Standing with Science: Can Environmental Health Become an Enforceable Right inSoutheast Asia?

What does environmental health mean, and can it become an enforceable right? World Environmental Health Day, observed annually on 26 September, highlights the importance of environmental health to human wellbeing, including air and water quality, sanitation, food safety, housing, and exposure to pollution and hazardous chemicals. Across Southeast Asia, these issues affect communities in ways that are often significant but remain fragmented within existing legal and policy frameworks. Transboundary haze, unsafe drinking water, exposure to industrial and agricultural chemicals, and occupational risks in extractive and plantation economies all raise questions about how environmental health should be protected through law and governance. This year's theme, “Environmental Health: Standing with Science to Protect Communities,” places scientific evidence at the centre of environmental health protection. It also connects with the World Health Organization's 2026 campaign, “Together for health. Stand with science,” which highlights three key areas: the One Health approach, evidence-based decision-making, and global scientific collaboration. In this episode, we bring these perspectives into a Southeast Asian context, exploring the relationship between scientific evidence, public health, environmental governance, and environmental rights. In this episode, we explore: • What environmental health encompasses as a field of science and practice, and where major exposure risks arise across air, water, food, chemicals, and climate-sensitive disease • How the One Health approach can support cross-sectoral coordination between health, agriculture, and environmental authorities • How regional legal and policy frameworks could incorporate environmental health evidence • What evidence-based decision-making means when environmental health data is incomplete, contested, or politically challenging • How science literacy can contribute to stronger environmental governance, accountability, and protection of communities Join us as we examine whether environmental health can move from a recognised public health concern towards a more clearly protected and enforceable environmental right in Southeast Asia.