libro(s) 49 de 49

Using the Pacific Northwest bioregion as a case study, this paper will examine the determinants of human and ecosystem health. An historical analysis will be used to identify the environmental, economic and socio-cultural factors that have affected both human health and the health of the region’s ecosystems, including:

· Ongoing exploitation of the bioregion’s natural endowment (such as its forests, fish, metals, and rivers);

· Displacement of the indigenous Aboriginal populations by European settlers; and

· More recent regional demographic and economic trends.

The analysis will emphasize how these and related factors have interacted with each other to influence human and ecosystem health positively and negatively over the past 200 years.

An interspecies perspective, based on the health of King (Chinook) Salmon and human populations, will inform the analysis by recognizing the inherent ‘value’ of non-human as well as human life. The salmon is a cultural icon for the region’s Aboriginal peoples and its current inhabitants, as well as a critical and generally accepted indicator of ecosystem health in the Pacific Northwest.

The paper will demonstrate that, as in other industrialized areas, improvements in human health in the Pacific Northwest have been purchased largely at the expense of the region’s ecosystem health. And if the health of the region’s ecosystems continues to decline, these gains in human health may not be sustainable over the long-term: sustainable human health is dependent on ecosystem health and sustainability.

The Pacific Northwest provides an excellent test case for achieving sustainable human and ecosystem health. Less degraded than much of the industrialized world and with human populations that have a high level of awareness about the need to protect and enhance ecosystem health, this bioregion has perhaps a better chance of achieving sustainability than most.

libro(s) 49 de 49