'Health and Environment' is the nucleus of knowledge and practices surrounding the relations between society and nature, mediated by the mode of production and human labor, which help to understand the determination of the health-disease process of different social classes and groups. This paper discusses the challenges to build this field from the perspective of its Thematic Group of the Association of Collective Health. The three core themes of the 2nd Brazilian Symposium on Environmental Health are taken as the theoretical framework for analysis. A timeline of the group's trajectory, in its historical context, helps to identify the contemporary challenges. Among the main challenges identified, the challenge of building an interdisciplinary, intersectoral and participatory scientific practice, which could build knowledge and dialogue with social movements, is highlighted.
Health and environment; Development; Conflicts; Social movements; Environmental justice