Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T05:23:05.523Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

My island home: place-based integration of conservation and public health in Oceania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2018

AARON JENKINS ,
PIERRE HORWITZ  and
KERRY ARABENA
AARON JENKINS*
Affiliation:
Sydney School of Public Health, Edward Ford Building (A27), The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Centre for Ecosystem Management, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup 6027, WA, Australia
PIERRE HORWITZ
Affiliation:
Centre for Ecosystem Management, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup 6027, WA, Australia
KERRY ARABENA
Affiliation:
Indigenous Health Equity Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 3010, Victoria, Australia
*
*Correspondence: Dr Aaron Jenkins email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Oceania can be characterized by a richness of culture, biodiversity and natural resources and a particular future that the changing climate will bring to islands, livelihoods and ecosystems. We reviewed literature detailing the limitations of siloed approaches to public health and conservation action for regional sustainability, highlighting opportunities for regional integration as place-based, through activities that are locally relevant, innovative engagement across a broader variety of sectors and working with indigenous peoples’ knowledges. We present three case studies that extend and redefine the boundaries of the fields of public health and conservation, enabling collaborators to better respond to complex issues impacting biodiversity and human health. These case studies make explicit the links between nutrition, catchment management, water resources, fisheries, marine protected areas and communicable and non-communicable diseases. Public health and conservation are more meaningfully connected in place-based, reciprocal and compassionate activities, using common language to draw on the well-developed instruments of both sectors. These will include health impact assessments and combine health and ecological economics, which together will contribute to responding to an emergent set of challenges, namely human population increase, urbanization, overfishing and more severe aspects of climate change.

Keywords

biodiversityinfectious diseasesnon-communicable diseasescatchment managementintegrated island managementhealth impact assessmentecosystem servicestraditional knowledge
Type
Subject Reviews
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 45 , Issue 2: Thematic section. Humans and Island Environments , June 2018 , pp. 125 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alders, R. & Stellmach, D. (2017) The role of humanitarian academics in a post-truth world. DevPolicyBlog. URL http://devpolicy.org/role-humanitarian-academics-post-truth-world-20170724/Google Scholar
Altman, J. & Whitehead, P. J. (2003) Caring for Country and Sustainable Indigenous Development: Opportunities, Constraints and Innovation, CAEPR Working Paper No. 20/2003, Canberra, Australia: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University.Google Scholar
Aswani, S. & Furusawa, T. (2007) Do marine protected areas affect human nutrition and health? A comparison between villages in Roviana, Solomon Islands. Coastal Management 35 (5): 545–565.Google Scholar
Bell, J. D., Kronen, M., Vunisea, A., Nash, W. J., Keeble, G., Demmke, A. & Andréfouët, S. (2009) Planning the use of fish for food security in the Pacific. Marine Policy 33 (1): 64–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, J. D., Allain, V., Allison, E. H., Andréfouët, S., Andrew, N. L., Batty, M. J., Blanc, M., Dambacher, J. M., Hampton, J., Hanich, Q. & Harley, S. (2015) Diversifying the use of tuna to improve food security and public health in Pacific Island countries and territories. Marine Policy 51: 584–591.Google Scholar
Bell, J. D., Ganachaud, A., Gehrke, P. C., Griffiths, S. P., Hobday, A. J., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Johnson, J. E., Le Borgne, R., Lehodey, P., Lough, J. M. & Matear, R. J. (2013) Mixed responses of tropical Pacific fisheries and aquaculture to climate change. Nature Climate Change 3 (6): 591–599.Google Scholar
Berry, H., Butler, J., Burgess, C. P., King, U., Tsey, K., Cadet-James, Y. L., Rigby, C. W. & Raphael, B. (2010) Mind, body, spirit: co-benefits for mental health from climate change adaptation and caring for country in remote Aboriginal Australian communities. NSW Public Health Bulletin 21 (5–6): 139–145.Google Scholar
