India Urgently Needs A Central Environmental Health Agency To Tackle Climate Risks: Dr Soumya Swaminathan
The former WHO Chief Scientist likened the proposed agency to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US, which has the authority to regulate and take action when required
It is high time that India sets up a central environmental health regulatory body to tackle the increasing risks of climate change and environmental pollution on the health of its billion-plus population, said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Climate change, health and environment are interconnected, but currently the work in these areas is happening in silos in India. We do not have any central agency that can take data on climate, health, meteorological, and environmental factors and put it together to analyse it and make policies," she highlighted.
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The renowned clinical scientist, who has also been at the helm of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2017, was in New Delhi to attend the 150th commemoration event of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), where experts from across the country deliberated the increasing human toll of rising global temperatures.
Dr Swaminathan likened the agency to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States, which needs to be science-based and data-driven but has the mandate to collect and analyse data from all ministries or departments and the authority to formulate guidelines, recommendations, and policies.
‘Not a toothless body, should have authority’
The former WHO Chief Scientist, who now heads the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), also pointed out that this new agency should not merely be an advisory body but a regulatory one, which also has teeth to regulate and take action when required.
“Environmental health risks are the biggest threats to public health today. We mostly talk about air pollution, but then there is also plastic and chemical pollution and contamination of soil and water. We do not have a clear picture of the extent to which it harms public health. Until we have that, we will not be able to build required policies," she emphasised.
The recommendation was also endorsed by other noted experts on the panel, including those from the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFF&CC), the University of Delhi, IMD, and other institutions, who agreed that the work on climate change cannot be handled by just one department or ministry alone.
‘Urgent need to assess climate impact on health’
Since India is extremely vulnerable to extreme weather events, the scale of destruction and the loss of lives and livelihoods has grown over the years. Schools too are facing prolonged closures due to an increase in extreme weather events, as well as rising pollution levels.
According to experts, the increasing heat stress is particularly worrying because its impacts on the large poor population are alarming, especially in the wake of the record warming in recent years.
“Our studies show that districts most exposed to repeated droughts and floods have high malnutrition rates, low birth weight of newborns, and overall poor health indicators. It is partly climate change, but partly our model of development. Our indigenous communities are more attuned to living with natural disasters. But the way we are building our cities, it is certain that nobody is immune from the disastrous impacts of climate change," Dr Swaminathan added.
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