One Earth + One Health: An Agile, Evolutionary, System-of-Systems Convergence Paradigm

Evolutionary mechanisms have enabled humans to transform Earth systems. Because the resulting Anthropocene systems are highly interdependent and dynamically evolving, often with accelerating rates of cultural and technological evolution, One Earth and One Health must be framed and addressed in a holistic fashion. An agile, evolutionary, system-of-systems, convergence paradigm, which is based on a partially quantifiable, scientifically falsifiable theoretical framework, can be used to systematically identify, decompose, characterize, and then converge a nested, evolutionary ensemble of geophysical, biophysical, sociocultural, and sociotechnical systems. The paradigm includes individual organisms (spanning plants, fungi, and animals) engaging in niche construction in a global meta-ecosystem that integrates the deep evolutionary history of all Anthropocene systems. To coherently span the vast range of scales, the paradigm is divided into a somatic realm (externally oriented with respect to individual organisms) that can be applied at global, regional, urban, and local scales, as well as a visceral realm (internally oriented with respect to individual organisms) that includes organs, cells, organelles, genes, and molecules. The paradigm requires a causally coherent evolutionary framework, cross-scale, modular, and hierarchical conceptual models (based on a common language and reconciled ontology), with agile, extensible, and scalable computational frameworks, an associated decision-support system, and an educational pedagogy.