The National Rural Health Alliance has called for urgent focus on rural and remote issues in the wake of yesterday’s announcement by government of $10 million for research into the human health impacts of climate change.
“Climate change will affect many aspects of life in rural areas, including the economic base, the incidence of disease and the frequency and severity of extreme events,”
said Alliance Chair, Dr Jenny May.
“People in communities that are already under-serviced will be most vulnerable — and in Australia this means those who choose to live in rural and remote areas.
May urged consideration of community strategies to reduce risks and manage events. Research will need to cover issues such as: responses to extreme weather events; housing and building standards; the physical structure and operation of resource management systems like reservoirs; a range of policy responses to the likely relocation of food production; and how best to prepare health professionals for new challenges, improve mental health and provide health-related infrastructure.
A recent paper in the Medical Journal of Australia by Donna Green, Ursula King and Joe Morrison argued that Aboriginal people will feel the impact of climate change more than others because of their particularly close ties to the land and environment.
The paper predicted that climate change will trigger extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts, flooding, cyclones and landslides — which will impact on food production by disputing agricultural cycles.
May said because rural and remote regions play a critical role in agricultural production, mining, biodiversity, environmental security and heritage protection, government should treat them as national assets that demand protection.
Climate change and its effects on health are priority topics for deliberation at the 10th National Rural Health Conference to be held in Cairns from May 17-20.
