A new report released on July 16 by The Rockefeller Foundation – Lancet Commission on Planetary Health calls for immediate, global action to protect the health of human civilization and the natural system on which it depends. The report, “Safeguarding Human Health in the Anthropocene Epoch,” has been published in a special edition of The Lancet.
Subhrendu Pattanayak, professor of public policy, global health and environmental economics at Duke, is a member of the commission and a major contributor to the report. He has led several interdisciplinary projects, most recently focusing on household environmental health interventions.
The report provides the first-ever comprehensive examination of evidence showing how the degradation of the planet’s natural resources and ecological systems jeopardizes the health and well-being of future generations. The findings include a warning that the combination of a rising population and over-use of natural resources will exacerbate health challenges in the future.
The report suggests that the world’s poorest communities are at the greatest risk, as they live in areas most strongly affected by environmental changes and have greater sensitivity to disease and poor health.
Major recommendations include:
- Integrating social, economic and environmental policies
- Creating, synthesizing, and applying interdisciplinary knowledge to improve planetary health
- Promoting sustainable consumption practices by using better indicators of growth and development
- Leveraging technology for change
“One of the most important outcomes of this commission,” said Pattanayak, “is that it lays the groundwork in getting both public health and environmental scientists to appreciate that even the most clever strategies and technologies can fail unless their implementation is informed by social sciences research. This approach will build on progress by biomedical and engineering scientists and ensure success on the ground.”
The commission, chaired by Professor Sir Andy Haines of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, included 15 leading academics and policymakers from eight countries.
Learn more and download the report at The Rockefeller Foundation and The Lancet websites.
Read about one of Pattanayak’s recent publications, in which he and his colleagues outline how conservation policies could improve human health.
