For educators: In this section you find a case study that focus on planetary health. This case study is about the effects dam building and land use change have had on schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease, in the Senegal River Basin in West Africa. Construction of the Diama Dam at the mouth of the Senegal River was intended to bring various human health and economic benefits. While there were some positive impacts, the dam also had unintended consequences. For one, it affected the life cycle of a native river prawn, hindering its essential migration to the mixed fresh and saltwater estuary near the Atlantic Ocean. An important predator in the river ecosystem,the local extinction of prawns led to an upstream explosion in the snail species that serve as a reservoir for schistosomiasis. Disease rates spiked and schistosomiasis has been endemic in Senegal since the dam was completed in 1986. As similar human infrastructure projects are proposed worldwide, it is key to understand the effect these developments could have not only on the environment but also on human health.

Teaching material: PHCS_2.pdf

For your students to do: After reading the above paragraph and looking at the picture answer these questions on two pages A4 paper: Describe 2 diseases with an environmental reservoir? Do you know of other examples where something similar has happened? Exchange your answering sheet with your neighbour and read each others text and give verbal feedback