is coupling health impact assessment with strategic environmental assessment the next step forward?
European Union (EU) Member States are interested in using health impact assessment (HIA) as a means of safeguarding their obligations to protect human health under the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, several have encountered difficulties institutionalizing HIA with the policy-making process. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has suggested coupling HIA with strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Traditionally, the incorporation of HIA into other forms of impact assessment has been resisted, for fear of losing its focus on health issues to environmental concerns, and compromising its social model of health with the introduction of biophysical indicators. But can these fears be substantiated? In this paper, we investigate the grounds for such concerns by reviewing the relevant policy documents and departmental guidelines of four non-European countries that have considered the use of integrated assessment. We found that the case for asso
Related Questions
- Does your proposal require further statutory assessment e.g. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?
- How is an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to a Health Impact Assessment (HIA)?
- What was the Eastern Neighborhood Community Health Impact Assessment (ENCHIA)?
