An Introduction to Planetary Health

Planetary health is the concept that human health and the health of the environment are inextricably linked (1). Research has demonstrated that human behaviour has vastly changed our climate, which in turn has altered food supply, frequency of severe storms, water supply, human settlements and the pattern of diseases (2). As humans, our health is dependent on the natural systems in which we exist and those systems are being degraded at an unprecedented pace (3). The extent of the impact on human health is not entirely known, however the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that exposures to polluted soil, water, and air contributed to an estimated 8.9 million deaths worldwide in 2012 (4).

In 2015, the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health defined planetary health as “the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends (5).” In other words, in addition to public health and environmental considerations, planetary health also considers the political, economic and social systems that influence them (1). It is considered a more holistic approach than either public health, which focuses on health protection and health promotion within closed health systems or global health, which aims to improve the health of populations globally (4). One of the key consequences that planetary health has identified in our society is our failure to account for future health with our destruction of the environment done in the name of economic progress (5).

First, it is important to note how much of our environment is changing due to climate change and other human provoked change. Increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are causing increased melting of ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic, which in turn raise the mean sea level (5). In combination with increasing temperatures, we will be seeing more extreme weather events which will directly affect ecosystems composed of plants and animals (5). The ocean is becoming increasingly acidic due to increased absorption of atmospheric carbon which will negatively impact all marine life (5). Studies have concluded that climate change will reduce renewable freshwater sources in dry areas by increasing drought periods (6). Tropical deforestation done by humans is leading to losses in native species and urbanization is diminishing the area available for natural soil degradation processes (5). Toxic chemicals used in medicine, agriculture and the production of consumer goods are introduced into the environment as waste which can reduce ecosystem function (5).

The below figure shows some of the connections between environmental changes and human health (5) . To name a few, floods caused by extreme weather are known to increase the risk of vector-borne and water-related illnesses (2). Droughts that are also seen in extreme weather can threaten food production and diminish the amount of micronutrients in crops (2). Air pollution caused by carbon emission is directly linked to respiratory illnesses such as asthma and other pollutants can be linked to cognitive disorders in children and increased heart disease, stroke and cancer in adults (4). The United Nations Development Programme has acknowledged that more than 80% of communicable and non-communicable diseases are influenced by environmental hazards such as air, water and land degradation (7).