Bowler, D. E., Buyung-Ali, L. M., Healey, J. R., Jones, J. P., Knight, T. M. & Pullin, A. S. (2012) Does community forest management provide global environmental benefits and improve local welfare? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 10 (1): 29–36.Google Scholar
Bowler, D. E., Buyung-Ali, L. M., Knight, T. M. & Pullin, A. S. (2010) A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health 10 (1): 456.Google Scholar
Brown, G. & Weber, D. (2013) A place-based approach to conservation management using public participation GIS (PPGIS). Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 56 (4): 455–473.Google Scholar
Brown, R., Creaser, P., Kerins, S., Lennon, J. & Liddy, M., eds (2006) Indigenous Involvement in Environmental and Heritage Management, Case Studies Prepared for the 2006 Australian State of the Environment Committee. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Environment and Heritage.Google Scholar
Brown, V. A., Harris, J. A. & Russell, J. Y. (2010) Tackling Wicked Problems through the Transdisciplinary Imagination. London, UK: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Burgess, P. & Johnston, F. H. (2007) Healthy Country: Healthy People: Indigenous Natural and Cultural Resource Management and Health. Darwin, Australia: Menzies School of Health Research.Google Scholar
Burgess, P., Johnston, F. H., Bowman, D. J. M. S. & Whitehead, P. J. (2005) Healthy country: healthy people? Exploring the health benefits of indigenous natural resource management. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 29 (2): 117.Google Scholar
Charlton, K. E., Russell, J., Gorman, E., Hanich, Q., Delisle, A., Campbell, B. & Bell, J. (2016) Fish, food security and health in Pacific Island countries and territories: a systematic literature review. BMC Public Health 16 (1): 285.Google Scholar
Corey, B., Webb, G. J., Manolis, S. C., Fordham, A., Austin, B. J., Fukuda, Y., Nicholls, D. & Saalfeld, K. (2017) Commercial harvests of saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus eggs by Indigenous people in northern Australia: lessons for long-term viability and management. Oryx June: 1–2.Google Scholar
Daigneault, A., Brown, P. & Gawith, D. (2016) Dredging versus hedging: comparing hard infrastructure to ecosystem-based adaptation to flooding. Ecological Economics 122: 25–35.Google Scholar
de Leeuw, E., Stevenson, A., Jolley, G., McCarthy, S. & Martin, E. (2017) Healthy cities, urbanisation, and healthy islands: Oceania. In: Healthy Cities: The Theory, Policy, and Practice of Value-Based Urban Planning, eds de Leeuw, R., Simos, J., pp. 315–337. New York, NY, USA: Springer.Google Scholar
Feary, S. (2012) From Kauri to Kumara: forests and people of the Pacific Islands. In: Australia's Ever-changing Forests VI: Proceedings of the Eighth National Conference on Australian Forest History, ed. Stubbs, B. J. et al., pp. 202–207. St Lucia, Australia: Australian Forest History Society, Inc., in association with Tankard Books.Google Scholar
Fiji Ministry of HealthMedical Services (2016) Climate Change and Health Strategic Action Plan 2016–2020. Suva, Fiji: Government of FijiGoogle Scholar
Garnett, S. & Sithole, B. (2007) Sustainable Northern Landscapes and the Nexus with Indigenous Health: Healthy Country, Healthy People. Canberra, Australia: Land and Water Australia, CSIRO.Google Scholar
Gascon, M., Zijlema, W., Vert, C., White, M. P. & Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J. (2017) Outdoor blue spaces, human health and well-being: a systematic review of quantitative studies. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 220: 1207–1221.Google Scholar
Gjertsen, H. (2005) Can habitat protection lead to improvements in human well-being? Evidence from marine protected areas in the Philippines. World Development 33 (2): 199–217.Google Scholar
Global Health Data Exchange (2015) Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 Data Resources. Seattle, WA, USA: Global Health Data Exchange. URL ghdx.healthdata.orgGoogle Scholar
Golden, C. D., Allison, E. H., Cheung, W. W., Dey, M. M., Halpern, B. S., McCauley, D. J., Smith, M., Vaitla, B., Zeller, D. & Myers, S. S. (2016) Fall in fish catch threatens human health. Nature 534 (7607): 317–320.Google Scholar
Haahtela, T., Holgate, S., Pawankar, R., Akdis, C. A., Benjaponpitak, S., Caraballo, L., Demain, J., Portnoy, J. & von Hertzen, L. (2013) The biodiversity hypothesis and allergic disease: world allergy organization position statement. World Allergy Organization Journal 6 (1): 3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris-Roxas, B., Viliani, F., Bond, A., Cave, B., Divall, M., Furu, P., Harris, P., Soeberg, M., Wernham, A. & Winkler, M. (2012) Health impact assessment: the state of the art. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 30 (1): 43–52.Google Scholar
