National Environmental Action Plan Research Articles

Impact of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and the Marine Ecosystems in Phillipines

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of ocean acidification on coral reefs and the marine ecosystems in phillipines
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library
 Findings: Ocean acidification reduces the density and growth of coral skeletons, making them more vulnerable to erosion. This threatens coral reefs and the marine life that depends on them. It also affects human benefits from coral reefs, such as fisheries, tourism and storm protection.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Theory of Ocean Acidification and Coral Calcification, Theory of Ocean Acidification and Biodiversity Loss and Theory of Adaptation and Resilience of Coral Reefs may be used to anchor future studies on impact of ocean acidification on coral reefs and the marine ecosystems in Philippines. Philippine government should actively participate in global climate agreements and implement policies to reduce carbon emissions at the domestic level. The Philippine government should integrate ocean acidification considerations into national environmental policies and action plans, such as the Philippine Coral Reef Protection Program.

Obituary Dr Alexandre Berlin, 28 September 1935 – 11 August 2022

The death of Dr Alexandre Berlin on 11 August 2022 Europe has lost a great advocate and protagonist for health. Dr Berlin had 35 years of work and service at the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, including as the Director General of Health, and he had a profound influence on the development of the health dimensions of the European Union Acquis Communitaire which were developed under his leadership and management, as well as public health development across Europe more generally. He retired from the EC as an Honorary Director General in 2002.
 Prior to working for the European Commission Dr Berlin had been a Professor of Physics with education and training at several very prestigious universities in the USA. Widely respected at the highest level internationally for his knowledge and experience, he was a polymath of immense culture, yet humble with a sense of humor, and gentle and supportive of all those with whom he came into contact. A famous polyglot, he was fluent in 7 languages and understanding two more.
 Dr Berlin worked collaboratively with many organizations influential in health across Europe. For example, with the WHO European Regional Office he was involved in the preparation and organization of the two Environmental Health European Conferences in Helsinki in 1994 and then in London in 1999, strongly supporting the development of National Environmental Action Plans across the European Region.
 After retirement he never stopped working and helping. Between 2002 and 2017 he worked hard to support the South-eastern Europe Health Network, opening the door of the European Commission to the Network through the EC TAIEX Programme. Learning lessons from this process the SEEHN established a major planning meeting with the leaders of the TAIEX Programme and were able to submit to the EC a proposed annotated list of future technical meetings approved by the EC and the SEEHN National Health Coordinators. In 2017 he withdrew with high recognition and honors from the SEEHN during the 4th Forum of the Ministries of Health.
 He was also a founder and the Honorary President of a non-governmental organization, the International Health Partnership Association (IHPA) committed to strengthening public health across Europe, between 2014 -2020.
 In retirement he was always travelling, to help, or meet his family. He loved art and he had rich knowledge about it. He was collecting good pieces of art from all over the world, which he displayed in his homes in Paris and Brussels. To friends he was very generous, providing hospitality and gifts of pieces of art.
 Dr Alexandre Berlin was very devoted to his daughters and their kids. He visited his daughter Angela and her family often in Canada and enjoyed seeing his grandkids grow up. They always knew they could count on him. They miss his visits and his burned toast!
 His daughter Olivia Berlin recalls:
 “My relationship with my father was troubled while growing up, which led to major acting out in my teenage years. But when I look back, no matter what I did, he was always there for me. In the last few years of his life, I had the honor to be able care for him. Through this process, our relationship healed. I now remember him as a KIND man, always ready to help, anywhere he was in the world. I now think of him as well as of my mother, with a warm smile.
 It is with deep love and a great sense of peace that I let him go. 
 Farewell and Bon Voyage, you who loved travelling ....” 
 Olivia Berlin
 Dr Berlin stayed sharp and active until the last years. He died peacefully in Sardinia, Italy, with his daughter, Olivia, at his side. He will be missed by many. He is survived by his family to whom he was devoted, including his daughters Olivia and Angela, his grandchildren, Catherine, Julia, Alberto and Sara and his great-grandchild, Jaxon.
 To celebrate his life, it is hoped to make a compilation of Dr Berlin’s life. Please send any stories and pictures you may have to Angela Tancon (his daughter) at angelatancon116@gmail.com, where these will be graciously received.

Environmental health in Portugal and in the world

According to the World Health Organization, Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, and all the related factors impacting behaviors. ...

