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PROJECT TITLE: AZTI - EEAcademy Summer School 2019: Does Human Health and Wellbeing depend on a Healthy Ocean?

Acronym: 

Scope: Global

Type: Capacity development and networking

Timeframe: 5th to 7th June 2019

Principal Investigator: Angel Borja PhD                                                                                                                  
Address: AZTI Foundation, Herrera Kaia, Portualdea s/n, 20110 Pasaia (Spain)
Tel/Fax: +34 667174430
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Home page URL: www.azti.esand  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angel_Borja

Other key persons (name, title and institution):

Dr. Lora E Fleming, Professor, Chair, Director of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health

University of Exeter Medical School; c/o Knowledge Spa RCHT; Truro Cornwall TR1 3HD

Tel +44(0)1872242595; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Objectives and Introduction to the course:

AZTI organizes annually (since 2004) an international ‘Summer School’ on marine researchrelated cutting-edge topics, always trying to bridge the gap between research and policy. The course is taught by about 5-12 professors and attended by around 60-90 students from 15-20 countries. Some years we have organized the school back to back with European projects, such as DEVOTES, MARS, as well as other organizations (e.g. Euromarine, European Environment Agency...). This year the school is organized by AZTI, with the support of the European H2020 Seas, Oceans and Public Health in Europe (SOPHIE) Project, the Oceans & Human Health Chair, GlobalHAB, the European Environment Agency and BlueHealth.

For 2019, coinciding with the 16th anniversary of the courses, the topic proposed is “Does Human Health and Wellbeing depend a Healthy Ocean?”. This course will build on, and go beyond, the 2018 course focused on Blue Growth and the European Marine Board 2018 Position Paper on “Linking Oceans and Human Health: A Strategic Research Priority for Europe.”We will examine the exposures and pathways through which humans interact with the seas and global ocean, leading to both risks and benefits to human health and wellbeing as well as for the“health” of the marine environment.

The attendees will acquire knowledge in the new meta-discipline of Oceans and Human Health research growing on both sides of the Atlantic, in particular focusing on the current and future impacts for the seas and coasts of Europe. This summer school will benefit from the inter/transdisciplinary integration of different sciences (e.g. marine biology, toxicology, microbiology, public health, psychology, medicine) necessary to understand the complex interactions between the “health” of the oceans and human health and wellbeing. This course will explore this through different topics, particularly emphasizing communication, engagement and co-creation with diverse stakeholder communities (including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)). There will also be an opportunity to contribute as Stakeholders to the development of the future H2020 SOPHIE Strategic Research Agenda on Oceans and Human Health for Europe. The main objective of the school is to give an overview on the challenges, tensions and opportunities presented by the growing understanding that humans can both benefit from, and be impacted by, the coasts, seas and global oceans, and vice versa.

As an outcome of this course (in addition to the presentations, which will be freely available after the school), the professors participating in the course will prepare an open access position paper on this topic, to be submitted to a broad scope scientific journal (e.g. PlosOne, Frontiers in Marine Science, etc.). This will be a cross-cutting review. This position paper will have an impact on another key audience, i.e. research funders, marine policy makers, and managers. In addition to such impact, it is expected that students participating in this summer school will implement the knowledge gained through this summer school in their professional careers.

 

CONTENTS OF THE COURSE:

June 5: Oceans and Human Health: THE RISKS

  • Introduction to the course. Angel Borja, AZTI, Spain
  • Overview of Oceans and Human Health. Mat White, University of Exeter/SOPHIE/BlueHealth, UK/USA
  • Harmful Algal Blooms: a paradigm of the interconnection between human health and oceans and seas. Elisa Berdalet, Institute of Marine Sciences, Spain and GlobalHAB programme, SCOR and IOC/UNESCO
  • Microbial Pollution, Pharmaceuticals, Antimicrobial Resistance. Anne Leonard, University of Exeter, UK
  • Marine Plastic Pollution: Changing behaviour. Sabine Pahl, Plymouth University/SOPHIE, UK

June 6: Oceans and Human Health: BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNIITIES

  • INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP: Future outlooks on Oceans and Health for Europe's marine waters. Susanne Wuijts, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands
  • The European Bathing Water Directive. Nikolaj Bock, European Environment Agency
  • Beyond the Blue Gym: Human Health and Wellbeing. Lora Fleming, University of Exeter/SOPHIE, UK

  • PRESENTATION OF POSTERS from attendees and GENERAL DISCUSSION

June 7: Oceans and Human Health: THE FUTURE 

  • Governance of Oceans and Health Interactions: Where and how does it fit into policy agendas? Susanne Wuijts, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands

  • The Oceans and Human Health Chair in Roses (Catalonia, Spain): a collaborative model between stakeholders, marine ecosystem managers, town council and  university to foster research and transfer of knowledge in OHH. Josep Lloret, University of Girona, Chair Oceans & Human Health, Spain
  • Weaving alliances between blue tourism and Oceans and Human Health research, through citizen science. Julia Vera Prieto and Mariluz Parga, Submon/Travelecology /SOPHIE, Spain)
  • Future Priorities in Oceans and Human Health Research. All participants
  • Closure

Implementation progress: 

 

Outcome:

Moving Toward an Agenda on Ocean and Human Health in Europe (2020). Angel Borja, Mathew P. White, Elisa Berdalet, Nikolaj Bock, Claire Eatock, Peter Kristensen, Anne Leonard, Josep Lloret, Sabine Pahl, Mariluz Parga, Julia Vera Prieto, Susanne Wuijts and Lora E. Fleming. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00037 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00037/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Marine_Science&id=503030