Worldwide, development policies and projects (DPP) can be loosely subsumed under five groups, thus resulting in five different sources for potential adverse effects. The five types of DPP are (related to): (1) macroeconomic growth; (2) energy; (3) housing; (4) agricultural growth and food supply; and (5) industrialization.

As examples, the following are some of the observations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the impact of DPP on human health (Weil et al., 1990). In developing countries, health and nutrition for the poor can be adversely affected by economic adjustment programs which frequently include changes having an impact particularly on the poor, such as increases in food prices. In recent years, the potential health risks associated with industrial power stations and hydropower plants have also become common subjects of public concern.

In addition, WHO pointed out that those housing policies and projects encouraging the construction, destruction, or alteration of dwellings may have a substantial indirect effect on health and nutritional conditions, by increasing poverty or by not concurrently providing the low-income urban areas with enough water and sanitation services. Since the release of the landmark book Silent Spring in 1962 (Slide 9), the public is no longer ignorant about the fact that pesticides used to increase agricultural growth and food supply can increase health risks for large numbers of people. The same can be said about toxic chemicals used for or toxic wastes generated from industrialization.