ЕКОЛОГО-ПРАВОВІ ТА АДМІНІСТРАТИВНО-ПРАВОВІ АСПЕКТИ УТИЛІЗАЦІЇ МЕДИЧНИХ ВІДХОДІВ

The article analyzes the environmental, legal and administrative aspects of medical waste disposal during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ukraine. The substantiation of priorities of improvement of ecological-legal and administrative-legal maintenance of procedure of utilization of medical waste during the Covid-19 pandemic is presented. It is emphasized that the state takes a number of measures to reduce mortality from this disease, while increasing the negative impact on the environment of medical waste generated as a result of vaccination, disease prevention, diagnosis, inpatient treatment of this disease. Their uncontrolled disposal together with household waste has a negative impact on the environment, polluting land and water resources, is a dangerous source of infection. It is established that the environmental, legal and administrative support of the medical waste disposal procedure during the Covid-19 pandemic is related to the formation of the regulatory framework for medical waste management, including collection, transportation, storage, sorting, processing (processing), disposal, removal, and effective activities of public administration and law enforcement agencies to monitor this process. The facts of successful counteraction of such bodies to illegal activity concerning transportation, storage, utilization of medical waste are emphasized. It was found that many problems in this area are due to insufficient funding of the medical sector. The need to implement effective administrative and legal measures, especially control and supervision of economic entities for the disposal of medical waste, to regulate in detail the procedure for medical waste disposal, to devote an important place to this issue in the National Environmental Action Plan until 2025, approved by the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of April 21, 2021 № 443-r and to strengthen the administrative liability of licensed organizations for the provision of medical services for violations in this area. It is recognized that in such conditions it is extremely important to adapt EU legislation on medical waste disposal to Ukrainian realities.

A history of conservation politics in Madagascar

In this article, I argue that reconciling conservation and livelihoods in Madagascar requires an examination of the historical processes and political-economic systems through which the strong foreign influence on conservation has formed. I begin by documenting how a group of scientists and policy-makers came together in the 1970s and 1980s to mobilize global attention to the importance of protecting Madagascar’s flora and fauna. I illustrate how their influence materialized not only through formal political negotiations and bureaucratic practice but also via informal collaborations across multiple geographic and institutional sites. Then, I examine how the critical historical conjuncture of the mid-1980s—with its emphasis on biodiversity, sustainable development and neoliberalism—prompted a reconfiguration in power relations among public, private, and nonprofit actors. This reconfiguration provided the political-economic context for the transformation of a scientific campaign into a well-funded foreign aid agenda, encompassed in the Madagascar National Environmental Action Plan. I illustrate how, although numerous actors advocated for integrated conservation and development approaches throughout Madagascar’s environmental history, the political, scientific, and financial strength behind the international conservation lobby often overpowered the push for more comprehensive or integrated development approaches. Finally, I conclude by arguing that effective and equitable conservation in Madagascar will require transforming the power relations that have both created Madagascar’s environmental crisis and efforts to redress it.

How Effective Have Thirty Years of Internationally Driven Conservation and Development Efforts Been in Madagascar?

Conservation and development are intricately linked. The international donor community has long provided aid to tropical countries in an effort to alleviate poverty and conserve biodiversity. While hundreds of millions of $ have been invested in over 500 environmental-based projects in Madagascar during the period covered by a series of National Environmental Action Plans (1993–2008) and the protected areas network has expanded threefold, deforestation remains unchecked and none of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established for 2000–2015 were likely be met. Efforts to achieve sustainable development had failed to reduce poverty or deliver progress toward any of the MDGs. Cross-sectorial policy adjustments are needed that (i) enable and catalyze Madagascar’s capacities rather than deepening dependency on external actors such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and donor countries, and that (ii) deliver improvements to the livelihoods and wellbeing of the country’s rural poor.

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Policy in Kenya and International Finance Corporation (IFC): A Comparative Perspective

The Kenya’s National Environment Action Plan process culminated in the formulation of the policy on Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) under Sessional Paper No. 6 of 1999 and subsequently, the National Environment Management Authority of Kenya (NEMA). The additional legal framework which guides the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is the Constitution of Kenya 2010 under which environmental, social, resettlement and compensation issues are given prominence. ESIAs consider various aspects of the environment such as impacts on the social environment and an Environmental and Social Management/Monitoring Plan (ESMP) is prepared to counter or lessen the impacts. The ESIA reports in Kenya are prepared in accordance with set guidelines of NEMA. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a subsidiary of the World Bank group whose main purpose is to finance private sector projects. The banks operational/bank procedures (OP/BP 4.03) guides the IFC operations and staff on ESIA policy that private sector borrowers are obligated, before release of funding. There are eight IFC Performance Standards that constitute the ESIA policy and that must be adhered to before application for IFC finance for private sector projects. When host country regulations differ from the levels and measures presented in the IFC’s ESIA policy, projects will be required to achieve whichever is more stringent. This paper notes that the ESIA requirements in Kenya (championed by the National Environment and Management Authority (NEMA)) and IFC are similar in scope, application and recommendations.

