The new health project, Global Environmental Change and Human Health, is co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation and will be formerly announced at the ESSP Open Science Conference, Beijing, on Friday 10 November.

To date there has been little formal description and study of the relationships between global environmental change (GEC) and human health, and of the ways in which social institutions and processes modulate those relationships. Ecosystem disruptions, species extinctions, degradation of food-producing systems, the perturbation of cycling of elements and nutrients, and the spread of cities all pose risks to the wellbeing and health of human populations and need further study.

ESSP's new Global Environmental Change and Human Health project aims to:

• Identify and quantify health risks posed by GEC, now and in the near future;
• Describe spatial (geographic, inter-population) and temporal differences in health risks, to better understand vulnerabilities and priorities for interventions;
• Develop adaptation strategies for reducing health risks, assess their cost-effectiveness, and communicate results (especially to decision-makers);
• Foster research training programs to boost networked international research capacity in GEC and Human Health.

The scenarios the project produces will form a new, dynamic and integrative node in the developing domain of Earth System Science. They will help focus on policy options that ensure a healthier and more sustainable future.

Co-Chairs of the Health Project are Anthony McMichael with the National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, and Ulisses Confalonieri with the National School of Public Health, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Related sessions:
Plenary Session 2
Friday, 10 November, 8:30 to 10:30
Convention Hall 1, Beijing International Convention Cent
'"/>

Contact: Mary Ann Williams
osc@essp.org
468-673-9562
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
9-Nov-2006