|
Background Paper for Session #3
Meeting of the Health and Environment
Ministers of the Americas
March 4-5, 2002 - Ottawa
Building our Capacities to Address Environmental Threats to Human
Health
Prepared by the Pan American Health
Organization and the United Nations
";It is critically important for decision-makers
and the public alike to have access to reliable information, since
such information improves the decision-making process at all levels
and helps governments to respond to national priorities as well
as internationally acquired responsibilities." ~UNEP, 2001
Introduction
As governments strive to respond to the growing threats to human
health and the environment, they increasingly turn to scientific
research and the knowledge that it brings us. Accurate and timely
information on the state of our environment and human health is
crucial for the development of effective public policy. Without
a comprehensive understanding of the conditions of our environment
and our health, we are unable to address current problems, anticipate
and prevent emerging threats, propose adequate solutions or assess
whether progress is being achieved.
Chapter 40 of Agenda 21 Report of the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development - recognizes the importance of improving
the availability of information in order to ensure that scientific
knowledge is properly applied to the development of effective policy.
It stresses that the gap in the availability, quality, coherence,
standardization and accessibility of data between developed and
developing countries is ";seriously impairing the capacities
of countries to make informed decisions concerning environment and
development."
Furthermore, Chapter 8 of Agenda 21 addresses the importance of
integrating environment (and development) into decision making.
One of the key objectives, as stated in this chapter, is to ";improve
or restructure the decision-making process so that consideration
of socio-economic and environmental issues is fully integrated and
a broader range of public participation assured." Only by meeting
this objective will it be possible for Ministers to gain a full
understanding of health and environment problems in the Americas,
and implement effective and appropriate solutions at the local,
national and regional levels.
Chapter 6 of Agenda 21 makes several recommendations on capacity
building that conclude that each country should develop the knowledge
and practical skills to foresee and identify environmental health
hazards and develop the capacity to reduce the risks. Capacity building
is viewed as an investment that society must make to be more self-reliant.
Integrated Assessments
Integrated environmental assessments have been undertaken by various
national and international organizations to provide answers to questions
such as: what is happening to the environment, why is it happening,
what is being done about it (i.e. policies) and what will happen
if appropriate action is not taken (UNEP, 2001). Ideally, these
integrated assessments should be cross-sectoral and participatory.
They are designed to incorporate a broad range of views and build
consensus on priority issues and actions through dialogue between
policy-makers and scientists at the regional, sub-regional and national
level (ibid.). A number of integrated assessments have been successful
at influencing policy.
The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer (Montreal Protocol) is one of the first international environmental
agreements in which scientific understanding played a key role in
influencing policy. In the 1970s and 1980s, scientific research
assessed the threat that chlorofluoro-carbons (CFCs) posed to stratospheric
ozone (Morrisette). One of the key reports was the 1985 WMO/NASA
science assessment, which involved 150 scientists from 11 countries,
and concluded that increased concentrations of CFCs (among other
gases) were leading to stratospheric ozone depletion (ibid.). This
assessment was part of a growing body of scientific literature which
highlighted the severity of the problem for the international community,
and finally resulted in the Montreal Protocol.
The international community drew on the experience of the Montreal
Protocol to develop a research model for the assessment of climate
change (Russell and Toner: 3). In 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) was established to bring international
experts together to ";assemble and assess the most recent available
scientific knowledge and to determine what is known and not known
about the climate system and climate change" (ibid.). The IPCC
has presented three influential reports on different aspects of
climate change, including the scientific aspects of climate change
(Working Group I), the impacts of climate change (Working Group
II), and the options for mitigation and adaptation (Working Group
III). The first report played an important role in establishing
the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change, and the second report provided key inputs to
international negotiations, leading to the Kyoto Protocol (1997)
and the recent Bonn Agreement (2001).
The Global Environment Outlook (GEO), which was developed by UNEP
in 1995, is a more recent assessment initiative that helps build
consensus on ";priority issues and actions through dialogue
between policy-makers and scientists at the regional, sub-regional
and national levels". The objective of the GEO report series
is to:
";identify major environmental concerns, trends and emerging issues,
together with their causes, and their social and economic impacts.
The reports also promote the incorporation of the environment into
the mainstream of decision making to provide guidance for the formation
of environmental policies and action plans" (ibid.).
An assessment on any given issue will rely on the state of current
scientific knowledge. A critical part of that knowledge rests on
ongoing surveillance and monitoring data. All countries within the
Americas currently monitoring a core group of indicators for health,
within PAHO";s Health Analysis program, ";at least at the
national level and often down to the state/province/country level"
(Gosselin, 2002). Not many environmental health indicators are within
this core set of indicators. However, since 1995 environmental and
occupational health (EOH) surveillance programs have been established
in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Canada, USA and Panama, Central America
(pesticides) and the Caribbean (fish related) and, WHO is currently
promoting sets of indicators for environmental public health surveillance
and for children";s health and the environment (ibid.).