Environmental health policies in Europe: successes and failures in Switzerland, Germany and Belgium

While European countries insist on the necessity to develop environmental health policies, mainly at the international level, a careful analysis of national policy processes, focused on national environmental health action plans (NEHAPs) and national strategies of sustainable development (NSSDs), tends to show that results obtained are particularly limited. This study investigates the reasons for this surprising 'environmental health paradox'. Data used in this study have been obtained from interviews conducted among experts of the Swiss, German and Belgian environmental health policies and from survey results provided by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Bonn (WHO/Europe). Findings show that major obstacles to more ambitious environmental health policies arise from their lack of political recognition at the national level, from their confinement to measures of scientific research and from the absence of any substantial system of indicators capable of correctly assessing environmental health issues and policy outcomes.

Adaptation to climate change-associated health risks as a task of environmental health protection. Analysis of a nationwide investigation by the Federal Environment Agency

The German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS, 2008) identified 'human health' as an important sector with a need for adaptation. In line with the DAS, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Robert Koch Institute jointly elaborated guidelines for decision makers and stakeholders. Building on these, in 2013/2014, UBA has conducted a nationwide survey, collecting data on completed, ongoing and planned adaptation measures. UBA also analysed 32 adaptation strategies of the Federal States. Selected best practice examples of potential health-related prevention and adaptation measures concerning heat stress, UV radiation exposure and the spread of Ambrosia artemisiifolia are presented in this article. The data collection with more than 330 activities can be found on the website of the German National Environment and Health Action Plan (APUG; www.apug.de , in German only). In the course of this project, the APUG website was also significantly extended with comprehensive information and overviews on health risks of climate change, hence creating a central platform for this particular topic.

Environmental Impacts and Protection Measures in Hydropower Development-Zimbabwe Case Study

Zimbabwe is currently developing mini-hydro and large hydro-power plants for its energy starved economy. These developments often bring about environmental challenges. Environmental concerns must always be integrated into the development processes, but Zimbabwe still faces many challenges as it works to achieve development that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Many African countries have already launched National Environmental Action Plans (NEAPs)1 and national Conservation Strategies, but Zimbabwe is at the starting point. However in preparing and implementing these plans and strategies, economics was used sparingly because techniques and skills to do so are in short supply and in many cases absent altogether. The purpose of this paper was written to fill this gap and to show how environmental management should be used to improve the quality of decision-making in the NEAP process particularly in the hydropower development. The paper is meant for a practitioner in the field of hydropower, who needs to make immediate decisions and cannot wait for more data. The paper tries to capture all environmental concerns in hydro-power development and hence recommends various mitigation measures to minimize the impacts. These may not be conclusive, but goes a long way to reduce the damages.

The Swiss NEHAP: why it ended

While European countries tend to increase the importance given to their national environmental health action plan (NEHAP), Switzerland stopped implementing its NEHAP in 2007. This study investigates the reasons for this surprising decision. The results provide an explanation of a relatively unique case and should inform any person interested in understanding common obstacles in the making and implementation of coordinated environmental health policies and programs. Data used in this study have been obtained from interviews conducted among experts of the Swiss environmental health policies and from survey results provided by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Findings show that financial constraints were only partly responsible for the abandonment of the NEHAP and that many of the shortcomings observed arose from the creation and the functioning of the Environmental and Health Section at the Federal Office of Public Health, which was devoted to the NEHAP. Lack of scientific knowledge and capacity to build intersectoral collaboration, compounded by a limited conception of environmental health, resulted in a lack of political awareness of environmental health issues. In consequence, the study highlights the necessity of a true interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach for environmental health policies. Policy makers should also be concerned with the creation of relevant systems of indicators, since they appear to be fundamental to the success of environmental health policies.

