Author
Cristina Romanelli
Other affiliations: United Nations University, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations
Bio: Cristina Romanelli is an academic researcher from World Health Organization. The author has contributed to research in topics: Public health & Global health. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 14 publications receiving 1239 citations. Previous affiliations of Cristina Romanelli include United Nations University & United Nations Environment Programme.
Papers
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University College London1, University of London2, Johns Hopkins University3, Rockefeller Foundation4, United Nations University5, University of Washington6, Tsinghua University7, Harvard University8, Wildlife Conservation Society9, Duke University10, United States Environmental Protection Agency11, World Bank12
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify three categories of challenges that have to be addressed to maintain and enhance human health in the face of increasingly harmful environmental trends: conceptual and empathy failures (imagination challenges), such as an overreliance on gross domestic product as a measure of human progress, the failure to account for future health and environmental harms over present day gains, and the disproportionate eff ect of those harms on the poor and those in developing nations.
1,452 citations
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01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, the impacts of vegetation biodiversity on air quality and air quality on vegetation biodiversity is studied, which is essential to sustaining healthy and diverse ecosystems and for improving air quality, and consequently human health and well-being.
Abstract: Air pollution is a significant problem in cities across the world. It affects human health and well-being, ecosystem health, crops, climate, visibility and human-made materials. Health effects related to air pollution include its impact on the pulmonary, cardiac, vascular and neurological systems (Section 2). Trees affect air quality through a number of means (Section 3) and can be used to improve air quality (Section 4). However, air pollution also affects tree health and plant diversity (Section 5). Bioindicators can be useful for monitoring air quality and indicating environmental health (Section 6). Understanding the impacts of vegetation biodiversity on air quality and air quality on vegetation biodiversity is essential to sustaining healthy and diverse ecosystems, and for improving air quality and consequently human health and well-being.
179 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In the last two decades, the Rio Conventions have brought global attention to the impacts of anthropogenic change on the ecosystems of the planet as mentioned in this paper. But these changes are having both direct and indirect impacts on our climate and ecosystems.
Abstract: Health is our most basic human right and one of the most important indicators of sustainable
development. We rely on healthy ecosystems to support healthy communities and societies. Wellfunctioning
ecosystems provide goods and services essential for human health. These include
nutrition and food security, clean air and fresh water, medicines, cultural and spiritual values,
and contributions to local livelihoods and economic development. They can also help to limit
disease and stabilize the climate. Health policies need to recognize these essential contributions.
The three so-called Rio Conventions arising from the 1992 Earth Summit – the Convention on
Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – together aim to maintain well-functioning
ecosystems for the benefit of humanity.
There is growing evidence of the impacts of global environmental changes on ecosystems and
people, and a renewed consciousness among peoples and nations of the need to act quickly to
protect the planet’s ecological and climatic systems. In the last two decades, the Rio Conventions
have brought global attention to the impacts of anthropogenic change on the ecosystems of the
planet. Increasingly unsustainable practices are placing pressure on natural resources to meet
the demands of our economies and the needs of a rapidly growing global population, resulting
in soil, water and air pollution, increased emissions of greenhouse gases, deforestation and land
use change, expanded urban areas, introduction of non-native species, and inadequately planned
development of water and land resources to meet food and energy needs. These changes are having
both direct and indirect impacts on our climate, ecosystems and biological diversity. More
than ever, the pursuit of public health, at all levels from local to global, now depends on careful
attention to the processes of global environmental change.
Traditional knowledge and scientific evidence both point to the inexorable role of global environmental
changes in terms of their impact on human health and well-being. In many countries,
anthropogenic changes to agriculture-related ecosystems have resulted in great benefits for
human health and well-being, in particular through increased global food production and
improved food security. These positive impacts, however, have not benefited everyone, and
unsustainable levels of use of ecosystems have resulted in irreparable loss and degradation, with
negative consequences for health and well-being. These range from emerging infectious diseases
to malnutrition, and contribute to the rapid rise in noncommunicable diseases. Large-scale
human transformation of the environment has contributed to increased disease burdens associated
with the expansion of ecological and climatic conditions favourable for disease vectors. For
all humans, the provision of adequate nutrition, clean water, and long-term food security depend
directly on functioning agro-ecosystems and indirectly on the regulating ecosystem services
of the biosphere; these ecosystem services can be eroded if overexploited and poorly managed.
43 citations
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TL;DR: The links between climate change and its upstream drivers and health outcomes are reviewed, and existing opportunities to leverage more integrated global health and climate actions to prevent, prepare for, and respond to anthropogenic pressures are identified.
