Mental Health Noncommunicable Diseases
• Research & Reports
What Is Planetary Health?
Brain Health
Our environment shapes neurological function and mental well-being, while resilient brains empower societies to adapt to and mitigate planetary challenges.
1 in 4 dementia deaths worldwide, approximately 626,000 deaths each year, is attributable to air pollution.
Brain health sits at the heart of Planetary Health, reflecting the dynamic relationship between human biology, social systems, and the environments we depend on to survive and thrive. The brain, our organ of cognition, emotion, behavior, and social connection, is uniquely sensitive to environmental conditions shaped by how we steward the planet. Rising temperatures, air and water pollution, extreme weather events, food and water insecurity, ecosystem degradation, and exposure to environmental toxins all affect neurological function, cognitive performance, and mental health across the lifespan.
20-30 minutes in natural environments can significantly improve attention, working memory, and executive function, compared with urban settings.
At the same time, healthy brains enable learning, creativity, cooperation, and collective decision-making, capacities that societies need to adapt to environmental change, design sustainable systems, and respond to crises. When environmental degradation undermines brain health, it weakens individual well-being, social cohesion, productivity, and communities’ ability to respond effectively to planetary challenges. This makes brain health both a vulnerability and a leverage point within the Planetary Health framework.
Our Brain Under Environmental Stress
Scientific evidence increasingly shows that environmental stressors act on the brain through interconnected biological, psychological, and social pathways. Heat stress disrupts sleep, cognition, and mental health; air pollution accelerates cognitive decline and increases the risk of dementia and neurodevelopmental disorders; extreme weather events drive trauma, displacement, and long-lasting effects on mental and cognitive health. These risks are not evenly distributed. Children, older adults, people with pre-existing neurological or mental health conditions, and communities facing socioeconomic disadvantage bear a disproportionate burden. A Planetary Health approach therefore requires centering on equity, prevention, and resilience.
Planetary Health Solutions for Brain Health
Crucially, many Planetary Health solutions are also brain-protective solutions. Cleaner air, climate-resilient food systems, access to green and blue spaces, urban tree canopies, reduced noise and heat exposure, and stronger social infrastructure all support cognitive function, emotional well-being, and neurological health while delivering environmental co-benefits. By explicitly integrating brain health into Planetary Health research, policy, and practice, we can better capture the full human benefits of environmental action and design interventions that strengthen both people and planet.
Resources
Mental Health Youth Voices
• News
Climate Change’s Hidden Mental Toll On Children Think Global Health.
Mental Health Noncommunicable Diseases
• Research & Reports
Environmental Neuroscience Springer Nature Link.
Collaboration and Partnerships Education
Planetary Health education in the Bolivian Amazon: Course development and implementation for university professors, researchers and NGO Professionals
Educators and researchers in the Bolivian Amazon came together to explore Planetary Health through a new course. Through interactive sessions and a field visit to a community practicing sustainable forest management, participants developed plans to embed Planetary Health into their teaching and research, laying the groundwork for a lasting movement.
• Meeting Abstracts/ Reports
Infectious Diseases Air Pollution
Tree cover loss due to fires and pneumonia incidence in the Bolivian Amazon from 2002-2023: An ecological study
Bolivia has lost about 12% of its forest cover since 2000. This abstract shows that tree loss due to fires is strongly associated with higher pneumonia incidence in the Bolivian Amazon, underscoring the need for effective forest preservation to protect both ecosystems and public health.
• Meeting Abstracts/ Reports
Collaboration and Partnerships Planetary Health Frameworks
ISGlobal will Coordinate the European Secretariat of the Planetary Health Alliance Starting in 2026
At the Planetary Health Annual Meeting 2025, the Planetary Health Europe Regional Hub announced its transition to Barcelona. Starting in 2026, the European Secretariat will be hosted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and supported by a collaborative network spanning science, policy, health care, and education.
• News
Infectious Diseases Governance and Policy
Applying the One Health approach to study the policy and institutional determinants to control and prevent zoonoses in a low-resource setting. Health Research Policy and Systems.
Zoonotic diseases disproportionately impact low-resource countries. This study uses a One Health lens to examine how Peru selects priorities, chooses policies, and defines organizational roles in preventing and controlling zoonoses within complex multisector systems.
• Research & Reports
Mental Health Climate Change
Exploring the relationship between physical activity, flood experience, eco-anxiety, and youth well-being in a changing climate. Scientific Reports.
• Research & Reports
