strategy
Collecting data on state of ecosystems and human health
Synonyms:
Assessing and integrating information on ecosystems and human health Implementation:
This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends collect, analysing and integrating data on the links between the state of ecosystems and the health of human communities in order to improve knowledge of the cost and benefit of different development policies and strategies in relation to health and the environment, particularly in developing countries.Health data reporting mechanisms are necessary to provide a basis for research into possible causal links between health problems and environmental factors. Better surveillance of diseases and monitoring of environmental indicators that may be related to health, including occupational health, are needed. In addition to mortality data, which give only a crude and late warning of potential problems, cancer registers and sentinel surveys should be used and structured so as to maximize public access to relevant information without compromising personal privacy. Public registers on the health-threatening properties of substances, such as the International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals, are also of great importance.
Broader:
Applying science sustainablyIntegrating sustainable development informationCollecting ecological data Narrower:
Assessing resident health status Facilitates:
Assessing health risksProviding health informationDocumenting hazards to human healthAdopting health impact assessment proceduresPromoting public education on health effects of climate changeUndertaking interdisciplinary research on health effects of climate change Facilitated by:
Monitoring effects of air pollution on human health Subjects:
Mankind → HumanGeography → Ecology
Information → Information
Information → Data, codes
Commerce → Assessment
Health Care → Health
Government → Nation state
Type Classification:
E: Emanations of other strategies Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
