Module1_Lecture2_Food and Sustainability, transcript
Apr 21, 2021
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Hello, my name is Alana Kluczkovski and you are on the course "climate change, food
systems and Planetary Health". On the first lecture, we defined the concept of climate
change, greenhouse gases and greenhouse gas emissions. So, if
you missed this, please go back and have a look before you start this lecture. Further
information of this course is found on our guide notes and please have a look if
you have any questions, so let's get it start.
Lecture number 2  - planetary health and climate change - understanding the intersections
of planetary health and climate change. So, to start this conversation while human
health has progressed, the depletion of our natural system threatens our ability
to maintain these improvements. Planetary health challenges current barriers between
disciplines and explores the connections between them. Now, The Lancet is
Launching a new Journal called Planetary Health, which brings together a wide range
of existing disciplines to ensure a healthy and sustainable future. Five years ago,
The University College London Commission concluded that climate change is the biggest
threat to human health in the 21st century. Health has entered a new epoch in which
environmental factors under adverse human influence, must become the focus worldwide. This recognition, sparked to Planetary Health initiative, spearheaded by the Lancet, which is motivated by acceptance of the different fundamental need for collective achievement of a
world that "nourishes and sustains the diversity of life with which we coexist and
on which we depend".
It said, so, in this lecture, we will learn the concepts of the planetary health and
how they are connected with climate change. Let's start asking what is it climate change?
So, climate change refers to any significant long-term change in normal climate conditions, such as temperature, precipitation, extreme weather events, wind pattern, snow cover and sea level rise.
In fact, we started to talk about and to discuss this on the previous lecture when
we talked about the past, the current and future climate. How it is changing.
Why it's changing as well. So, this refers to global warming due to human emissions,
as we said, anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, and the resulting large
in scale shifting weather patterns around the globe.
The causes of climate change have accelerated due to human activity over the past
century, and as I said, for example, with land-use for food food production.
So, climate change is a global problem, impacting on human lives and health as well as ecosystems in a variety of ways. Over a hundred
and fifty thousand deaths that are estimated to occur annually as a result of extreme
weather events or as a result of extreme weather conditions.
And between 2030 to 2050 climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 times
additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.
If so, the direct impact caused impact costs to health are currently estimated to
be between two to four billion dollars per year. So, with this we see long term change in normal climate conditions. We see global warming due to human activities or anthropogenic greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, the increasing in extreme weather conditions or extreme weather event, as we saw on the last lecture, and agricultural practice as
the main factor that should contribute to climate change.
And who will be most affected by climate change climate change? The impact
of climate change in the countries of the global South, usually with less financial
resources and more vulnerable to the climate crisis, is quite complex giving the
lower capacity to respond to these extreme weather events in which can affect local
agriculture and food security.
All countries of the global South will be most affected by climate change it is
the is being and will be more affected as well and those extreme weather events
can also intensify migratory movement and forcing families to look for
other regions. So, with better living conditions and opportunities. These migratory
movement will be intensified. Throughout this transition process, there may be food insecurity among other risk factors for the the health of those individuals.
In this infographics from World World Health Organization about climate change,
It discusses whether the climate change threatens your health. So, we started
to discuss on the previous lecture, whether you live in a rural village, a small
island or a coastal town, a big city... in all of those places climate change threatens
your health.
But how it works? So, droughts, floods and heat waves will increase and vector-borne
diseases like malaria and dengue virus will increase due to the changes
on the climate. Thought basic necessities will be disrupted. For example, hunger and famine will increase as food production is destabilised by drought.
Also, pollution and pollen seasons will increase leading to more allergies and Asthma.
Warmer waters and flooding will increase exposures to disease in drinking and recreational waters. And finally, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected
to cause 250,000 additional deaths per year due to due to malaria, malnutrition (we are going to discuss all forms of malnutrition later on - so, keep this idea discussed now), and also other diseases that can occur will be diarrhea and heat stress. Although global warming may bring some localized benefits such as fewer winter deaths in temperature climates and increased food production in certain areas, the overall health effects of a changing climate are overwhelmingly negative.
