Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating Human Health into the Environmental Assessment Process: The Canadian Experience Contextualised to International Efforts

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 1550034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pouyan Mahboubi ◽  
Margot W. Parkes ◽  
Hing Man Chan
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Status ◽  
Public Collaboration

A scoping review of the literature was conducted to identify the most pressing issues pertaining to the application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and the integration of health concerns into the Environmental Assessment (EA) process in Canada and internationally. The issues identified include the need for government intervention, gaps in methodology and tools, limitations of capacity and expertise, poor intersectoral, disciplinary and public collaboration/participation, challenges of data quantification and analytic complexity, and the need for process efficiency. The issues presented were also contextualised to the status quo practice of EA in Canada and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA 2012). Recommendations were proposed as a starting point for improved integration. First, a commitment by the actors involved to the protection of human health — aligned with the core mandate of the CEAA. Second, the achievement of intersectoral, disciplinary and public collaboration, led by government, ideally the health sector. The case is made for a new era of Canadian leadership and innovation at the interface of health and EA.

scholarly journals Performance of Excess Heat Factor Severity as a Global Heatwave Health Impact Index

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2494 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Nairn ◽  
Bertram Ostendorf ◽  
Peng Bi
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Excess Heat ◽  
Excess Heat Factor ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Uk

The establishment of an effective policy response to rising heatwave impacts is most effective when the history of heatwaves, their current impacts and future risks, are mapped by a common metric. In response meteorological agencies aim to develop seamless climate, forecast, and warning heat impact services, spanning all temporal and spatial scales. The ability to diagnose heatwave severity using the Excess Heat Factor (EHF) has allowed the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau) to publicly release 7-day heatwave severity maps since 2014. National meteorological agencies in the UK and the United States are evaluating global 7-day and multi-week EHF heatwave severity probability forecasts, whilst the Bureau contributes to a Copernicus project to supply the health sector with global EHF severity heatwave projection scenarios. In an evaluation of impact skill within global forecast systems, EHF intensity and severity is reviewed as a predictor of human health impact, and extended using climate observations and human health data for sites around the globe. Heatwave intensity, determined by short and long-term temperature anomalies at each locality, is normalized to permit spatial analysis and inter-site comparison. Dimensionless heatwave event moments of peak severity and accumulated severity are shown to correlate with noteworthy events around the globe, offering new insights into current and future heatwave variability and vulnerability. The EHF severity metric permits the comparison of international heatwave events and their impacts, and is readily implemented within international heatwave early warning systems.

scholarly journals Health justice in the Anthropocene: medical ethics and the Land Ethic

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 791-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Wardrope
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Biomedical Ethics ◽  
Land Ethic ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Land Community

Industrialisation, urbanisation and economic development have produced unprecedented (if unevenly distributed) improvements in human health. They have also produced unprecedented exploitation of Earth’s life support systems, moving the planet into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene—one defined by human influence on natural systems. The health sector has been complicit in this influence. Bioethics, too, must acknowledge its role—the environmental threats that will shape human health in this century represent a ‘perfect moral storm’ challenging the ethical theories of the last. The US conservationist Aldo Leopold saw this gathering storm more clearly than many, and in his Land Ethic describes the beginnings of a route to safe passage. Its starting point is a reinterpretation of the ethical relationship between humanity and the ‘land community’, the ecosystems we live within and depend upon; moving us from ‘conqueror’ to ‘plain member and citizen’ of that community. The justice of the Land Ethic questions many presuppositions implicit to discussions of the topic in biomedical ethics. By valuing the community in itself—in a way irreducible to the welfare of its members—it steps away from the individualism axiomatic in contemporary bioethics. Viewing ourselves as citizens of the land community also extends the moral horizons of healthcare from a solely human focus. Taking into account the ‘stability’ of the community requires intergenerational justice. The resulting vision of justice in healthcare—one that takes climate and environmental justice seriously—could offer health workers an ethic fit for the future.

Tools for assessment of human health dimensions in forests | Tools for assessment of human health dimensions in forests

2010 ◽  
Vol 161 (3) ◽  
pp. 114-119
Author(s):  
Jari Parviainen ◽  
Peter Furu ◽  
Conor Kretsch
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Forest Conditions

Human health related to forests can be evaluated by Health Impact Assessment (HIA) methodologies and by using indicators of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). The HIA systematically reviews the health aspects associated with a development policy, plan or project for a forested area, whereas the indicators of SFM can be used to monitor and give information on the existing forests, and their management, including planning. A prerequisite for the assessment of human health aspects in forestry context is defining the relevant indicators. The physical and mental aspects of human health as well as human diseases related to forest conditions are not covered comprehensively and in an operational way for use in current forest management. The health aspects need more multidisciplinary research on the cause-effect relationships between health, forest management and biodiversity. It is also necessary to develop methodologies for the estimation of the economic value of the non-market forest ecosystem services. This article outlines several possibilities to collaborate and develop joint approaches between forest and health sector to assess the health aspect in forests and to ensure that the health aspects in forest management are taken into consideration.

