The need for interdisciplinary solutions to climate change exemplified by harmful algal blooms

Abstract

It is generally understood that climate change is both a threat to health and a complex problem that requires accordingly complex solutions. In this commentary piece, I discuss the causes for and health implications of harmful algal blooms (HABs). I describe the effects that these blooms have on communities across Canada, especially in the Northern regions with particular focus on Indigenous communities who experience disproportionate harms due to HABs. I then examine Arctic Canada as a case study to motivate an interdisciplinary approach to understanding HABs which spans disciplines and knowledge systems. In doing this, I hope to illustrate the point that the causes and effects of HABs pose a problem too large to adequately address through any one field of study because of the complex and nebulous factors involved. Thus, the examination of this problem through alternative disciplines, ways of thinking, and world views, otherwise known as a “One Health”, collaborative, or trans-disciplinary approach, is warranted.