COS 19-10
Direct links between biodiversity and human well-being: Science needs to support win-win conservation and health opportunities
It is fairly well accepted that maintaining biodiversity is important for the production of ecosystem services. What is less clear is the relationship between biodiversity and direct measures of human health and well-being. This study addresses the question, “What do we know about relationships between biodiversity and human health and what research is needed to fill key gaps in our understanding?”
Results/Conclusions
There is a substantial and growing literature that details positive human health effects, both psychological and physiological, of exposure to “nature” and “green space” in various forms. However, the evidence for similar health effects of biodiversity is much less robust, although beginning to develop. Based on an extensive literature review that included journal articles from several fields including medical journals, urban planning, and environmental science, we determined that there is evidence that biodiversity affects human health and well-being through: (1) sustaining production and delivery of ecosystem services; (2) providing a variety of psychological (especially) and some physiological health benefits; (3) limiting transmission of certain vector-borne diseases; (4) stimulating increased physical activity; and (5) enhancing environmental awareness and pro-environment attitudes. In addition, there is evidence of an important impact of biodiversity on mental health including feelings of sense of place, restoration, relaxation, and enjoyment. Finally, recent findings suggest that people who are exposed to healthy environmental biodiversity, particularly as a child or youth, have more diverse human microbiota and a healthier autoimmune response.
Combined, these multiple lines of evidence from several fields suggest that biodiversity has important, direct connections to human health and well-being but these connection are poorly recognized or explored in environmental science and public health research, in policy development, or in management decisions regarding public health and biodiversity conservation. We conclude that there is a critical need for a strong focus on multi- and inter-disciplinary research specifically targeted to improve our understanding of how biodiversity and human health and well-being are connected. We also suggest an important need for ecologists and biomedical/public health scientists, and their respective professional organizations at both national and international levels, including the Ecological Society of America, to work together to foster increased understanding of biodiversity-health connections, identify mechanisms and measures to account for human health impacts in trade-off analyses, and better communicate the human-biodiversity bond to the public. The result could be improved public health and stronger efforts to conserve natural biodiversity.