Climate Attribution of Wildfire Smoke Impacts on Priority Population Health in Southeast Asia and Australia (CANBREATHE)

Introduction:

Climate change is an underlying cause of the prolonged dry, hot conditions that have increased the risk of extreme wildfires and smoke haze in Australia, Southeast Asia and globally. Smoke haze from forest, peat and agricultural fires is an increasing public health threat, with Indigenous communities, pregnant women, babies and young children particularly vulnerable. Globally, seven million people die annually because of air pollution; over 200,000 of these preventable deaths occur in Thailand, Indonesia and Laos, disproportionately impacting the poor. Notable events, such as the 2015 Sumatra wildfires and Australia’s 2019/20 Black Summer, resulted in thousands of premature deaths. However, evidence on the attribution of these impacts to climate change is limited, particularly for Indigenous communities and other priority groups.

We propose an innovative transdisciplinary approach to this challenge by establishing a partnership with local research teams with integrated policy and community connections in the following five regions: (i) Chiang Mai (Thailand), (ii) Luang Prabang (Laos), (iii) Palembang, South Sumatra (Indonesia), (iv) NSW Central Coast, and (v) Darwin (Australia). This partnership unites environmental public health experts, epidemiologists, climate scientists, social scientists, communication specialists, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous community leaders and artists, all with strong collaborative track records and extensive experience of tackling the health impacts of climate change, wildfire pollution and environmental injustice.

Aim and Objectives:

This transdisciplinary research project CANBREATHE involving partners from Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Laos aims to assess and communicate the health impacts of wildfire smoke attributable to anthropogenic climate change in five heavily affected regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, in order to inform climate and health policy and empower disadvantaged populations.

The specific objectives are to:

(1) Estimate the burden of wildfire smoke on population health under current and future conditions.

(2) Understand and influence public perceptions of wildfire health impacts and association with climate change, particularly among disadvantaged and priority populations.

(3) Build skills and resilience, using innovative and impactful communication techniques.

(4) Inform and influence climate and health policy development through deep engagement with key policy stakeholders and targeted communication.

(5) Strengthen cross-sectoral engagement and collaboration across Southeast Asia and Australia, to build capacity and capability for assessing and communicating wildfire smoke impacts.