ePO 79 – Learning and innovation in health and environment through the International Coalition of Climate Action in Prevention Science (ICCAPS)
Mahsa Mapar1, Susana Henriques2, Larissa de A. Nobre-Sandoval3, Karine Le Roch4, Elena Gervilla García5
1 Department of Science and Technology & CEG-UAb, Center for Global Studies, Universidade Aberta, Lisbon, Portugal; Societies and Environmental Sustainability Research Group at the Centre for Functional Ecology, CFE – Science for People & the Planet, University of Coimbra, Portugal, TERRA Associated Laboratory at the University of Coimbra and its Extension at Universidade Aberta, Portugal; CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Nova University Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal; e-mail: mahsa.mapar@uab.pt, 2 Department of Education and Distance Learning & CEG-UAb, Center for Global Studies, Universidade Aberta, Lisbon, Portugal; e-mail: susana.henriques@uab.pt, 3 Brazilian Association for Research in Prevention and Health Promotion (BRAPEP), Vice-President; email: nobre.lan@gmail.com, 4 Action contre la Faim, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Research Advisor; email: kleroch@actioncontrelafaim.org, 5 European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR); email: elena.gervilla@uib.es
Climate change poses serious threats to human, animal, and environmental health, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities, highlighting the need for prevention science and One Health (WHO, 2024) approaches.
The International Coalition of Climate Action in Prevention Science (ICCAPS), founded in 2020 by members of the European Society for Prevention Research, the Society for Prevention Research, the Asia-Pacific Society of Prevention Research, and the Brazilian Association for Research in Prevention and Health Promotion, is a globally representative network integrating research, practice, and policy aiming at addressing climate-related health impacts. ICCAPS brings together researchers and prevention experts from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
This presentation highlights key lessons from ICCAPS’s initiatives to advance public and planetary health through climate-related prevention, capacity-building, and international collaboration. ICCAPS focuses on the disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities and grounds its work in interdisciplinary collaboration to co-create sustainable, prevention-oriented strategies.
Since its creation, ICCAPS has co-organized activities at its member societies’ conferences, embedding climate issues into agendas, nominating keynote speakers to link climate action and prevention science, and hosting roundtables on climate shelters, community engagement, and youth leadership. It has also led virtual initiatives to boost network visibility and aims to integrate climate-related prevention topics into undergraduate curricula.
As a pioneer in digital education in Portugal, Universidade Aberta (UAb) plays a key role in ICCAPS by linking research and practice across its network. UAb’s expertise supports knowledge exchange, evidence-based interventions, and climate resilience, extending ICCAPS’s reach to vulnerable populations.
Keywords: Prevention Science, Climate Action, ICCAPS.