Planetary Health was launched as a new scientific field in 2015. It focuses on the
consequences of global environmental change for the health and survival of all
species living on Earth. Examples of possible effects on human health include heat
stress, infectious diseases and pandemics, malnutrition, and mental health problems.
Fortunately, many negative consequences can still be avoided if measures are taken
in the short term.
The Academy believes that science can play an indispensable role in tackling societal
challenges of this kind by establishing and analysing facts and finding solutions. This
belief prompted the Academy to set up the Planetary Health Committee, charged
with surveying this emerging field and drawing up a research agenda of knowledge
gaps that require urgent action. For practical reasons, the committee has focused
mainly on human health, which has so far been the subject of most research. In this advisory report, the Academy also makes a number of recommendations
for the successful implementation of this Planetary Health research agenda. These
are to encourage the above-mentioned interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary
collaboration, to integrate Planetary Health research into existing research projects
and programmes, to develop new research programmes and the associated funding,
and to implement and communicate knowledge. The boards of public knowledge
institutions, university medical centres, research institutes and research funders,
researchers themselves and health care professionals are encouraged to follow up on
these recommendations.
Authors
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- Netherlands