ABSTRACT
Water resource development projects always have indirect impacts and these can affect the environment, socioeconomic conditions and human health. In this respect they are similar to all other kinds of development and require an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The EIA procedure has been adopted in many countries in South-East Asia, including Australia, and the broad steps are well known. In theory, health is considered a component of EIA but in practice it is rarely given adequate attention. This can be ascribed both to a lack of political will and a lack of suitable procedures. To redress the balance, health impact assessment (HIA) has been advocated. This chapter describes how HIA can be fitted into EIA and outlines the associated methodology that is evolving. It focuses on the less developed countries, where communicable disease is still a major public health concern. It considers the general problem of health and development before focusing on the problem of vector-borne disease and the water development sector.
