Advancing an environmentally responsible physiotherapy

 

The world faces complex and interrelated crises… Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, rapid urbanization, geopolitical conflict and militarization, demographic change, population displacement, poverty, and widespread inequity create risks of future crises even more severe than those experienced today. Responses require investments that integrate planetary, societal, community and individual health and well-being (WHO 2021 Geneva Charter for Wellbeing)

 

 The impact of human activities on our planet’s natural systems has been intensifying rapidly in the past several decades, leading to disruption and transformation of most natural systems. These disruptions in the atmosphere, oceans, and across the terrestrial land surface are not only driving species to extinction, they pose serious threats to human health and wellbeing. Characterising and addressing these threats requires a paradigm shift (Myers, 2017)

Action at the level of direct drivers of nature decline, although necessary, is not sufficient … a sustainable global future’ is ‘only possible with urgent transformative change that tackles the root causes: the interconnected economic, socio-cultural, demographic, political, institutional, and technological indirect drivers behind the direct drivers (Diaz et al., 2019)

About

An international community of academics, clinicians, practitioners and students interested in exploring and advancing the field of environmental physiotherapy. 

Blog

Follow our latest musings on environmental physiotherapy. Ideas, inspiration, news, publications, events, and more. 

Join

Become part of the first international community of physiotherapists with an interest in researching, developing, and practising physiotherapy at a planetary scale. 

Resources

A growing selection of resources carefully selected by members of the EPA to inspire your thinking and practice of environmental physiotherapy. 

From the body as physical therapy to environmental physiotherapy

Fitting the time of reflection that is this time of the year, over the last few weeks I've been reflecting a lot on what it is that actually brought me to thinking about environmental physiotherapy. In many ways, these reflections were actually inspired by the...

Rethinking geography as a barrier to rural health outcomes

One of the magical things about living in a rural place is our geography. We love where we live and have the privilege of being close to nature most of the time. I am really lucky to live in the beautiful coastal town of Port Macquarie, Australia. We are known for our...

Physiotherapy and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration?

Though the official launch is scheduled for World Environment Day on 5 June 2021, this year marks the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. This United Nations effort is based on the recognition that 'there has never been a more urgent need to restore...

The EPA celebrates it’s first anniversary

I am finding it really hard to believe, but it is one year to the day since we have launched the Environmental Physiotherapy Association and so much has happened in so little time. Evidently, the COVID-19 pandemic has overshadowed the last six months of this time, but...

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