Addressing the Environmental, Community, and Health Impacts of Resource Development: Challenges across Scales, Sectors, and Sites
by
Margot W. Parkes 1,2,*
, Sandra Allison 1,3,4, Henry G. Harder 1, Dawn Hoogeveen 1,5, Diana Kutzner 1, Melissa Aalhus 3, Evan Adams 6, Lindsay Beck 6, Ben Brisbois 1, Chris G. Buse 1,7, Annika Chiasson 8, Donald C. Cole 9, Shayna Dolan 1, Anne Fauré 10, Raina Fumerton 3,4, Maya K. Gislason 11, Louisa Hadley 1, Lars K. Hallström 12, Pierre Horwitz 13, Raissa Marks 8, Kaileah McKellar 9, Helen Moewaka Barnes 14, Barbara Oke 3, Linda Pillsworth 6, Jamie Reschny 1, Dionne Sanderson 6, Sarah Skinner 15, Krista Stelkia 6, Craig Stephen 16, Céline Surette 17, Tim K. Takaro 11 and Cathy Vaillancourt 18,19
Margot W. Parkes 1,2,*, Sandra Allison 1,3,4, Henry G. Harder 1, Dawn Hoogeveen 1,5, Diana Kutzner 1, Melissa Aalhus 3, Evan Adams 6, Lindsay Beck 6, Ben Brisbois 1, Chris G. Buse 1,7, Annika Chiasson 8, Donald C. Cole 9, Shayna Dolan 1, Anne Fauré 10, Raina Fumerton 3,4, Maya K. Gislason 11, Louisa Hadley 1, Lars K. Hallström 12, Pierre Horwitz 13, Raissa Marks 8, Kaileah McKellar 9, Helen Moewaka Barnes 14, Barbara Oke 3, Linda Pillsworth 6, Jamie Reschny 1, Dionne Sanderson 6, Sarah Skinner 15, Krista Stelkia 6, Craig Stephen 16, Céline Surette 17, Tim K. Takaro 11 and Cathy Vaillancourt 18,19
1
School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
2
Northern Medical Program, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
3
Northern Health Authority, Prince George, BC V2M 4T8, Canada
4
Faculty of Medicine, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
5
Department of Geography, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
6
First Nations Health Authority, Vancouver, BC V7T 1A2, Canada
7
Centre for Environmental Assessment Research, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
8
New Brunswick Environmental Network, Moncton, NB E1C 1L8, Canada
9
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T3M7, Canada
10
Environmental Studies Program, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB E1A 3E9, Canada
11
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
12
Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities, University of Alberta, Camrose, AB T4V 2R3, Canada
13
Centre for Ecosystem Management, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
14
SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre, Massey University, Auckland 1141, New Zealand
15
Battle River Watershed Alliance, Camrose, Alberta T4V 0N6, Canada
16
Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, Canada
17
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB E1A 3E9, Canada
18
Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Well-Being, Health, Society and Environment (Cinbiose), Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P.8888, succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada
19
INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier, Laval, QC H7V 1B7, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Challenges 2019, 10(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe10010022
Received: 1 February 2019 / Revised: 3 March 2019 / Accepted: 5 March 2019 / Published: 20 March 2019
(This article belongs to the Collection The Emerging Concept of Planetary Health: Connecting People, Place, Purpose and Planet)
Work that addresses the cumulative impacts of resource extraction on environment, community, and health is necessarily large in scope. This paper presents experiences from initiating research at this intersection and explores implications for the ambitious, integrative agenda of planetary health. The purpose is to outline origins, design features, and preliminary insights from our intersectoral and international project, based in Canada and titled the “Environment, Community, Health Observatory” (ECHO) Network. With a clear emphasis on rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, environments, and health, the ECHO Network is designed to answer the question: How can an Environment, Community, Health Observatory Network support the integrative tools and processes required to improve understanding and response to the cumulative health impacts of resource development? The Network is informed by four regional cases across Canada where we employ a framework and an approach grounded in observation, “taking notice for action”, and collective learning. Sharing insights from the foundational phase of this five-year project, we reflect on the hidden and obvious challenges of working across scales, sectors, and sites, and the overlap of generative and uncomfortable entanglements associated with health and resource development. Yet, although intersectoral work addressing the cumulative impacts of resource extraction presents uncertainty and unresolved tensions, ultimately we argue that it is worth staying with the trouble.
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Keywords:
cumulative impacts; determinants of health; ecosystem approaches to health; extractive industries; intersectoral action for health; partnered research; public health; research design; resource development; rural; remote and northern health
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Parkes, M.W.; Allison, S.; Harder, H.G.; Hoogeveen, D.; Kutzner, D.; Aalhus, M.; Adams, E.; Beck, L.; Brisbois, B.; Buse, C.G.; Chiasson, A.; Cole, D.C.; Dolan, S.; Fauré, A.; Fumerton, R.; Gislason, M.K.; Hadley, L.; Hallström, L.K.; Horwitz, P.; Marks, R.; McKellar, K.; Moewaka Barnes, H.; Oke, B.; Pillsworth, L.; Reschny, J.; Sanderson, D.; Skinner, S.; Stelkia, K.; Stephen, C.; Surette, C.; Takaro, T.K.; Vaillancourt, C. Addressing the Environmental, Community, and Health Impacts of Resource Development: Challenges across Scales, Sectors, and Sites. Challenges 2019, 10, 22.
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