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PHA Members Launch a New Planetary Health Chair Centering Indigenous Knowledge
The Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and Fundación Pondera launch the Planetary Health Chair “Amazonas,” which is adopting an Amazonian perspective to address global environmental challenges by bridging modern science with Indigenous and traditional knowledge.
Photo credit: Zdeněk Macháček
On December 11, 2025, Planetary Health Alliance (PHA) member organizations Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and Fundación Pondera officially launched the Planetary Health Chair “Amazonas”—a new academic and research initiative dedicated to addressing the most urgent Planetary Health challenges from an Amazonian perspective.
The Chair aims to center Indigenous knowledge systems in Planetary Health research, recognizing their critical role in understanding and responding to global environmental change. During the launch event, Francisco Javier Valbuena, Director of the Chair, emphasized the importance of amplifying Indigenous voices that have long been marginalized, despite holding profound ecological knowledge and philosophies essential to safeguarding Planetary Health.
Members of the international Scientific Committee also contributed to the event through virtual remarks. Marie Studer, Senior Advisor to PHA, highlighted how collaboration between PHA and the Chair can help shape a bold and impactful initiative. Michael Kuhnert, CEO of Medmissio, underscored that Planetary Health represents one of the defining challenges of our time. Emma Rawson-Te Patu, a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, described the Chair as “a beacon of innovation and hope.”
The Planetary Health Chair “Amazonas” is supported by an international Scientific Committee of approximately 20 experts working across health, sustainability, human rights, leadership, and related fields. The Committee also includes Indigenous community leaders and representatives from faith-based organizations that work closely with Amazonian nations, ensuring that lived experience and place-based knowledge inform the Chair’s research priorities.
In addition, a dedicated board of Amazonian representatives will guide the Chair by identifying the most pressing issues affecting their communities. This multidisciplinary and inclusive governance structure enables a more holistic understanding of the emotional, social, economic, and environmental determinants of health—while reinforcing the interconnected relationship between human wellbeing and the natural world.