Climate change affects many of the social and environmental determinants
of Health - as so, clean air, safe drinking water, supply sufficient food and secure
shelter. What are the consequences of climate change?
We highlight three at this slide, which says global warming, generalized
decrease in the cryosphere, and ocean levels rising. The global warming is estimated
to reach 1.5 degrees celsius being between 2030 and 2050 if it continues to increase
at the current rate.
These numbers can vary as we discussed. It could be two, we could be three, could
be 1.5 and it will depend of the analysis that has been done and also the current
rate. Global warming is identified as the the biggest cause of long-term changes
in the climate system, and it's mainly related to the oceans and the cryosphere:
The cryosphere gathers the frozen components of the system terrestrial.
About 10 percent of the land area is covered by glaciers and ice sheets;
the ocean and the cryosphere supports unique habitats and are interconnected
with other components of the climate system through the global exchange of water,
energy and carbon. In recent decades, global warming has led to a generalized
decrease in the cryosphere; the oceans have warmed uninterruptedly since
1970 and its levels are rising, with acceleration in the last few decades; these
Cryospheric changes are designed to further increase in the second half of the
21st century in a scenario of high emissions of greenhouse gases, such as we have
seen currently. If nothing is done, the consequences of these changes will be
inevitable, abrupt and
Irreversible and Lasting decades to Millennia. 
What is planetary Health planetary?
Planetary Health involves environmental changes, human health and it is this sense of transdisciplinarity.
So, to start, planetary health is this idea that the health of the the planet isn't
separated from our own human health. They are
connected. It's a new and transdisciplinary field of study that focuses on
the impact of Global Environmental changes on human health. It investigates how humans
are changing the natural world - as our expanding population, changes in technology,
and consumptions and production patterns are substantially changing the land, atmosphere,
oceans, and more - and also,
Seeks to to find solutions that simulataneously improve the health of humans
and the natural systems and biodiversity upon which humanity depends on. Planetary
Health assesses how global population, climate change, biodiversity loss, autered
biogeochemical cycles, and changes in land use and resource scarcity
and all of these are decreasing the quality of the air we breathe, the water
we drink and the food that we cultivate, which in turns is exposing us to new diseases,
decreasing our access to fresh water and other resources and also are increasing
the incidence of social-environmental disasters. All of these results have negative
consequences for
our nutrition, mental health and susceptibility to injury and illness.
Said so, Planetary Health is the achievement of the highest attainable standard of
health, well-being, and equity worldwide through judicious attentions attention to
the human systems, for example, political economic and social and that shape the
future of humanity and the Earth's natural system that defined the safe environmental
limits within which Humanity can flourish.
This video is less than five minutes and it's produced by planetary Health Alliance.
It discusses the rapid human-caused transformations of our natural environment
and its health impact, and also the field of planetary health. So, it will
be very interesting for you to watch this video to
visualize the concept. So, click on the link that will redirect you to
YouTube page and you can watch the video.
What is the difference between Planetary Health and environmental health? Let's
start with environmental health. Environmental health focus on human exposure to
the environment as a health risk rather than on the the health of the environment
itself (except when it creates a risk of human health). While an important component
of Planetary Health, environmental health typically studies well known pathogens,
or toxicological pathways, for example air and water pollution, rather than seeking to understand and address complex human health impacts of anthropogenic environmental change.
Planetary Health though, is a transdisciplinary and systems-based approach that takes
into account the health of the people as it relates to our planet's changing
conditions, for example, environmental, socialcultural, economic,
political and much more. Additionally, Planetary Health has a global end solutions
oriented focus that aims to
evaluated and develop evidence-based strategies for not only sustaining life on Earth, but
regenerating and equitably protecting the health and well-being of humans, biodiversity
and natural systems. The historical evolution of the term Planetary Health indicates
a paradigm shift in both fields from more
reductionist concepts of environmental health, focused on occupational health and
classic toxicology, to a more holistic and action-orientated science.
