In spite of lingering global public health problems, human wellbeing has never been better. In the past 65 years through scientific advancement, for example, the proportion of the world’s people living in extreme poverty has dropped from 63% to 10% in spite of a tripling of the global population. That same technological advancement that has pulled much of humanity out of extreme poverty and provided other dramatic human benefits, has also increased man’s the human ecological footprint and exploded consumption of natural resources.

The impacts on the planet’s natural systems have been extraordinary measured by the composition of the atmosphere, loss of biodiversity, acidification of the oceans and loss of tropical forests as well as rapidly changing environmental conditions led by climate change. Planetary Heath recognizes that the well being of humanity and degradation of the rest of the biosphere cannot remain disconnected much longer. Rapidly changing environmental conditions alter our exposures to infectious diseases, such as COVID 19, and natural hazards including heat waves, droughts, floods, fires, and tropical storms. Our species has been slow to systematically address the devastating impact we have had on the planet that also threatens continued human wellbeing in spite of 40 years of international attempts by the United Nations and other international bodies. COVID 19 is forcing all sectors of society to rethink how they operate and remain resilient in a post COVID future.

Join Island Press and Security and Sustainability Forum in an insightful discussion about the potential for A New Deal for Planetary Health. Building on the new Island Press Publication, Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves, the webinar, led by the book editors Howard Frumkin and Samuel Myers, will explore reframing planetary health thinking to reimagine food, energy, placemaking, chemistry, and the economy in ways that can leads to a convergence of human wellbeing and the protection of natural systems.

A talk by Dr. Sam Myers, Director of the Planetary Health Alliance & Principal Research Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on his recently published book, Planetary Health.

The Conference will take place on four days: December 5-6 and 12-13. Each day of the Conference will be presented in two parts:

Part 1: Plenary Session and Panels

Part 1 of the 2020 Bioneers Conference feature topic experts, discussing and presenting on world-changing solutions, combined with performances, arts interludes, films and other content. The format of the Main Conference will be as follows:

• A richly produced and visually engaging 75 minute period of keynote presentations from Bioneers speakers, with arts and performance woven throughout. 
• A 75 minute period of concurrent breakout sessions, featuring keynote speakers alongside visionary leaders from a vast range of fields. Attendees will have the ability to choose between a small handful of concurrent panels on varying topics. These sessions will be presented webinar style, with opportunities for Q & A and ongoing dialogue. 

Part 2: Fully Interactive/Participatory Sessions (additional registration required)

Directly after Part 1, Part 2 of the 2020 Bioneers Conference will begin, and it’s all about connection. Participants will be able to sign up for one of a variety of 90 minute participatory sessions and workshops, hosted and moderated to support the community to connect directly with each other and learn together around timely and relevant topics of interest. Additional advance registration is required in order to manage the number of attendees in each session to allow for actual interaction and conversation to take place. If you’re interested, sign up for your session of choice ASAP. 

To see the complete schedule of speakers and sessions, visit our 2020 Bioneers Conference Daily Schedule.

On December 6, at 12:30 PM a panel discussion at the conference will take place on: Public Health/Planetary Health/One Health

The current pandemic has starkly revealed what the most thoughtful experts from a wide range of fields, from public health to environmental justice to ecology, have been telling us for decades: human health is completely interconnected with the health of ecosystems and with social equity. If we continue the intense degradation of wildlife habitats, the perennial emergence of virulent zoonotic diseases is all but inevitable. If we don’t rethink our current food system, we’ll continue to confront problems ranging from deforestation to obesity. If we don’t decarbonize our economy, we’ll confront ever-worsening health and environmental degradation. If we don’t address gross social and environmental injustices and structural racism, pollution-induced illnesses and epidemics will be impossible to contain. How do we rise to the challenge and radically restructure our entire approach to health? With: William B. Karesh, Ph.D., Executive Vice President for Health and Policy at EcoHealth Alliance, President of the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) Working Group on Wildlife Diseases and chair of the IUCN Wildlife Health Specialist Group; Howard Frumkin, Professor Emeritus, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health, co-editor of the new groundbreaking collection Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves; others TBA

It’s no secret that human health and the health of Earth’s systems — in particular, the air, water, biodiversity, and climate — are inextricably linked. It’s also no secret that Earth’s systems are changing in ways that can feel daunting and unwieldy. But with all great change comes great opportunity, and the emerging field of Planetary Health offers glimmers of hope rooted in actions, strategies, and a deepened understanding of our interconnectedness.

In Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves, editor and University of Washington professor Howard Frumkin brings together a comprehensive collection of topics to guide our understanding of how a changing environment affects our health. With contributions by dozens of authors, the book covers a wide range of health impacts that include food and nutrition, infectious disease, non-communicable disease, mental health, and more. But the goal of the book isn’t to deliver a message of doom; it also offers optimistic strategies to combat the ill effects of environmental changes, such as controlling toxic exposures, investing in clean energy, and improving urban design, among others. Together, the two dichotomies illustrate how an interconnected approach to public health can benefit both people and the planet. In person in the Town Hall Forum, Frumkin talks about the field of Planetary Health, our changing environment, its impact on everyone from health professionals to students — and far beyond.

IN SAN FRANCISCO & ONLINE WORLDWIDE -- May 13-15 (all day)

We’re in the thick of a civilizational stress test. It feels like a permanent five-alarm emergency, signaling that massive change is inevitable. But it’s more than just change – this scenario demands authentic transformation. Although the tide is turning, the existential challenge is that time is not on our side. We need to fast-forward the transformation. At Bioneers 2022, we’ll dive deep into solutions, visions, strategies and paradigm shifts to do just that.

At this moment, our power lies in community. It’s about changing our societal pronoun from “me” to “we.” We know the solutions residing in nature surpass our conception of what’s even possible, and we know that human creativity is rising to solve the fundamental crises we face. There’s a window through, and we'll open it together.

The 2022 Bioneers conference will include Planetary Health author Samuel Myers as a featured speaker, and Island Press is offering a discount code for 15% off conference tickets: 360C3315

We’re excited to return to an in-person event this year in San Francisco, CA, at the Palace of Fine Arts, with live virtual access worldwide for those who can’t make it in person.