Advancing an environmentally responsible physiotherapy

 

The world faces complex and interrelated crises… Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, rapid urbanization, geopolitical conflict and militarization, demographic change, population displacement, poverty, and widespread inequity create risks of future crises even more severe than those experienced today. Responses require investments that integrate planetary, societal, community and individual health and well-being (WHO 2021 Geneva Charter for Wellbeing)

 

 The impact of human activities on our planet’s natural systems has been intensifying rapidly in the past several decades, leading to disruption and transformation of most natural systems. These disruptions in the atmosphere, oceans, and across the terrestrial land surface are not only driving species to extinction, they pose serious threats to human health and wellbeing. Characterising and addressing these threats requires a paradigm shift (Myers, 2017)

Action at the level of direct drivers of nature decline, although necessary, is not sufficient … a sustainable global future’ is ‘only possible with urgent transformative change that tackles the root causes: the interconnected economic, socio-cultural, demographic, political, institutional, and technological indirect drivers behind the direct drivers (Diaz et al., 2019)

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About

An international community of academics, clinicians, practitioners and students interested in exploring and advancing the field of environmental physiotherapy. 

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Blog

Follow our latest musings on environmental physiotherapy. Ideas, inspiration, news, publications, events, and more. 

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Join

Become part of the first international community of physiotherapists with an interest in researching, developing, and practising physiotherapy at a planetary scale. 

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Resources

A growing selection of resources carefully selected by members of the EPA to inspire your thinking and practice of environmental physiotherapy. 

Rethinking geography as a barrier to rural health outcomes

One of the magical things about living in a rural place is our geography. We love where we live and have the privilege of being close to nature most of the time. I am really lucky to live in the beautiful coastal town of Port Macquarie, Australia. We are known for our...

Student opinions: Should physiotherapists learn about environmental sustainability?

When I told some of my peers that I was doing my dissertation on environmental sustainability in physiotherapy, I got lots of comments like “But… why?” or “Wow that’s very niche!” With a degree with such a high workload already, why would you add sustainability to the...

The WHO Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health: A brief analysis with a view to the role of physiotherapy organisations

On 15 May 2025, the World Health Assembly (WHO) adopted the inaugural Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health (2025–2028) during the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78). The plan aligns with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and...

How physiotherapists can contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals in low- and middle-income countries

The global economic recession following the COVID-19 pandemic, along with changes in climate patterns has magnified already existing global challenges that numerous countries are facing. The urgency to achieve the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has...

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