Emerging infectious diseases and planetary boundaries: a perspective from the Mediterranean Region"

The risks from converging crises of social-ecological change and health pandemics are particularly critical for countries already facing multiple drivers of fragility. Economic, social, environmental and political challenges make the Mediterranean region particularly vulnerable to EIDs and their negative consequences. At the same time, among the Mediterranean countries, there are profound differences in population growth rates, socio-economic conditions, political stability, natural resources availability and climate change impact, which disproportionally affect pandemic probability, preparedness, and mitigation capacity. The chapter aims to highlight the nexus between EIDs and Planetary Boundaries (PBs) in the Mediterranean region and the need for an integrated ecological public health approach, which recognizes the complex interactions between biological, behavioral, environmental, social and developmental factors. It suggests that reducing the environmental burden of EIDs is possible only through a holistic implementation of the health factor within the SDGs. This will be done within the integrated context of sustainable development, by tackling health in terms of social, economic and environmental aspects.