AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

The traditional approach to environment health is the ‘nature of hazards’ approach. This approach focuses on potential sources of harm to human health in the environment. In recent years there has been the emergence of a new approach in environmental health research – the ecosystem health approach. This approach not only considers how aspects of the environment can affect human health, but also human impacts on the environment. These two approaches can be used to examine the issue of drinking water quality. Drinking water quality is an important environmental health issue in New Zealand because many diseases can be spread through drinking water and, while generally good, there are still areas where water in New Zealand is not safe to drink. This essay will first outline the ‘nature of hazards’ approach, providing examples from each hazard category that are relevant to water quality. The ecosystem health approach will then be described and each of the three principles explained. Finally, a strength and a limitation of each approach will be discussed.

The ‘nature of hazards’ approach focuses on the way a hazard is classified scientifically and the risk that is associated with the hazard. A hazard is a potential source of danger in the environment while risk is the probability that the hazard will result in harm (Langley, 2004; Yassi, Kjellstrom, de Kok, & Guidotti, 2001). The ‘nature of hazards’ categories are biological; chemical; physical; mechanical; and psychosocial. Management of drinking water using this approach tends to focus on addressing hazards within these individual categories. The Drinking-water Standards in New Zealand use this type approach by setting acceptable levels of certain hazardous agents within their scientific classifications (Ministry of Health, 2008). The specific nature of particular hazards and the risk they present to human health determine how they are managed in the drinking-water supply. 

Hazards that fall within the biological category include all forms of life (as well as their non-living products) that can potentially cause harm to human health (Yassi et al., 2001). Those most relevant to drinking-water include bacteria, viruses, protozoa and cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria. Some of these hazards can be managed simultaneously. The main method for managing bacteria, protozoa and viruses, for example, is treatment with chlorine or ozone to kill these organisms (Ministry of Health, 2008). However the ways in which these different biological hazards are monitored differ. For example, there are many bacteria that are potentially harmful to human health. As it is not feasible to test the drinking-water supply for the many species of bacteria that can potentially harm human health, levels of E.coli are used as a surrogate measure to indicate whether the water supply has been contaminated with faecal matter (Ministry of Health, 2008). Inadequate management of drinking water contaminated with sewage can lead to the spread of bacterial diarrheal diseases (Yassi et al., 2001). In contrast to monitoring of bacteria, concentrations of  protozoa such as giardia are measured directly rather than by using a surrogate measure (Ministry of Health, 2008).

Chemical hazards are chemicals that pose a risk to health and include things like heavy metals, fertilizers from farm run-off and treatment chemicals themselves (Basher, 2003; Ministry of Health, 2008). They include both synthetic and naturally occurring substances and can be introduced at all stages in the drinking water system (Langley, 2004; Ministry of Health, 2008).  Lead contamination can be of concern in the New Zealand water supply as New Zealand water can be soft, meaning that metals from water distribution pipes can dissolve relatively quickly. This risk is addressed by publishing public notices advising consumers to flush a small amount of water from their taps each morning (Ministry of Health, 2008).

Physical hazards are those that result from the transfer of energy (except kinetic energy) including temperature, radiation, noise, light and electricity (Yassi et al., 2001). Many of these occur naturally in the environment and are impossible to control. Drinking water is monitored for the presence of natural radiation such as radon, which is emitted from rocks and soil. Water from all new underground sources is tested for natural radiation before being connected to the water supply. (Ministry of Health, 2008). 

Mechanical and psychosocial hazards are of less direct relevance to drinking water. Mechanical hazards occur as a result of the transfer of kinetic energy, or movement. Harm that results from a mechanical hazard is usually in the form of injury rather than illness (Yassi et al., 2001). Any body of water that people have access to is a potential hazard due to the risk of drowning. Fishing, canoeing and rafting are recreational activities for which drowning is a potential hazard and all are popular in the Motueka Catchment area (Basher, 2003). Psychosocial hazards are hazards that can cause people stress or anxiety (Yassi et al., 2001). The tendency of areas within the Motueka catchment to flood could present a potential psychosocial hazard as flooding could affect people’s land and homes causing them stress and anxiety (Basher, 2003).

