Submitted by
sandwitht
on Mon, 01/28/2019 - 14:16
General Information
Resolution
46481
Period covered
Activities to implement this Resolution from Activity Reports
| Relevant operative para(s) of Res/Rec | Activities Overview | Description | Status | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policy influencing/advocacy | ECO has pressed the connections between a healthy environment and healthy people and societies, and we have not been alone in this. The NZ Treasury, the Ministry for the Environment, Maori organisations and iwi (tribes), many health, recreation and community groups have done work in this area. One result of this is that we now have a national policy framework and a national well being budget. Within this framework, recognition of Maori rights and co-governance has become far more prominent and is being incorporated into policy, law and practice to a much greater degree than under previous governments. Mental health and engagement of people in the community in conservation is a significant part of this effort. Much of this has been led by community led organisations and an enlightened government. ECO's role has simply been to help articulate the ideas and to extend and endorse the work of leaders in this field. |
On-going | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | With the benefit of the work on this area by others in IUCN, including those who developed the World Parks Congress, Sydney, ECO has picked up on the health and well being aspects of nature conservation, and in New Zealand, a good deal of social connectedness from community based conservation, ECO has inserted these ideas into a range of policy and funding discussions. We have worked in partnership on biosecurity and networking for nature with a variety of organisations. In BioSecurity 2025, hosted by BioSecurity New Zealand of the Ministry of Primary Industries, with the Department of Conservation, the Ministry of Health, Regional Councils, Te Tira Whakamatau - the Maori BioSecurity Network, the Dairy companies's organisation, The Port of Tauranga, various and a Government-Industry biosecurity agreement group. One result of this is the campaign to engage the whole New Zealand community as a biosecurity team and to connect the many networks on biosecurity. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | _none | Full activity report | ||
| Policy influencing/advocacy | On-going | Full activity report | ||
| Capacity building | Established a new Healthy Parks Healthy People 2.0 strategy and implementation plan. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Capacity building | Established a new Sister Park relationship between Catoctin Mountain Park (Maryland, USA) and Schwarzwald (Black Forest) National Park (Germany), with shared interests in Healthy Parks Healthy People programs and research. | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Convene stakeholders/Networking | Organized and participated in an invitation-only think tank for forty people, entitled “Nature Rx: A Gateway to Better Health” in Jackson, Wyoming. This convening brought together approximately forty leading experts at a pre-conference event to SHIFT, with a purpose to discuss opportunities for mainstreaming “Nature Rx” as an integral element of national healthcare delivery systems. Panelists who kicked off the think tank event were representatives of US NPS Healthy Parks Healthy People, WebMD, Solera Health, Geisinger Health, and BlueCross Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | Delivered 125 Healthy Parks Healthy People Pioneer Awards to recognize the work of individuals, organizations, and teams all across the country during the inception of the National Park Service’s Healthy Parks Healthy People Program (2011-2016). | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | Hosted the third annual national Park Rx Day, during National Park Week, 2018. The national day proved successful in garnering 68 registered Park Rx Day events in 32 states across the United States ( up from 59 events in 26 states in 2017). Social media influencers included the US Surgeon General, American Academy of Pediatricians, and the Weather Channel. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Scientific/technical activities | Completed first draft of the Health Promoting Parks Assessment Tool, a collaborative project underway by the US National Park Service and the WHO/PAHO (Pan American Health Region of the WHO). | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Scientific/technical activities | Participated in Italy’s First Symposium on Climate Change and Health, hosted by the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS). The Italian National Health Institute invited the US National Park Service to join a panel presentation to share information on the topic of nature exposure and children’s health, The symposium assembled people from a broad array of sectors and interests, including research, academia, non-profit organizations, as well as representatives from the ministries of health and the environment, and the World Health Organization (WHO). | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | See report attached below | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | See report attached below | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | See report attached below | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | See report attached below | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | NSW OEH presented a paper to the 2018 Community, Conservation and Livelihoods Conference in Canada on the use of a ‘5 captials’ approach at a World Heritage site to demonstrate how improving stakeholder values will also help protect outstanding universal values of the site. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Healthy Parks Healthy People Strategy is in development and will provide a framework to promote the health and wellbeing benefit of existing programs, evaluate outcomes for health and wellbeing and natural values, influence health policies and strategies to include reference to nature and manage national parks to maximize health and wellbeing benefits. | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is working with other NSW government agencies that manage parklands in Western Sydney to protect natural values and provide opportunities for people to experience natural places in an area of rapid urbanisation. | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | NSW OEH staff spoke at the ‘Nature is Good Medicine’ forum at the 2018 International Parks and Leisure Conference in Melbourne on the importance of connection to Country to health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | NSW Office of Environment and Heritage is providing input to the development and revision of NSW government strategies relating to health and active recreation to recognise the importance of nature and the contribution of facilities and services provided in National Parks to health and well-being of local communities. |
