Abstract This chapter introduces the main idea and motivation behind precautionary principles (PPs) gives an overview of different PP interpretations according to their functions: action-guiding, epistemic, procedural, integrated are distinguished. The then describes lines arguments that have been presented in favor PPs before presenting most important objections face, along with possible rejoi...

background many countries conduct health impact assessment (hia) of their projects and policies to predict their positive and negative health impacts. in recent years many guides have been developed to inform hia practice, largely reflecting local developments in hia. these guides have often been designed for specific contexts and specific need, making the choice between guides difficult. the o...