The ecosystem health approach is much broader than the hazards approach. There is not only consideration of how the environment can affect human health but also how human activity can affect the environment or, more specifically, the ecosystem. This approach acknowledges ecosystems themselves are important for human health. The principles of an ecosystem health approach are a complex systems approach that acknowledges uncertainty; transdisciplinarity and participation; and the use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

A complex system approach is one that recognises that systems have many different interrelated parts and the that the causal relationships between these parts may not be as straightforward as they first appear (Grant, 1998). Part of this approach is acknowledging uncertainty, which means acknowledging that there may be interactions in a system that we are unaware of and the system may respond in ways that are unpredictable. This approach is used in the management of water quality in the Motueka and Riwaka River catchments. When considering the management of these valuable resources, instead of investigating water quality management alone, the researchers had a “ridge topes to the sea” perspective and considered the interactions between all parts of the biophysical, social, economic and political environments in the whole catchment area (Basher, 2003).  This involved not only the consideration of water quality but also of aspects such as use of land in the surrounding areas; sources of existing cultural knowledge about the catchment area; and the impact on the famous trout fishery in the area (Basher, 2003).

Transdisciplinarity and participation are also important aspects of an ecosystem health approach. Transdisciplinarity involves integrating different types of knowledge from across scientific disciplines while participation means that the local community in the areas under study is involved in research (Atkinson, Kilvington, & Fenemore, 2009; Fenemor et al., 2008; Wilcox & Kueffer, 2008). Transdisciplinarity and participation were key parts of research in the Motueka catchment area. The project involved researchers from a diverse range of organizations including Landcare Research; Fish & Game New Zealand; the Tasman District Council; and the Department of Conservation (Basher, 2003). There was also extensive involvement of local stakeholders including local Maori (Bowden, Fenemore, & Deans, 2004). The integration of both scientific and community knowledge enabled a more complete picture of the catchment to be built. For example, local knowledge about how land around the catchment was used in the past contributed to the development of scientific modelling of land use change in the future (Bowden et al., 2004).

A mixed methods approach uses both qualitative and quantitative data. One way qualitative data can be used is in identifying areas that require further research. In the Motueka catchment area, for example, a survey of stakeholders was used to identify water allocation as an issue of concern in the local community and one requiring further research (Fenemor et al., 2008). Collection of quantitative data can then validate these concerns by showing that demand for water exceeds supply in the Motueka catchment area (Basher, 2003).

A strength of a traditional ‘nature of hazards’ approach is that specific hazards can be objectively measured and directly addressed.  The relationship between hazards and risk to human health can be studied and the potential effects on human health are clear. High levels of certain bacteria in drinking-water, for example, are known to cause diarrheal diseases (Yassi et al., 2001). Because this relationship is known, levels of bacteria are measured directly and safe cut-off levels are set. Drinking water is also treated with chlorine to kill any bacteria present (Ministry of Health, 2008). This approach ensures that diarrheal diseases are a relatively minor problem in New Zealand and other developed countries compared to developing countries that do not have these systems in place to manage the drinking-water supply (Yassi et al., 2001).

A limitation of the ‘nature of hazards’ approach is that solutions may not address the underlying cause of a problem. For example, while a ‘nature of hazards’ approach may acknowledge that high levels of bacteria occur in drinking water as a result of faecal contamination, it may not acknowledge that the underlying cause of faecal contamination of drinking water in New Zealand is often farm run-off from dairy farms (Collins et al., 2007). This underlying cause is not addressed using a ‘nature of hazards approach. By not recognizing the underlying problem the approach also fails to acknowledge that the underlying cause of a problem may also affect other aspects of human health and wellbeing. Contamination of water with faecal matter from dairy farms, for example, may also affect recreational activities in an area. 