The way we interact with the environment can have several negative consequences,
and COVID-19 is one of them. New outbreaks like this can occur if there is no changing
the way Humanity produces food, feeds and coexists with the environment.
COVID-19 has impacted the whole world and ways of producing food not only impact
a higher risk of obesity and malnutrition ,but also an increased risk for infectious
diseases. According to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the frequency with
which pathogenic microorganisms, such as, bacteria and viruses are transmitted
from animals to humans is increasing due to the
unsustainability of human actions. UNEP also points out at least seven main factors
that leads to the emergency of zoonotic diseases, including increased demand for animal
protein, unsustainable agricultural intensification, climate change, unsustainable
management of natural resources and the exploitation of wildlife. Thus, the relationship
between COVID-19
and the environmental degradation is remarkable.
United Nations launched into 2015 the agenda 2030 to promote sustainable development
through a global agreement. The agenda has 17 Sustainable Development Goals
as known as SDGs and each of them has a specific goals to help countries end with
poverty and other depravations, improve health and education, reduce inequality
and stimulate
economic growth, in addition to combating climate change and work to preserve
the oceans and forests. Specifically the SDG 13, dealt with actions against
global climate change. Climate change is an urgent usual worldwide. We have discussed
this. However, this concern is not new: in 1988 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change IPCC was founded 
and it was at this time that it gathered scientific information on climate events
and proposed mitigation solutions and alternatives for adapting to Natural or man-made 
phenomenon. The IPCC represents the world's greatest authority on the issue and
has been used as a basis for a guiding government decision-making.
According to the 2018 IPCC report, global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degrees
Celsius between to 2030 and 2052, if it continues to increase at the current rate.
As we have discussed, the consequences of this warming, as we also discussed on the
previous lecture, are unprecedented and their impacts are priceless. Our transport
systems are inefficient,
Pollution and drive CO2 , carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere, which directly harms the
environment and people's Health. The same can be said of our energy and food
systems. The livestock sector is also responsible for significant greenhouse gas
emission.
Therefore, we can tackle climate change by adopting sustainable Food Systems and
healthy diets. For this, we may reduce red and processed meat consumption and increase the consumption
of fruit and vegetables and also use sustainable transport instead of, for
example, we should walk, cycle and use the public transport, because this will clean
the air and increase physical
activity and reduce additional diseases, like obesity. So let's keep this information
of sustainable transport and sustainable Food Systems and healthy diets because
we're going to discuss this on the third lecture. Okay?! Myanmar is one of the
countries most affected by extreme weather events, and there are some reasons for
why the weather is changing. The climate
in Myanmar is already changing and between 1981 and 2010 average temperature increased
by 0.25 Celsius degrees. The pace of warming has been faster in Inland than
in coastal areas. Comparing these two areas and annual total rainfall increased slightly
between 1981 and 2010, with a greater rate of increase in coastal
areas than in inland. Recent events, such as Cyclone Nargis in 2008, Giri in
2010, and the extreme heat waves in 2010 ,flooding in 2015, and 2018, garbage fire in
Township of Yangon. All of these events have had disastrous impacts on Myanmar
people, environment and economy.
And this is obviously a result of increased rate of rainfall, increased average temperature,
and faster warming in inland, as we see here. Now increasing in temperature,
warming in inland more than coastal areas, and more rainfall is larger
rainfall then
the country used to have.
What are the practical impacts in Myanmar? First, on the natural environment:
we have changes to the sea level, as we've discussed a little bit; changes in temperature
norms, and precipitation rates and predictability. On the Human Side we have:
food production affected, habitability, potable water issues, and prevalence in
the spread of vector-borne disease.
