1. A Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health Building capacity to address the determinants of health and sustainability on behalf of: COPEH-Canada Margot Parkes, UBC College of Health Disciplines, Dept. Family Practice

2. EcoHealth? (ecosystem approaches to health) Community of Practice? determinants of health? A quick orientation? Collaborative learning? reducing health inequalities/inequities?

3. Learning Outcomes (our hopes) At the end of this session you will be curious about how a community of practice in Ecohealth can build capacity to address the determinants of health and sustainability; curious about how a community of practice in Ecohealth can build capacity to address the determinants of health and sustainability; able to identify common ground between ecohealth approaches & strategies to reduce health inequities; able to identify common ground between ecohealth approaches & strategies to reduce health inequities; aware of participatory, collaborative research strategies to enhance networking, relationships and capacity building aware of participatory, collaborative research strategies to enhance networking, relationships and capacity building e.g EcoHealth Training & Awards Scheme. e.g EcoHealth Training & Awards Scheme.

4. www.copeh-canada.org A Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health (COPEH-Can) with an EcoHealth Training and Awards Program funded by the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC)

5. Cynthia Haq MD, Dept Family Practice, University of Wisconsin “health and wellbeing are embedded within ecosystems” Ecosystem Approaches to Health?

6. DRIVING FORCES (governance, development & power) HEALTH SOCIAL SYSTEMS ECO- SYSTEMS  different ‘views’ on  different ‘views’ on health and sustainability A place-based ‘Double dividend’ for Public Health Ecosystems-Health-Social Equity Parkes, Panelli & Weinstein, EHP, 2003 “settings” New generation “settings” for equitable health & sustainability: - watersheds; - landuse & food security; -Indigenous perspectives - rural/urban planning

7. Ecosystem Approaches to Health International Development Research Center (Cole, 2006) International Development Research Center (Cole, 2006) Approaches and three Pillars’: Approaches and three Pillars’: Transdisciplinarity Transdisciplinarity Participation Participation Equity (social and gender) Equity (social and gender) e.g. "EcoSalud” in Ecuador: farming communities, researchers, health practitioners & local politicians --> integrated pest management, better recognize and treat poisonings and improve pesticide-related policies. Building international capacity through ‘Communities of Practice’… Building international capacity through ‘Communities of Practice’… Latin America, Middle East, Africa…. Canada Latin America, Middle East, Africa…. Canada

8. What is a Community of Practice? “ “Communities of practice are groups of people who have a common interest and are engaged in a shared enterprise, through which they both have, and further develop, a repertoire of knowledge, skills and practices” (Wenger, 1998). CoPs respond to professional demand and are results oriented. They can serve to develop and evolve knowledge, as well as develop innovative ideas. CoPs respond to professional demand and are results oriented. They can serve to develop and evolve knowledge, as well as develop innovative ideas.

9. CoPEH-Canada Objectives 1. to jointly plan and deliver a ecohealth short course for students and professionals; 2. to provide a forum for Canadians to consolidate and extend the ecohealth approach through collaboration, exchange, and scholarly attention to methodology, pedagogy and knowledge translation; 3. to conduct an integrated program of participatory research and evaluation to examine the networking, educational and capacity building outcomes of the community of practice; 4. to identify and develop strategies for long-term regional and institutional capacity to support ecosystem approaches to human health.

11. Collaborative Relationships Collaborative Relationships (between researchers, policy, NGOs etc) Capacity Building Capacity Building (e.g. Training & Awards Program ) Capacity, values & processes for collaborative Ecohealth research, education, practice Establishment of Community of Practice in Ecosystem ApproachestoHealth researchers policy NGO’s/NFP’s Organisations beyond govt/education sectors Framework for research aka - action research - sharing & learning - what works? what doesn’t? how to do better? - equipping a new generation of professsionals

12. Community of Practice in EcoHealth research on Toxics in Latin America & the Caribbean Analysis of social networks & collaborative relationships for sharing and learning (J. Saint-Charles UQAM)

13. J. Saint-Charles, UAQM At the beginning of the COPEH-TLAC

14. J. Saint-Charles, UAQM A Web of relationships… Touch one strand and it affects them all (Greenwod) Two Years Later

15. Collaborative Relationships Collaborative Relationships (between researchers, policy, NGOs etc) Capacity Building Capacity Building (e.g. Training & Awards Program ) Capacity, values & processes for collaborative Ecohealth research, education, practice Establishment of Community of Practice in Ecosystem ApproachestoHealth researchers policy NGO’s/NFP’s Organisations beyond govt/education sectors

16. 1 st short course UBC August 5-15 2008 BC, SK, MB (6) Human Health (1) Env/Geography (1) Interdisciplinary Studies (1) Vet/Pop Health (1)Resource Management and Environmental Studies (1) Sociology Ontario (3) Environment (2) Human Health (1) Vet/Pop Health (1) Indigenous/Canadian Studies Quebec/PEI (5) Human health (1) Environment (1) Vet/Pop Health (1) Island studies  collaborative approaches  collaborative approaches to complex health/ environment issues Community- oriented, case- based learning  Community- oriented, case- based learning inside and outside of the classroom, knowledge, attitudes & skills  cultivating knowledge, attitudes & skills for real world scenarios & cases Research focused on:  collaborative curriculum design  collaborative learning before, during, after course medium term (<1 yr) Longer term (>1 yr)  collaborative relationships Social networking

17. Collaborative Relationships Collaborative Relationships (between researchers, policy, NGOs etc) Capacity Building Capacity Building (e.g. Training & Awards Program ) Capacity, values & processes for collaborative Ecohealth research, education, practice Establishment of Community of Practice in Ecosystem ApproachestoHealth researchers policy NGO’s/NFP’s Organisations beyond govt/education sectors

18. EcoHealth? (ecosystem approaches to health) Community of Practice? determinants of health? A quick orientation(!) Collaborative learning? reducing health inequalities/inequities?

19. www.ECOHEALTH.net www.idrc.ca/ecohealth www.copeh-canada.org