The Pacific Planetary Health Initiative (PPHI) is a collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary study of the Micronesian, Melanesian, and Polynesian people of the Pacific Islands. PPHI is a collaboration among the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, University of California Santa Barbara, University of California Santa Cruz, American University, University of Wollongong, the Pacific Community, and national ministries of participating nations. We are broadly interested in how the interactive dynamics of marine ecosystem transformation, socio-demographic and cultural changes, and trade globalization influence the food system, and consequently, shape human nutritional outcomes. Our research approach is embedded in social-ecological theory and uses a planetary health perspective.
The project was conceived of by a core team (Christopher Golden, Jessica Gephart, Katherine Seto, Douglas McCauley, and Jacob Eurich) and funded by NSF in August 2018. The project began focusing on Kiribati, and is now expanding to other nations.