One Health Approaches to Urbanization, Water and Food Security

By 2050, 70% of human populations will reside in urban areas with a majority living along the coasts. Such high population densities result in elevated demand for food, energy, and water and other resources, including chemicals, and generate waste and pollutants which are then concentrated in these urban areas. Environment and health implications of global megatrends, including environmental quality intersections with the food – energy – water nexus, present challenges and unique opportunities to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For example, global food production must increase by 50% over the next few decades to meet the increasing population demands. Agriculture and aquaculture will play important roles in meeting these needs, but face challenges from increasing rainfall uncertainty and increased vector borne diseases due to climate change. Many of the complex interlinked challenges within the food – energy – water nexus disproportionally affect vulnerable communities, and these inequalities have been further exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, environmental quality implications of water security and food safety are not routinely examined, particularly within the context of global climate change, urban stressors and environmental justice. For example, changes in physicochemical conditions of soils and coastal waters due to climate change and pollution could in turn modify ecosystem services, reduce food production or alter the nutritional value of agriculture and aquaculture products. Clearly, urban water-food security challenges represent an emerging frontier in integrative global environment and health studies, which require transdisciplinary engagement and systems approaches to identify and manage environmental determinants for healthy people and planet. Having the theme of "One Health Approaches to Urbanization, Water and Food Security", this GRC will provide a transdisciplinary forum for environmental scientists, agricultural biologists, chemists, engineers, health scientists, economists and other disciplines to advance mechanistic understanding and develop innovative solutions to the challenges of sustainable management of water and food security associated with urbanization.