“The Association’s mission is to strive for sustainable health of people, wildlife and ecosystems by promoting discovery, understanding and transdisciplinarity.”
Community
Serve a diverse international community which includes scientists, educators, policy makers, practitioners, community stakeholders, traditional knowledge holders and a range of other collaborators who share the goals of the Association. EcoHealth practitioners aim to improve the health of people, animals and ecosystems to address complex challenges facing our Planet.
Discourse
Provide mechanisms and forums to facilitate international and transdisciplinary collaborations which include publications in the EcoHealth journal, biennial and regional conferences and the promotion of capacity building activities which promote the vision of the Association.
Teaching
Encourage the development of transdisciplinary teaching, research and problem-solving that harnesses expertise in a range of fields of scholarship (including natural, social and health sciences and the humanities), drawing upon multiple types of knowledge.
Why we are unique
Ecohealth research and practice goes beyond classical health research by its systemic inclusion of social and ecological dimensions of health. Its theoretical foundations are grounded in complexity science and aim to sustain not only the health of humans, animals and plants but also ecosystem services and stable social conditions.
What we are doing in the world
EcoHealth scholars and practitioners are engaged world-wide in searching for ways to improve health while preserving the environment. We are committed to action and to working upstream to develop health solutions which address the root causes of problems. Ecohealth research ranges, therefore, from initiatives to prevent mercury contamination in the Amazon, control Chagas disease, enhance wildlife conservation by improving the health care of both human and animal populations in and around conservation areas to strategies which improve air pollution and reduce noise.
During biennial international as well as regional conferences, progress in EcoHealth is presented and discussed. You can become an individual member of EcoHealth or join as an institutional partner organization (join us).
Why we are so committed
In the second half of the 20th century, natural resource disasters, like the first oil crisis, emerged following rapid population growth, unsustainable development and inadequate attention paid to the consequences of global social and health inequalities. This marked the beginning of recognition that the complexity of the interactions of society, or the human population as a whole, oftentimes produce unintended and poorly understood adverse effects on the earth’s system. From global through to local scales, life support systems require systemic thinking conducted across different academic disciplines involving societal actors from community stakeholders to governments. The EcoHealth approach calls for a precautionary and systemic method of dealing with hazards. Such thinking has led to technology assessment, the creation of ethical committees, and studies on the health and social implications of development projects, including transdisciplinary engagement with society. Equally, Ecohealth promotes asset-based approaches where the strengths and resilience of communities are fostered to create sustainable, healthy and just futures for all.