Local environmental health planning. Guidance for local and national authorities

Achieving global improvements in environmental health requires action at the local level. Municipalities are the form of government not only closest to the population but also often the most effective at working in partnership with community stakeholders: a prerequisite for any environmental health initiative. Nevertheless, local action cannot succeed in isolation; it must take its place in a supportive framework of national plans and international commitment. The trends towards the decentralization of services and globalization of economies reinforce the need for different levels to play their parts.

This book provides an analysis of existing local planning processes and initiatives in the WHO European Region, identifies their common features and describes how they interrelate with and support international and national initiatives, such as Agenda 21 and national environmental health action plans (NEHAPs), respectively. Based on a two-year project carried out in the eastern half of the Region, this book also provides guidance and options for the development of local environmental health action plans (LEHAPs) that are flexible enough to ensure that a bottom-up planning process can occur. This publication addresses both local and national policy-makers and professionals in the environmental, health and other sectors. It provides valuable reading for anyone interested in integrated action to improve and protect the environment and health.