Oral Abstract Details

Author(s):
Andrew Adam-Bradford

Affiliation:
University of Sheffield, UK

Presentation Type:
Oral

Topic Area:
Ecosystem impacts on human communities (e.g., human health, economic well-being, political action)

Abstract Text:
Urbanisation and the rapid transition of ‘rural’ to ‘urban’ brings multiple challenges for local authorities, planners, development practitioners, farmers, and local communities. Some of the challenges include waste disposal, wastewater treatment, disaster risk reduction (i.e. bushfire, flood, mudslides), and food security. The risk and severity of these challenges depend not only on broader geographical location (for example north or south, tropical or temperate, or low, medium or high income county), but also on the specific location along the urban-rural continuum. If that continuum is under rapid transition, as in many so called ‘developing countries’, then such risks and vulnerabilities are likely to be substantially increased. Anthropogenic impacts to ecosystems, ecosystems services and human health are complex and multi-dimensional but clear patterns related to industrial location, population distribution, regional topography, climates, and the type and location of ecosystem services are identifiable. This paper illustrates a systems planning and design approach for the urban-rural continuum to: 1) Identify health risks and health risk pathways, 2) Develop health risk analysis tools (e.g. contaminant pathway mapping), and 3) Develop health risk mitigation tools (e.g. land zoning/crop selection strategies). Data is used from urban and peri-urban case studies including recent research from China, Ghana, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Uganda and United Kingdom and Vietnam, using an interdisciplinary approach. The findings have clear potential for reducing anthropogenic risk in ecosystems and ecosystem services thus contributing to human health improvements, reductions in human vulnerability and the building of resilient communities along the urban-rural continuum.