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Environment and Health in EEA Environment and Health in EEA

assessments and reporting assessments and reporting

Ecoinformatics meeting Ecoinformatics meeting 08-11 April 2008, RTP, NC08-11 April 2008, RTP, NC

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EEA work in Environment and Health EEA work in Environment and Health

• 6th Environmental Action Programme (2002-2012)• Climate change • Nature and biodiversity • Environment and health• Natural resources and waste

• EU Environment and Health Action Plan (2004-2010)

• WHO pan-European Environment and Health process (follow up of Budapest conference, 2004)

Both promote information systems and indicators

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The Commission is invited:

- to continue developing a comprehensive environment and

health information system to identify hazards, set planning

priorities, measure progress, and changes in the

environmental quality and health status …to facilitate

international comparisons and evaluation of policies

Council Conclusions on Environment and Health

Council of the European Union, 2007

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EEA cooperation and partnership in E&H workEEA cooperation and partnership in E&H work

• WHO Europe – EHIS process

• DG JRC

• DG Environment

• DG Sanco

• DG Research

• DG Infso

• other European agencies, e.g. ECDC, ECHA, EFSA …

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Environment and Health in EEA reporting –Environment and Health in EEA reporting –recent examplesrecent examples

• Environment and Health EEA/JRC, 2005

• Europe’s Environment: the fourth assessment report (Belgrade report), 2007

•indicator based report•complemented by sub-regional assessments, where

information is limited or gaps exist, and by case studies

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Environment and Health in the Belgrade report Environment and Health in the Belgrade report

Policy responses to environment and health challenges in Europe are improving

Initiatives to address environment and health issues are growing at regional, national, and local levels

For many health hazards actions lag behind policies

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Environment and Health - Air quality

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9EEA, 2007

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Particulate matter and ozone caused 380,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2000

Small particles remain main health threat in EECCA and SEE

Loss of statistical life expectancy (months) due to anthropogenic PM2.5

emitted in 2000

Environment and Health – Air qualityEnvironment and Health – Air quality

Projected emission reductions in WCE and SEE will reduce significantly impacts on public health and ecosystems

Loss of statistical life expectancy (months) due to anthropogenic PM2.5 -

projected emission levels for 2020

EEA, 2007

11WHO, 2007

WHO ENHIS report

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Work at ETC/ACC (European Topic Centre) on urban population exposure to PM10 and ozone continued – data and maps for the year 2005 available

Quantification of health impacts – premature death - by country – attributable to long term exposure to PM10, and to ozone exposure

Uncertainty analysis included

Environment and Health – Air qualityEnvironment and Health – Air quality

ETC ACC, 2007

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Environment and Health – Inland WatersEnvironment and Health – Inland Waters

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More than 100 million people in the region lack

access to safe drinking water

The quality of water supply and sanitation services

has deteriorated over the past 15 years in EECCA

and SEE

One-third of the pan-European population lives in

countries where water resources are under

substantial pressure

Environment and Health – Inland WatersEnvironment and Health – Inland Waters

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EEA Core Set

Use of freshwater resources

Urban wastewater treatment

Bathing water quality

Chlorophyll in transitional,

coastal and marine waters

Nutrients in freshwater

Nutrients in transitional, coastal

and marine waters

Oxygen consuming substances

in rivers

WHO, ENHIS

Public water supply and

access to safe water

Wastewater treatment and

access to improved

sanitation

Bathing water quality

Outbreaks of waterborne

diseases

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Environment and Health – Inland WatersEnvironment and Health – Inland Waters

EEA, 2007

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•The indicator shows that in seven European countries surveyed

there were 75 outbreaks of waterborne diseases related to drinking-

water resulting in over 12 000 episodes of illness between 2000 and

2005

•The data must be interpreted cautiously, as differences between

countries are likely to reflect the efficiency of surveillance systems

rather differences in outbreaks, and data were only available for a

few countries.

•This underlines the need for more widespread and effective

surveillance systems.

Outbreaks of waterborne diseases

WHO, 2007

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Wastewater treatment coverage and Wastewater treatment coverage and bathing water qualitybathing water quality

WHO, 2007

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Environment and Health – Hazardous chemicals Environment and Health – Hazardous chemicals

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Concern is growing about impacts of exposure to low

levels of chemicals, in complex mixtures, for long time

Relevant data and information are lacking to assess

whether serious threats from chemicals to human health

and the environment have been reduced

New agreements and legislation are in place that address

the safer handling and management of chemicals to

protect both human health and the environment

Environment and Health – HaEnvironment and Health – Hazardous zardous chemicalschemicals

21EEA, 2007

WHO ENHIS

• Exposure of children to chemical hazards in food

• POPs in human milk

• Blood lead in children

Belgrade report

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Chemicals and human health – what Chemicals and human health – what indicators? indicators?

• Human biomonitoring initiatives under the EU Environment and Health Action Plan

• Use of human and environmental biomonitoring data

• Other ….

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E&H related indicator initiatives in EuropeE&H related indicator initiatives in Europe

• EEA – health relevant subset of CSI

• WHO – E&H indicators (EHIS process)

• DG Sanco - ECHI process

• Eurostat – SDI – subset of public health indicators

• OECD health indicators

• EDEN project - Emerging Diseases in a Changing European

Environment

• other indicators projects (e.g. urban health…)

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• Are these indicator initiatives complementary?

• Are they sufficient for comprehensive E&H

assessments?

• Are they sustainable?

• How can they be linked to SEIS?

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financially supported by the DG "Public Health and Consumer

Protection" (DG Sanco) of the European Commission

a clear and coherent picture of the health status of the

European population and related time-trends and determinants

EEA and JRC - main contributors to the chapter

‘Environmental

determinants and settings’

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Environmental determinants and settings -Environmental determinants and settings - Contributions from EEA, JRC and WHO Contributions from EEA, JRC and WHO

• Introduction (EEA/RIVM)

• Air pollution (EEA/JRC)

• Drinking and recreational water (RIVM/JRC/EEA)

• Soil contamination and waste (EEA)

• Selected chemical contaminants (EEA)

• Use of pesticides (EFSA)

• Food safety (EFSA)

• Physical stressors – noise, radon, UV (EEA/JRC)

• Human settlements (WHO)

• Extreme weather events and health (WHO)

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Drivers DemographyGlobalisationInequalitiesClimate change UrbanisationLand useTransportEcosystems

State of public health Life expectancyMortality trends

Impact Non-communicable diseasesCommunicable diseaseAccident and injuriesRare diseasesReproductive healthSpecific population groups

Health determinants BehaviourEnvironmental determinants and settingsSocio-economic determinantsPsycho-social determinants

Responses Health systems EU and MS roles and initiatives, including health research

EUGLOREH assessment framework

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Challenges ahead for E&H information / indicator Challenges ahead for E&H information / indicator

development – to address complex environmental development – to address complex environmental

issuesissues

• Climate change impacts and adaptation

• Biodiversity and ecosystem services

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Climate Change and Health Climate Change and Health

Source: A. McMichael et al, The Lancet 2006; 367: 859-869.

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Heat wave events - the past and future in EuropeHeat wave events - the past and future in Europe

EEA, 2007

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Climate change impacts and adaptation – Climate change impacts and adaptation – E&H relevant activities at EEA E&H relevant activities at EEA

• ‘Climate change impacts in Europe’ - EEA/JRC/WHO report (due Sept 2008), including human health indicators

• Further cooperation with WHO on health indicators in the context of EEA work on climate change adaptation

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Climate change impacts and adaptation – Climate change impacts and adaptation – E&H relevant activities at EEA E&H relevant activities at EEA

• Expanding partnership – cooperation with the ECDC, Stockholm• Joint workshop ECDC/WHO/JRC/EEA on Environmental

Change and Infectious Disease, March 2007

• Technical workshop EEA/ECDC on networking, information exchange, March 2008

• Initiated cooperation on climate change / environmental change and infectious diseases – linking environmental and epidemiological data

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Biodiversity and ecosystem services – E&H Biodiversity and ecosystem services – E&H

contextcontext

MA, 2005

34 MA, 2005

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Biodiversity and ecosystem services – Biodiversity and ecosystem services – EEA activitiesEEA activities

the Belgrade reportBiodiversity decline and the loss of ecosystem services continue to be a major concern in the pan-European region. The target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 will not be achieved without additional efforts.

The main pressures on biodiversity continue to be urban sprawl, infrastructure development, acidification, eutrophication, desertification, overexploitation, intensification of agriculture and land abandonment.

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Biodiversity and ecosystem services – Biodiversity and ecosystem services – current EEA activitiescurrent EEA activities

The European biodiversity indicators (SEBI 2010)

The EURECA project – the European ecosystem assessment for selected ecosystems (in 2012) – with the improved and expanded status and trend monitoring of biodiversity to support a wider assessment of ecosystem services and socio-economic impacts

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Biodiversity and ecosystem services – Biodiversity and ecosystem services – Environment and health aspects Environment and health aspects

Availability of studies on biodiversity and human health, including economic valuation

Possible impacts of biodiversity loss on human health and wellbeing

mechanismshealth endpointsscale of assessment

Positive impacts on human wellbeing of maintaining biodiversity / ecosystem services

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- to gather information on environmental determinants with

positive health impacts, such as biodiverse environments,

non-motorized means of transport and housing conditions

Council Conclusions on Environment and Health, Dec 2007

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Communicating environment (and health) Communicating environment (and health) information – information –

responding to public interest/concerns responding to public interest/concerns

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The link between environmental concerns and lack The link between environmental concerns and lack of information on environmental topicsof information on environmental topics

Eurobarometer, March 2008Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment

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Three main sources ofThree main sources ofinformation about the environmentinformation about the environment

Eurobarometer, March 2008Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment

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Responsibility for protecting the Responsibility for protecting the environmentenvironment

Eurobarometer, March 2008Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment

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Environment and health indicatorEnvironment and health indicator

OECD, 2004

As proposed by Corvalán et al. (1997), an environmental health indicator may be defined as “An expression of the link between the environment and human health, targeted at an issue of specific policy or management concern and presented in a form which facilitates interpretation for effective decision-making”.

An environment and health indicator has two major characteristics:embody a link between environment and health; the element that turns a simpleenvironmental or health indicator into an environment and health indicator is the knowledge of the relationship between exposure to environment factors and health effects. Any environment and health indicator must therefore be based on a clear and firm relationship between the environmental hazard and the health effect. Thefurther removed the indicator is from the health effect, the weaker this link is liable to be.be associated with policy - to be effective and useful to decision makers, an indicator should relate to aspects of environment-related health which are of high relevance to decision makers, understandable by concerned people and amenable to control. An environment and health indicator should be expressed in terms of the health risk associated with a specific environmental hazard. Indicators should tend to provide a better early warning, both of impending environmental problems and of the effects of intervention. The main objective of environment and health indicators is to support the decision-making process in environmental health: for highlighting problems, identifying trends, tracking of policy progress.