30 August 2023 13:00 – 14:15 (UTC+8) / 10:30 – 11:45 (IST)
【Webinar】 South Asia-Taipei Hubs Collaboration: Public Health

Moderator ｜ Dr. Sunderrajan Krishnan (Executive Director, INREM Foundation, Anand, Gujarat, India)
Online link｜http://bit.ly/3YDF8kW
Language｜English

TALK A : SOCIOECONOMIC DISPARITIES AND CHILDREN’S LEARNING: INVESTIGATING HAIR HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN URBAN HOUSEHOLDS
Speaker｜Dr. Yen Tzu Fan (Postdoctoral Associate Researcher, Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University)

Creating an optimal learning environment is vital for the physical and mental growth of children, as well as their future academic success. Urban areas, significantly impacted by heavy metal pollution, pose risks to the learning settings of preschoolers, particularly in relation to family socio-economic status. Families with higher incomes in urban areas provide better learning conditions and place value on parent-child interactions for learning. We examined hair heavy metal concentrations in 156 urban children from the Greater Taipei Area and discovered a correlation with family income – higher metal levels were associated with lower income. Notably, low and high-income urban households demonstrated varying influences on learning. Heavy metals affected low-income households, whereas parent-child interactions benefitted high-income ones. The talk delves into the effects of socio-economic disparities on urban children’s learning, highlighting concerns over unequal urban development and potential threats to learning environments.

TALK B : CLIMATE IMPLICATIONS ON PLANETARY HEALTH:THE WAY FORWARD
Speaker｜Dr. H Paramesh (Visiting Professor Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science)

The talk will highlight the crucial link between human well-being and the health of our planet’s ecosystems. While humanity represents a minute fraction of Earth’s biodiversity, it has detrimentally impacted the environment through pollution of the fundamental elements, resulting in serious consequences such as global warming and climate change. The escalating CO₂ levels, approaching a critical threshold, pose an existential threat, with potential ramifications including mass extinction. Ecosystem disruptions are evident, ranging from species extinction rates to altered fire seasons and coral reef decline. Air pollution’s profound health toll is elucidated, causing various non-communicable diseases and fatalities. Mitigation measures, involving carbon footprint reduction and sustainable practices, are proposed to avert this catastrophic trajectory.

✦ Organizers /
– ECR working group, Future Earth Taipei
– Future Earth Global Hubs, Taipei & South Asia
– IYBSSDXTAIWAN
– 中央研究院 永續科學中心 Center for Sustainability Science, Academia Sinica