|
|
Stockholm Environment Institute, Projects
|
|
Multi-city Study on Household Environmental
Problems in Third World Countries Overview The Stockholm Environment Institute initiated a program on urban environments in 1991, focusing first on the problems arising at the household and neighbourhood levels. Especially in poor neighbourhoods in Third World cities, complex sets of interrelated environmental hazards contribute to the high prevalence of respiratory, diarrhea and vector borne diseases. From a health perspective, these localized urban problems are among the most serious environmental problems in the world. One of the main outcomes of this work in the South demonstrates that 'sustainability' concepts tend to overlook environmental problems of the poor. This research is elaborated in the following reference:
As a first step, a comparative study was carried out in collaboration with local research institutions in the mega-cities of São Paulo and Jakarta, and the comparatively smaller city of Accra. The goal was threefold; to support local environmental management efforts; to develop methods applicable to other cities; and to inform international discussions on urban environmental issues. In response to the lack of relevant information, surveys of about one thousand households, and physical tests of air and/or water quality in a subset of two hundred households, were under-taken in each city. The surveys covered water, sanitation, indoor air pollution, solid waste collection, food handling, pests and crowding. Each major problem area was assessed in terms of the physical processes and severity, the health risks involved, and the priorities of the residents. Simultaneously, the results indicate that many factors other than poverty are involved, and that the most prominent environmental problems are not always the most important. In Accra, for example, access to water and sanitation facilities is probably more critical to people's health than the quality of the water obtained or the design of the toilets, which is itself more critical than the pollution of the waterways. Local residents may be aware of their particular environmental priorities, but policy discussions tend to centre on the more visible and measurable problems. It is important both to provide better information on local environmental conditions, and to ensure that local priorities are taken seriously. The fourth study in Port Elizabeth (South
Africa) builds on the approach taken in the other three cities.
It aims to undertake environmental research in order to inform
policy development both locally and internationally.
The study focused on the following categories of physical environmental issues:
The primary data collection employed household questionnaire surveys, physical tests of air and water quality, interviews with selected government officials and leaders of grass roots organizations, video filmed interviews and home visits, as well as focus group discussions. Publications:
McGranahan, G., Lewin, S., Fransen, T., Hunt, C., Kjellén,
M., Pretty, J., Stephens, C., Virgin, I. 1999. Environmental
Change and Human Health in Countries of Africa, the Caribbean
and the Pacific. Published by SEI and London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine. ISBN: 91 88714 69 1 |
|
|
    
|
|||
|