Proposal for Integrated Environment and Human Health Assessment
As we enter a new chapter in addressing environment and health
issues in the hemisphere, it is appropriate to take stock of the
state of our knowledge. This paper proposes undertaking an ";Integrated
Environment and Health Assessment" in order to establish the
baseline knowledge of environmental threats to human health in the
region and actions required to reduce these threats.
This integrated regional assessment would seek to answer the following
questions:
- What are the current environmental threats to human health in
the region?
- What will be the environmental threats to human health in the
regions in 15 years if we maintain the status quo?
- Are existing policies adequate in addressing environmental threats
to human health? If not, how could they be improved?
- What environment and health indicators should be used to track
progress in the region?
- What additional action should be taken by Ministers (research,
surveillance, indicators, technology transfer, capacity building,
mitigating measures, education, etc.)?
- How can existing institutions in the Americas assist countries
in addressing their environmental threats to human health?
The assessment would probe one or more of the priority areas for
action in the Region discussed in Session 2 (listed below) thereby
providing specific directions on how to achieve common goals for
the Region:
- clean water and basic environmental sanitation;
- clean air;
- chemical safety;
- anticipating and preventing health implications of climate variability;
and
- anticipating and preventing health implications of natural disasters
The assessment activity proposed is modest in relation to that
undertaken by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. One
of the options for undertaking the assessment would be to build
on the existing GEO report series and its existing regional assessment
process which includes collaboration centres throughout the region
and consultations with governments. The assessment could also use
the existing expertise within PAHO, Pan American Center for Sanitary
Engineering and Environmental Sciences (CEPIS) and the Caribbean
Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), and individuals countries.
It is proposed that we ask PAHO and UNEP to work with the Ministerial
Steering Committee to develop and implement plans for an Integrated
Assessment of Human Health and the Environment Linkages in the Americas.
Proposal for Enhancing the Transfer and Use of Information
Conducting assessments alone, however, will not be sufficient to
mobilize action on specific threats to human health. Knowledge and
science must be made accessible so that they can be used by decision-makers
at the community level, as well as nationally and regionally. Through
the Rio Declaration is the basic premise that capacity building
is the means by which countries take responsibility for their own
health by identifying and responding effectively to environmental
issues that lead to poor health. In order to make concrete progress
on our shared goals and priorities, we must improve the communication
and transfer of our knowledge and information. To this end we may
wish to ask PAHO and UNEP, in partnership with countries and institutions,
to determine how we better disseminate information within the region.
Steps we can take include:
- strengthening our existing scientific and information networks
including existing institutions, such as the Pan American Center
for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences (CEPIS), the
Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), and the PAHO
and UNEP Collaborating Centres;.
- using proven communication and education tools such as workshops
and conferences;
- applying new technologies such as the internet to disseminate
and exchange information. The Virtual Library in Health and Environment
maintained by CEPIS
(http://www.cepis.ops-oms.org) is one site that we can use.
- finalizing a common set of environmental health indicators for
the region.
Conclusion
As we develop policy measures to address health and environment
problems in the Region, it is of fundamental importance that the
decisions be based on sound and reliable information. Undertaking
an integrated regional assessment on environment and health linkages
and working collaboratively on enhancing and providing the required
tools to better disseminate information will help us build capacity
to:
- understand current and emerging environmental threats to human
health;
- develop priorities for action, at the community, national and
regional/international levels;
- identify best practices;
- identify capacity needs and/or barriers to needed actions;
- track progress in addressing environmental threats to human
health and improving the quality of life of our citizens;
- assist governments in providing their citizens with information
that allows them to protect their own health.
Questions for Ministers
- Do we agree that an integrated assessment of human health and
environment linkages should be established for the Americas to
build capacity in the region and to support our decision making?
- How will we translate the knowledge we gather into effective
information exchange and best practices in our region? What are
the tools and mechanisms that will enable the use of knowledge
and science available in the region?
Ministerial Discussion
Paper
Introduction
References
- Gosselin, Pierre. 2002. Health and Environment of the Americas
Meeting (Background Paper on Environment and Health Indicators
in the Americas). Draft version.
- Morrisette, P.M. 1989. The evolution of policy responses
to stratospheric ozone depletion. Natural Resources Journal
29: 793-820.
- Russel, Douglas J. and Glen Toner. 1999. Science and policy
when the heat is rising: global climate change negotiations and
the Canadian response: the evolving relationship of science to
policy. GCSI (Global Change Strategies International).
- UNEP (United Nations Environment Program). 2001. Assessment
and Early Warning in Latin America and the Caribbean. UNEP,
Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and DEWA/ROLAC.
- UNEP (United Nations Environment Program). 1999. Global
Environmental Outlook 2000. London: Earthscan Publications
Ltd.
|
