Roadmap Environment and Health

Environmental stresses can cause disease and affect well-being. But the reverse is also true: varied green spaces with rich flora and fauna strengthen health. The Roadmap Environment and Health is a Switzerland-wide strategic package of measures that covers partial aspects of the “One Health” concept and can be assigned to one of the partial goals of Health2030 – the current health policy strategy of the Federal Council.

The most important environment-related health risks are to be addressed by appropriate measures at the political level, according to a basic idea of the Roadmap Environment and Health. Pollutants in air, water, and soil, as well as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation and biodiversity loss, pose numerous health risks. Excessive noise pollution, for example from road and air traffic, disturbs sleep and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems in the long term. Climate change in particular leads to cumulative health risks: Shifts in biodiversity and increased occurrence of heat waves, which particularly affect the elderly or chronically ill. With the participation of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), health-related projects and Federal Council business were bundled into 49 measures assigned to four thematic priorities:

Climate change and biodiversity” health risk
Health risks from pollutants, ionizing radiation and noise
Health and non-ionizing radiation (electromagnetic fields, light, UV)
Health-promoting nature and landscape qualities in settlement areas.

There are interactions between these thematic areas: Climate change and biodiversity loss, pollutants, noise as well as “light pollution” can have a negative impact on nature and landscape qualities; climate change is often directly related to pollutant concentrations or UV pollution. An intact nature and landscape, on the other hand, promotes the well-being of the population and is a prerequisite for maintaining health, not least by being an important incentive for sports and exercise.

All federal initiatives that implement measures in the area of environment and health or contribute to their implementation to a relevant extent are involved via a roadmap support group, which began its work in 2022. The roadmap serves as a starting point for further considerations with regard to: Networking of actors in the field of environment and health, coordination and alignment of existing and future measures, use of synergy potentials, timely action when need for action is identified.

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