Environmental health in environmental protection

The health of the population and the environment are inextricably linked. To improve both, a holistic approach is required for environmental protection procedures. The primary approach for improvement is integration; more specifically an increase in communication between official departments and agencies, and mechanisms for stakeholder involvement from the inception of projects. There is also a need to combine HIAs and EIAs, and to apply them to wider issues, such as planning, policy or legislative changes, as well as traditional industrial development projects. It needs to be more widely appreciated that the economy and public health are ultimately substantially determined by the condition of the environment.