Social Science Research Council

As in many countries, rapid industrialization and urbanization in China have generated a range of environmentally-related threats to human health. These include water, air and soil pollution, difficulty in ensuring the safety of food and drugs, and many occupationally-related health risks.  But issues of environment and health are often separated in the worlds of research and policy and the contribution of the social sciences to our understanding of these problems and possible solutions has been relatively limited.

The China Environment and Health Initiative is conducting a review of current knowledge on the relationship between environment and health in China, and of  responses by government agencies at various levels, as well as non-governmental and international organizations, the media and other actors. The goals are to identify ways in which existing research can better inform policy and practice, to identify areas in which multi and interdisciplinary research is needed, and to develop ways to build research capacity in this area.  This process will result in an international conference and a series of workshops to be held in spring 2008.

International Resource Exchange

We are engaged in a number of activities designed to build an international network of scholars, policy makers and practitioners working on environment and health within and outside China and to facilitate the exchange of information among them.  The International Resource Exchange will consist of three components:

The Resource Hub
The CEHI Resource Hub is a comprehensive web-based database that will house information on individuals and institutions working on environment and health in China, as well as bibliographic resources. The hub will enable researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to search for information about research and activity on specific issues and to present their own work.  The resource hub is in the process of construction and scheduled for launch in fall 2007.

The Website
The bilingual website will be developed in collaboration with the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association. It will introduce international experience and research on environment and health, including articles on conceptual, methodological and data issues; insights from different disciplinary and geographical perspectives; and links to relevant international agreements, national laws and policies. It will also feature articles on various aspects of environment and health in China, including air and water pollution, food and drug safety, and other issues. The website is under construction and scheduled for launch in fall 2007.

The Translation Series
The CEHI will also collaborate with the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association to produce a series of special issues of the Association’s journal focusing on environment and health.

The China Environment and Health Initiative is supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

For more information about the Initiative or if you are interested in interning with us, please contact cehi@ssrc.org.