future generations. One important area which required immediate attention was the system of governance and organization of human knowledge, which was deemed inadequate to address the threats to planetary health.
The report made several overarching recommendations. One was to improve governance to aid the integration of social, economic, and environmental policies and for the creation, synthesis, and application of interdisciplinary knowledge. The authors called for solutions based on the redefinition of prosperity to focus on the enhancement of quality of life and delivery of improved health for all, together with respect for the integrity of natural systems. W
Governance and stewardship[edit | edit source]
Planetary health concerns itself with governance and stewardship which pose a threat to the sustainability of the human civilization, environment, and planet. Specifically, it seeks to confront three main types of challenges: "imagination challenges", such as failing to account for long-term human or environmental consequences of human progress; "research and information challenges", such as underfunding and lack of scope in research; and "governance challenges", such as delayed environmental action by governing bodies determined by unwillingness, uncertainty, or non-cooperation.
Cooperation[edit | edit source]
A primary ethical focus of planetary health research is human cooperation and non-cooperation in the form of conflict, nationalism, and competition. As one goal, the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change plans to use an accountability mechanism to track human cooperation and study the link between health, climate, and political action. W
Nutrition and diet[edit | edit source]
Likewise, nutrition and diet are important contributors to and indicators of planetary health. Scientists speculate that human population growth threatens the carrying capacity of the planet. Diets, agriculture, and technology must adjust to sustain population projections upwards of 9 billion while reducing harmful consequences on the environment through food waste and carbon-intensive diets. A focus of planetary health research will be nutritional solutions that are sustainable for the human species and the environment, and the generation of scientific research and political will to create and implement desired solutions. In January 2019, an international commission created the planetary health diet. W
Further solutions[edit | edit source]
Planetary health aims to seek out further solutions to global human and environmental sustainability through collaboration and research across all sectors, including the economy, energy, agriculture, water, and health. Biodiversity loss, exposure to pollutants, climate change, and fuel consumption are all issues that threaten human and climate health alike, and are, as such, foci of the field. A number of researchers think that it is actually humanity's destruction of biodiversity and the invasion of wild landscapes that creates the conditions for malaria, and new diseases such as COVID-19. W
Networks[edit | edit source]
- Planetary Health Alliance, added 16:25, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
See also[edit | edit source]
- Health and wellbeing, News
- Quality of life
- Sustainable well-being
- Health UK
- Arts, sport and culture
- Cycling, sustainable community action
- Environment quality
- Food, sustainable community action
- Networks, Networks, news and comment
- Open spaces
- Social inclusion
- Trees, woodland and forest
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