Dispatches

Dispatches

Monitoring indoor air quality in French schools and day-care centers

Indoor air quality monitoring in public premises, especially those hosting vulnerable populations such as children, was introduced in the second French national environment and health action plan and then regulated by the first “Grenelle Environnement” law, on August 3, 2009. A national pilot monitoring survey of indoor air quality in 310 French schools and day-care centers was performed in two phases from 2009 to 2011. This article is dedicated to the results of the first phase (2009 to 2010, in 160 schools and day-care centers), and another article is in preparation about the whole survey results. Formaldehyde, benzene, and air stuffiness were the targeted compounds. They were measured for 1–2 weeks during heating and non-heating seasons in each investigated building. The results of the first phase are presented in this article. They show, referring to the management values suggested by the French committee for public health, that air quality is acceptable in most establishments tested. Nonetheless, a few cases required additional investigations or corrective measures. Furthermore, the air stuffiness (based on carbon dioxide measurements) was found to be very high in 16% of the classrooms (up to 25% in elementary schools). In 47% of the elementary schools, at least one classroom had very high air stuffiness. The mayors and school principals were informed and provided with means to identify the main sources of pollution and to implement remediation actions. The outcomes of this research have led to another step toward mandatory indoor air quality monitoring of public premises in France. France is the first country to implement a routine and mandatory assessment of air quality in public buildings accommodating vulnerable people.

Insistent Dryland Narratives: Portraits of Knowledge about Human-Environmental Interactions in Sahelian Environment Policy Documents

The drylands in the West African Sahel region have, since the catastrophic drought event in the 1970s, been a focal point of interest in the cross field between environmental research, knowledge systems and policy intervention strategies. Major international institutions, agencies and conventions have played an important role in shaping national planning efforts aimed at reducing environmental degradation in tropical drylands and at limiting their vulnerability to external stressors such as economic globalization, climate variation, and demographic pressure. The paper summarizes how significant, internationally initiated policy documents, such as National Environmental Action Plans (from the 1980s), National Adaptation Plan of Action (from the 2000s), or the Great Green Wall Initiative (signed in 2010), refer to and explain the state, complexity, and change processes in the human-environmental systems that they aim at guiding towards sustainability. It specifically looks at characterizations of land use changes and their relation to multiple driving forces. The paper asks if apparent discrepancies between contemporary scientific advancements and dominant narratives in policy documents can, in part, be interpreted as persistence of environmental myths caused by the repetition of the keywords, which turns theories into blueprints for action.

Environment and Health in China: Challenges and Opportunities

Environment and Health in China: Challenges and Opportunities

The preparation of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP): Was it a false start?

In the late 80’s, the World Bank got interested in environmental matters, to the point that a tsunami of a new process (National Environmental Action Plans – NEAPs) swept across the African continent. At that time, Madagascar was still under the rule of Didier Ratsiraka, an iron rule which had started in 1975. A place where biodiversity assets are unique and fascinating, one of the best and hottest hotspots of conservation around the world; but also a place where environmental mismanagement has created severe erosion and water quality problems. What to do when the daily life of the average Malagasy is spent surviving for the very sector sustaining the country’s battling economy? Some of the solutions proposed at the time materialized during the 15 years period since the 1990 adoption by the Malagasy government of the NEAP’s findings and recommendations. Some of the original intentions, however, never were transformed into significant large-scale progress in environmental management. In 2006, Madagascar is still plagued with very serious poverty and environmental degradation problems. Can the lessons learned from the original design and the 15 years of application of the NEAP be useful to help the Malagasy nation move towards more sustainable and equitable development? If the answer is yes, what should the ways and means be?

An environmental governance support tool: community-based forest management contracts (Madagascar)

This article reports on the implementation of community-based forest management contracts in Madagascar as part of a national environmental action plan designed to strike a balance between rural development and conservation of natural resources. The article highlights how these systems offer an outstanding opportunity to observe the negotiation processes and shifts in relationships between the actors involved, and thus to learn more on the conditions governing sustainable management of conservation and development. A single, specific management system like community-based management cannot be expected to resolve every single issue, but analysing the interplays between different management systems provides insight into the specific features of target cases. They would appear to be promising decision support tools for environmental governance issues as they promote social and territorial reforms and generate new flexibilities for all the stakeholders involved.

