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Middleton et al 2017 Surfaces PHA Harvard Med Poster.pdf (1.33 MB)

Surfaces: An interdisciplinary project to understand and enhance health in the vulnerable rainforests of Papua New Guinea

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posted on 2023-06-09, 05:49 authored by Jo MiddletonJo Middleton, Jackie Cassell, Vojtech Novotny, Gavin Colthart, Mika PeckMika Peck, James FairheadJames Fairhead, Stephen L. Walker, Michael G. Head, Hayley MacgregorHayley Macgregor, Joao Inacio, Alan StewartAlan Stewart
Background New Guinea has the third largest tropical rainforest on Earth. However, one quarter of the forests of Papua New Guinea (PNG, New Guinea’s eastern half) have been cleared or degraded, nearly half through commercial logging.Sustainable development requires supporting good health (Sustainable Development Goal [SDG] 3) and protecting life on land (SDG 15). To remote communities in PNG with low levels of health provision, these goals can seem in conflict. Logging companies’ offer of roads and income can partly extinguish the remoteness that bars access to health services, making desire for health a driver for forest destruction and erosion of health related ecosystem services. Conservation success thus requires synergies be developed with delivery of other SDGs, particularly those pertaining to health. We aim to provide a model of integrated health and conservation in PNGs rainforests. Methods We are mapping and piloting biological, anthropological, and medical methods to address SDGs on health and biodiversity, focusing first on scabies and fungal diseases. At Wanang, team members have a long term collaboration with nine clans with unmet health needs who collectively chose to preserve their 10,000 hectare forest whilst surrounding communities allowed logging. Similar collaborations are being developed along an altitudinal transect on Mt.Wilheim (4,509m). Stage 1 of Surfaces will (i) systematically map evidence on integrated conservation and health programmes, (ii) conduct clinical examinations and rapid anthropological assessments to understand medical needs, and survey skin disease, and (iii) produce a case study of the Wanang agreement, based on interviews with participants. This will lay the foundation for a multi-year health intervention and interdisciplinary study. Findings We are in the projects’ early stages (so do not yet have findings), and would appreciate advice and suggestions of collaboration from others in the Planetary Health community. Funding Sussex Sustainability Research Programme, University of Sussex, UK. Contributions All authors have commented on multiple drafts and approved the final version of the abstract for publication. Conflicts of interest We declare we have no conflicts of interest. Acknowledgments We thank the projects partner communities; New Guinea Binatang Research Centre; and our advisory group.

Funding

Surfaces: an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and enhancing health in a vulnerable rainforest setting; Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP), University of Sussex

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Event name

Inaugural Planetary Health / GeoHealth Annual Meeting

Event location

Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

Event type

conference

Event date

28-30 April 2017

Department affiliated with

  • Primary Care and Public Health Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sussex Sustainability Research Programme Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • No

Legacy Posted Date

2017-04-19

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2017-04-19

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2017-04-19

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