Conservation as a public health strategy for climate change preparedness

The BCCDC/NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Speaker: Dr. Craig Stephen, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative

Abstract: A community’s capacity to cope with change and make incremental improvements to health may be a way interdisciplinary health teams can contribute positively to climate change preparedness, prevention, and adaptation. Most attention has been focused on social determinants of climate change vulnerability and resilience as well as on acute health outcomes such as heat exhaustion and zoonoses. This presentation will explore how nature conservation can be an essential component of building community resilience and can play a prominent role in public health planning. Wildlife health will be used to illustrate how nature contributes to multiple social and environmental determinants of health. A new perspective of health equity is offered that focusses on inter-generational and inter-species approaches.