Abstract
BackgroundRecent work in international relations theory argues that international regimes do not develop in isolation, as previously assumed, but evolve as open systems that interact with other regimes. The implications of this insight’s for sustainable development remains underexplored. Even thought environmental protection and health promotion are clearly interconnected at the impact level, it remains unclear how global environmental governance interacts with global health governance at the institutional level. In order to fill this gap, this article aims to assess how environmental treaties contribute to global health governance.Methods and resultsTo assess how environmental treaties contribute to global health governance, we conducted a content analysis of 2280 international environmental treaties. For each of these treaties, we measure the type and number of health-related provisions in these treaties. The result is the Health and Environment Interplay Database (HEIDI), which we make public with the publication of this article. This new database reveals that more than 300 environmental treaties have health-related provisions.ConclusionsWe conclude that the global environmental regime contributes significantly to the institutionalization of the global health regime, considering that the health regime includes itself very few treaties focusing primarily on health. When reflecting on how global governance can improve population health, decision makers should not only consider the instruments available to them within the realm of global health institutions. They should broaden their perspectives to integrate the contribution of other global regimes, such as the global environmental regime.
Highlights
Recent work in international relations theory argues that international regimes do not develop in isolation, as previously assumed, but evolve as open systems that interact with other regimes
In the existing literature on global health governance, few studies analyze this fragmentation using the conceptual toolkit developed by scholars of international relations
We examine the health and environment regime complex and we argue that international environmental law makes a significant contribution to health governance
Summary
Recent work in international relations theory argues that international regimes do not develop in isolation, as previously assumed, but evolve as open systems that interact with other regimes. The implications of this insight’s for sustainable development remains underexplored. The number of stakeholders has risen sharply and includes non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private foundations, industrial groups and international research centers. Together, they contribute to the proliferation of various transnational actions, programs and partnerships. In the existing literature on global health governance, few studies analyze this fragmentation using the conceptual toolkit developed by scholars of international relations.
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