177
Since the publication of Lovell et al. (2014), interest has grown in the potential
contribution of biodiverse environments for health and well-being. Growth in this
field is shown clearly by the increase in the number of related scientific publications. For example, a search in the Web of Science on just one term, ‘biodiversity
and health’, yielded 0 hits for 1980–1989, 3 hits for 1990–1999, 2 hits for 2000–
2009, 6 hits for 2010–2013, and 16 hits from 2014–2018. This coincides with
increased interest from governments and international organisations on the mental health and well-being effects of biodiversity (Convention on Biological
Diversity 2017a, b; EKLIPSE 2017; WBGU – German Advisory Council on
Global Change 2016; World Health Organisation & Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity 2015). Given this research expansion and increased
interest, in this chapter we update the literature reviewed by Lovell et al. (2014).
In particular, we focus on the relationships between biodiversity and mental
health and mental well-being, as such an analysis has yet to be conducted. Box
9.1 details these definitions.
The aim of this chapter is to identify, summarise and synthesise research on the
impact of biodiversity on mental health and well-being. There are two objectives:
1. Describe the state and nature of the body of evidence, published since the review
by Lovell et al. (2014), relating biodiversity to mental health and well-being;
2. Provide a synthesis of results from Lovell et al. (2014) and the more recently
published literature to assess whether biodiversity influences mental health and
well-being.
Box 9.1: Definitions of Biodiversity, Health, Mental Health and Mental
Well-being
• Biodiversity is “the variability among living organisms from all sources
including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and
the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity
within species, between species and of ecosystems” (United Nations
Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, p. 3).
• Health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization
1946).
• Mental health “a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or
her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”
(World Health Organization 2016).
• Mental well-being is “the psychological, cognitive and emotional quality
of a person’s life. This includes the thoughts and feelings that individuals
have about the state of their life, and a person’s experience of happiness”
(Linton et al. 2016, p. 12).
9 Review of the Mental Health and Well-being Benefits of Biodiversity
Since the publication of Lovell et al. (2014), interest has grown in the potential
contribution of biodiverse environments for health and well-being. Growth in this
field is shown clearly by the increase in the number of related scientific publications. For example, a search in the Web of Science on just one term, ‘biodiversity
and health’, yielded 0 hits for 1980–1989, 3 hits for 1990–1999, 2 hits for 2000–
2009, 6 hits for 2010–2013, and 16 hits from 2014–2018. This coincides with
increased interest from governments and international organisations on the mental health and well-being effects of biodiversity (Convention on Biological
Diversity 2017a, b; EKLIPSE 2017; WBGU – German Advisory Council on
Global Change 2016; World Health Organisation & Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity 2015). Given this research expansion and increased
interest, in this chapter we update the literature reviewed by Lovell et al. (2014).
In particular, we focus on the relationships between biodiversity and mental
health and mental well-being, as such an analysis has yet to be conducted. Box
9.1 details these definitions.
The aim of this chapter is to identify, summarise and synthesise research on the
impact of biodiversity on mental health and well-being. There are two objectives:
1. Describe the state and nature of the body of evidence, published since the review
by Lovell et al. (2014), relating biodiversity to mental health and well-being;
2. Provide a synthesis of results from Lovell et al. (2014) and the more recently
published literature to assess whether biodiversity influences mental health and
well-being.
Box 9.1: Definitions of Biodiversity, Health, Mental Health and Mental
Well-being
• Biodiversity is “the variability among living organisms from all sources
including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and
the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity
within species, between species and of ecosystems” (United Nations
Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, p. 3).
• Health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization
1946).
• Mental health “a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or
her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”
(World Health Organization 2016).
• Mental well-being is “the psychological, cognitive and emotional quality
of a person’s life. This includes the thoughts and feelings that individuals
have about the state of their life, and a person’s experience of happiness”
(Linton et al. 2016, p. 12).
9 Review of the Mental Health and Well-being Benefits of Biodiversity