The 88th RIHN seminar
Abstract:
EcoHealth Research aims to generate new knowledge on how ecosystem changes affect human health and food security and on how human behaviors have affected such ecosystem. Laguna de Bay, the largest Philippine lake, consists of 24 watersheds covering Metro Manila and 5 provinces. This breakthrough research, focusing mainly on the Silang-Santa Rosa Watershed, has unraveled environmental toxics, primarily lead, affecting the physical and mental health of the poorest communities, epidemiological shifts of diseases and patterns of hunger and food insecurity due to persistent floods, soil erosions, water pollution, aquatic food contamination amidst rapid land use changes and urbanization. With trans disciplinary researchers from the fields of medicine, public health, environmental science, agriculture, economics, toxicology, epidemiology, information technology, public policy and social sciences, the challenge of social transformation involving poor communities with local and national government policy makers using research results becomes imperative. Through community participatory methodologies and community forums, regular dialogues with the Laguna Lake Development Authority and the City Government of Santa Rosa called Yaman ng Lawa or Blessings of the Lake, the eventual outcome will be a community?based and local government health, food and environment risks management model towards sustainable community managed watersheds.
Key Words:
Ecohealth, Public health, Food Security, Environmental toxics, land use change, transdisciplinary, community–management, local government partnership, public policy development.
Contact:
KURATA Takashi (Associate Professor, RIHN)
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku,
Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan
Phone : +81-75-707-2382
Fax : +81-75-707-2513
E-mail:
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