Photo by Mollivan Jon - Flickr

Human health and exposure to nature have not often coincided in traditional approaches to policy. However, with the ongoing work of organisations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), that is set to change.

IUCN is an organisation dedicated to finding solutions to developmental and environmental challenges through research, field work and policy development and implementation. Its membership comprises national governments across the globe and Non Government Organisations (NGOs), as well as volunteer scientists.

A key figure in the emerging policy development process is ecologist Trevor Sandwith, the Head of IUCN’s Global Protected Areas Programme and a Director on the Board of Healthy Parks, Health People Global.

What is a protected area? IUCN defines it as “a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.”

The importance of Protected Areas

For Sandwith, Protected Areas, or PAs, make a vital contribution to human health because how we manage ecosystems is intricately linked to human health outcomes, as evidenced by the connection between lifestyles and non-communicable diseases.

In a statement released last year that sets out IUCN’s position, Sandwith concluded, “Nature is central to human cultures, societies and economies. Humans need nature as much as the other species who share our planet. We plan to work not only to build systems of protected areas, but also to make sure they are effectively well managed, well governed and supported by surrounding communities and that they bring direct and indirect benefits to both local people and the wider global community.”

The importance of biodiversity and the contribution of PAs to human health is not just an idea but is backed up by research.

“The IUCN has recently strengthened its commitment to protected areas as a key conservation strategy, drawing on evidence that protected areas not only conserve biodiversity, but that they maintain the integrity of ecosystems critical to human survival,” Sandwith said in an IUCN media release issued earlier this year.

In April this year, Sandwith was a presenter at the World Health Organisation’s First Global Ministerial Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Non-communicable Disease Control where he outlined the evidence for the intersection of health and nature, and the key questions and opportunities posed by this relationship.

He listed a range of non-communicable diseases that can be prevented or treated through a nature-based approach, including cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, cancers, diabetes, obesity, musculo-skeletal disease, mental and behavioural conditions, and genetic and degenerative conditions.

He also cited recent analysis from Frances “Ming” Kuo from the University of Illinois which concluded that people living in greener environments have better health outcomes, even when income and other advantages associated with greener neighbourhoods are taken into account.

Nature’s essential services

As he argued, nature provides essential services for vulnerable people such as those with depression and this is being recognised by organisations such as Beyond Blue, an Australian organisation designed to tackle mental illness. Results from a literature review commissioned by Beyond Blue and undertaken by Deakin University showed that access to the natural environment improves health and well-being, prevents disease, and improves recovery from illness.

However, health is linked to nature other ways, with people in poverty-prone nations relying on productive, healthy ecosystems for their very survival. Given that nutrition is a key determinant of human health, keeping the marine and coastal ecosystems viable is the key to maintaining the livelihood of the 145 million Indonesian people residing in coastal areas who are dependent on healthy marine systems for providing their staple fish-based diet.

Sandwith sees the key to meeting the challenges to ensure healthy environments and healthy populations is through IUCN working in partnership with other groups and organisations. The International Healthy Parks, Healthy People Congress held in Melbourne in 2010 was a valuable networking opportunity for leaders across the globe and resulted in the adoption of a communiqué that ensured healthy ecosystems and healthy people were part of the same agenda.

“Efforts that add to the sustainability and long-term survivability of people and nature are a good return on investment,” Trevor said in an article he wrote for online environmental magazine Grist.

“We can build upon years of traditional and modern conservation experience to help people and natural systems face the impacts of climate change.

“But we also need the political and financial will of developed nations.”

Meeting a Millennium Development Goal

An important milestone will be reached in 2015—the target date for meeting goal seven of the eight Millennium Development Goals set down by the United Nations. This seventh goal is to ‘ensure environmental sustainability’, which includes the adoption of principles and mechanisms to achieve sustainable development, the protection of forests, decisive action on climate change, the adoption of renewable energy, reduced loss of biodiversity and improved access to safe drinking water.

IUCN will be assisting in progress towards this millennium goal through its international exposure and broad membership, the practical action it takes on a vast number of projects worldwide, and its scientific expertise, which is leading to the setting of global standards.

Further opportunities for collaboration and communication lie ahead, with the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in 2012, the World Parks Congress in 2014 and the review of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

So what needs to be done to create the paradigm shift so that human health and nature conservation issues are tackled together, as one issue? The first step, says Sandwith, is to undertake research into nature-based solutions to provide an evidence-based strategy. Policy development leaders in both the health and ecology realms need to analyse each other’s work and start recognising the common ground that they share. From this shared body of knowledge lies the opportunity to educate the general public and make them aware of the links between health and nature. Research and collaboration will also provide the basis for the development of best practice guidelines for professionals in both the health and ecology sectors.