{"id":39600,"date":"2020-05-13T22:33:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T22:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjgh\/?p=39600"},"modified":"2020-05-18T00:48:23","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T00:48:23","slug":"disruption-as-an-opportunity-giving-rise-to-a-global-ethos-for-planetary-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjgh\/2020\/05\/13\/disruption-as-an-opportunity-giving-rise-to-a-global-ethos-for-planetary-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Disruption as an opportunity: giving rise to a global ethos for planetary health"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Life as we know it has, for millions of people around the globe, been put on-hold because of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic. Positive consequences so far recorded include unpolluted skies, cleaner waterways and thriving wildlife.1<\/sup> Meanwhile, some richer nations have begun to question their socio-economic priorities. This is an opportunity to think carefully how we resume \u201clife\u201d in a post COVID-19 era.<\/p>\n

Humankind has already entered Anthropocene, the geological epoch which is characterized by unprecedented pressures on the planet\u2019s natural systems due to human activities. One tangible consequence of anthropogenic environmental change is the emergence of more zoonotic infections, like SARS, H1N1 and Ebola due to enhanced proximity of humans to wildlife and their pathogen pools.2<\/sup> A growth in legal and illegal wildlife trade fuels global movements of infected wildlife and wildlife products.3<\/sup> The emergence and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 is a product of unparalleled levels of global interconnectedness and the environmental impact of human activities. If not halted, they may result in an irreversible and potentially catastrophic shift of the entire Earth system to a state which is not supportive of thriving human societies.4<\/sup> The partial halt of many of these harmful activities, as a result of multi-country lockdowns attempting to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2, precipitates a series of fundamental reflections.<\/p>\n

No-one is exempt from the ramifications of this outbreak, though the consequences will be more acutely felt by the poor and marginalised. It is now that people across the world, maybe for the first time, consciously experience what it truly means to live in a globalised world. This realization, caused by the profound disruption of our daily lives, provides a huge window of opportunity \u2013 an opportunity to harness a new collective consciousness towards other threats to human wellbeing now and in the future and promote the concept of planetary health. Planetary health, defined as \u201cthe health of human civilisation and the state of the natural systems on which it depends\u201d 5<\/sup>, has the notions of interconnectedness and interdependence at its core. Human health and wellbeing will only be restored and maintained if our present and future actions become rooted in a planetary health approach.<\/p>\n

Planetary health expands the notion of health to include well-functioning natural systems on which human health ultimately depends. It also recognizes the interdependence between political, social and economic systems \u2013 the core pillars of societies \u2013 the natural environment and human well-being.5<\/sup> Systems thinking is required to govern the interplay of these complex systems.<\/p>\n

\"Planetary
Planetary Health in the post-COVID world : Illustrative Image by Giovanni Maki.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ultimately, it is people and their relationships who constitute the complex conglomerate of interactions which we call a health or societal system.6<\/sup> When we think about how to change our societal systems in order to prevent further adverse outcomes of human activities, we need to consider the worldviews and normative values that inform the nature and scope of societal systems\u2019 goals and processes. To do this, the following cross-cutting principles characterize ways in which human systems in the Anthropocene can achieve planetary health:<\/p>\n