Harris-Roxas, B. & Harris, E. (2013) The impact and effectiveness of health impact assessment: a conceptual framework. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 42: 51–59.Google Scholar
Hawley, N. L. & McGarvey, S. T. (2015) Obesity and diabetes in Pacific Islanders: the current burden and the need for urgent action. Current Diabetes Reports 15 (5): 29.Google Scholar
Honold, J., Lakes, T., Beyer, R. & van der Meer, E. (2016) Restoration in urban spaces: nature views from home, greenways, and public parks. Environment and Behavior 48 (6): 796–825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horwitz, P. & Parkes, M. W. (2016) Scoping health impact assessment: ecosystem services as a framing device. In: Handbook on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Impact Assessment, ed. Geneletti, D., pp. 62–85. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.Google Scholar
Hough, R. L. (2014) Biodiversity and human health: evidence for causality? Biodiversity and Conservation 23 (2): 267–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoy, D., Roth, A., Lepers, C., Durham, J., Bell, J., Durand, A., Lal, P. N. & Souares, Y. (2014) Adapting to the health impacts of climate change in a sustainable manner. Globalization and Health. 10 (1): 82.Google Scholar
Hunt, J., Altman, J. C. & May, K. (2009) Social Benefits of Aboriginal Engagement in Natural Resource Management, CAEPR Working Paper No. 60/2009, Canberra, Australia: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University.Google Scholar
IUCN (2017) Oceania regional plan for 2017–2020. URL https://www.iucn.org/regions/oceania/about/iucn-oceania-regional-plan-2017-2020Google Scholar
Jenkins, A. P., Jupiter, S. D., Qauqau, I. & Atherton, J. (2010) The importance of ecosystem-based management for conserving aquatic migratory pathways on tropical high islands: a case study from Fiji. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20 (2): 224–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, A. P. & Jupiter, S. D. (2011) Spatial and seasonal patterns in freshwater ichthyofaunal communities of a tropical high island in Fiji. Environmental Biology of Fishes 91 (3): 261–274.Google Scholar
Jenkins, A. P. & Jupiter, S. D. (2015) Natural disasters, health and wetlands: a Pacific small island developing state perspective. In: Wetlands and Human Health, eds Finlayson, M., Horwitz, P., Weinstein, P., pp. 169–191. New York, NY, USA: Springer.Google Scholar
Jenkins, A. P., Jupiter, S. D., Mueller, U., Jenney, A., Vosaki, G., Rosa, V., Naucukidi, A., Mulholland, K., Strugnell, R., Kama, M. & Horwitz, P. (2016) Health at the sub-catchment scale: typhoid and its environmental determinants in Central Division, Fiji. EcoHealth 13 (4): 633–651.Google Scholar
Jones, P. (2012) Managing Urbanisation in Papua New Guinea: Planning for Planning's Sake? Working Papers Series Two, No. 33. Geelong, Australia: Alfred Deakin Research Institute.Google Scholar
Jupiter, S. D., Cohen, P. J., Weeks, R., Tawake, A. & Govan, H. (2014) Locally-managed marine areas: multiple objectives and diverse strategies. Pacific Conservation Biology 20 (2): 165–179.Google Scholar
Jupiter, S. D., Epstein, G., Ban, N. C., Mangubhai, S., Fox, M. & Cox, M. (2017) A social–ecological systems approach to assessing conservation and fisheries outcomes in Fijian locally managed marine areas. Society & Natural Resources 30: 1096–1111.Google Scholar
Jupiter, S., Jenkins, A., Long, W. L., Maxwell, S., Watson, J., Hodge, K., Govan, H. & Carruthers, T. (2013) Pacific Integrated Island Management: Principles, Case Studies and Lessons Learned. Montreal, Canada: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Geneva: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).Google Scholar
Jupiter, S., Mangubhai, S. & Kingsford, R. T. (2014) Conservation of biodiversity in the Pacific Islands of Oceania: challenges and opportunities. Pacific Conservation Biology 20 (2): 206–220.Google Scholar
Kilpatrick, A. M., Salkeld, D. J., Titcomb, G. & Hahn, M. B. (2017) Conservation of biodiversity as a strategy for improving human health and well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 372 (1722): 20160131.Google Scholar
