Planetary Health in a Time of Multiple Crises. Interconnected Systems and Complex Crises – New Directions in Planetary Health Research

In addition to climate change and our ecological footprint, economic uncertainties, social inequalities, and public health challenges are increasingly intertwined—this complex phenomenon is known as a polycrisis, a global-scale problem. The "Polycrisis Conference" sought answers to this urgent situation, examining the greatest crisis of the 21st century through the lens of planetary health.

The professional event provided a platform for representatives of various scientific fields—including experts in healthcare, environmental science, economics, and the social sciences—to shed light on the problem from different perspectives. The conference organisers, the HUN-REN Ecological Research Centre and the Association for the Renewal of Hungarian Public Health, worked with participants to find answers to how these mutually reinforcing crises can be understood and managed, and what new, systemic approaches will be needed in the future. The conference was held on March 19 at the headquarters of the HUN-REN Research Network, which opened a year ago.

The concept of planetary health holds that human health is inseparable from the state of natural, economic, and social systems. The speakers emphasised that the polycrisis cannot be addressed with isolated measures, as these crises interact with one another, shaping global and local processes. A systemic understanding of these interactions is key to ensuring that decision-making, science, and public policies develop lasting solutions rather than merely treating symptoms.

The conference speakers shared the view that human health can only be understood in the context of the totality of social and environmental impacts. A systems approach is necessary for a planetary health mindset, which means that social and environmental impacts are interconnected, operate in a cause-and-effect relationship, and, building upon and reinforcing one another, affect humanity. In their opening presentation, Barbara Mihók and Eszter Kelemen, two leading researchers from the successful Hungarian Environmental Social Research Group (ESSRG), emphasised that the issues of social inequality and justice cannot be separated from the system of planetary well-being. Despite the distance, crises unfolding on the other side of the world—such as a climate crisis in India—still affect us, as our economic and food systems are now intertwined on a global scale through countless connections.

Crises are not isolated phenomena, explained Barbara Mihók, but rather intertwined, mutually reinforcing processes. This can best be understood using the example of a rope, with a person standing in the centre: the state of the various systems (society, economy, nature) and the strength of their intertwining determine the rope's stability and the quality of social well-being. If even one of the strands making up the rope proves to be weak, the tensile strength decreases.

In the section on the relationship between nature and health, Tamara Szentiványi, a research fellow at the HUN-REN Ecological Research Centre, stated: the question is not whether global health crises—such as the dengue epidemic spread by tropical mosquitoes—will reach us, but when. In recent years, this disease—which causes flu-like symptoms but can be life-threatening in some cases—has already appeared in Italy, so experts estimate it will reach us in about 6 years. The focus must therefore be on adaptation and preparation, because we can no longer stop the process. Public awareness also plays a key role in this, so that people know what they can do individually to prevent the proliferation of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Only in this way can we slow the sudden spread of the epidemic.

In the session discussing the economic dimensions of the global polycrisis, Alexandra Köves, head of the Institute of Ecological Economics at Corvinus University of Budapest, pointed out: the current economic system completely depletes ecological and social resources, and meanwhile, the indicators used to measure development—such as GDP—do not reflect actual human well-being, but only economic growth. We are deceiving ourselves if we think that as GDP grows, so does the well-being of society. As László Garamszegi, Director General of the HUN-REN Ecological Center, emphasized, we are exploiting nature when we convert more and more natural habitats for economic and food production purposes. This landscape transformation has reached such proportions globally that it now has a greater impact on the deterioration of the biosphere than climate change itself.

The human health section pointed out that health is both a victim of and a shaper of crises. As Gábor Kardos, head of the Department of Planetary Health at the University of Debrecen, explained, Hungarians use the most broad-spectrum antibiotics among the European population—so much so that they have become detectable in our environment. Antibiotic residues can be detected in aquatic organisms, birds, and even in groundwater, some of which have a half-life of up to 10 years. This means that if we drop a single antibiotic pill in the garden, the substance will still be detectable 10 years later. So, in the name of preserving our health, we are quietly poisoning our environment, which then comes back to affect us.

But it's not just drugs used in human healthcare that are poisoning our environment. Ivermectin, a broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug used in veterinary medicine, is administered to cattle to combat worms and parasites. When these animals are driven out to pasture, they excrete contaminated manure. As a result, the manure—which would normally serve to enrich the soil's nutrient supply—actually works against natural processes, since the toxin in the manure, which takes only six weeks to break down, causes the destruction of numerous soil-dwelling species," explained Szabolcs Lengyel, a researcher at the HUN-REN Ecological Research Centre.

Okay, but what should be done?

The conference speakers emphasized that the key to change lies within communities. Addressing the polycrisis is only possible through cooperation, with local initiatives and community coalitions playing a vital role. Well-being—which is not synonymous with material prosperity but encompasses, among other things, physical and mental health, as well as the stability of the environmental and social context—must serve as a shared goal and a powerful mobilising force for social actors.

A recurring theme of the conference was that we must rethink our conception of development and break away from the patterns of thinking that have created the current crises. This requires a shift in perspective, a systemic approach, and broad-based cooperation.

According to the organisers, the next step—beyond scientific and policy dialogue—could be to strengthen community action and build a broader social movement. The goal is to find common ground along which different actors can work together toward a more sustainable and just future.