1. One Health & Environmental Literacy
Alison Robbins, MS, DVM
Tufts Center for Conservation Medicine
Tufts Environmental Literacy Institute
May 20, 2013

2. Overview of One Health
Frame the subject of one health through a review of global assessments of ecosystem health and human health
Review definitions and priorities
Review concepts of ecosystem services and planetary boundaries Anthropocene
MEA, MDG, Sustainability Development Goals

3. One Health What is it? Recognition that human health,
animal health and
ecosystem health
are inextricably linked
Slide Courtesy G. Kaufman

4. One Health One Health? Slide Courtesy G. Kaufman
What distinguishes “conservation medicine” as a one health discipline?
There are many ways to approach the complex problems embodied in a one health paradigm.
Conservation medicine explores these circles and relationships with an emphasis on conservation challenges, a mission to derive sustainable solutions and an ultimate goal of protecting biodiversity and the ecosystems essential to animal and human health.
Slide Courtesy G. Kaufman

5. Many Competing Terms Global Health Ecohealth One Health Public Health
Conservation Medicine

6. Global Health and Ecohealth
Global health- a study and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide(Wikipedia)-measures health outcomes
Ecohealth-An emerging field of study researching how changes in the earth’s ecosystems affect human health focusing on participation, gender and social equity, systems thinking, and research to action
DALY disability adjusted life years

7. One Health Initiative -AVMA
The One Health concept is a worldwide strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations and communications in all aspects of health care for humans, animals and the environment.

8. Conservation Medicine @ Tufts
Conservation medicine focuses on health relationships occurring at the interface of humans, animals, and the environment, and seeks to develop and apply health management practices, policies and programs that sustain biodiversity and protect the ecosystems essential to animal and human health.
Slide Courtesy G. Kaufman

9. One Health We don’t all have the same priorities… PUBLIC HEALTH
#1 Human health
#2 Animal health
#3 Environmental health
CONSERVATION MEDICINE
#1 Wildlife health
#2 Environmental health
#3 Human health
ECOSYSTEM HEALTH
#1 Environmental health
#2 Human health
#3 Animal health
Slide Courtesy G. Kaufman

10. Global Health Assessment
Environmental Health
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Links ecosystem health to attaining human development goals
Animal Health
Livestock and agriculture
Biological Diversity -MEA
Wildlife
Human Health
Millennium Development Goals

11. Indicators of Global Human Health
Indicators of human well being and health across the planet
Infant and child mortality, Extreme hunger
Access to education,
Millennium Development Goals –
Eight international development goals established in 2000 by the Millennium summit at the United Nations
Effort to achieve these goals across globe by 2015

12. United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and empower women 4. Reduce child mortality rate 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership for development

13. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Findings

14. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005)
2005 report synthesizing 1000 scientists analysis of state of the earths ecosystems
Report concludes that human activity has a large and escalating impact world ecosystems
Ecosystem life support system and ecosystem services are in serious decline and at risk to non-linear change (tipping points)
Unless addressed will substantially effect human well being and all life

15. Provisioning Services
Ecosystem Services
Life and humankind depend on resources and processes that are supplied by ecosystems and are grouped into 4 broad categories:
Regulating Services
Supporting Services
Provisioning Services
Cultural Services
MEA 2005

16. Constituents of Human Well Being
Consequences of ecosystem change effect human well-being; 4 broad categories:
Security
Basic Material for Good life
Health
Good Social Relations
Freedom of Choice and Actions- opportunity to be and to achieve what an individual values doing and being
MEA 2005

17. MEA 2005

18. MEA 2005

19. Indirect Drivers of Change Direct Drivers of Change
MA Framework
Human Well-being and
Poverty Reduction
Basic material for a good life
Health
Good Social Relations
Security
Freedom of choice and action
Indirect Drivers of Change
Demographic
Economic (globalization, trade, market and policy framework)
Sociopolitical (governance and institutional framework)
Science and Technology
Cultural and Religious
Direct
Drivers
Indirect
Ecosystem
Services
Human
Well-being
Direct Drivers of Change
Changes in land use
Species introduction or removal
Technology adaptation and use
External inputs (e.g., irrigation)
Resource consumption
Climate change
Natural physical and biological drivers (e.g., volcanoes)

20. Unprecedented change in structure and function of ecosystems
More land was converted to cropland in the 30 years after 1950 than in the 150 years between 1700 and 1850.
Cultivated Systems in 2000 cover 25% of Earth’s terrestrial surface
(Defined as areas where at least 30% of the landscape is in croplands, shifting cultivation, confined livestock production, or freshwater aquaculture)

21. Changes to ecosystems have provided substantial benefits
Food production has more than doubled since 1960
Food production per capita has grown
Food price has fallen
Over the past 40 years, globally, intensification of cultivated systems has been the primary source (almost 80%) of increased output. But some countries, predominantly found in Sub-Saharan Africa, have had persistently low levels of productivity, and continue to rely on expansion of cultivated area. in sub-Saharan Africa, however, yield increases accounted for only 34% of growth in production

22. Unprecedented change: Ecosystems
most water use (70% worldwide) is for agriculture.
Gulf of Mexico nutrient runoff commons.wikimedia.org  

23. Unprecedented Ecosystem Change (MEA 2005)
Amount of water in reservoirs quadrupled since 1960
Withdrawals from rivers and lakes doubled since 1960
Intercepted Continental Runoff: 3-6 times as much water in reservoirs as in natural rivers
Three Gorges dam China

