Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Dec;6(4):327-337.
doi: 10.1007/s40572-019-00248-2.

Challenges in Environmental Health Research and Sustainability in a Less Developed Country: a Case Study From Jordan

Mohammad I Ahmad  1 , Jabour Daradkeh  2 , Mazen Malkawi  3 , Wael K Al Delaimy  4
Affiliations
Review

Challenges in Environmental Health Research and Sustainability in a Less Developed Country: a Case Study From Jordan

Mohammad I Ahmad et al. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2019 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Environmental health research covers many aspects of the complex natural world and how environmental hazards, mainly caused by human activities, can affect population health. Researchers in this field have investigated environmental risks dose or exposure-response relationship, challenged hypotheses and interpreted data and results to solve problems. Researchers investigating environmental issues support the concept of environmental justice (EJ) and understand that they bear more responsibilities because they work to influence the policymakers' decisions in order to minimise hazardous exposure on populations. The environmental justice term has been widely used to describe unequal exposure of anthropogenic pollution or environmentally hazardous exposure to a group of people based on race, colour, national origin or income. The term has been defined and disseminated in many countries through governmental and non-governmental organisations. In Jordan, the government has carried the responsibilities to reduce the disproportionate exposure to environmental pollution between citizens and to promote the concepts of EJ. This review has highlighted the role of non-governmental organisations and the laws and regulations that prohibit assault to the environment and ensure the compliance of private and public organisations to minimise the effect of the undesirable environmental actions. Moreover, it addressed and discussed different possible sources of pollution and areas of heavy hazards exposure.

Recent findings: In this review, we highlighted the main causes of lack of research on the EJ in Jordan and the effect of income and ethnicity background. We also recommended applying the responsible conduct of research principles and guidelines to commence researches that can affect policymakers in this field in Jordan.

Keywords: Arab world; Environmental justice; Environmental research; Ethics; Jordan.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Geographical locations of existing industrial estates in Jordan
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Major landfills with total amount of daily solid waste in Jordan [13]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Minkler M, Vásquez VB, Shepard P. Promoting environmental health policy through community based participatory research: a case study from Harlem, New York. J Urban Health. 2006;83(1): 101–10. 10.1007/s11524-005-9010-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. NIEHS. Advancing Environmental Justice 2015.
    1. Schlosberg D Defining environmental justice: theories, movements, and nature: Oxford University Press; 2009.
    1. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice. 2017. Accessed 15.06.2017.
    1. Laurent É Issues in environmental justice within the European Union. Ecol Econom. 2011;70(11):1846–53. 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.06.025. - DOI

Publication types