A transformative project

Why HOPE?

Those working in the health and environmental sectors – whether as practitioners or researchers – are driven by the desire to improve our world, both for today’s and tomorrow’s generations. This desire is shared by the wider public.
Unless we act now, the generation yet to be born will pay with their health for the damage we are inflicting today on the Earth’s ecosystems. We can change their future.
Human life is sustained by our oceans, forests, woodlands, deserts, farmlands, rivers and the plants and animals that live in them. If the Earth’s ecosystems fail, we fail.
We can no longer plan strategies for health without taking account of how our lifestyles are affecting the Earth’s ecosystems – and for the worse.
Yet there has been very little research linking people’s health to the health of the planet. Similarly, there is very little focus on the connections between health and environmental policy in national and local government decision-making.

How is it transformative?

HOPE is an interdisciplinary project, working across two very different research and policy communities, one focused on improving people’s health and the other on protecting the natural environment. The challenge of the HOPE project is to identify the common ground between these two communities with seemingly different agendas and concerns, and hence transform the way in which both communities frame their concerns.

HOPE is also transformative in the way that the project is being co-developed with research and policy advisory panels, each consisting of a mix of leading health and ecosystem specialists, to provide support and guidance.