the planet:health approach

the work of planet:health is in the broad field planetary health. we meet complex problems by drawing from ancestral traditions, embracing right-relationship with technology and futures-oriented thinking, and consolidating these wisdoms into the 'long now' for at least seven generations through responsible stewardship for planetary health.

what is planetary health?

planetary health is a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analysing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to earth's natural systems on human health and all life on earth.

this era of the "anthropocene", characterised by humanity's dramatic impact on earth's biophysical conditions. and though the average global citizen's health has improved over the past century, the stability of our planet's life support systems has sharply declined - putting recent public health and development gains at risk.

it is not just about climate change or carbon, we are facing the 6th mass extinction of life on earth; air, water, and soil pollution; shortages of arable land and freshwater; pervasive changes in land use and cover; and degradation of marine systems.

these anthropogenic environmental changes affect the quality of the air we breathe and of the water we drink, the quality and quantity of food we produce, our exposure to infectious diseases, and the habitability of where we live. changes to natural life support systems are already impacting our health and are projected to drive the majority of the global burden of disease over the coming century, hitting today's most vulnerable people and future generations the hardest.

the drivers are multifaceted, complex, and intertwined. so too must be the solutions

planet:health works to address the planetary health crisis as a manifestation of the metacrisis [[ the multiple overlapping and interconnected global crises ]] that is amenable to considered, inter-disciplinary engagement.

we believe that if the root causes of ill health for people + planet are shared, complex, multifaceted, intertwined, so too must be the solutions.

we purposely gather people from across spectra, disciplines, ontologies, methodologies to think through problems + imagine + build alternatives

we draw from the wisdom of the past. we embrace technology as a portal for more just futures. to this end, we build from the concept of planetary health to the frame of xeno-health

we co-create, we stay humble, we get out of our box, we learn, we build

shared beliefs

• we recognise health as relational: a relationship to ourself, with others, our communities, wider ecosystems and nature, technology, and the great collective 'we'
• many of us come from and have worked in a western medicine paradigm, including directly with patients. while this is the case and we greatly respect this system, planet:health stacks onto this model: from the individual to collective; from the biophysical to psycho/spiritual/somatic/environmental; from human to eco; from dominance to reciprocity
• we believe in plurality and that a healthy change ecosystem requires different forms of actors, working in different ways, at different levels, through different modalities
• we respect different forms of knowing and seeing. we listen, and we learn from each other and the planet
• we aren't afraid to fail. we prototype projects and see what works
• we communicate and share our findings

the unlikely conversations series

the unlikely conversations series took place in anticipation of our first planet:health gathering which asked the unlikely question of whether the blockchain could be tapped for planetary health. it brought together at least one blockchain expert, one planetary health expert, and a frontline community organiser per session to explore novel approaches to pertinent challenges.

1. episode 1Shared principles of planetary health and blockchainwatch ↗
2. episode 2Communities, blockchain and planetary healthwatch ↗
3. episode 3Governance, blockchain and planetary healthwatch ↗
4. episode 4Use cases: planetary health x blockchainwatch ↗