Connecting biodiversity restoration with community health

I am seeking collaborators to investigate how biodiversity, ecosystem condition and environmental disruption shape community health and wellbeing. This opportunity connects my research on the health impacts of extreme weather with experience in Māori community partnerships, natural therapeutics and environmental restoration. It would bring these perspectives into interdisciplinary research spanning ecosystem, human and animal health.

A potential project could examine how land-use change and restoration influence health through interconnected pathways, including water quality, exposure to environmental hazards, food systems, cultural relationships with place and opportunities to participate in restoration. Particular attention could be given to communities experiencing repeated environmental disasters and the effects of ecological degradation on their ability to recover.

The research would combine ecological and health evidence with community-defined measures of wellbeing. Māori perspectives could contribute approaches that recognise relationships between people, whenua, waterways and other living beings. These contributions would be developed through appropriate partnerships, with knowledge holders determining how their knowledge is represented and used.

Potential activities include developing comparative case studies, identifying relevant existing datasets, and designing methods for linking environmental and health information. Researchers could examine changes over time and assess whether restoration interventions are associated with improved outcomes, while accounting for other influences. Public health and animal health partners would help ensure the work addresses the interdependencies central to One Health.

A contribution I could make is supporting ethical collaboration between communities, researchers and institutions. This includes developing arrangements for consent, information access, interpretation and benefit-sharing, particularly where collective knowledge or sensitive health information is involved. My natural therapeutics experience would provide additional context for understanding relationships between biodiversity and health.

I would welcome partnerships with epidemiologists, ecologists, veterinary researchers, Indigenous health specialists and data scientists. Potential outputs include shared analytical frameworks, community-informed indicators and recommendations for integrating health considerations into restoration planning. The goal is to strengthen evidence that helps communities and decision-makers understand where ecosystem restoration can improve health, where risks require management, and how benefits can be distributed fairly.