David J. Rapport - Murdoch University
Transcript of David J. Rapport - Murdoch University
David J. Rapport Principal, Ecohealth Consulting
and
Adjunct Professor, Institute for Applied Ecology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang
Ecocultural Health for a Sustainable Future
2012 Keith Roby Memorial Lecture
1992 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity
WARNING: We the undersigned, senior members of the world's scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.
Signed by 1700 scientists including a majority of Nobel Laureates in the Sciences.
Annual Loss of Primary Forest – 50,000 km2/year; 16,000
species threatened with extinction (United Nations)
Trends in Marine Fish Stocks
Marine Fisheries Outlook!
Access to Drinking Water
Food Security
The human population has reached the point “where the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is
available” (UN)
Global Warming 1880-2011
CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels 1990-2010
A key recommendation from “Scientists’ Warning to Humanity” was to bring fossil fuel emissions under control.
How well have we done?
World Population Projections 1950-2050
Global Living Planet Index 2012
Living Planet Index by Categories
Environmental Refugees
Fifty million “environmental
refugees” will flood into
the global north by 2020,
fleeing food shortages
sparked by climate change.
(AAAS Symposium, 2011)
WHO estimates 2.2 million
deaths in developing countries
attributable to food shortages
and water-borne diseases.
Human Health Impacts of Ecological Imbalance
Vector-Borne Diseases: Malaria, Dengue, Schistosomiasis, Lyme Disease
Land-use changes, global warming
Water-Borne Diseases: Cholera, Cryptosporidiosis, Dysentery
Eutrophication
Infectious Diseases: Avian Influenza
Land-use changes, inappropriate agricultural and animal raising practices
Pandemics: AIDS Human encroachment on wild areas
Malnutrition Unsustainable agricultural practices; loss of wild foods
Henry Kendall, Nobel Laureate in Physics
“Make no mistake about it, this is warfare!”
Kenneth E. Boulding, Distinguished Economist
“Anyone who believes in
indefinite growth in anything
physical, on a physically
finite planet, is either mad
or an economist.”
The President’s Council of Economic Advisors
Ecosystem as Handmaiden to Economy
Ecosystem Services
Value of Ecosystem Services for Several Habitat Types [from Costanza et al (1997) and Duarte et al (2008)]
The Ecosystem Health Perspective
Humans are part of, not separate from their ecosystems. Our economy, health, cultural and social practices are dependent on the health of our ecosystems.
This example, designed for medical students, shows the context for personal health is the family, society, ecosystem, and the world (biosphere).
Ecosystem Distress Syndrome (EDS) has taken far more lives than AIDS.
The Baltic Sea from Space
Finnish Research Vessel “Aranda”
Baltic Sea Algal Blooms and Dead Zones
Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea
Hazardous Substances in the Baltic Sea
Biodiversity Status of the Baltic Sea
Health Status of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea Action Plan
Eco-cultural Health in the Sierra Tarahumara, Mexico
Sierra Tarahumara Landscape (Northern Mexico)
Rarámuri Settlement
Community Participation, Sierra Tarahumara
Rarámuri Meeting in the Field
Irrigation for Backyard Gardens
Mountain Spring Water
Laying Down Drinking Water Pipeline
Ecosystem Health in Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolian Sedentarized Herders
Overgrazing in the Inner Mongolian Grasslands
Overgrazing in the Inner Mongolian Grasslands
Desertification in Inner Mongolia
Experimental Enclosures for Grassland Regeneration
Experiments with Tree Saplings
Boulding’s Laws of the Universe
1st Law:
‘Everything that has happened is possible.’
2nd Law: ‘Not everything that is possible has yet
happened.’