Introduction and definition of terms
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term healthy can be taken to refer to something that causes or helps to produce good health while the term environment refers to the totality of several surrounding conditions, especially those influencing development and growth.
A healthy environment, therefore, can be said to refer to the aggregate of such surrounding conditions or environs that promote good health. It is necessary to note that the good health referred to in this context is all-inclusive of (all) living things; that is to say, the good health of humans, animals, plant life and even protozoa.
Of further significance, is the observation that references to a healthy environment are often made with particular attention to human health. This means that what is generally considered as a healthy environment is that (environment) which has minimal or negligible adverse health effects on an individual. Therefore, the health risks associated with such surroundings are low.
Scope of a Healthy Environment
Generally, a healthy environment encompasses several considerations including but not limited to sanitation and general hygiene, clean air and atmospheric concerns (minimizing the rate of ozone layer depletion and neutralizing the greenhouse effect), access to clean drinking water and regulation of oil dumping and waste disposal in the high seas, conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources, ensuring compliance with laws and regulations on occupational hazards or injuries, creating a safe environment or atmosphere for the enjoyment of governance infrastructures and facilities such as roads and hospitals and putting in place mechanisms for the control and treatment of communicable diseases (through vaccinations and quarantines for example) among others.
According to Robert H. Friis in Essentials for Environmental Health (3), the concept of a healthy environment entails creating a world in which the air is safe to breathe. Where the water is safe to drink and use, the land is arable and free from toxins, and wastes are managed effectively and disposed of. It also involves ensuring that diseases are kept at bay and natural areas are preserved. He further categorizes this environment into physical and social and distinguishes them thus:
“…the physical environment includes the air, water and soil through which exposure to chemical, biological and physical agents may occur. The social environment includes housing, transportation, urban development, land use, industry and agriculture and results in exposures such as work related stress, injury and violence (Friis 3).”
From the above school of thought, it is indeed evident that a discussion on a healthy environment encompasses not only the physical and tangible aspects of surroundings like water and land but also the social frameworks and amenities such as housing and road usage or safety.
Origins of the healthy environment
The history of the concept of a healthy environment can be looked at on two levels namely: a) the domestic front and b) the global front. Concerning the domestic level, the origin of the concept of the healthy environment can be traced back to the original state of nature in the social contract theory as discussed by John Locke in Two Treatise of Government (105-146).
According to this theory, the original state of nature had natural resources in abundance and each man could partake of his fill-in plenty as there was more than enough supply of resources to go around. The subsequent increase in population and competition for limited resources, which is largely fuelled by the instinctive willpower to survive and subdue, saw the emergence of a chaotic state of war which state of war necessitated the prevalence of reason and hence the birth of the concept of a sovereign state as it is known today.
This was achieved by individuals giving up/pooling their sovereignty into an amorphous body (state) charged with the duty of exercising the collective sovereignty (state power) of the individuals. Locke argues that the sustenance of a healthy environment is largely dependent on the existence of an effective management system on resources and the prudent use of such resources. This was deficient in the original state of nature as man’s core priorities then largely revolved around life, liberty and property.
Following the establishment of the concept of a sovereign state with sovereign state power, it was so that the state offers certain protection and services to the individuals instead of their loyalty. This saw the birth and development of various comfort infrastructures over time whose overall aim was not only to make the lives of citizens more comfortable but also prolong such lives.
Subsequently, there were developments and improvements in state-sanctioned mechanisms and machinery which among other things ensured and facilitated the equitable management of natural resources, the formulation, and adoption of vaccinations, the construction of roads, hospitals and housing facilities, the incorporation of and compliance with principles of sustainable development in governance and the formulation and enactment of laws and regulations on most spheres of life including health and environmental concerns.
According to Louis S. Warren in his book American Environmental History, the primary purpose of such laws is to improve human health and protect ecological values. The history of healthy environments concerning domestic fronts can be said to be largely fashioned around the socialization process of man.
According to several environmental scholars, concerning the global level, such origins can be traced back to the industrialization era that occurred in the west in the 19th and 20th Centuries. This was majorly due to the increased manufacturing of goods and armory that occurred before and in the course of the two world wars. Over time, the effects of improper disposal of waste (mostly gaseous and liquid) manifested into phenomenal climate change issues that needed timely and pithy addresses.
This saw the emergence of several environmental conventions and treaties/charters between the 1950s and the 1990’s such as the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, the Rio Conference on Sustainable Development, the BAMACO Convention etc to address environmental concerns as they emerged. The Stockholm Conference on Environmental and Human Settlement (1972) declaration for instance envisions environmental matters to be matters of national jurisdiction and further establishes an environmental program within the UN to gather and archive data on environmental concerns. According to L.S.Warren, however, it can be argued that the history of a healthy environment is still in the making as there is no end to man’s development and socialization.
In conclusion, the history of the concept of the healthy environment on both the domestic and global fronts is largely fashioned or woven around the development and socialization process of mankind.
Works cited
Friis, Robert H.. Essentials of environmental health. 2nd ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2012. Print.
Locke, John, and Peter Laslett. Two treatises of government. Student ed. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Print.
Warren, Louis S.. American environmental history. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2003. Print.