Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

89 regulatory and enforcement powers to address environmental problems. Their responsibilities include functions like setting standards, formulating policies, monitoring compliance and evaluating them. When problems have global dimensions, national governments become key actors again by participating in the information exchange process to reach agreements on global problems to be addressed, necessary policies for their resolution and actions to be taken at national level. Therefore, they need to perform a series of functions at different levels of governance. The fundamental principles of good governance, such as participation, transparency and accountability, are still under discussion in many institutions with environmental responsibilities. When addressing global- scale environmental problems, especially those arising from the globalization process, institutions must possess several capacities. These include the capacity to identify and define the causes of environmental problems, create awareness about them, draft rules and norms of behavior that lead to the solution of the problems, formulate policy options, facilitate cooperation among governments and other actors, finance and support activities and develop management systems so that national and global environmental policies reflect environmental care and sustainable development. There is a fundamental principle for a healthier and more sustainable planet: citizen participation. Citizen participation can promote environmental quality by providing a means to organize action and motivate individuals and communities. It allows communities to shape policies and projects to meet their priorities, improve their environment and promote the sustainable use of resources. Participation in planning provides communities with the opportunity to influence decisions about the use of limited resources. Participatory political structures serve as a constraint on the abuse of the environment, as citizens with clear rights and knowledge and access to a legal system that allows for prompt redress can exert powerful restraint on those who violate environmental and health regulations. Local and national institutions responsible for environmental protection could use the process of globalization constructively by assessing local potential, together with communities, and integrating it into territorial development strategies. In this sense, this chapter cannot be finished without mentioning the “Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean”: the Escazú Agreement. This pact aims to “guarantee the right of all persons to have access to information in a timely and adequate manner, to participate significantly in decisions that affect their lives and