One of the strengths of an ecosystem health approach is the focus on community participation and stakeholder involvement. Engaging local communities means that not only is there more likely to be support for any changes that are necessary to improve the environment the capacity of the community to take action is increased (Atkinson et al., 2009). This was in important part of improving the water quality of the Sherry River, a source of local drinking water within the Motueka catchment (New Zealand Landcare Trust, 2010). There, after working with researchers to improve water quality by building bridges for cattle to cross streams, landowners continued to address water quality issues by developing their own Landowner Environmental Plans that helped to reduce the effects of farm run-off on the water quality of the Sherry River (New Zealand Landcare Trust, 2010).

A limitation of the ecosystem health approach is stakeholders, researchers and funders can have different expectations about the outcomes of the research (Phillips, Allen, Fenemor, Bowden, & Young). It can be difficult to manage the expectations of so many different groups. For example, stakeholders in the research in the Motueka catchment area often expected that the knowledge and information that researchers were providing them with did not address their immediate issues quickly enough, in part because of a lack of understanding of the process that must be undertaking in order to acquire research funding (Phillips et al.). Developing relationships in which different groups understand the ways that other groups work can be a lengthy process.

A ‘nature of hazards’ approach and an ecosystem health approach are both important in the management of drinking water quality in New Zealand. While each approach has strengths and limitations they each contribute to ensuring that the quality of New Zealand’s drinking water remains high. The hazards approach enables the prevention of water-borne diseases and the management of specific health risks while the ecosystem health approach helps to ensure the future safety of the water supply by considering way that human activity impacts water quality.

References

Atkinson, M., Kilvington, M., & Fenemore, A. (2009). Watershed Talk: The cultivation of ideas and action - Summary.   Retrieved 25th August, 2011, from http://icm.landcareresearch.co.nz/knowledgebase/publications/public/Watershed_Talk_Summary_2009.pdf

Basher, L. R. (2003). The Motukea and Riwaka catchments: a technical report summarising the present state of knowledge of the catchments, management issues and research needs for interated catchment management. Lincoln, Canterbury: Landcare Research New Zealand.

Bowden, W. B., Fenemore, A., & Deans, N. (2004). Integrated water and catchment research for the public good: The Motueka River-Tasman Bay initiative, New Zealand International Journal of Water Resources Development, 20(3), 311-323.

Collins, R., McLeod, M., Hedley, M., Donnison, A., Close, M., Hanly, J., et al. (2007). Best management practices to mitigate faecal contamination by livestock of New Zealand waters. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 50(2), 267-278.

Fenemor, A., Deans, N., Davie, T., Allen, W., Dymond, J., Kilvington, M., et al. (2008). Collaboration and modelling - Tools for integration in the Motueka catchment, New Zealand. Water SA, 34(4 SPEC. ISS.), 448-455.

Grant, W. E. (1998). Ecology and natural resource management: Reflections from a systems perspective. Ecological Modelling, 108(1-3), 67-76.

Langley, A. (2004). Risk Assessment. In S. C. Nancy Cromar, Howard Fallowfield (Ed.), Environmental Health in Australia and New Zealand. Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Ministry of Health. (2008). Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (Revised 2008). Wellington: Ministry of Health.

New Zealand Landcare Trust. (2010). The Sherry River Story: Improving water quality through whole catchment planning. Hamilton: Landcare Trust.

Phillips, C., Allen, W., Fenemor, A., Bowden, B., & Young, R. Integrated catchment management research: Lessons for interdisciplinary science from the Motueka Catchment, New Zealand. Marine and Freshwater Research, 61(7), 749-763.

Wilcox, B., & Kueffer, C. (2008). Transdisciplinarity in EcoHealth: Status and future prospects. EcoHealth, 5(1), 1-3.

Yassi, A., Kjellstrom, T., de Kok, T., & Guidotti, T. (2001). Basic Environmental Health. New York: Oxford University Press.