Local Environmental Health Planning: Guidance for Local & National Authorities (WHO Regional Publications, European)

Description

International initiatives, such as Agenda 21, have led to local action on the environment and health. These local initiatives seek to improve the health and quality of life of the local population by involving the community in decision-making and by integrating social, economic and environmental concerns into policy and action. In the WHO European Region, agreements reached at Region-wide ministerial conferences led to the development of national environmental health action plans (NEHAPs), which in turn has created a framework for the development of local environmental health action plans (LEHAPs).This book provides an analysis of existing local planning processes and initiatives in the WHO European Region, identifies their common features, and describes how they interrelate with and support NEHAPs. Based on a two-year project carried out in the eastern half of the Region, this book also provides guidance and options for the development of LEHAPs that give the levels of flexibility necessary to ensure that a bottom-up planning process can occur. This publication addresses both local and national policy-makers and professionals in the environmental, health and other sectors. It provides valuable reading for anyone interested in integrated action to improve and protect the environment and health.