Announcement of paper discussion at the
Internet Conference on Integrated Bio-Systems

http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-25860/icibs

Date: June 8 to June 30.
Title: Health and peri-urban natural resource production
by Martin H. Birley and K Lock, International Health Impact
Assessment Group, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, England.

URL of Paper:   http://home7.swipnet.se/~w-73327/icibs/birley

Mailing list address:      [log in to unmask]

URL of list:       http://segate.sunet.se/archives/et-parti.html

Registration: e-mail [log in to unmask] and write :
       SUB ET-PARTI yourfirstname yourlastname, organization
      e.g. sub et-parti Martin Birley, Liverpool Sch. Trop Med

 About the Author

 Martin Birley has a BSc and MSc in engineering and a PhD in
 insect ecology. He is senior lecturer in medical entomology at
 the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.  He is also manager of
 the WHO Collaborating Centre for environmental management for
 vector control and the International Health Impact Assessment
 Research Group. He is a member of the steering committee
 of the WHO/FAO panel of experts for environmental management.
 He has acted as consultant to the WHO, FAO, Asian Development
 Bank, World Bank, British ODA (DFID), and various private
 environmental consultants.

 Abstract of Paper
 Cities are expanding rapidly and provide large markets for
 natural products. These products may be produced in peri-urban
 areas that are also sinks for the city's waste. The opportunities
 for increased production in peri-urban areas are immense, but
 require careful research. All interventions can have  unexpected
 impacts - for better or worse. Such impacts affect the
 environment, the community and human health. A project that
 threatens human health is neither sustainable nor properly
 cost-effective and may do more harm than  good. A large number
 of studies have described urban health issues, but little
 health research has focused on peri-urban natural resource
 production. A detailed review was commissioned of peri-urban,
 natural resource linked health issues and this formed the
 basis from which the following account is derived. The health
 issues of concern include vector-borne diseaases such
 as malaria, dengue and filariasis whose control is stongly
 dependent on integrated management.