Transcript Tackling the Public Health Impact of Climate Change..

TACKLING THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT OF
CLIMATE CHANGE: THE ROLE OF DOMESTIC
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
William Onzivu
Lecturer in Law
Bradford University Law School
Bradford University
United Kingdom
www.bradford.ac.uk/management
Some Questions
• What are the key threats posed by climate change and
for public health specifically?
• What public health and other interventions have been
proposed and are effective in mitigating the public health
effects of climate change?
• What role can the health and relevant sectors play in
shaping domestic climate laws and policies in developing
countries?
• What role can domestic governance mechanisms play in
translating adaptation and mitigation options into
effective measures to tackle public health effects of
climate change?
Impacts of climate change
• Four main consequences of climate change have been
identified and include: temperature rise, sea level rise,
extremes in the hydrologic cycle and accelerated ozone
depletion. Climate change causes variants in the
geographical range of disease organisms and vectors,
air, food, water and soil. It affects the stability of
ecosystems on which human health depends.
[1] Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Carlos Corvalán, Maria Neira, Global climate change:
implications for international public health policy, Bulletin of the World Health Organization,
Volume 85, Number 3, March 2007, 161-244
Public Health Impacts of Climate
Change
Pathways by which climate change affects human
health: Temperature related illness and death, extreme
weather related health effects such as floods,
hurricanes, air pollution related health effects(SE Asia
forest fires), water and food borne diseases, vector
borne diseases, effects of food and water shortages on
health, mental, nutritional, infectious and other health
effects
Patz, J. et al, .....Environmental Health Perspectives, 108: 367-76(2000)
Health impacts of climate change
Climate change will have a disproportionate negative
public health impact on developing countries including
small Island States, resulting in increases of infectious
diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, schistomiasis,
chagas disease, sleeping sickness, river blindness, and
encephalitis. The vulnerability of water sources to
climate change increases prevalence of water borne
diseases such as cholera and diarrhea” (Peru, South
East Asia, Africa).
“
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change
2001:third assessment report, impacts, adaptations and vulnerability of
climate change, McCarthy JJ et al.eds. Cambridge University Press, 2001
Key features of impact of climate change on
health
- Cause and effect chain is complex, environmental
-
-
health conditions, behavioural
Exacerbates existing environmental health conditions
The health impacts are diverse, globalized and
potentially irreversible
the impacts are huge
The health risks are inequitable
Impacts can be prevented through mitigation and
adaptation in public health and other sectoral measures,
water, agriculture
Developing countries face double burden of disease
• Infectious disease
• Non-infectious disease
• Environmental health and climate change threats pose
andouble
additional(and
burden.
The
now triple) health jeopardy
(WHO, World Health Report, 1999; Jeffrey D. Sachs, WHO Commission on Microeconomics and
Health: Investing in Health for Economic Development, 2001)
Health in the global climate law: WHO Resolution
WHA61.19 of 24 May 2008
• Endorsed the findings of the IPCC on the health impacts
of climate change and linked health and climate change
with MDGs
• Calls upon countries to integrate climate change
concerns into health policies and other strategies
including promoting health in adaptation measures.
• Calls upon WHO members to build capacity as well as
promote multi-sectoral cooperation on matters of climate
change and health.
• Strengthen health systems
Health in the global climate law
- Bridging the anthropocentric/eco-centric divide?:
conceptual challenges
- adverse effects of climate change includes deleterious
effects on health(Art.1).
- Parties required to integrate climate change into their
policies to minimize its adverse effects on public
health(Art.4(1)(f)
- The Convention emphasizes the role of science and
technology(Art.4(1)(g)) and Art.9(1). Health is also a
science based, evidence driven sector.
Climate change and Health: Trends in developing
countries.
• Tackling climate change is a public health concern, with
attempts to integrate climate change into health programmes.
• Health is one of the priority sectors for adaptation(see the
NAPAs) as well as under climate change regime generally.
• Domestic institutional mechanism for climate change often
include the health sector(with limitations)
•
The health sector contributes scientific expertise domestic
implementation of the climate change legal regime.
• Increasing environmental health jurisprudence but slow
corresponding statutory legal reforms.
Options to counteract health impact of
Climate Change: International Law
• Adaptation and mitigation: Emission reduction: CDM?
• Legislative measures
• Institutional changes
• Economic instruments
• Assessments and monitoring
Governance related limitations: The health
perspective.
•
Poor health infrastructure and systems
•
•
Weak environmental and health governance structure
Obsolete/inadequate legal, policy and institutional
frameworks
• Poor or inadequate adaptation capacity to face
challenges of climate change
(McMichael A.J et al, Climate Change and Human Health, Risks and
Responses, WHO, WMO, UNEP, 2003)
Governance frameworks, issues and
challenges
• National Action Plans: Most lack broad climate change
policy. NAPAs identify health as a key sector. There is a
challenge of integrating relevant Plans.
• Domestic environmental/Health laws: No climate specific
statutes, obsolete, slow legal reforms.
• Institutional mechanisms: Both the IPCC and UNFCC
emphasize the importance of institutional frameworks.
Challenges include sectoral conflicts, fractious
collaboration mechanisms, budgetary limitations etc.
CHALLENGES
•
Environmental/health impact assessments
Health often peripheral in many EIAs. Methodological
challenges-plethora of assessments, specific projects vs
macro-social, biophysical impacts.
• Health systems and infrastructures: Environmental
health not well considered in broad public health,
emphasis on curative measures.
• Capacity building: Legal, technical and financial
assistance: High disease burdens, Challenges of
external technical assistance, limited technological
transfer, limitations of GEF projects for health financing
CHALLENGES
•
The role of the civil society
•
Sub-national, local and community environmental
participation is a challenge.
The North – South context
Climate change is a global problem that requires
global solutions
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•
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Technology transfer
Financial transfer
Development of a liability regime
Role of global and regional health laws and policies
CONCLUSIONS: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
- Strengthening the key tenets of the climate change
regime generally and especially enhancing visibility of
health in implementing the climate change regime at
both the international and domestic levels.
- Domestic action: Legal and institutional reform
Merci à tous