Abstract: Background Climate change has myriad implications for the health of humans, our ecosystems, and the ecological processes that sustain them. Projections of rising greenhouse gas emissions suggest increasing direct and indirect burden of infectious and noninfectious disease, effects on food and water security, and other societal disruptions. As the effects of climate change cannot be isolated from social and ecological determinants of disease that will mitigate or exacerbate forecasted health outcomes, multidisciplinary collaboration is critically needed. Objectives The aim of this article was to review the links between climate change and its upstream drivers (ie, processes leading to greenhouse gas emissions) and health outcomes, and identify existing opportunities to leverage more integrated global health and climate actions to prevent, prepare for, and respond to anthropogenic pressures. Methods We conducted a literature review of current and projected health outcomes associated with climate change, drawing on findings and our collective expertise to review opportunities for adaptation and mitigation across disciplines. Findings Health outcomes related to climate change affect a wide range of stakeholders, providing ready collaborative opportunities for interventions, which can be differentiated by addressing the upstream drivers leading to climate change or the downstream effects of climate change itself. Conclusions Although health professionals are challenged with risks from climate change and its drivers, the adverse health outcomes cannot be resolved by the public health community alone. A phase change in global health is needed to move from a passive responder in partnership with other societal sectors to drive innovative alternatives. It is essential for global health to step outside of its traditional boundaries to engage with other stakeholders to develop policy and practical solutions to mitigate disease burden of climate change and its drivers; this will also yield compound benefits that help address other health, environmental, and societal challenges.
31 citations
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TL;DR: The breadth and complexity of these relationships, and the socio-economic drivers by which they are influenced, in the context of rapidly shifting global trends, reaffirm the need for an integrative, multidisciplinary and systemic approach to the health of people, livestock and wildlife within the ecosystem context.
Abstract: Summary A better understanding of the links between biodiversity, health and disease presents major opportunities for policy development, and can enhance our understanding of how health-focused measures affect biodiversity, and conservation measures affect health. The breadth and complexity of these relationships, and the socio-economic drivers by which they are influenced, in the context of rapidly shifting global trends, reaffirm the need for an integrative, multidisciplinary and systemic approach to the health of people, livestock and wildlife within the ecosystem context. Loss of biodiversity, habitat fragmentation and the loss of natural environments threaten the full range of life-supporting services provided by ecosystems at all levels of biodiversity, including species, genetic and ecosystem diversity. The disruption of ecosystem services has direct and indirect implications for public health, which are likely to exacerbate existing health inequities, whether through exposure to environmental hazards or through the loss of livelihoods. One Health provides a valuable framework for the development of mutually beneficial policies and interventions at the nexus between health and biodiversity, and it is critical that One Health integrates biodiversity into its strategic agenda.
14 citations
Cited by
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TL;DR: The Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study provides a comprehensive assessment of all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2015, finding several countries in sub-Saharan Africa had very large gains in life expectancy, rebounding from an era of exceedingly high loss of life due to HIV/AIDS.
4,804 citations
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Harvard University1, Stockholm Resilience Centre2, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research3, University of Oxford4, City University London5, World Wide Fund for Nature6, Chatham House7, Environmental Change Institute8, University of California, Santa Barbara9, University of Minnesota10, CGIAR11, Johns Hopkins University12, American University of Beirut13, Wageningen University and Research Centre14, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation15, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur16, ETH Zurich17, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation18, University of Indonesia19, World Health Organization20, Food and Agriculture Organization21, International Food Policy Research Institute22, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences23, University of Auckland24, Public Health Foundation of India25, Centre for Science and Environment26
TL;DR: Food in the Anthropocene : the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems focuses on meat, fish, vegetables and fruit as sources of protein.
4,710 citations
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Mohsen Naghavi1, Amanuel Alemu Abajobir2, Cristiana Abbafati3, Kaja Abbas4 +598 more•Institutions (31)
TL;DR: The Global Burden of Disease 2016 Study (GBD 2016) provides a comprehensive assessment of cause-specific mortality for 264 causes in 195 locations from 1980 to 2016 as discussed by the authors, which includes evaluation of the expected epidemiological transition with changes in development and where local patterns deviate from these trends.
3,228 citations
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Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai1, Pure Earth2, World Bank3, University of Arizona4, McGill University5, Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests6, Qatar Airways7, University of Health Sciences Antigua8, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich9, Johns Hopkins University10, Boston College11, Chulabhorn Research Institute12, University of Maryland, College Park13, University of Ghana14, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares15, University of Chicago16, University of London17, University of Oxford18, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi19, Simon Fraser University20, Consortium of Universities for Global Health21, University of Ottawa22, Columbia University23, Stockholm Resilience Centre24, Massachusetts Institute of Technology25, University of Queensland26, University of California, Berkeley27, New York University28, National Institutes of Health29, Public Health Research Institute30, United Nations Industrial Development Organization31, Renmin University of China32
TL;DR: This book is dedicated to the memory of those who have served in the armed forces and their families during the conflicts of the twentieth century.
2,628 citations
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Royal Children's Hospital1, University of Melbourne2, Columbia University3, World Health Organization4, University of London5, American University of Beirut6, University of Oregon7, Public Health Foundation of India8, University College London9, Burnet Institute10, United Nations Population Fund11, University of Toronto12, Aga Khan University13, Obafemi Awolowo University14, Jawaharlal Nehru University15, UNICEF16, Kunming Medical University17
TL;DR: This Commission outlines the opportunities and challenges for investment in adolescent health and wellbeing at both country and global levels (panel 1).
1,976 citations