Search the EPA Research Database

Project title

Toolkit for Proportionate and Consistent Consideration of Population and Human Health in Strategic Environmental Assessment

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

University College Dublin (UCD)

Lead Applicant

Ainhoa Gonzalez

Project Abstract

Health has been a formal requirement of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) since the European Directive’s publication in 2001, but the way in which it should be addressed in SEA is a matter of debate. This project “Toolkit for Proportionate and Consistent Consideration of Population and Human Health in Strategic Environmental Assessment” (PRO-Health-SEA) will review current practice and it will bring environmental professionals and public health professionals together. It will focus on ways to ensure that health is addressed robustly and proportionately in SEA and in so doing it will add to current understanding of the methodological and procedural requirements for health in SEA. PRO-Health-SEA will seek to achieve each of the goals of the EPA Research 2022 Call Topic 3. By enabling the EPA to develop a considered position with regards to population and human health in SEA based on a review of current international practice and guidance, it will make particular contributions to supporting the assessment, mitigation, monitoring, reporting and regulatory activities of the EPA and to generating evidence crucial in assisting Ireland in meeting commitments under international, EU and national policies and strategies. A multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approach is adopted, seeking to enable multi-stakeholder partnerships between the EPA, organisations involved in SEA and public health stakeholders across the Republic of Ireland. It will enable environmental assessment and plan-making in Ireland to contribute to a high level of protection of human health. PRO-Health-SEA will investigate three main sources of written information: peer-reviewed journals will be searched for the links between environment and health and for the ways in which health is addressed in SEA; national and international experiences in addressing health in SEA will be identified through a systematic search for SEA Environmental Reports; and policy and guidance for health in SEA will be reviewed. PRO-Health-SEA will also identify, inventory and compile case studies of good practice and these will include interviews with selected project representatives to develop an understanding of the effectiveness and value of including health in SEA. The final and most practical project output will be a Manual & Toolkit that addresses knowledge and practice gaps across assessment procedures and methods. This will provide the basis for developing a ‘Good Practice Guidance for addressing health in SEA’, a key commitment in the National SEA Action Plan 2021-2025.

Grant Approved

�245,876.44

Research Hub

Healthy Environment

Research Theme

n/a

Start Date

31/03/2023

Initial Projected Completion Date

28/02/2025