24. Unprecedented Ecosystem Change (MEA 2005)
20% of the world’s coral reefs were lost and 20% degraded in the last several decades
savethecorals.wordpress.com 

25. Significant and largely irreversible Biodiversity Loss
Threatened with extinction: 30% amphibians, 12% birds, 23% Mammals, 3% plants.
6th extinctions –on order of mass extinctions

26. Ecosystem Services Changes
Provisioning service increases
Crop production
Livestock
Aquaculture
Provisioning decrease
Capture fisheries
Genetic resources
Biochemicals/medicine
Fresh water
Regulating and cultural services -reductions
Air quality regulation
Climate regulation local
Erosion
pollination

27. Degradation of ecosystem services is a significant barrier to achievement of MDGs
Many of the regions facing the greatest challenges in achieving the 2015 targets coincide with regions facing the greatest problems of ecosystem degradation
Although socioeconomic factors will play a primary role in achieving many of the MDGs, targets are unlikely to be met without improvement in ecosystem management for goals such as:
Poverty Reduction
Hunger
All four MA scenarios project progress but at rates far slower than needed to attain the MDG target. The improvements are slowest in the regions in which the problems are greatest: South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
Child mortality
Three of the MA scenarios project reductions in child undernourishment of between 10% and 60% but undernourishment increases by 10% in one.
Disease
Progress toward this Goal is achieved in three scenarios, but in one scenario the health and social conditions for the North and South further diverge, exacerbating health problems in many low-income regions
Environmental Sustainability including access to water
Bullet not included for poverty because previous slides dealt with this. Not included for environmental sustainability since by definition this cannot be achieved while most ecosystem services are being degraded.

28. Last 60 years – the Great acceleration - 24 Indicators: Cars, Telephones, human population, CO2, NO2, Methane, Ozone depletion, Rainforest loss, fisheries overexploitation, natural disasters, Biodiversity loss….Anthropocene is thought to start at beginning of industrial revolution (1780 begins)

29. Anthropocene Epoch
Epoch- Formal time boundary often marked upheavals in Earth history through fossil record
Scale of human driven environmental change
Mega cities
Chemical and biological effects
Rates of biological extinctions 100 – 1000x equivalent to earths 6th extinction
Beginning with the industrial revolution within Epoch of Holocene

30. Anthropocene Epoch
NASA

31. Planetary Boundaries –
Rockstrom et al, Science 2009 Stockholm Resilience.org

32. How do we change course? First a recognition that
“Business as usual” projected scenarios are grim
planetary boundaries can provide a framework for safe operating zones
Unique moment in time with world population, energy and food production, Global health advances and technology
Temperature rises 4 °C -Sea level rise of 15 feet, agricultural failure, 100 year storms every 3 years

33. How do we change course? Change is difficult
With most aspects of change a shift of attitude is needed
A paradigm shift - One Health agenda
Temperature rises 4 °C -Sea level rise of 15 feet, agricultural failure, 100 year storms every 3 years

34. Paradigm Shift- New paradigm for human endeavors
Innovation coupled with the new mindset lead to transformative actions and outcomes
Collaboration on a global scale

35. Sustainable Development Goals
linking poverty eradication to protection of Earth’s life support systems
Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature, 495:
(21 March 2013)
Sustainable development goals for people and planet
Nature  Sustainable development goals for people and planet Griggs, Mark Stafford-Smith, Owen Gaffney, Johan Rockström, Marcus C. Öhman, Priya Shyamsundar, Will Steffen, Gisbert Glaser, Norichika Kanie, and Ian Noble.(2013)
Sustainable development goals for people and planet.Nature, 495: (21 March 2013)
news |
In the wake of last week’s meetings at the UN on the definition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a group of international scientists have published a call in the journal Nature (21 March 2013) arguing for a set of six SDGs that link poverty eradication to protection of Earth’s life support. The researchers suggest that in the face of increasing pressure on the planet’s ability to support life, adherence to outdated definitions of sustainable development threaten to reverse progress made in developing countries over past decades.

36. This is our road map and challenge as educators, researchers, and policy makers
Planetary stability must be integrated with United Nations targets to fight poverty and secure human well-being, argue David Griggs and colleagues. From Nature
2 1 M A R C H | VO L | N AT U R E | Griggs et al.
Griggs et al 2013: Nature 495;

37. Millennium Sustainability Goals
Grigg et al -Integrate into Millennium Development goals for human health
Paradigm shift for all governments across developed and undeveloped world
Road map for educators and OH practitioners: Healthy and productive ecosystems
Environmental literacy

38. TELI -A Step Forward Together
Educate the educators- knowledge gaps in environmental health are vast
Work with and inform global leaders
Breakdown social barriers to sharing information and changing practices
Learn from successes – MDG, share experiences

39. TELI -A Step Forward Together
Take the next step forward- Begin to realize the extraordinary potential of interdisciplinary collaboration in Global One Health

40. Thanks to Tufts One Health Community
Gretchen Kaufman
Antje Danielson
Joann Lindenmeyer
Mark Pokras
Mike McGuill
Helen Amuguni
Flo Tseng
Elena Nauvoma
Bryan Windmiller
MCM Students
Master’s in Conservation Medicine Program
Tufts Institute for the Environment
Fletcher School –Center for International Environmental Research and Policy (CIERP)
Tufts Programs in Public Health
Freidman School of Nutrition
Dept. of Infectious Disease and Global Health
USAID RESPOND project- capacity building