Application of the DPSIR framework to environmental degradation assessment in northern Ghana

Abstract In many communities in northern Ghana, the environment has been altered by complex natural and human driven forces with significant impact on the lives of their inhabitants. The need to formulate an improved, holistic and consistent methodological approach to assess the problem is critical for sustainable natural resource management. This paper examines the potential of the DPSIR environmental assessment framework utilizing GIS‐based participatory methodology in the assessment of environmental degradation in northern Ghana. Community truthing tools such as key informant interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation and participatory Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were employed as a means of soliciting societal responses integrated to conventional GIS spatial analysis to measure the indicators of the Driving force–Pressure–State–Impacts–Response (DPSIR) assessment framework. Post classification GIS imagery results show a marked natural vegetation decrease of 634 km2 (42%) of the study area with a corresponding increase of 600 km2 (39%) of grasses and built‐up and barren environment in the period of 14 years from 1990 to 2004. This is attributed to extreme climatic conditions and human driven causes such as poverty, population growth, migration and land tenure system. Poverty reduction strategies, amendment of the Mining and Mineral Law (PNDC law 153), improvement of the existing land tenure system and the control of migrants and Fulani herdsmen from neighbouring Burkina Faso were some of the solutions selected by the research participants, to be emphasized in the National Environmental Action Plan (EPA Act 490). This paper concludes that the DPSIR environmental assessment framework is an effective means of organizing complex environmental information to facilitate policy decision making.

Madagascar moving towards sustainable development: was the preparation of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) a false start?

In the late 80’s, the World Bank got interested in environmental matters, to the point that a tsunami of a new process (National Environmental Action Plans – NEAPs) swept across the African continent. At that time, Madagascar was still under the rule of Didier Ratsiraka, an iron rule which had started in 1975. A place where biodiversity assets are unique and fascinating, one of the best and hottest hotspots of conservation around the world; but also a place where environmental mismanagement has created severe erosion and water quality problems. What to do when the daily life of the average Malagasy is spent surviving for the very sector sustaining the country’s battling economy? Some of the solutions proposed at the time materialized during the 15 years period since the 1990 adoption by the Malagasy government of the NEAP’s findings and recommendations. Some of the original intentions, however, never were transformed into significant large-scale progress in environmental management. In 2006, Madagascar is still plagued with very serious poverty and environmental degradation problems. Can the lessons learned from the original design and the 15 years of application of the NEAP be useful to help the Malagasy nation move towards more sustainable and equitable development? If the answer is yes, what should the ways and means be?

Combining Conservation & Development

Madagascar is a land of contrasts, from the every day humid rainforest on the Masoala Peninsula, to the rough and sharp peaks of the Tsingy de Bemaraha, to the marshes of Lake Tsimanampetsotsa. And its people are equally divers, from Zebu keeper of Morondave, to the fisherman of the Lake Alaotra, to the rice cultivators of the Fianarantsoa. An even more impressive diversity can be found in the rich wildlife with its unique endemic features. Nevertheless, all these peculiarities are under enormous pressure. Human needs for natural resources such as wood for charcoal, bushmeat for protein supply or land for crop cultivations and cattle farming are putting deep, unsustainable impacts on the Malagasy environment. Conservation and development issues are becoming more and more important. Consequently the idea of a forum for the exchange of experiences and knowledge in the respective fields has arisen. Thanks to the positive feedback and the many contributions from researchers and organisations working in Madagascar, Madagascar Wildlife Conservation (MWC) and the Jane Goodall Institute Switzerland (JGI Switzerland) are able and happy to present the first issue of the new journal MADAGASCAR CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT – the MCD journal. The journal’s editorial board is constituted of experts from different disciplines, organizations and universities, which are all involved in conservation or development work in Madagascar. Thanks to the board members voluntary work and extra hours, the professionalism of the numerous reviewers and the many contributions of the authors, this issue has become reality. The editors are proud to present already a broad variety of contributions ranging from scientific articles about reptile conservation, to the presentation of solar ovens as an alternative to charcoal use, to an essay about the fifteen years of NEAP (National Environmental Action Plan). MCD also presents an interview with three Malagasy women involved in different ways in the CPALI (Conservation trough Poverty Alleviation) Wild Silk Project. To keep this journal on a high standard for the future issues MCD encourages all young researchers and development workers, especially Malagasy scientists and conservationists, to contribute to this journal. Further, it is crucial that the readers provide feedback and tell their colleagues in conservation and development fields about this journal. This will give the journal a chance to become a viable forum of exchange of knowledge and technologies for Madagascar. The journal MCD is launched as an open source journal. The limited accessibility of the World Wide Web in Madagascar forces MCD to be also available as printed edition. To cover layout, printing and distribution costs MCD hopes to place in future (more) advertisements and announcements in the journal from the private sector. Sponsorships and funds will be very welcome and necessary. The journal will be distributed to universities, libraries, publishers and other suitable organisations, and of course any individuals interested in the field.