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A planetary health approach is needed to manage the wider impacts of rice production

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Rice production is critical to global food security, but it has unintended consequences: water stress, greenhouse gas emissions and disease-vector mosquitoes and snails, usually addressed by separate sectors in isolation. A planetary health approach that integrates agriculture, water, climate, ecosystems and health can identify rice growing practices that deliver benefits across these domains.

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Fig. 1

Subjects

  • Agriculture
  • Climate-change mitigation
  • Infectious diseases
  • Water resources
  • Food Security and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

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Acknowledgements

The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this publication, which do not necessarily represent the views, decisions, or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Laura Braun, Jo Lines & Oliver Cumming

  2. Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

    Sophie Boisson & Bruce Gordon

  3. Deltares, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Eline Boelee

  4. Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Eline Boelee

  5. International Rice Research Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Pauline Chivenge

  6. International Rice Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya

    Melanie Connor

  7. Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Chris Drakeley

  8. Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag – Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland

    Georgia Drew

  9. Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

    Seth R. Irish

  10. Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi

  11. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada

    Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi & Marc F. Müller

  12. Department of Systems Analysis, Integrated Assessment and Modelling, Eawag – Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland

    Marc F. Müller

  13. Department of Chemical and Agricultural Engineering and Technology, University of Girona, Girona, Spain

    Jaume Pinsach Boada & Gerard Arbat Pujolras

  14. Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Italy

    Daniel Said-Pullicino

  15. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), UMR Plant Health Institute of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Didier Tharreau

  16. Plant Health Institute Montpellier (PHIM), University of Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Didier Tharreau

Authors

  1. Laura Braun
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  2. Sophie Boisson
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  3. Eline Boelee
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  4. Pauline Chivenge
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  5. Melanie Connor
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  6. Chris Drakeley
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  7. Georgia Drew
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  8. Bruce Gordon
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  9. Seth R. Irish
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  10. Jo Lines
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  11. Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi
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  12. Marc F. Müller
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  13. Jaume Pinsach Boada
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  14. Gerard Arbat Pujolras
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  15. Daniel Said-Pullicino
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  16. Didier Tharreau
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  17. Oliver Cumming
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to
Laura Braun.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Braun, L., Boisson, S., Boelee, E. et al. A planetary health approach is needed to manage the wider impacts of rice production.
Nat Water (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-026-00722-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-026-00722-w

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