1 Resilience in Environmental and Public Health: Is it Time for a Social-Ecological Systems Approach? L. Galway, A. Salomon, D.M. Allen, and T. Takaro. Abstract Resilience in social-ecological systems incorporates ideas about adaptability, innovation, self-organization, and the ability to persist through disturbance. It has become a concept and theory useful for analyzing and understanding social-ecological systems and the foundation for policy that is adaptive and acknowledges uncertainty. Despite the increasing popularity of social-ecological resilience in numerous disciplines, the concept has not yet been adopted within the realm of environmental and public health. This paper reviews the environmental and public health literature to describe the ways in which resilience has been used and conceptualized to date, and argues for the use of a social-ecological systems approach in environmental and public health, particularly among those sub-disciplines concerned with the impacts of environmental change on human health. Papers and research such as this, which introduce and provide insight into the concept of social-ecological resilience aimed at an environmental and public health audience can enrich and advance strategies for protecting human health in a changing future. Introduction Over the past two decades, the concept of resilience in coupled social-ecological systems has gained popularity and clout across disciplines, including resource management, human dimensions of global change, and international development. Resilience in social-ecological systems incorporates ideas about adaptability, innovation, self-organization and the ability to persist through disturbance (Folke, 2006). It has become a concept and theory useful for analyzing and understanding social-ecological systems, as well as the ways in which these complex systems navigate change. Resilience in social-ecological systems has also become the foundation for policy that is adaptive in nature and acknowledges uncertainty and unpredictability. Despite these compelling qualities, the concept of social-ecological resilience has not yet been adopted within the realm of environmental and public health. This paper is guided by the overarching question: Is it time for a social-ecological resilience approach in environmental and public health? To adequately address this question, the following paper: a) reviews resilience concepts; b) describes the ways in which resilience is used and conceptualized in environmental and public health literature; c) outlines the reasons why social- ecological resilience is a useful paradigm for environmental and public health research and practice; and d) describes the current barriers and potential bridges to greater integration of social-ecological resilience approaches in the fields of environmental and public health. A review of this sort has not yet been conducted using a human health lens. Papers and research such as this, which introduce and provide insight into the concept of social-ecological resilience aimed at an environmental and public health audience, are needed and long overdue.