Taking the Long View for Oceans and Human Health Connection through Community Driven Science

Abstract

The most proactive approach to resolving current health and climate crises will require a long view, focused on establishing and fostering partnerships to identify and eliminate root causes of the disconnect between humans and nature. We describe the lessons learned through a unique scientific partnership that addresses a specific crisis, harmful algal blooms (HABs), along the northeast Pacific Ocean coast, that blends current-day technology with observational knowledge of Indigenous communities. This integrative scientific strategy resulted in creative solutions for forecasting and managing HAB risk in the Pacific Northwest as a part of the US Ocean and Human Health (OHH) program. Specific OHH projects focused on: (1) understanding genetic responses of tribal members to toxins in the marine environment, (2) knowledge sharing by elders during youth camps; (3) establishing an early warning program to alert resource managers of HABs are explicit examples of proactive strategies used to address environmental problems. The research and monitoring projects with tribal communities taught the collaborating non-Indigenous scientists the value of reciprocity, highlighting both the benefits from and protection of oceans that promote our well-being. Effective global oceans and human health initiatives require a collective action that gives equal respect to all voices to promote forward thinking solutions for ocean health.

Toward decolonizing STEM: Centering place and sense of place for community‐based problem‐solving

“…Similar to findings in previous community‐driven science‐related literature, this paper demonstrates multiple pathways for engaging in learning experiences (Ballard et al, 2017; Nazar et al, 2019;) and how the practice provides richer meaning to content learning. Resulting in impacts well beyond improved grades or test scores (Upadhyay et al, 2020; Varanasi et al, 2021). What is different about using STEMS 2 Pedagogy to engage in community‐based problem‐solving is that the primary goal is the connection with the community and the knowledge systems of the place (i.e., indigenous, ancestral, traditional, and Western).…”

Harmful algal blooms

“…Many HAB studies have focused on mitigation of human impacts such as health outcomes and addressing the sociocultural barriers to mitigation but viewing HABs as part of a larger human-environment coupled system and understanding the cultural and behavioral responses that they trigger is a fruitful way forward ( Van Dolah et al, 2016). A long-term view and the careful development and nurturing of partnerships is necessary for eliminating the disconnect between humans and nature (Varanasi et al, 2021).…”

Communicating ocean and human health connections: An agenda for research and practice

“…So, too, do building and investing in relationships with media gatekeepers in attempts to amplify unheard or underheard voices in mainstream media while also leveraging less traditional channels to make information about environmental justice accessible. Engaged scholarship (224) that investigates environmental injustices and attempts to solve them [e.g., (309,317)], that shares lessons learned from collaborative efforts that are inclusive of non-empirical knowledge [e.g., (112)], or that examines the effects of environmental changes or solutions to them on marginalized communities (318) can help OHH science and policy advance in ways that are equitable, inclusive, and just. Additionally, there is a great need to continue advancing research beyond the borders of Western, white nations and to incorporate forms of knowledge beyond the empirical, all in service of environmental justice and equitable health outcomes for the global community.…”