WK 22

Operationalisation of Ecological Public Health – Integrating Ecosystem Services into Health Impact Assessment

Conceptual models used to frame impact assessment processes for environment and for human health and wellbeing share similar concepts. Yet they differ in scientific and policy focus, the causal processes they depict, and their complexity and scope.  The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework used by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and other institutions (e.g. OECD) and the Integrated Science for Society and the Environment (ISSE) frameworks are widely applied in policy appraisal and impact assessments. While DPSIR is applied across different policy domains and has been modified into the Driver-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action(DPSEEA) model; the ISSE framework is mainly used in Ecosystem Services assessments.

Often precisely the same drivers  affect both human and ecosystem health. For example, policy measures targeted at reducing emissions of pollutants such as nutrients from a specific sector affect both human and ecosystem receptors. Furthermore, the unintended consequences of policy actions are seldom constrained within discipline or policy silos. Thus, an integrated conceptual model is needed, accounting for the full causal chain affecting human and ecosystem health in any assessment.

We propose a novel, ecosystem-enriched “eDPSEEA” model to integrate both health impact assessment and ecosystem services in an attempt to operationalise Ecological Public Health, a concept which has been elaborated by Rayner and Lang (2012). As an illustrative example of the potential applications of eDPSEEA, in this Workshop we will explore the impact on both human and ecosystem health of nutrient pollution with interactive audience participation, seeking new pathways, impacts and potential actions including policies.