October 2, 2023 - Doctors for the Environment Australia recognises the deep connections between forests, human health and planetary health. Doctors for the Environment Australia strongly support the following actions :● Cessation of native ...
Biodiversity
Natural ecosystems support our health by filtering our air, providing fresh water and food, regulating our climate, directly improving human health and protecting against the spread of disease and pests.
They also foster our mental wellbeing and serve as places of recreation and sources of nature-based jobs in tourism and other vocations. Furthermore, with over one third of all medicines known to humans being derived from nature, protected ecosystems are a form of innovative capital for future medical advances. Ecosystems are the foundations of biodiversity, the infinite variation in life forms. Human resilience in the face of sudden and catastrophic shifts to the planet’s life-support systems is strengthened by this variety of life on earth.
Doctors for the Environment Australia is focused on the complex interaction between human health and our natural environment and is therefore interested in environmental degradation, particularly the loss of biodiversity and the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on human health and social stability. A global environment that supports biodiversity is better able to support human health. This is a topic of utmost urgency, and of great political and cultural complexity. It is also deeply fascinating as we continue to better understand the ways in which time spent in nature can help both prevent and cure common lifestyle related diseases.
Biodiversity Resources
POLICY PAPER AND POSITION STATEMENT ON BIODIVERSITY
The health case for ending native forest logging and establishing the Great Forest National Park in Victoria
DEA’s Biodiversity Policy (Nov 2019)
DEA’s Biodiversity Position Statement (Nov 2019)
FACTSHEETS ON BIODIVERSITY
Zoonoses are infectious diseases that can be passed from an animal to a human. There has been increase in zoonotic diseases over the past 30 years, posing major risks from diseases like COVID-19 (August 2020)
Forests and native vegetation like grasslands, wetlands and woodlands support our health and the environment in which we live. (Jan 2019)
Land clearing has wide ranging and harmful implications for human health (Jan 2019)
PRESENTATIONS ON BIODIVERSITY
PowerPoint presentation that details why environmental sustainability is core business for health professionals and an essential part of health education. (July 2018)
DEA SUBMISSIONS RELATED TO BIODIVERSITY
2019-20 Review of the EPBC Act (April 2020)
EPBC Act Review Interim Report – DEA response (July 2020)
Australia’s faunal extinction crisis (August 2019)
Measuring what matters
May 31, 2023 - DEA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Measuring what matters second consultation process. The proposed indicators show a welcome move away from narrow economic indicators such as GDP that ...
Nature Repair Market bill submission
May 31, 2023 - Doctors for the Environment welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Nature Repair Market bill which has important implications for the health and wellbeing of Australians, both now ...
Media release: Victorian Government’s end to native forest logging is a win for the environment and for health
May 26, 2023 - Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) welcomes the Victorian Government’s decision to end native forest logging by January next year- six years ahead of schedule. Victorian DEA Chair Dr ...
MJA: Why losing Australia’s biodiversity matters for human health- insights from the latest State of the Environment assessment
April 17, 2023 - Only with a healthy planet can we ensure healthy people. Yet while there is increasing understanding about the effects of climate change on our environment and our health, much less ...
Chats for Change with WWF-Australia – Can Trees Save Us?
March 10, 2023 - DEA’s Dr Kim Loo joins Olympic swimming champion, Bronte Campbell, and WWF’s resident tree expert, Dr Stuart Blanch to explore why trees are crucial for our health in the first ...
‘Difference between life and death’: Doctors sound alarm on western Sydney’s lack of trees
March 6, 2023 - A group of doctors has issued a dire health warning about the lack of trees Western Sydney reports 9News. Doctors for the Environment Australia member Dr Cybele Dey said “People ...
Launch of joint DEA and WWF-A report: Trees. The forgotten heroes for our health
March 6, 2023 - Dr Cybele Dey, Dr Stuart Blanch, and Dr Kim Loo have launched a joint DEA/WWF-Australia report on the health benefits of trees. We all need trees. They’re not only magnificent, ...
Singleton Horticulture Project submission
February 20, 2023 - While we await the finding of the Supreme Court into the legality of the water licence, we have here outlined a range of other critical environmental, social and health issues ...
Media Release: Victorian Government urged to end native forest logging
November 10, 2022 - As the federal government considers joining the global push to halt deforestation by 2030 at COP27 this week, the Victorian government is facing calls at home to end native forest ...
Submission to the Consultation Paper on Native Forest Wood Waste in the Renewable Energy Target
October 10, 2022 - Because of the serious environmental consequences of burning native forest biomass for electricity generation, no case can be made for its continuation.Importantly, the burning of native forest biomass adds to ...
Make a #NaturePact
August 27, 2021 - DEA is excited to partner with the People and Parks Foundation in this year’s #NaturePact campaign, which runs from 1-30 September. So, why don’t you sign up for September’s #NaturePact as a way to ...
MEDIA RELEASE: Doctors call for emergency National Heritage Listing for takayna/ Tarkine – for health’s sake
June 28, 2021 - Tasmanian doctors have today written an open letter to federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley, calling for an emergency National Heritage Listing of takayna/ Tarkine on health grounds. The Tasmanian Committee of Doctors ...
Mr Morrison, the G7 Summit and the report “Biodiversity, Natural Capital and the Economy”
June 10, 2021 - “When Mr Morrison arrives at the G7 Leaders Summit later this week he will have before him a report on Biodiversity and if he reads and understands it he will ...
Submission to the Inquiry into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Regional Forest Agreements)Amendment Bill 2020
May 4, 2021 - Australia’s forests and woodlands are some of the most biodiverse ecosystemson the planet. They have unique intrinsic value but also make vital contributionsto human health.It is abundantly clear that over ...
An open letter to the Andrews’ Government: Less talk, more protection for nature
April 27, 2021 - Over forty state, national and international groups representing hundreds of thousands of Victorians, call on the Andrews’ Government to accept recommendations for new national parks in Victoria’s central west.
Review says government must act decisively to overhaul Australia’s major environmental laws
February 9, 2021 - Last week, the long-awaited final report from a legislated 10 year review of the EPBC Act was released. DEA welcomes its recognition of the fundamental failings of the Act and its call for far-reaching reforms to improve environmental protections and restoration in Australia.
Pre-Budget submission 2021
January 22, 2021 - Human health and the environment are facing massive challenges. DEA made recommendations that include the recognition of and funding for the impending health crises imposed by climate change and the ...
Croakey: Where was Australia during the UN biodiversity summit?
October 21, 2020 - Given Australia’s rich natural endowment, Northern Territory GP Dr Rosalie Schultz asks: why was Australia missing in action during the recent United Nations Biodiversity Summit? If, as our representatives stated ...
The Mercury Talking Point: Support your kids in climate strike today
September 25, 2020 - The health of the planet and human health are intimately linked and putting public money into climate-wrecking fossil fuels such as gas is one road map we don’t want to ...