Project date: 1999
Interactive Health Ecology Access Links (IHEAL) is an international information network to support public access to health and the environment information. The vision of IHEAL is to create a global network of independent community monitors who share scientifically qualified information over the Internet with environmental health activists, information technology professionals and members of the public.
It enables people and communities to:
- Access information about environmental health concerns and strategies
- Openly share grassroots environment and health information via interlinked data bases
- Communicate their knowledge and experience of their community environment
- Map relationships and uncover patterns in community health
- Deploy geographic information systems (GIS) on the locational implications of environmental health
- Understand relationships between health and the world we live in – the ecology of health
- Advance community monitoring of the dynamics of environmental health of Europe
This is an open process of cooperation among non-governmental organizations working within the context of the Aarhus Convention on Public Participation. IHEAL-Europe notably supports the Pollution Release and Transfer Registry (PRTR) and National Environment and Health Action Plan (NEHAP) pan-European initiatives.
The initiators are UNED-UK (coordinator), International Campaign for Responsible Technology (I-CRT), Union of International Associations (UIA), Right to Know Network, and Environmental Partnership of Central and Eastern Europe (EPCE).
IHEAL-Europe was previewed at the European EcoForum meeting in Moldova (April 1999). It was launched at the Third European Conference on Environment and Health (London, June 1999), convened by the World Health Organization (WHO/EURO), and its parallel Healthy Planet Forum.
Initial financial support for IHEAL-Europe has been provided by DGXI of the European Commission. Matching funds and resources contributed by the UNED-UK, I-CRT and UIA.
The IHEAL Network has been in the forefront of promoting best practices in electronic information dissemination, using electronic access, Internet communication, and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies. IHEAL's website -- www.iheal.org -- provides user-friendly links to some 600 electronic databases and other resources for environment and health information. The IHEAL Environment & Health Internet Links Directory invites users to promote links to electronic information, creating a truly interactive method of updating and refreshing the site's database.
The UIA has been involved in the IHEAL project since its inception. Our own Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential project aims to map the connections between the problems humanity is faced with, and the strategies envisaged to address them. The Encyclopedia includes problems and strategies relating to environmental health, and it is this sub-set of information that the UIA has contributed to the IHEAL database.
UIA/IHEAL environmental health themes database
The following entries are part of the IHEAL database, and represent the sub-set of information that the UIA contributed as part of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential project.
| Water Quality Water Pollution | Transboundary water pollution Drinking water Recreational water | Transboundary water quality Drinking water Recreational water |
| Air Quality Air Pollution | Transboundary air pollution Urban pollution Industrial air pollution | Transboundary air quality Urban air quality Industrial air quality |
| Environmental Change, Climate Change | Climate effects on health Biodiversity and health Environmental health | Climate effects on health Biodiversity conservation Environmental health Environmental impact assessments |
| Vulnerable Groups
| Children and pollution Genetic vulnerability Poverty and unemployment Women and health Youth health Elderly health Disabled health Indigenous health | Children and health Genetic vulnerability Poverty and unemployment Women and health Youth health Elderly health Disabled health Indigenous health |
| Public Participation, Information Access | Public secrecy / Cover-up Pollution monitoring Public information Public education / training Internet abuses NGO participation Community participation | Public right to know Public awareness Pollution monitoring Public information Public education / training Internet information NGO participation Community participation |
| Local, National and Global Action | Regional environment / health National evironment / health Local environment / health Unsustainable development Threatenened biodiversity Public health | Regional environment / health National evironment / health Local environment / health Action plans: health / environment Sustainable development Biodiversity conservation Public health |
| Workplace Safety Workplace Health | Health and safety Worker health Worker's rights Radioactivity and safety Biotechnology safety | Health and safety / management Health in the workplace Worker?s rights Worker safety Radioactivity and safety Biotechnology and safety |
| Industry and Environment | Waste Radioactive contamination Business and environment Economics and environment | Polluter pay's Voluntary industrial agreements Waste disposal Eco labelling Risk assessment Business and environment Economics and environment Environmental good practice Business partnerships Environmental audits |
| Food Safety Healthy Food | Genetic pollution Unsustainable agriculture Packaging and waste Unsustainable production Unsustainable consumption Unhealthy food Malnutrition | Genetically modified organisms Sustainable agriculture Recycling waste Sustainable production Sustainable consumption Community food security Food quality |
| Lifestyle and Health | Diet and Nutrition Smoking / Alcohol / Drugs Exercise Mental Health / Stress Health Services Education Community health Family health | Diet and Nutrition Smoking / Alcohol / Drugs Exercise Mental Health / Stress Health Services Education Community health Family health |
| Environmental Security Welfare Security | Conflict and health Environmental security Welfare security | Environmental security Welfare security Risk evaluation Precautionary principle |
| Population | Overcrowding Overpopulation Abortion Depletion of resources | Population planning Family planning |
| Natural Environment | Animal health Animal maltreatment / rights Monoculture and biodiversity | Integrity of natural environment Animal welfare / rights |
IHEAL history and context
IHEAL was created in February 1999 by non-governmental organisations to support the implementation of the United Nations Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus 1998), and the World Health Organisation-Europe Environment & Health Ministerial Declaration (London 1999). The IHEAL Network cooperates closely with the Public Participation Campaigns Committee of the Pan-European ECO Forum.
IHEAL workshops on electronic access and Internet mapping have been presented at the Pan-European ECO Conference on Public Participation, in Chisinau, Moldova (April 1999), the Healthy Planet Forum, in London, England (June 1999), and the UN/ECE PRTR Task Force in Prague, Czech Republic (February, 2000).
At the Prague UN Task Force Meeting, IHEAL presented the results of the successful pilot Projekt IHEAL which placed interactive maps of pollution releases in the Czech Republic on the Internet. Sharing chemical disaster information over the IHEAL electronic mail listserve, our Network's members tracked the recent cyanide spill disaster in the Danube River basin and digitally mapped its spatial impact on the Tizsa River.
Support for IHEAL
IHEAL's founding organizations are:
- Environmental Partnership for Central Europe
- Green Spider Foundation
- United Nations Environment and Development UK Commitee (UNED-UK)
- Union of International Associations (UIA)
- International Campaign for Responsible Technology - Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
The IHEAL website is jointly produced by:
- Green Spider Network
- International Campaign for Responsible Technology GIS Research Team
Financial support for IHEAL has been generously provided by:
- European Commission Directorate General of the Environment, Nuclear Safety and Protection (DGXI)
- UK Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions
- World Health Organisation - Europe
- Private contributors
In-kind services have been provided by:
- Environmental Management and Law Association
- Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
- Union of International Associations
- Winged Horse Trust