A Systematic Review of the Health and Well-Being Benefits of Biodiverse Environments

Abstract

Recent ecosystem service models have placed biodiversity as a central factor in the processes which link the natural environment to health. While it is recognized that disturbed ecosystems might negatively affect human wellbeing it is not clear whether biodiversity is related to or can promote 'good' human health and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to systematically identify, summarize and synthesize research which had examined whether biodiverse environments are health promoting. The objectives were twofold: 1) to map the interdisciplinary field of enquiry and, 2) assess whether current evidence enables us to characterize the relationship. Due to the heterogeneity of available evidence a narrative synthesis approach was used, which is textual rather than statistical. Extensive searches identified 17 papers which met the inclusion criteria: 15 quantitative and two qualitative. The evidence was varied in disciplinary origin with authors Critical Reviews, 17:1, 1-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10937404.2013 2 approaching the question using different study designs and methods, and conceptualizations ofbiodiversity, health and wellbeing. There is some evidence to suggest that biodiverse natural environments promote better health through exposure to pleasant environments or the encouragement of health-promoting behaviors. There was also evidence of inverse relationships, particularly at a larger scale (global analyses). However, overall the evidence is inconclusive and fails to identify a specific role for biodiversity in the promotion of better health. High quality interdisciplinary research is needed to produce a more reliable evidence base. Of particular importance is identifying the specific ecosystem services, goods and processes through which biodiversity may generate good health and wellbeing.Post-peer review pre-publication version. Published as: Rebecca Lovell , Benedict W. Wheeler , Sahran L. Higgins , Katherine N. Irvine & Michael H. Depledge (2014) A Systematic Review of the Health and Well-Being Benefits of Biodiverse Environments, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B:Published at: http://dx

Perceived health benefits of managed and unmanaged meadows in a mountain biosphere reserve – an experimental study in the Austrian Alps

“…Previous research found positive, negative or no relationships between actual or perceived biodiversity and psychological and physiological health measures (Carrus et al 2015;Chang et al 2016;Dallimer et al 2012;Fuller et al 2007;Johannsson et al 2014;Lovell et al 2014;Marselle et al 2015). Although participants of this study reported differences in perceived biodiversity, they assigned both meadows the same health benefits.…”

“…Biodiversity is a key underlying condition for delivering ecosystem services (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003), but little is known about the linkages between the actual or perceived biodiversity of a certain landscape and its effects on human health and well-being (Keniger et al 2013;Lovell et al 2014). The relationship between well-being and actual biodiversity (plant, butterfly and bird species richness) has been shown to be positive (Fuller et al 2007) or inconsistent (Dallimer et al 2012).…”

“…A more recent systematic review of the health and well-being benefits of biodiverse environments (Lovell et al 2014) analysed 17 papers and found very limited evidence to suggest that biodiverse natural environments promote better health through exposure to pleasant environments or the encouragement of health-promoting behaviours. The authors also found evidence of inverse relationships and concluded that the evidence is inconclusive and fails to identify a specific role for biodiversity in the promotion of better health.…”

“…Most of the few studies on relationships between biodiversity and human health and well-being were carried out in an urban context, often relying on independent samples of participants (Carrus et al 2015;Dallimer et al 2012;Fuller et al 2007). Lovell et al (2014) and Carrus et al (2015) called for more research to produce a more robust evidence base for the relationship between biodiversity and human health.…”

The role of managed natural spaces in connecting people with urban nature: a comparison of local user, researcher, and provider views

“…The health benefits of these spaces are increasingly recognised (Soga and Gaston 2016;Mell 2017). There is evidence that people exercise more in parks with greater biodiversity (Lovell et al 2014), and that visiting spaces that are, or are perceived to be, more biodiverse, is beneficial for mental health (Fuller et al 2007;Luck et al 2011). Whilst few countries have national policies to increase opportunities for people to visit natural spaces, many implement policies at regional, city or local level (Mell 2017;Ten Brink et al 2016).…”