Planetary Health

The Planetary Health approach is both a research approach to holistically examine health problems at the human-animal-environment interface and an implementation-oriented concept that calls for intersectoral cooperation between stakeholders in human and veterinary medicine, public health, environmental protection, resource management and agriculture. Land use changes and changes in resource use affect the interactions between humans, animals and the environment, which in turn have direct and indirect influences on health and well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) have shown through the Tripartite Agreement that sustainable global health security can only be achieved through collaboration between stakeholders in human, animal and environmental health.

In order to meet the major global health challenges, it is therefore necessary to develop evidence-based implementation strategies for Planetary Health and to critically evaluate existing approaches. In addition to the development of implementation strategies, it is also highly relevant to examine specific health challenges in an integrative manner using the Planetary Health approach in order to scientifically demonstrate the benefits of Planetary Health.

This thematic focus is closely linked to TRA Sustainable Futures and TRA Life and Health.