scholarly journals Role of the health sector in EIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Martuzzi ◽  
J Nowacki ◽  
B Cave ◽  
O Mekel ◽  
F Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Good Starting Point ◽  
High Level ◽  
Significant Health

Abstract EIA is an obligation for many projects in many countries. Consideration of human health within EIA is also an obligation. This results in an invaluable opportunity for early consideration of a variety of environmental health determinants, leading to minimization of noxious exposures and promotion of the salutogenic factors involved in plans and projects in many sectors. In other words, EIA can be an extremely powerful vehicle to scaling up primary prevention - by far the most effective strategy in public health. This opportunity is further enriched by the recent revision of the EU Directive on EIA, which makes better provision for human health considerations in EIA, in particular referring to the need to address “significant” health effects of plans and projects - without elaborating further. The health sector can play a key role in EIA by: recognizing the opportunity and its potential, so far under-exploited; engage in dialogue with other sectors, on specific applications; make institutional arrangements so as to secure manpower and competences to contribute to EIA; advocate for a high level of human health consideration in EIAs on the ground. This process requires careful consideration of needs and constraints of EIA, including a need to establish a common language with other sectors, the identification of realistic, achievable goals, as well as long-term objectives, the consolidation of available methods and tools and a need to engage in possibly unfamiliar conversations. A pragmatic, operational decision on what constitutes significant health effects in the context of EIA may be a good starting point to measure the readiness of the health sector to undertake this journey.

SUSTAINABILITY: A NEW ERA IN APPROVALS PROCESSES

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 797
Author(s):  
B. Wylynko ◽  
A. Hartley
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
New Era ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Sustainability Assessments ◽  
Western Australian

With its in-principle approval of the Gorgon gas proposal, the Western Australian government has heralded a new era —the era of sustainability assessments.No longer confined to strict environmental criteria, sustainability assessments will also consider the economic and social aspects of proposed oil and gas developments. This has a number of ramifications for the legal framework within which existing approvals processes operate.This paper examines traditional environmental assessment as represented by the processes used by Western Australia and the Commonwealth (which will be applied to the Gorgon proposal). It finds that while economic and social factors are expressly included in the legal framework, these factors have not played a large role in either assessing the significance of proposal impacts or in determining the conditions to be placed on the proposals. In the case of Western Australia, in 1996 the Supreme Court overturned recommendations by the Environmental Protection Authority, and a subsequent decision by the Minister for the Environment, on the basis that they had considered extraneous economic factors.Soon after approving the Gorgon proposal, the Western Australian Government published a State Sustainability Strategy. The strategy calls for sustainability assessments to be built upon existing environmental assessment processes. Having outlined the traditional environmental assessment process, the paper draws out a series of principles that may serve as a starting point for discussion about how to create sustainability assessment processes from environmental assessment processes. Key principles include comprehensiveness and an articulation of the objectives to be met through the assessments.The notion of sustainability is gradually becoming incorporated into the environmental legal framework. Sustainability assessments may be the next step in the development of that framework.

scholarly journals How can electric lighting contribute to human health and well-being?

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-522
Author(s):  
P Raynham
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Electric Light ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Hypothetical Explanation

Electric light in buildings may provide some health benefits; however, for most people these benefits are likely to be small. It is possible for electric lighting to cause health problems, if there is too little light or there is glare, but for the most part there is good guidance available and these problems can be avoided. The quality of the lit environment can have a psychological impact and this may in turn impact well-being. A starting point for this is perceived adequacy of illumination. Related lighting metrics are examined and a hypothetical explanation is suggested.

scholarly journals Democratizing ownership and participation in the 4th Industrial Revolution: challenges and opportunities in cellular agriculture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Chiles ◽  
Garrett Broad ◽  
Mark Gagnon ◽  
Nicole Negowetti ◽  
Leland Glenna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Advanced Materials ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Status ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Industry Sectors

