Planetary Health

Planetary health is an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between human health and global environmental changes. This involves climate change and loss of biodiversity, but also, large-scale environmental pollution, deforestation, land erosion and other worldwide human-induced changes that entail new risks to health. Those risks include infectious diseases, problems with food and drinking water supplies, migration and conflict, and mental health. 

Purpose and effect

For an integrated approach to planetary health, knowledge is needed from the medical and health sciences, from natural science disciplines such as biology and geology and from the behavioural and social sciences, to gain insight into the economic drivers of environmental change, into behavioral change and into governance issues. The humanities are needed for historical and ethical aspects, for example.  

The aim of this exploration is to create productive links between the disciplines involved and their knowledge agendas and to ensure that the need for sustainability is reflected better – or even better – in the research priorities.

Assignment

The committee will carry out an exploration of the scientific knowledge that is needed in the field of planetary health and will identify priorities for knowledge development in the Netherlands. 

Committee

The Academy has set up a committee chaired by Johan Mackenbach, professor at Erasmus MC.

Members
Vera Araujo-Soares
Lisa Becking
Frank Biermann
Tatiana Filatova
Ron Fouchier
Louise Fresco
Pim Martens
Jan Luiten van Zanden

Secretaries
Hanneke van Doorn
Maartje Aukes