#WeAreSydneyID - Planetary Health

I'm Dr Aaron Jenkins, working here at the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute. I lead the Pacific Planetary Health Hub. Planetary health is about how the health of our planet affects our own health.

We're all connected: chemicals in the soil, microbes, animals and humans. My research looks at how changes in the environment, like climate and water resources, impact the health of all systems.

Most people exist within a river basin or a catchment, which we call a watershed. Watersheds are degraded by human, and other impacts. Forests being chopped down. Chemical use in agriculture. Sewage runoff. Surfaces being covered by roads.

Climate change causes increased flooding, drought and cyclones in these areas where we live. Degraded watersheds are more likely to flood making soil more likely to erode, and populations become more vulnerable to the effects of climate as water related diseases like typhoid, leptospirosis and dengue fever increase.

So the health of the watershed plays such a huge role in our health and wellbeing.

I work in the Pacific region like the Solomons, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati and broader Oceania, here in Australia and New Zealand. Our region covers around one third of the world's oceans, and we know that oceans are one of the major factors determining climate.

My research team is focused on managing watersheds to protect biodiversity, working and learning with communities to adapt to climate change, improve health and create sustainable solutions for the future.