Book contents
- Planetary Health
- Reviews
- Planetary Health
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Our Changing Planet
- 2 Climate Change
- 3 Pollution, Land Use, Biodiversity, and Health
- 4 Assessing Vulnerability and Risk in the Anthropocene Epoch
- 5 Adaptation and Resilience to Planetary Change
- 6 Addressing Conceptual, Knowledge, and Implementation Challenges
- 7 Health in the Sustainable Development Goals
- 8 Transforming Energy and Industry: Towards a Net-Zero Circular Economy for Health
- 9 Sustaining Urban Health in the Anthropocene Epoch
- 10 Food Systems and Land Use
- 11 The Role of Health Professionals in Fostering Planetary Health
- 12 Sustaining Planetary Health in the Anthropocene
- Index
- References
5 - Adaptation and Resilience to Planetary Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2021
- Planetary Health
- Reviews
- Planetary Health
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Our Changing Planet
- 2 Climate Change
- 3 Pollution, Land Use, Biodiversity, and Health
- 4 Assessing Vulnerability and Risk in the Anthropocene Epoch
- 5 Adaptation and Resilience to Planetary Change
- 6 Addressing Conceptual, Knowledge, and Implementation Challenges
- 7 Health in the Sustainable Development Goals
- 8 Transforming Energy and Industry: Towards a Net-Zero Circular Economy for Health
- 9 Sustaining Urban Health in the Anthropocene Epoch
- 10 Food Systems and Land Use
- 11 The Role of Health Professionals in Fostering Planetary Health
- 12 Sustaining Planetary Health in the Anthropocene
- Index
- References
Summary
Many of the dramatic changes across the planet during the Anthropocene Epoch cannot be reversed within our lifespans, so it becomes imperative to adapt to change as far as possible. According to the IPCC, adaptation is ‘the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In some natural systems, human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects’ (1, p. SPM 5). While this definition refers only to climate, the context in which adaptation has been most thoroughly considered, the concept of adaptation is applicable to the full range of planetary changes. As implied by the IPCC definition, an adaptation action might be taken proactively, to reduce harm in advance of an impact, or reactively, in response to a perceived or real health risk.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Planetary HealthSafeguarding Human Health and the Environment in the Anthropocene, pp. 148 - 177Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021