AbstractThe emergence of the “4th Industrial Revolution,” i.e. the convergence of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, advanced materials, and bioengineering technologies, could accelerate socioeconomic insecurities and anxieties or provide beneficial alternatives to the status quo. In the post-Covid-19 era, the entities that are best positioned to capitalize on these innovations are large firms, which use digital platforms and big data to orchestrate vast ecosystems of users and extract market share across industry sectors. Nonetheless, these technologies also have the potential to democratize ownership, broaden political-economic participation, and reduce environmental harms. We articulate the potential sociotechnical pathways in this high-stakes crossroads by analyzing cellular agriculture, an exemplary 4th Industrial Revolution technology that synergizes computer science, biopharma, tissue engineering, and food science to grow cultured meat, dairy, and egg products from cultured cells and/or genetically modified yeast. Our exploration of this space involved multi-sited ethnographic research in both (a) the cellular agriculture community and (b) alternative economic organizations devoted to open source licensing, member-owned cooperatives, social financing, and platform business models. Upon discussing how these latter approaches could potentially facilitate alternative sociotechnical pathways in cellular agriculture, we reflect upon the broader implications of this work with respect to the 4th Industrial Revolution and the enduring need for public policy reform.

scholarly journals Security of Blockchain-Based Supply Chain Management Systems: Challenges and Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5585
Author(s):  
Sana Al-Farsi ◽  
Muhammad Mazhar Rathore ◽  
Spiros Bakiras
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Counter Measures ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Unique Approach

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that is being used in many applications, including supply chain management. Although, the primary motive of using a blockchain for supply chain management is to reduce the overall production cost while providing the comprehensive security to the system. However, current blockchain-based supply-chain management (BC-SCM) systems still hold the possibility of cyber attacks. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate practical threats and vulnerabilities in the design of BC-SCM systems. As a starting point, we first establish key requirements for the reliability and security of supply chain management systems, i.e., transparency, privacy and traceability, and then discern a threat model that includes two distinctive but practical threats including computational (i.e., the ones that threaten the functionality of the application) and communication (i.e., the ones that threaten information exchange among interconnected services of the application). For investigation, we follow a unique approach based on the hypothesis that reliability is pre-requisite of security and identify the threats considering (i) design of smart contracts and associated supply chain management applications, (ii) underlying blockchain execution environment and (iii) trust between all interconnected supply management services. Moreover, we consider both academic and industry solutions to identify the threats. We identify several challenges that hinder to establish reliability and security of the BC-SCM systems. Importantly, we also highlight research gaps that can help to establish desired security of the BC-SCM. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first effort that identifies practical threats to blockchain-based supply chain management systems and provides their counter measures. Finally, this work establishes foundation for future investigation towards practical security of BC-SCM system.

scholarly journals A Transdisciplinary Approach to Address Climate Change Adaptation for Human Health and Well-Being in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4258
Author(s):  
Caradee Yael Wright ◽  
Candice Eleanor Moore ◽  
Matthew Chersich ◽  
Rebecca Hester ◽  
Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Comprehensive Health ◽  
African Context

The health sector response to dealing with the impacts of climate change on human health, whether mitigative or adaptive, is influenced by multiple factors and necessitates creative approaches drawing on resources across multiple sectors. This short communication presents the context in which adaptation to protect human health has been addressed to date and argues for a holistic, transdisciplinary, multisectoral and systems approach going forward. Such a novel health-climate approach requires broad thinking regarding geographies, ecologies and socio-economic policies, and demands that one prioritises services for vulnerable populations at higher risk. Actions to engage more sectors and systems in comprehensive health-climate governance are identified. Much like the World Health Organization’s ‘Health in All Policies’ approach, one should think health governance and climate change together in a transnational framework as a matter not only of health promotion and disease prevention, but of population security. In an African context, there is a need for continued cross-border efforts, through partnerships, blending climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and long-term international financing, to contribute towards meeting sustainable development imperatives.

scholarly journals Reconciling Loss Aversion and Gain Seeking in Judged Emotions

2021 ◽  
pp. 096372142199204
Author(s):  
Barbara A. Mellers ◽  
Siyuan Yin ◽  
Jonathan Z. Berman
Keyword(s):  
Loss Aversion ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Negative Change ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Status ◽  
Positive Feelings ◽  
Negative Feelings

Is the pain of a loss greater in magnitude than the pleasure of a comparable gain? Studies that compare positive feelings about a gain with negative feelings about a comparable loss have found mixed answers to this question. The pain of a loss can be greater than, less than, or equal to the pleasure of a comparable gain. We offer a new approach to test hedonic loss aversion. This method uses emotional reactions to the reference point, a positive change, and a negative change. When we manipulated the reference point (i.e., pleasurable and painful), two distinct patterns emerged. Pain surpassed pleasure (loss aversion) when the reference point was positive, and pleasure exceeded pain (gain seeking) when the reference point was negative. A reference-dependent version of prospect theory accounts for the results. If the carriers of utility are changes from a reference point—not necessarily the status quo—both loss aversion and gain seeking are predicted. Loss aversion and gain seeking can be reconciled if you take the starting point into account.

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