Resources
The following resource list provides information useful for discovering more about guidelines and frameworks that pertain to planetary health topics. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather as a general departure point for further investigation.
Treaties, conventions, and agreements
The Paris Agreement (COP21). This agreement, laid out by the UN Climate Change Conference, primarily focuses on climate change and greenhouse gas emission, this agreement also has a provision for taking into account adaptation and mitigation measures. The Paris Agreement is considered an important part of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement#
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The Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through economic initiatives, and focuses on countries with highly developed economies. Due to this oversight, the Kyoto Protocol has since been superseded by the Paris Agreement, although it does still over insight and perspective into the development of environmental regulation on a global scale.
https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf
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The Basel Convention. The Basel Convention was established to regulate the international transport of hazardous waste. It was borne out of efforts to curb the shipment of toxic waste to countries with fewer resources and less regulatory oversight to manage the appropriate treatment and disposal of the waste. The convention regulates the movement of hazardous waste between countries and outlines what constitutes an acceptable international transfer of toxic waste.
https://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/1271/Default.aspx
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The Stockholm Convention. The Stockholm Convention regulates the production of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), also known as “forever chemicals”. Because it is difficult to control the dispersal of these chemicals and their ability to circulate worldwide, this convention was established to reduce global contamination. It restricts, prohibits, and controls the production of certain POPs, intentionally or as a byproduct of a process, that are known to contribute to negative human and environmental health outcomes. Chemicals are added to the list as more is understood about the threats these POPs pose to human and environmental health.
https://www.pops.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/3351/Default.aspx
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The Rotterdam Convention. While the Basel Convention regulates international hazardous waste transport and the Stockholm convention regulates and prohibits certain POPs, the Rotterdam convention regulates the trade of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. It seeks to restrict the practice of shipping chemicals, particularly those that have been banned or restricted in some countries due to known risks to human health and the environment, to countries that do not have a strong system of regulation and oversight in place. It demands that proper informed consent be established between national regulatory bodies before chemicals and pesticides are transported from one country to another.
https://www.pic.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/1044/language/en-US/Default.aspx
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The Minamata Convention. This convention focuses on the production, use, and emission of mercury. Although mercury is a known neurotoxin that causes serious health conditions in children and adults alike, it continues to figure prominently in industrial and commercial applications. Effects of mercury pollution are found worldwide. The Minamata Convention seeks to phase out the use of mercury by regulating its production, trade, emission, and disposal. Certain industrial applications are highlighted, in particular the artisanal mining sector.
https://minamataconvention.org/en/about
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The Geneva Conventions. International humanitarian law (IHL) applies to situations involving armed conflict. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 were amended with Protocols I and II in 1977 to more explicitly elaborate on the protections extended to civilian and noncombatant populations. They specify the obligations of belligerent parties in an armed conflict and the responsibilities to which they must adhere in terms of their conduct toward the environment and the long-term prospects of affected communities to maintain their health and livelihoods. Articles of specific interest include:
Protocol I
Article 35 – limits the scope of war, prohibiting the use of weapons or tactics that cause unnecessary injury and suffering or that cause extensive, long-term damage to the environment.
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Article 54 – prohibits the destruction of civilian infrastructure and instruments of public health and livelihood, including water and irrigation sources, crops and agricultural areas, and livestock.
Article 55 – elaborates on the intent of environmental protection outlined in Article 35, reiterating the limitations of accepted warfare and recognizing the dependence of the affected population on the natural environment for their health, safety, and well-being.
Article 56 – prohibits the destruction of infrastructure that will result in devastating environmental consequences, such as reservoirs or nuclear power plants, particularly when civilian populations are in the immediate vicinity or will incur significant losses as a result.
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Protocol II
Articles 13, 14, and 15 – reiterates the protections listed above in Protocol I, but applies to internal rather than international conflict.
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https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/icrc_002_0321.pdf
International Frameworks
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Sustainable Development Goals were established by the UN to follow up on the MDGs, covering the period 2016-2030. The SDGs expanded on the efforts of the MDGs, with special attention made to ensuring that targets are met in a sustainable manner. Numerous SDGs and their targets directly call attention to the link between human development, human health, and environmental sustainability.
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
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Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The Millennium Development Goals set out the United Nations (UN) agenda for the 2000-2015 period aimed at reducing poverty and inequality worldwide, while improving access to healthcare and promoting environmental responsibility.
These were superseded by the Sustainable Development Goals when they were introduced in 2016.
https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
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Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The Sendai Framework was developed by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to emphasize the importance of risk management in development. It recognizes the impact that disasters occurring as a result of changing weather patterns have on human health as well as the economic and cultural consequences. It stresses the need to integrate adaptation and mitigation measures into sustainable development and breaks down practical approaches at the international, national, and local levels for achieving the disaster risk reduction goals.
Multilingual versions of the framework may be downloaded here:
https://www.undrr.org/publication/sendai-framework-disaster-risk-reduction-2015-2030
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Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. Produced as a result of the World Conference for Disaster Reduction in 2005. The Hyogo framework highlights that while global climate change has an impact on the severity of disasters, other human-driven activities such as land use, poor urban planning, lack of development, and localized environmental degradation play a significant role in exacerbating the hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities that human populations face during disasters.
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It was superseded by the Sendai Framework, but still provides interesting insight into risk reduction approaches and pertinent disaster risk reduction practices to improve human and environmental health outcomes during a disaster.
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Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World. The Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action was adopted to elaborate the action plan for the UN’s International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (1990-1999). It lays out foundational principles for improving human health and environmental outcomes in the event of a natural disaster. It recognizes the human element as both a source of vulnerability as well as a means of risk reduction.
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A straightforward document that provides some key practices to reduce the negative outcomes of natural disaster on communities worldwide.
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WHO Global Strategy on Health, Environment and Climate Change. This framework lays out the World Health Organization (WHO) sustainable development agenda for 2020-2030 and highlights the link between development, the environment, and human health. The strategy aims to reduce the global burden of disease induced by environmental factors and consumption patterns. It establishes key objectives, describes the role of the medical community, and outlines target means of implementation.
Guidelines
WHO global air quality guidelines. WHO guidelines on target concentrations of particulate matter and certain greenhouse gases. Illness directly attributed to air pollution has become a major health burden globally and low air quality exacerbates the impact of other morbidities, in particular among non-communicable diseases (NCDs). These research-based targets were developed to reduce the burden of illness due to low air quality.
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/345329/9789240034228-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
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Integrating health in urban and territorial planning: a sourcebook. These WHO guidelines offer support for urban planning best practices. They highlight the link between public health and public and private spaces, provide guidance on the planning and implementation of health-conscious development, and avenues through which health-conscious development may be initiated. These guidelines are intended for all levels of community involvement, from national governments to local councils, from civil society organizations to civic-minded local professionals.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240003170
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Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment.
This WHO publication compiles numerous guidelines into a single source. It is intended to be an accessible resource for policy makers and operations managers, from international actors to local authorities, to develop strategies that are compliant to the goals of the SDGs. Covers a diverse range of topics, including air pollution, solid waste management, chemical pollution, protection of biodiversity and vector management, and water, hygiene, and sanitation (WASH) among others. Summarizes guidelines and links them to target sectors, level of implementation (local, national, etc.), and tools available for implementation.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-HEP-ECH-EHD-21.02
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Disaster waste management guidelines. The waste that is produced as the result of a disaster presents special hazards to human and environmental health. However, due to the chaotic nature of disaster situations and the multitude of actors involved in relief efforts, the management of the waste tends to be reactive and provisional. These UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) guidelines seek to provide a framework for the organized, efficient management and disposal of waste generated from a disaster.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/27291/DisaterWM_guidelines.pdf
Non-governmental organization guidelines
Medical waste management. ICRC’s guidelines for safe management and disposal of waste originating from medical facilities. Due to the nature of activities in health centers, the waste that is produced often poses increased health risks to a community if exposure were to occur. These guidelines have been developed from professional best practices and are intended to be used anywhere from low-resource environments to regions with developed economies.
https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-4032.pdf
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Public health engineering in precarious situations. This Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) guide covers a broad range of topics relating to the implementation of relief operations in emergencies or resource limited environments. It covers direct action, such as medical waste management, as well as indirect improvements for health outcomes such as limiting the transmission of parasites and illness through the provision of clean water and vector control measures.
https://medicalguidelines.msf.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/Public_health_engineering_2010.pdf
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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – Technical Briefs. These technical briefs, produced by Oxfam, provide topic-specific guidance on a range of subjects pertaining to emergency response and program development in resource-limited environments. These guidelines seek to improve human health outcomes by addressing the provision of clean water, solid and sewage waste disposal, and hygiene best practices. Topics are arranged by category.
Other resources
WHO National Air Quality Standards. A regularly updated, interactive map that displays the national air quality standards of countries worldwide for particulate matter and greenhouse gases.
https://whoairquality.shinyapps.io/AirQualityStandards/
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The environmental impacts of U.S. food waste. This report, released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States, provides a comprehensive view of the state of food waste in the United States, and the cascading environmental impacts that food waste leaves in its wake.
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It provides concise descriptions and summaries of the impact of certain figures that facilitate a simplified narration of the staggering annual cost of food waste. It covers the food cycle from farm-to-table (or landfill), and considers factors such as land use, energy consumption, transport, water and chemical use, and packaging among others that are often unseen contributors to environmental degradation, but are inseparable from the topic of food waste.
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This report is a convenient starting point for anyone – researcher, student, community leader and private citizens alike – who is interested in learning about the dramatic impact that food waste has on environmental and public health as well as what may be done to curb its impact.