Image: Professor Peng Bi, Dr Olga Anikeeva and Temesgen Yihunie Akalu (Images above L-R)
Our flagship project Climate Adaptation and Ecosystem Services project consists of a series of eight linked sub-projects to guide adaptation planning across the region. One of these sub-projects entitled “Climate change and community health in Coorong: Using ecosystem services to better adapt” will consider how climate change impacts the region’s community health and identifies how we can adapt and become more climate resilient.
A team of epidemiologists from the University of Adelaide, Professor Peng Bi, Dr Olga Anikeeva and Temesgen Yihunie Akalu (Images above L-R) – are examining how the health of our community is affected by climate extremes. They are focusing on mental health, community vulnerability and vector-borne diseases, illnesses caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites, often transmitted to humans by bites from mosquitos or ticks.
Ecosystem Services are the direct and indirect contributions ecosystems (known as natural capital) provide for human wellbeing and quality of life.
“Our project looks at the benefits of the environment including clean air, water, food, and climate regulation and how they are, and will be, impacted by climate change. We need to plan for uncertain but inevitable climate created challenges,” says sub-project lead Peng Bi.
Growing evidence describes how climate extremes (droughts, floods, bushfires) negatively impact both the physical and mental health of vulnerable communities. The team will collect information in focus groups and interviews, seek broad community engagement and feedback, and hold a regional workshop to develop recommendations for adoption activities. Keep an eye on our socials and newsletter for when this will be occurring – in coming months.
Project researcher Olga explains “the project focuses on understanding how extreme heat and climate change affect human health, with a particular focus on high-risk groups including outdoor workers, and older people, both well represented in the region, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities”.
For project researcher Temesgen, high suicide rates and rising climate-sensitive diseases – such as recent public health alerts in the region about Japanese encephalitis – highlight the urgent need for adaptation strategies.
“These concerns led me to focus on the intersection of climate change, mental health, and community resilience through an ecosystem-based approach,” he says.
Together this project is providing crucial information on public health impacts, informing policy decisions and preventive measures. By producing locally relevant evidence on the health impacts of climate change, ecosystem-based, community-informed adaptation strategies can be developed to enhance health resilience in our populations.