We've also discussed this a little bit. So, as an overview... Myanmar is highly vulnerable
to the negative effects of the climate change and projected impacts are viewed through
the lens of the the most recent IPCC reports in climate models and discussed in
relation to two vulnerable areas in Burmese society and governance. So Myanmar's
environment, people in society are at
significat risk; higher temperatures, altered precipitation rate and
predictability. So, these are the most issues that we see in the natural environment.
Also, the higher sea levels will lead to habitability issues of low-lying and coastal
areas and reduced and
agriculture output that will affect food production. On the Human Side and we will
also have impact on the prevalence and spread of vector-borne disease and loss of
habitable land also impacting human side.
In 2015, as part of the Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes
and Disasters (BRACED) project also funded by the UK Department of International
Development, BBC Media Action carried out a survey with people in Myanmar.
Researchers interviewed 3,000 people between July and September of 2015 in five
geographic zones in Myanmar:
Coastal, Delta, Dry, Hilly and Plain. Using findings from the quantitative study,
BBC Media Action has built a Nationally representative
picture of how people in Myanmar live and deal with changes in the weather and
environment. Understanding a number of key
topics is essential for creating communication that motivates people to take action.
These include people's concerns in life, their perception of changes in the
climate, ways of adapting to these changes, preparations for extreme weather events,
and media access and the most trusted sources on issues relating to changes in the
weather and environment.
As shown in this infographic, people interviewed in Myanmar have perceived widespread
changes in the weather over the last 10 years. Many feel that temperatures are
on the ris,e while half of them feel that the rainfall has increased. So those are
perceptions collected through the survey and they also feel that the environment
has changed.
80% of respondents belief that the number of insects and
pests has increased and three in five
respondents perceived that the number of trees has decreased in the country. Finally,
many of the interviewed also noted pressure on agriculture production
in the country: over a quarter (about 28%) few that this has decreased over the
past decade.
And with this panel, we finish this lecture and recap what we've learned.
First, although global warming may bring some localized benefits, such as fewer
winter deaths in temperate climates
and increased food production in certain areas, the overall health effects of a changing
climate are overwhelmingly negative. In addition, climate change affects
many of the social and environmental determinants of Health, like clean air, safe drinking
water, sufficient food and secure shelter.
Second, the impact of climate change in the countries of the Global South (usually
with less financial resources and more vulnerable to the climate crisis) is quite
complex given the lower capacity to respond to extreme weather events, and which
can affect local agriculture and also food security.
Number three: environmental health focuses on human exposure to the environment
as a health risk, rather than on the the health of the environment itself.
Planetary Health though, is a transdisciplinary and systems-based approach that takes
into account the health of the people as it relates to our planet's
changing
conditions, such as, environmental, socialcultural, economic, political and more.
Number four: United Nations launched into 2015 the agenda 2030 to promote sustainable
development and is known as sustainable development goals or SDGs and each of them
has a specific goal to help countries end with poverty and other  deprivations,
improve health and education, reduce
inequality, stimulate economic growth, in addition to combating climate change and work to
preserve the oceans and forests.
Last but not least, Myanmar's environment, people and society are at
significant risk as we saw.
Higher temperatures, altered precipitation rates and rates and predictability,
higher sea levels, all of these will lead to habitability issues of low-lying and
coastal areas and reduced agricultural output that will affect food production.
In this first Hands-On activity, I invite
you to read this report, which I will give you some more information in one moment
and work out the questions that you find on the guide notes of this lecture. So, in
2012, The BBC Media Action conducted a large-scale study of people's everyday experience
of climate change and this study was funded also by the UK Department of
National Development. Some of the question that this report attempts to answer,
for example, how do people in Myanmar live with climate change now? how will
it impact shape people shape people's future? and how will they in turn shape their
environment? What are the most effective ways to support people to adapt to climate
change? and how best can the media and government and organizations and also business
communicate
with people, with them, around these issues? So, please download the report and
Hands-On activity!!! With this activity, we finished the first module of our course.
Thank you.