Neil de Wet

I am a Public Health Medicine Specialist from Aotearoa New Zealand. I have had a medical, environmental, and Public Health career spanning 30 years of practice and am currently the Medical Officer of Health for the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Much of my work and experience is in infectious disease control, outbreak prevention and management, emergency management, environmental health, ecology and health, public health risk assessment and risk communication. Before specialising in Public Health Medicine I undertook research and published on topics related to climate change, mosquito-borne disease, and ecology and health in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

 

In recent years, I have had a focus on exploring how the concepts of biophilia (our innate 'love, awe and respect for nature'), biophilic design and the biophilic cities movement can be applied to the practice of Public Health. In so doing I have explored and developed the concept of Biophilic Public Health as a model of Public Health practice that has a focus on ‘Health for All’ where ‘Health for All’ is not only about the health of all people but also about the health of other species and ecosystems.

 

“Public Health is about the health of whole populations, and has a focus on prevention. It is about identifying and managing risks to the health of communities and preventing diseases. But this also requires looking beyond the immediate risks, and to the wider social and environmental context and long-term view of what affects and shapes people’s health. Therefore, in the 21st century Public Health practice has to be about not just the health of people but also about the health of other species and ecosystems, especially because for humans to thrive and be healthy we need the natural world around us to be flourishing and healthy.”

 

“At its heart, biophilia is about the centrality of our biological and emotional connections with nature for our health and well-being. It is about how valuing, appreciating, and experiencing nature, plants, animals, ecosystems, natural landforms, natural elements and beauty, enriches and nourishes our lives - and benefits our health and wellbeing. Perhaps most importantly, it is an idea and language that helps rediscover, redefine and transform our perception of nature where our relationship and interactions with the natural world become characterised by words such as ‘love and respect’, ‘nurture and care’, ‘wonder and awe’, ‘curiosity’, ‘reverence’, ‘exploration and mystery’ and ‘humility’- rather than ‘the environment’, ‘natural resources’, and ‘natural capital’. Therefore, Biophilic Public Health is a model of Public Health practice that is defined by the love, awe, and respect for nature – and ‘all things living’.”

 

Qualifications and professional memberships:
– Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
– Master of Philosophy (Environmental Science)
– Master of Public Health
– New Zealand Medical Council Vocational Registration (Public Health Medicine)
– Fellow of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM)
– Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM)