Children's Environmental Action Plan for Europe

Aiming to implement the European strategy for healthy citizens through a healthy environment

29.04.2010 | WECF Campaign

Countries:	Hungary
Donors:	European Commission, DG Environment; Ministry of Housing Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM), The Netherlands
Partners:	European Eco-Forum, HEAL
Issues:	Chemicals & Health
Duration:	08/2006 - 12/2006

The European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010 (EHAP) aims to implement the Environment and Health Strategy (SCALE- science, children, awareness, legislation, evaluation).

The action plan consists of 13 action points and is designed to give the EU the scientifically grounded information to reduce the adverse health impacts of environmental factors and to create better cooperation between actors in the environment, health and research fields.

It has three main themes:

improving the information chain
filling the knowledge gap
reviewing policies and improving communication.

In 2006, WECF gave comments to the draft policy documents of the EU Commission regarding the implementation of the EHAP. The platform for delivering this input is the Consultative Forum (CF), which was created by the Commission in 2003 at the presentation of SCALE.

The Consultative Forum is set up as the stakeholder consultation body. Members States and EU institutions are participating. WECF was accredited as a member of the CF from the start.

The main issues for WECF discussed in the CF included:

The Environment and Health Information System

The draft document on Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT), “Provisional Issues for Discussion,’ was presented in December 2005 and WECF gave input in January 2006 through a common position with the European Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), of which WECF is a member.

WECF had previously consulted the Dutch Platform for Health and Environment. A central issue was the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in this information system: it should serve not only policy-makers but also citizens, NGO’s, and environment and health professionals.

The Review of the Environment and Health Information System

At the CF meeting on April 19, WECF commented on the review, the work plan of the bio-monitoring expert group and the work plan of the expert group on air pollution and health. WECF discussed this input beforehand with colleagues of the Dutch Platform on Health and Environment as well as the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment (VROM). Important issues for WECF and her members included:

The prenatal environment: the most sensitive period regarding effects of exposure was totally missing in all the documents.
The sudden reversal to state that only 2- 6% of health problems can be linked to environmental factors, instead of more than 20%, originally mentioned in SCALE.
The need to apply the precautionary principle in environment and health policy (as was the aim of the original strategy, SCALE).
Transparency in the work of the Commission, prevention of conflicts of interest in the working groups.

WECF has given additional and more detailed input in written form on the review of the information plan with collaboration of a member of her advisory committee and colleagues from the Dutch Platform.

At the CF Meeting November 30, WECF gave input via the Health and Environment Action Plan. WECF emphasised again the need to bring the effects of prenatal exposure to the foreground in the information system, translating the facts from research to policy-makers and the public.

WECF criticised an interview to the press a week before the CF by a representative of DG Environment, regarding the Health and Environment Action Plan, which suggested that effects of environment on health had been exaggerated by DG Environment in the original SCALE Strategy.

DG Environment rejected in the CF the article in the press and reiterated they were still keeping to the original strategy and did not have an opposing view.

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