Reproduction and Planetary Health - a concept for our future
One of the goals of the Science Advocate is to connect people to science and ultimately elevate its role in the community and government. As you may know by now, the Science Advocate’s area of expertise is reproductive biology. But why is successful reproduction so critical, and how does it relate to you?
Without reproduction, life wouldn’t exist. This crucial sentence, courtesy of Reproductive Health Australia, summarises why reproduction is vital for our planet. Reproduction is not needed for individual survival, but species survival is entirely dependent on reproduction. Think of every living thing you have ever come across – every ant, elephant, mushroom and bacterium – they all exist solely because of successful reproduction.
Successful reproduction has many requirements. There are the basic ones, such as food and water availability, and there are the more nuanced ones, such as physical safety (i.e., a home) and climate conditions. The availability of these factors is informed by the interactions and intricate relationships between all living species on our planet. In other words, the planet’s ability to help organisms reproduce is dependent on all of us doing our part. If we help the planet to be healthy, it will help us to be healthy. It is a beautiful but often overlooked and abused relationship.
The Planetary Health Alliance defines planetary health as ‘a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analysing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to Earth’s natural systems on human health and all life on Earth’. Put simply, planetary health is the overall state of wellbeing of both humanity and the natural systems around it. Planetary health is inextricably linked to reproduction. Adequate planetary health requires intricate species relationships and interactions, but these can only occur if species are able to reproduce and thrive. Without reproduction, species numbers will decline, resulting in extinction and impaired planetary health.
Unfortunately, humans have had a significant effect on species survival and planetary health. While human health has been generally increasing, it has largely been at the expense of planetary health. Human pressure on the global environment is evident in many ways, including climate change, increased carbon dioxide emissions, forest degradation, overfishing and the effects of urbanisation. These are big problems and they can seem pretty irrelevant to the common person, so let us break it down. Even small actions can have negative consequences for the planet. Using plastic bags at the grocer’s, leaving the lights on in an unused room, excessive food waste, even using the full flush instead of the half flush, all contribute to the pressure on our planet.
However, progressing towards a healthy planet first requires humans to understand the relationship between us and the natural systems of the world. Therefore, at the Science Advocate we believe in empowering humans with knowledge, not criticising us for our actions. So, in the same way a small action can impact the environment negatively, there are some things you can do to have a positive effect on the planet. These include switching to reusable cotton bags for shopping, installing solar panels, using home water tanks, turning off the lights when leaving a room, and cycling or using public transport where you can.
It is important to remember that helping the planet will help us. Planetary health includes human health, so working towards a healthy environment means boosting humanity’s survival as well.
If you would like to know more about planetary health, check out Reproductive Health Australia, the Planetary Health Alliance and The Lancet Planetary Health for more information.
Knowledge is power,
The Science Advocate
References:
https://planetaryhealthalliance.org/faqs/
https://reproductivehealthaustralia.org.au/health-planetary
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/home
https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(15)60901-1.pdf
