The implications of the concepts One Health and Planetary Health for the environmental medicine of the 21st century

Abstract

In the 21st century, an accumulation of complex crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental pollution, wars, and pandemics is leading to economic, social, and health problems for people of current and future generations. These problems are essentially due to the disregard of natural regenerative capacities of ecosystems. Health approaches such as One Health and Planetary Health have gained popularity since the early 2000s and are increasingly used in politics, science, and the health professions. Environmental medicine is also influenced by the growing number of crises and environmental problems and the increasing interest in the concepts of One Health and Planetary Health. In this discussion paper, the development of the two concepts is first presented. Then, their significance for environmental medicine will be discussed. Health professionals working on environmental medicine issues must now consider both local and global causes and health effects when assessing environmental impacts, which can complicate decisions and lead to conflicting objectives.