Collecting data on state of ecosystems and human health

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.