Announcement! International Workshop “Climate Change Impact on Public Health in the Russian Arctic” will take place in Moscow, May 19-20, 2008

Russian Arctic is among most vulnerable to global climate change impact regions on Earth. Changes of epidemiological status of Arctic population will be one of important consequences of global warming. In particular, it will be reflected in a wider than earlier distribution of existing and the emergence of new infectious diseases, as well as growth of non-communicable diseases. Public health situation will be further exacerbated by social-economic changes and large-scale impacts on ecosystems.

 

This is the first workshop of its kind aimed at the assessment of climate change impact on public health in the Russian Arctic. The workshop will bring specialists working in different fields of applied medicine and at the science/policy interface in Russia and abroad, representatives of federal and regional executive powers as well as participants from international organizations working on environment, development and health issues (United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Health Organization, and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme) to exchange knowledge and experience of public policy development in response to climate change in Arctic countries as well as develop major recommendations on public health response to climate change impact in the Russian Arctic.

 

Two major goals of the workshop are (i) the assessment of global climate change and its impact on public health in the Russian Arctic and (ii) the discussion of response actions at the federal and regional level aimed at reduction of exposure and public health emergencies response to global warming effects.

 

Major topics to be covered during the Workshop are: