Dianne Katscherian

Human health and development are inextricably linked through an array of environmental, social, cultural and economic determinants of health. In order for development to capitalise on opportunities to improve health as well as effectively manage any risks to health, it is critical that these links are identified and understood. This requires knowledge about both the type of health impacts that may occur and the distribution of those impacts in the affected community. While understanding these links is a relatively straightforward principle, in practice the task of achieving this is a challenge. This challenge can be assisted by the application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA). HIA is an internationally recognised process that provides a systematic approach to address the potential health costs and benefits of projects, plans or policies. These Health Impact Assessment Guidelines focus primarily on the application of HIA to new development projects or upgrades to existing developments, in sectors such as transport, environment, mining and resources, agriculture, energy, waste, housing and planning. The process can be applied within an existing assessment framework such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environment Assessments or Planning Assessments, or as a stand-alone application. The details of the application of HIA will be influenced by jurisdictional differences in legislation, policies and process, as well as changes over time. For these reasons, the Guidelines are broad-based and general in nature rather than prescriptive. These Guidelines outline the key principles that underpin HIA as well as each of the steps in the process as shown in Figure 1. The importance of collaboration, including community and stakeholder engagement is highlighted

The general community is becoming increasingly aware of the effect that developments, either in industry or residential areas, are having on the surrounding environment. That people have a safe place to work and live in, is important to the overall welfare of a community. Currently, assessment of the health impact of proposed developments is somewhat limited, and is usually made with reference to potential fatalities, rather than general morbidity. Assessment of the environmental health impact of a development is most often concentrated on a particular aspect, such as a method of transportation of chemicals, or of manufacturing a certain component--those areas which are seen as having the greatest risks associated with them. Rarely is a broad screening of potential environmental health impacts included.

ABSTRACT The approaches used for setting or reviewing air quality standards vary from country to country. The purpose of this research was to consider the potential to improve decision-making through integration of HIA into the processes to review and set air quality standards used in Australia. To assess the value of HIA in this policy process, its strengths and weaknesses were evaluated aligned with review of international processes for setting air quality standards. Air quality standard setting programmes elsewhere have either used HIA or have amalgamated and incorporated factors normally found within HIA frameworks. They clearly demonstrate the value of a formalised HIA process for setting air quality standards in Australia. The following elements should be taken into consideration when using HIA in standard setting. (a) The adequacy of a mainly technical approach in current standard setting procedures to consider social determinants of health. (b) The importance of risk assessment criteria and information within the HIA process. The assessment of risk should consider equity, the distribution of variations in air quality in different locations and the potential impacts on health. (c) The uncertainties in extrapolating evidence from one population to another or to subpopulations, especially the more vulnerable, due to differing environmental factors and population variables. (d) The significance of communication with all potential stakeholders on issues associated with the management of air quality. In Australia there is also an opportunity for HIA to be used in conjunction with the NEPM to develop local air quality standard measures. The outcomes of this research indicated that the use of HIA for air quality standard setting at the national and local levels would prove advantageous.

This talk will summarise the outcomes of a consultative initiative entitled: “Climate Change in South West Estuarine and Inland Fisheries: What are the Potential Impacts and are we ready for them?” The objectives of the initiative were to: • Raise understanding of how climate change will impact on the communities associated with South West estuarine and inland fisheries. • Develop a set of agreed and collaborative strategies on how best to respond to these potential impacts. • Report these strategies to relevant agencies/funding bodies/stakeholders. • Develop a generic consultative methodology, which can be transferred to other primary production/regional sectors. The methodology was based on the methodologies outlined in the National Greenhouse Office guide “Climate Change: Impacts and Risk Management: A Guide for Business and Government, and for Health Impact Assessment. In brief the project was conducted in three phases incorporating two half-day workshops and an internal risk assessment. The phases were a. Phase 1: Workshop 1: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Coping Capacity. b. Phase 2: Internal risk assessment c. Phase 3: Workshop 2: Verification of Risk Assessment of Adaptation strategies. The presentation will summarise the projected impacts of climate change on SW estuarine and inland fisheries, results of a risk assessment of the identified impacts and the development of a set of adaptation strategies to assist the communities in adapting to the impacts. The adaptation strategies developed were in the areas of legislative/regulatory, research, infrastructure development, surveillance and monitoring, and communication and education. These adaptation strategies can be then be applied generically for planning climate change adaptation research and activity or applied as appropriate to specific systems to facilitate a local response. The consultative methodology developed in this initiative can be modified for application to other primary production sectors or scenarios in developing climate change adaptation strategies.

This talk will summarise the outcomes of a consultative initiative entitled: “Climate Change in South West Estuarine and Inland Fisheries: What are the Potential Impacts and are we ready for them?” The objectives of the initiative were to: • Raise understanding of how climate change will impact on the communities associated with South West estuarine and inland fisheries. • Develop a set of agreed and collaborative strategies on how best to respond to these potential impacts. • Report these strategies to relevant agencies/funding bodies/stakeholders. • Develop a generic consultative methodology, which can be transferred to other primary production/regional sectors. The methodology was based on the methodologies outlined in the National Greenhouse Office guide “Climate Change: Impacts and Risk Management: A Guide for Business and Government, and for Health Impact Assessment. In brief the project was conducted in three phases incorporating two half-day workshops and an internal risk assessment. The phases were a. Phase 1: Workshop 1: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Coping Capacity. b. Phase 2: Internal risk assessment c. Phase 3: Workshop 2: Verification of Risk Assessment of Adaptation strategies. The presentation will summarise the projected impacts of climate change on SW estuarine and inland fisheries, results of a risk assessment of the identified impacts and the development of a set of adaptation strategies to assist the communities in adapting to the impacts. The adaptation strategies developed were in the areas of legislative/regulatory, research, infrastructure development, surveillance and monitoring, and communication and education. These adaptation strategies can be then be applied generically for planning climate change adaptation research and activity or applied as appropriate to specific systems to facilitate a local response. The consultative methodology developed in this initiative can be modified for application to other primary production sectors or scenarios in developing climate change adaptation strategies.

Abstract: This paper presents a detailed description of an approach designed to investigate the application of the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework to assess the potential health impacts of climate change. A HIA framework has been combined with key climate change terminology and concepts. The fundamental premise of this framework is an understanding of the interactions between people, the environment and climate. The diversity and complexity of these interactions can hinder much needed action on the critical health issue of climate change. The objectives of the framework are to improve the methodology for understanding and assessing the risks associated with potential health impacts of climate change, and to provide decision-makers with information that can facilitate the development of effective adaptation plans. While the process presented here provides guidance with respect to this task it is not intended to be prescriptive. As such, aspects of the process can be amended ...

The general community is becoming increasingly aware of the effect that developments, either in industry or residential areas, are having on the surrounding environment. That people have a safe place to work and live in, is important to the overall welfare of a community. Currently, assessment of the health impact of proposed developments is somewhat limited, and is usually made with reference to potential fatalities, rather than general morbidity. Assessment of the environmental health impact of a development is most often concentrated on a particular aspect, such as a method of transportation of chemicals, or of manufacturing a certain component--those areas which are seen as having the greatest risks associated with them. Rarely is a broad screening of potential environmental health impacts included.

Most countries in the world have Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes and procedures to evaluate the potential impact of development projects on the environment. This process, which attempts to predict the potential adverse effects of the proposed development project on the environment, is normally legislated and is part of the approval process for the project. Although these processes have been effective in reducing the adverse impacts on the environment they have been limited in their ability to provide protection for the health and well-being of people affected by the development. To bring attention to this limitation, the World Health Organisation (WHO) set out a series of principles for the better consideration of health and well-being impacts on human health [1]. Subsequent to this, a meeting resulted in the Gothenberg consensus, which identified Health Impact Assessment as a process specifically designed to evaluate both the negative and positive impacts of develop...

It has been demonstrated that the Earth is warming and climatic parameters are changing. In western Australia, the south west has been experiencing rainfall reductions for several decades and other areas across the State have experienced droughts and atypical events. It is now generally accepted that western Australia will experience a climate in the near future that is drier, hotter and has more extreme weather events than it had in the past. The trends in climatic change will impact human populations through their effects on the physical and biological components of the environment. Global efforts are being made to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However it has been accepted that some change will occur and that individuals and communities will need to adapt to these changed environmental circumstances to avoid adverse consequences. Of significance are the potential health impacts on people in western Australia. The severity of possible impacts on commu...

