Budapest declaration

In the Budapest Declaration (full document here) we read among the others:

• We the ministers and representatives of Member States in the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO), responsible for health and the environment, have come together at the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, generously hosted by the Government of Hungary in Budapest from 5 to 7 July 2023, to accelerate our collective commitment for healthier people, a thriving planet and a sustainable future; (page 1 of the Budapest Declaration)
• In addition to urgent actions needed to address a wide range of pollutants, for which the health evidence is well-established and advancing, new and emerging issues, such as electromagnetic radiation, require attention and response and addressing multiple exposures to pollutants; (page 9)
• We commit to:
  • strengthening interlinkages between environment and health, (page 3)
  • adopting whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, while paying particular attention to vulnerable populations; (page 3)
• We will support and promote the activities of the European Environment and Health Task Force (EHTF) and its Bureau, as drivers for implementing the commitments taken in this and previous Declarations; (page 4)
• We establish the “EHP Partnerships” as a new, voluntary and flexible mechanism to accelerate uptake of new approaches; (page 4)
• We will continue to promote the effective, inclusive, and action-oriented engagement of civil society, academia, the private sector, local communities and other stakeholders in the decision-making process at all levels; (page 4)
• Our aim is to enhance access to information on and public participation in environment and health related decision-making; (page 4)
• Rapidly accumulating evidence shows how changes in the global environment result in profound and negative impacts on nature and biodiversity. The interconnections between the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, livestock, plants and ecosystems are now recognised;(page 11)
• Nature and biodiversity provide basic conditions to human health and protect it through essential ecosystem services; (page 11)
• Our commitment: We will integrate nature and biodiversity in health policies and adopt the One Health approach interlinking policies and actions related to health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, while taking into account benefits and risk associated with human interaction with nature, by:
  • conserving, protecting, restoring, and sustainably using and managing natural ecosystems to protect human health, including from vector borne and zoonotic diseases, (page 12)
  • promoting and strengthening the integration of the environmental dimension in the operationalisation of the One Health approach; (page 12)
• Provision of essential public services and safe built environments are central in preventing disease and promoting health and well-being. They are critical to enhance the resilience of human settlements to environment and health threats; (page 13)
• Our commitment: We will work in close partnership with cities and regions to support green, healthy, resilient and equitable settings to the benefit of all citizens, working across different levels of governments to maximise policy coherence and synergies among the different levels, by:
  implementing nature-based solutions and circular economy approaches; (page 15)
• Our commitment: We will strengthen the interlinkages between environment and health, including by:
  promoting a transformative governance for environment and health, by strengthening mechanisms and tools for intersectoral collaboration; (page 17)
• Addressing the existing and emerging environment and health challenges requires additional, strong joint action, and concrete mechanisms to improve coordination and cooperation, while recognizing that different countries have different environment and health priorities, which reflect country-specific political, economic, social, cultural and natural conditions.
  To this aim, the seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health is launching a new agile thematic action-oriented mechanism – the “EHP Partnerships” − to facilitate the implementation of the commitments taken in this Declaration; (page 19)
• The EHP Partnerships would entail the following main functions:
  a. implementing and disseminating guidance, methods, tools and training packages for integrated approaches in health and environment policy making, (page 20)
  f. providing international advocacy and cooperation; (page 20)
• The EHP Partnerships governance.
  Each Partnership will have a lead country/s and/or organisation/s from the EHP members. The Partnership can include representatives of other EHP members, as well as other intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, private sector, academic and professional associations, and research institutions, of relevance to the EHP; Participation of non-state actors may be subject to an assessment in line with the WHO Framework for Engagement with Non-State Actors. (page 20)
• The Partnerships operate under the EHTF, and their activities are to be agreed by the EHTF. (page 21)