Kingsford, R. T. & Watson, J. E. (2011) Climate change in Oceania – a synthesis of biodiversity impacts and adaptations. Pacific Conservation Biology 17 (3): 270–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingsley, J., Patrick, R., Horwitz, P., Parkes, M., Jenkins, A., Massy, C., Henderson-Wilson, C. & Arabena, K. (2015) Exploring ecosystems and health by shifting to a regional focus: perspectives from the Oceania EcoHealth Chapter. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 12 (10): 12706–12722.Google Scholar
Kubiszewski, I., Anderson, S., Costanza, R. & Sutton, P. C. (2016) The future of ecosystem services in Asia and the Pacific. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies 3: 389–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kubiszewski, I., Costanza, R., Anderson, S. & Sutton, P. (2017) The future value of ecosystem services: global scenarios and national implications. Ecosystem Services 26: 289–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumar, V. (2010) Water management in Fiji. International Journal of Water Resources Development 26 (1): 81–96.Google Scholar
Kuo, M. (2015) How might contact with nature promote human health? Promising mechanisms and a possible central pathway. Frontiers in Psychology 6: 1093.Google Scholar
Lau, C. L., Watson, C. H., Lowry, J. H., David, M. C., Craig, S. B., Wynwood, S. J., Kama, M. & Nilles, E. J. (2016) Human leptospirosis infection in Fiji: an eco-epidemiological approach to identifying risk factors and environmental drivers for transmission. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 10 (1): e0004405.Google Scholar
Lee, J., Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Ohira, T., Kagawa, T. & Miyazaki, Y. (2011) Effect of forest bathing on physiological and psychological responses in young Japanese male subjects. Public Health 125 (2): 93–100.Google Scholar
Masterson, V., Stedman, R., Enqvist, J., Tengö, M., Giusti, M., Wahl, D. & Svedin, U. (2017) The contribution of sense of place to social–ecological systems research: a review and research agenda. Ecology and Society 22 (1): 49.Google Scholar
McIver, L., Kim, R., Woodward, A., Hales, S., Spickett, J., Katscherian, D., Hashizume, M., Honda, Y., Kim, H., Iddings, S. & Naicker, J. (2016) Health impacts of climate change in Pacific Island countries: a regional assessment of vulnerabilities and adaptation priorities. Environmental Health Perspectives 124 (11): 1707–1714.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKinnon, M. C., Cheng, S. H., Dupre, S., Edmond, J., Garside, R., Glew, L., Holland, M. B., Levine, E., Masuda, Y. J., Miller, D. C. & Oliveira, I. (2016) What are the effects of nature conservation on human well-being? A systematic map of empirical evidence from developing countries. Environmental Evidence 5 (1): 8.Google Scholar
McMichael, A., Woodward, A. & Muir, C. (2017) Climate Change and the Health of Nations: Famines, Fevers, and the Fate of Populations. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Moore, M., Townsend, M. & Oldroyd, J. (2006) Linking human and ecosystem health: the benefits of community involvement in conservation groups. EcoHealth 3: 255–261.Google Scholar
Morrison, J. (2007) Caring for country. In: Coercive Reconciliation: Stabilise, Normalise, Exit Aboriginal Australia, eds Altman, J., Hinkson, M., pp. 249–262. Melbourne, Australia: Arena Publications.Google Scholar
Nolet, E. (2016) ‘Are you prepared?’ Representations and management of floods in Lomanikoro, Rewa (Fiji). Disasters 40 (4): 720–739.Google Scholar
O'Brien, P. (2000) Scenario Planning: A Strategic Tool. Canberra, Australia: Bureau of Rural Sciences.Google Scholar
Pacific Community (2016) Pacific Island populations – estimates and projections of demographic indicators for selected years. URL https://prism.spc.int/regional-data-and-tools/population-statisticsGoogle Scholar
Pelesikoti, N. & Suwamaru, J. K. (2017) ICTs in Pacific Islands’ climate change and disaster risk reduction policy and programs. In: Achieving Sustainable E-Government in Pacific Island States, Public Administration and Information Technology, vol. 27, eds Cullen, R., Hassall, G., pp. 269–303. South Yarra, Australia: Springer Nature.Google Scholar
Peterson, G., Cumming, G. & Carpenter, S. (2003) Scenario planning: a tool for conservation in an uncertain world. Conservation Biology 17 (2): 358–366.Google Scholar
Pollard, E., Brodie, G., Thaman, R. & Morrison, C. (2014). The use of herpetofauna and cultural values to identify priority conservation forests on Malaita, Solomon Islands. Pacific Conservation Biology 20 (4): 354–362.Google Scholar
Pollard, E. M., Thaman, R., Brodie, G. & Morrison, C. (2015) Threatened biodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge: associated beliefs, customs, and uses of herpetofauna among the ’Are'Are on Malaita Island, Solomon Islands. Ethnobiology Letters 6 (1): 99–110.Google Scholar