The use of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) as a tool to identify and manage issues relating to health has not been widely adopted in Western Australia. Health Impact Assessment methodology was applied to two concurrent developments in the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale, Western Australia. Potential health impacts of the expansion of a sanitary landfill adjacent to a proposed housing development were identified following a literature review and stakeholder interviews. Recommendations to assess the risk to the community in the housing estate through quantitative analysis, and risk management strategies were provided to the Shire. The ability of an existing stakeholder group for the landfill, the South Cardup Landfill Stakeholder Consultative Group, to resolve concerns of the community relating to environmental and social issues were also evaluated. Recommendations to improve collaborative decision making were provided to the Stakeholder Group using the Framework for Democratic Science....

The Pacific island countries are particularly vulnerable to the environmental changes wrought by global climate change such as sea level rise, more frequent and intense extreme weather events and increasing temperatures. The potential biophysical changes likely to affect these countries have been identified and it is important that consideration be given to the implications of these changes on the health of their citizens. The potential health impacts of climatic changes on the population of the Solomon Islands were assessed through the use of a Health Impact Assessment framework. The process used a collaborative and consultative approach with local experts to identify the impacts to health that could arise from local environmental changes, considered the risks associated with these and proposed appropriate potential adaptive responses. Participants included knowledgeable representatives from the biophysical, socio-economic, infrastructure, environmental diseases and food sectors. T...

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges and Pacific island countries are particularly vulnerable due to, among other factors, their geography, demography and level of economic development. A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework was used as a basis for the consideration of the potential health impacts of changes in the climate on the population of Vanuatu, to assess the risks and propose a range of potential adaptive responses appropriate for Vanuatu. The HIA process involved the participation of a broad range of stakeholders including expert sector representatives in the areas of bio-physical, socio-economic, infrastructure, environmental diseases and food, who provided informed comment and input into the understanding of the potential health impacts and development of adaptation strategies. The risk associated with each of these impacts was assessed with the application of a qualitative process that considered both the consequences and the likelihood of each of ...

This paper presents a detailed description of an approach designed to investigate the application of the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework to assess the potential health impacts of climate change. A HIA framework has been combined with key climate change terminology and concepts. The fundamental premise of this framework is an understanding of the interactions between people, the environment and climate. The diversity and complexity of these interactions can hinder much needed action on the critical health issue of climate change. The objectives of the framework are to improve the methodology for understanding and assessing the risks associated with potential health impacts of climate change, and to provide decision-makers with information that can facilitate the development of effective adaptation plans. While the process presented here provides guidance with respect to this task it is not intended to be prescriptive. As such,aspects of the process can be amended to suit the...

ABSTRACT The approaches used for setting or reviewing air quality standards vary from country to country. The purpose of this research was to consider the potential to improve decision-making through integration of HIA into the processes to review and set air quality standards used in Australia. To assess the value of HIA in this policy process, its strengths and weaknesses were evaluated aligned with review of international processes for setting air quality standards. Air quality standard setting programmes elsewhere have either used HIA or have amalgamated and incorporated factors normally found within HIA frameworks. They clearly demonstrate the value of a formalised HIA process for setting air quality standards in Australia. The following elements should be taken into consideration when using HIA in standard setting. (a) The adequacy of a mainly technical approach in current standard setting procedures to consider social determinants of health. (b) The importance of risk assessment criteria and information within the HIA process. The assessment of risk should consider equity, the distribution of variations in air quality in different locations and the potential impacts on health. (c) The uncertainties in extrapolating evidence from one population to another or to subpopulations, especially the more vulnerable, due to differing environmental factors and population variables. (d) The significance of communication with all potential stakeholders on issues associated with the management of air quality. In Australia there is also an opportunity for HIA to be used in conjunction with the NEPM to develop local air quality standard measures. The outcomes of this research indicated that the use of HIA for air quality standard setting at the national and local levels would prove advantageous.

ABSTRACT Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a developing component of the overall impact assessment process and as such needs access to procedures that can enable more consistent approaches to the stepwise process that is now generally accepted in both EIA and HIA. The guidelines developed during this project provide a structured process, based on risk assessment procedures which use consequences and likelihood, as a way of ranking risks to adverse health outcomes from activities subjected to HIA or HIA as part of EIA.The aim is to assess the potential for both acute and chronic health outcomes. The consequences component also identifies a series of consequences for the health care system, depicted as expressions of financial expenditure and the capacity of the health system.These more specific health risk assessment characteristics should provide for a broader consideration of health consequences and a more consistent estimation of the adverse health risks of a proposed development at both the scoping and risk assessment stages of the HIA process. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.