This 2011 APS submission examines the links between biodiversity and mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. Healthy ecosystems make an essential contribution to our quality of life. The biodiversity of healthy natural environments and ecosystems is integral to human health and wellbeing, and of profound importance to people’s everyday lives and connection with the natural world.
This importance goes well beyond human requirements for ‘healthy’, life-supporting, ecosystems and uncontaminated air, water, food ecosystem services, though these are of course fundamental to human health and wellbeing. Biodiversity is also of profound importance for meeting psychological needs of hope and inspiration, connection to the natural world, restoration, recreation, and identity. Overall, healthy ecosystems make an essential contribution to our quality of life.
Loss of biodiversity therefore has significant psychosocial impacts on individuals and communities. Psychosocial impacts include things like direct psychological impacts (e.g., distress from actual or anticipated changes to the environment), as well as social and community impacts (e.g., changes to relationships as a result of changes in how people use and occupy a territory). Changes in ecosystems and biodiversity losses are more likely to harm already vulnerable people, including the world's poorest people, who are less able to adjust to these changes because they have limited access to substitutes or alternatives.
Addressing loss of biodiversity includes both efforts to reduce the threats (e.g., climate change mitigation, changing our behavior to reduce our human contribution to environmental problems), and adaptation to a changing environment (e.g., by building the resilience of human communities and ecosystems).
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