Raskin, P. (2016) Journey to Earthland: The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization. Boston, MA, USA: Tellus Institute.Google Scholar
Sandifer, P. A., Sutton-Grier, A. E. & Ward, B. P. (2015) Exploring connections among nature, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being: opportunities to enhance health and biodiversity conservation. Ecosystem Services 12: 1–15.Google Scholar
Scobie, H. M., Nilles, E., Kama, M., Kool, J. L., Mintz, E., Wannemuehler, K. A., Hyde, T. B., Dawainavesi, A., Singh, S., Korovou, S. & Jenkins, K. (2014) Impact of a targeted typhoid vaccination campaign following cyclone Tomas, Republic of Fiji, 2010. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 90 (6): 1031–1038.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shanahan, D. F., Fuller, R. A., Bush, R., Lin, B. B. & Gaston, K. J. (2015) The health benefits of urban nature: how much do we need? BioScience 65 (5): 476–485.Google Scholar
SPREP (2012) Pacific Environment and Climate Change Outlook. Apia, Samoa: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.Google Scholar
Taylor, M., McGregor, A. & Dawson, B. (eds) (2016) Vulnerability of Pacific Island Agriculture and Forestry to Climate Change. Nouméa, New Caledonia: Pacific Community.Google Scholar
Titifanue, J., Kant, R., Finau, G. & Tarai, J. (2017) Climate change advocacy in the Pacific: the role of information and communication technologies. Pacific Journalism Review 23 (1): 133–149.Google Scholar
Tyrväinen, L., Ojala, A., Korpela, K., Lanki, T., Tsunetsugu, Y. & Kagawa, T. (2014) The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures: a field experiment. Journal of Environmental Psychology 38: 1–9.Google Scholar
Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. & Zelson, M. (1991) Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11: 201–230.Google Scholar
Utzinger, J., Wyss, K., Moto, D. D., Tanner, M. & Singer, B. H. (2005) Assessing health impacts of the Chad–Cameroon petroleum development and pipeline project: challenges and a way forward. Environmental impact assessment review. 25 (1): 63–93.Google Scholar
Warrick, O., Aalbersberg, W., Dumaru, P., McNaught, R. & Teperman, K. (2017) The ‘Pacific adaptive capacity analysis framework’: guiding the assessment of adaptive capacity in Pacific Island communities. Regional Environmental Change 17 (4): 1039–1051.Google Scholar
Weir, J., Stacey, C. & Youngetob, K. (2011) The Benefits Associated with Caring for Country: Literature Review. Canberra, Australia: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities and Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.Google Scholar
Wilson, G., Edwards, E. & Smits, J. (2010) Support for indigenous wildlife management in Australia to enable sustainable use. Wildlife Research 37: 255–263.Google Scholar
Wilson, G. & Woodrow, M. (2009) Kuka Kanyini, Australian indigenous adaptive management. In: Adaptive Environmental Management: A Practitioner's Guide, eds Allan, C., Stankey, G., pp. 117–141. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.Google Scholar
Winkler, M. S., Divall, M. J., Krieger, G. R., Balge, M. Z., Singer, B. H. & Utzinger, J. (2010) Assessing health impacts in complex eco-epidemiological settings in the humid tropics: advancing tools and methods. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 30 (1): 52–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wooltorton, S., Wilkinson, A., Horwitz, P., Bahn, S., Redmond, J. & Dooley, J. (2015) Sustainability and action research in universities: towards knowledge for organisational transformation. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 16 (4): 424–439.Google Scholar
World Bank (2016) Effects of Population Growth and Urbanization in the Pacific Islands. URL http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPACIFICISLANDS/Resources/Chapter+1.pdfGoogle Scholar
WHO (2011) Adelaide Statement on Health in All Policies. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WHO (2015a) The First 20 Years of the Journey towards the Vision of Healthy Islands in the Pacific. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WHO (2015b) Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization and Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.Google Scholar
WHO/UNICEF (2016) Sanitation, Drinking-Water and Health in Pacific Island Countries: 2015 Update and Future Outlook. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
World Population Review (2017) Oceania population 2018. URL http://worldpopulationreview.com/continents/oceania-population/Google Scholar