On-going | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Corporate Strategy was released in 2018 and aims to ‘Connect Communities to Conservation and Culture’. It specifically recognises the contribution of a healthy environment to health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Scientific/technical activities | OEH has undertaken research to quantify the tourism and recreation value of all national parks in NSW (Heagney et al. 2018) and to identify key ‘socio-economic benefit pathways’ through which national parks can improve socio-economic wellbeing the surrounding local community (Heagney et al. 2015). Heagney, E. C., M. Kovac, et al. (2015) "Socio‐economic benefits from protected areas in south-eastern Australia." Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12554 Heagney, E. C et al. (2018). "Optimising recreation services from protected areas–Understanding the role of natural values, built infrastructure and contextual factors." Ecosystem Services. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.10.007 |
On-going | Full activity report |
Actors involved from Activity Reports
| IUCN Members | IUCN Commissions | IUCN Secretariat | Other non-IUCN related organisations |
|---|---|---|---|
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Challenges / lessons learned from Activity Reports
Upload document
Report status
Published
I. IUCN Constituencies implementing this Resolution
IUCN Members
Parks Victoria ( Australia )
AA7B75DB-B7A3-E011-96D3-002655853524
IUCN Commissions
F117E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
FB17E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
IUCN Secretariat
Yes
Other non-IUCN related organisations
World Urban Parks
II. Implementation
Activities carried out to implement this Resolution
Convene stakeholders/Networking
Education/Communication/Raising awareness
Policy influencing/advocacy
Describe the results/achievements of the activities
Activity reports detailing an impressive suite of contributions by Parks Victoria, US National Parks and a partnership of mainly Australian counterparts have been submitted. In particular, these activities have focused on raising awareness, both within government and across sectors, as well with the general public including visitors to parks of the important linkages between the conservation of nature and human health and well-being. At the policy level, submissions to the World Health Organisation, collated by Parks Victoria, have been included in revised policy and strategy.
IUCN, with the support of the WCPA Specialist Group on Health and Well-being, as well as many of the proponents of this resolution, prepared a policy brief on Biodiversity and Human Health and Well-being to inform IUCN's position on the issues contemplated at the Seventy-First World Health Assembly resulting in a resolution on biodiversity and health linkages and a broad programme of action, as well as at the Convention on Biological Diversity's 14th Conference of the Parties that resulted in a comprehensive decision COP/DEC/1/4 on Health and Biodiversity. See external links below.
The Conference of the Parties to the CBD has considered established an interagency liaison group on biodiversity and human health, co-convened by the Secretariat and the World Health Organization, and including a member of the IUCN Council among other core members. In particular, priority has been given to disseminating the State of Knowledge Review, and developing toolkits and good practice guidelines to apply the “One Health” Approach.
IUCN, with the support of the WCPA Specialist Group on Health and Well-being, as well as many of the proponents of this resolution, prepared a policy brief on Biodiversity and Human Health and Well-being to inform IUCN's position on the issues contemplated at the Seventy-First World Health Assembly resulting in a resolution on biodiversity and health linkages and a broad programme of action, as well as at the Convention on Biological Diversity's 14th Conference of the Parties that resulted in a comprehensive decision COP/DEC/1/4 on Health and Biodiversity. See external links below.
The Conference of the Parties to the CBD has considered established an interagency liaison group on biodiversity and human health, co-convened by the Secretariat and the World Health Organization, and including a member of the IUCN Council among other core members. In particular, priority has been given to disseminating the State of Knowledge Review, and developing toolkits and good practice guidelines to apply the “One Health” Approach.
Challenges/obstacles encountered in the implementation of this Resolution and measures taken
Working across sectors is a major challenge, but the WHA and CBD decisions pave the way for greater collaboration.
Future actions / activities needed for the implementation of this Resolution
The major needs are at two levels: to translate the policy frameworks at the level of the CBD and WHA into a programme of action; and secondly to activate the relevant actors at the level of nature conservation agencies globally to build on and expand the application of the experience in Australia more widely.
Are these actions/activities planned?
No
III. Status of implementation
Implementation status of this Resolution
Initiated: first stages of implementation