In November 2017, the Planetary Health Alliance issued a call for planetary health case studies to strengthen and expand the field of planetary health by shining a light on cross-sectoral solutions that optimize human health in the face of anthropogenic environmental change. After receiving submissions and proposals from organizations and institutions worldwide, ten diverse case studies were chosen to create a cohesive anthology of examples ranging in thematic area, problem-solving approach, ecosystem characteristics, and geographic region. Our freelance Case Study Writer, Hilary Duff, traveled the world in 2018-2019 conducting interviews with stakeholders and organization leads to build this anthology of planetary health stories. These cases invite students to reflect on the pressing realities of people living in vulnerability, the complex connections between people and planet, and how the anthropogenic acts of one generation can reverberate through the next.
By weaving together science and stories from individual and community solution-builders around the world, each case study is an opportunity for learners and educators to effectively connect theory with practice and broad knowledge with local realities. In conjunction with other planetary health education resources, such as
Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves, this anthology seeks to be part of a learning process that equips planetary health citizens with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values relevant to planetary health practice, and enables them to integrate these planetary health competencies into solution-driven actions in the near future.
It is important to highlight that these cases do not provide definitive solutions to planetary health challenges, but rather train learners to generate similar co-beneficial approaches as a group through collaborative work and team decision-making. To achieve this, cases are accompanied by structured teaching guides, which provide an overview of the main themes covered in each case study, as well as learning objectives that can be modified according to learner levels and other contextual factors.