write an articles on role of nature in maintaining good health
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Humans have spent many thousands of years adapting to natural environments, yet have only inhabited urban ones for relatively few generations (Glendinning 1995; Roszak et al., 1995; Suzuki 1997; Gullone 2000). Whilst modern ‘westernization’ has doubled our life expectancy, it has also created disparities between ancient and present ways of living that may have paved the way for the emergence of new serious diseases. ‘As more people survive to older age, and as patterns of living, consuming and environmental exposures change, so non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer have come to dominate’ [McMichael, 2001 (p. 2)]. Further, mental, behavioural and social health problems are seen to be an increasing health burden in all parts of the world (Desjarlais et al., 1995).
More than ever, nations require effective and integrated strategies for promoting health in whole populations. In light of such trends, public health strategies need to closely investigate the social and physical habitats of urban populations, and examine ‘ecological’ solutions alongside specific behavioural, clinical and technological interventions (McMichael, 2001). This paper examines the potential use of human contact with nature as an effective and affordable health promotion intervention for populations. The evidence invites us to ‘look outside’ for solutions to this global contemporary health epidemic.In the last few hundred years, there has been an extraordinary disengagement of humans from the natural environment (Axelrod and Suedfeld, 1995; Beck and Katcher, 1996; Katcher and Beck, 1987). This is mostly due to the enormous shift of people away from rural areas into cities (Katcher and Beck, 1987). In evolutionary terms, ‘the urban environment is a spontaneous, changeable and historically unfamiliar habitat’ [McMichael, 2001 (p. 252)]. Modern society, by its very essence, insulates people from outdoor environmental stimuli (Stilgoe, 2001) and regular contact with nature (Katcher and Beck, 1987). Some believe humans may not be fully adapted to an urban existence (Kellert and Wilson, 1993; Glendinning, 1995; Kellert, 1997; Burns, 1998; McMichael, 2001). With parks and public nature reserves often their only means of accessing nature, the majority of urban-dwelling individuals may have all but forgotten their connections with the natural world.
For the purposes of this paper, nature is defined as an organic environment where the majority of ecosystem processes are present (e.g. birth, death, reproduction, relationships between species). This includes the spectrum of habitats from wilderness areas to farms and gardens. Nature also refers to any single element of the natural environment (such as plants, animals, soil, water or air), and includes domestic and companion animals as well as cultivated pot plants. Nature can also refer collectively to the geological, evolutionary, biophysical and biochemical processes that have occurred throughout time to create the Earth as it is today. Parks are public natural environments, spaces reserved for their natural or cultural qualities, usually owned, managed and administered by public institutions. Parks are utilized for a range of purposes, including for conservation, recreation and education. In urban settings, parks are seen to provide the most ready access to nature for many individuals. This paper focuses on the benefits of contact with nature in park environments for urban-dwelling individuals, and explores the potential of contact with nature for the promotion of health for whole populations.
The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion identified the importance of environments supportive of health, stating that the inextricable links between people and their environment are the basis for a socio-ecological approach to health (World Health Organization, 1986). The Charter advocates for protection of natural and built environments, and conservation of natural resources as essential in any health promotion strategy. The central theme was promotion of health by maximizing the health values of everyday settings. Everyday settings include, for example, where people learn, live, work, play, etc. (World Health Organization, 1986).
Studies in disciplines of ecology, biology, psychology and psychiatry have attempted to empirically examine the human relationship with the natural world, some concluding that as well as being totally dependent on nature for material needs (food, water, shelter, etc.) humans also need nature for psychological, emotional and spiritual needs (Wilson, 1984; Katcher and Beck, 1987; Friedmann and Thomas, 1995; Roszak et al., 1995; Frumkin, 2001; Wilson, 2001). Yet how dependent humans are on nature for psychological and well-being needs, and what benefits can be gained from interacting with nature are just beginning to be investigated.