ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH IN THE 21ST-CENTURY - A ROLE FOR THE NATIONAL-ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH-ASSOCIATION

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil brought into sharper focus the need to recognize the global and transboundary dimensions of the environmental challenge. Massive flows of goods, services and capital cross international borders each day and at the same time, human activities in every community and every country are eroding the natural regenerative capacity of the environment. As a new strategy evolves for addressing these problems, the public health ramifications must not be blurred by debates over economic and social parameters. The National Environmental Health Association is in a strategic position to ensure a consistent focus on the human health aspects of environmental management.