‘our planet, our health’ – making peace with nature

he theme for world health day on april 7 reflects a growing global concern with the health impacts of massive and rapid human-driven ecological changes. while climate change is front of mind, having  been recognized as “the single biggest health threat facing humanity” by the who as far back as 2008 , the changes and challenges we face are far greater than that.

in 2015, the canadian public health association (cpha) released  a discussion paper  and  accompanying background paper  on what it called the “ecological determinants of health.” put simply, these are the basic  ecosystem “goods and services”  we and other species need to survive – air, water and food. for humans, we also depend on nature for all our materials and fuels, for uv protection, decomposition and recycling of wastes, and for the past 11,000 years or so of the holocene epoch, a relatively stable and benign climate.

but now we have entered  the anthropocene , a new geological epoch in which the extent of our social and economic development, the growth of our population and the power of our technology has made us a force of nature – one that threatens to undermine the earth’s natural systems that are the very roots of our well-being.

this was further explored in the report of the  rockefeller-lancet commission on planetary health , released a few months after the cpha’s report. the commission defined planetary health as being concerned with “the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends.” the lancet went on to establish a dedicated journal ( lancet planetary health ) while the rockefeller foundation supported the creation of an important  global alliance .

as  un secretary general antonio guterres put it in december 2020 : “humanity is waging war on nature. this is suicidal.” then in its february 2021 report , making peace with nature, t he un environment program noted, “a healthy planet is important for the health and well-being of all people” and identified climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution as a “triple crisis” that threatens well-being.

the who is equally concerned. thus, as the first of six “prescriptions” in its 2020  manifesto for a healthy recovery from covid-19,  the who identified “protect and preserve the source of human health: nature,” while the recent  who geneva charter for well-being  (december 2021) identified “value, respect and nurture planet earth and its ecosystems” as the first of five key action areas.

given that the earth’s natural systems are the most fundamental determinants of our health and that our “war on nature” is suicidal, it is vital that society as a whole and health professionals in particular pay heed to  guterres’ admonition  that “making peace with nature must be the top, top priority for everyone, everywhere.”

• a positive vision of health integrating physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being.
• the principles of human rights, social and environmental justice, solidarity, gender and inter-generational equity and peace.
• a commitment to sustainable low-carbon development grounded in reciprocity and respect between humans and nature.
• new indicators of success beyond gdp that take account of human and planetary well-being and lead to new priorities for public spending.
• the focus of health promotion on empowerment, inclusivity, equity and meaningful participation.

• value, respect and nurture planet earth and its ecosystems.
• design an equitable economy that serves human development within planetary and local ecological boundaries.
• develop healthy public policy for the common good.

these approaches are further developed both in the charter and in the who’s  recommended actions to protect our planet and our health . the key task for governments, states the who, is to “prioritize long-term human well-being and ecological stability in all decision-making.”

an important aspect of the first action area, consistent with the theme of making peace with nature, is to centre indigenous knowledge and leadership; the un, in numerous recent reports, has stressed the importance of this. in canada, this should be thought of as part of reconciliation, as noted in the  report of the truth and reconciliation commission on principles : “reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal canadians, from an aboriginal perspective, also requires reconciliation with the natural world. if human beings resolve problems between themselves but continue to destroy the natural world, then reconciliation remains incomplete.

another key is the need to create a new economy, one that is fit for purpose in the 21 ^st  century. “the present design of the economy,” the who notes, “leads to inequitable distribution of income, wealth and power, with too many people still living in poverty and instability. a well-being economy has human well-being, equity and ecological sustainability as its goals.”

there is a growing interest in the concept of a well-being economy, led by aotearoa new zealand, which  introduced a well-being budget in 2019 . in canada, the 2021 budget papers included a  discussion paper on a quality of life framework , which is central to the aotearoa new zealand well-being budget, while a new  well-being economies alliance for canada and indigenous sovereign nations  is under development.

finally, the third key action area is to develop healthy public policy for the common good, which the geneva charter links to the un’s sustainable development goals to which all countries, including canada, are committed. while too numerous to list here, some of the more dramatic such policies in the who’s  recommended actions to protect our planet and our health  include:

• keep fossil fuels in the ground. stop new fossil fuel exploration and projects and implement policies on clean energy production and use.
• stop fossil fuel subsidies. re-invest fossil fuel subsidies in public health.
• tax the polluters. incentivize carbon reduction.
• tax highly processed foods and beverages high in salt, sugars and unhealthy fats.
• implement policies to reduce food wastage.
• repurpose agriculture subsidies towards sustainable and healthy food production.

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