WHAT IS NATURE DEPRIVATION, AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

REFRAMING OUR NEED FOR NATURE

Did you know, green spaces are good for you? Of course you did. That forests, fields and gardens revive our bodies and minds has been intuited throughout human history, and – spurred on by urbanisation forecasts and Covid-19 lockdowns – today there is more focus than ever before on the role plant life plays in our wellbeing.

Time and time again, across disciplines and continents, the science shows that nature contact is vital to our health and happiness. Among thousands of jaw-dropping discoveries, recent studies have found that spending 15 minutes in a forest can reduce anxiety 31%, [1] that adding just 1 street tree per kilometre translates to a 0.12% drop in local antidepressant prescriptions, [2] that a 3% increase in greenery boosts children’s IQ 2.6 points, [3] and that housing blocks with trees and grass nearby report half the crime rates of those without. [4] Research has proven that immersion in verdure fortifies our circulatory, respiratory, endocrine and immune systems – drastically improving our quality of life, and extending our lifespans. [5]

We typically frame such findings in terms of “boosts” or “benefits”, talking of green spaces as immunity-fortifying, mood-lifting and brain-sharpening. But consider this: nature is our natural habitat. For over 99% of our species’ history, generation upon generation survived and thrived by developing deep, intimate relationships with surrounding flora, fauna and landscapes. The so-called “boosts” we get by having non-human life around us are, in actuality, just bringing us closer to our true baseline. It’s less that green spaces are miraculously relaxing – more that the lifeless habitats we’ve come to consider “normal” are causing chronic stress. Leafy streets don’t just help residents live longer – natureless neighbourhoods are killing people.

With over half the global population now living in urban areas, our grey primary habitats today look nothing like the green ones we evolved to suit. Concrete already outweighs every tree, bush and shrub on Earth. Today, most human beings today are living in a state of “nature deprivation”.

[1]“Exposure to green spaces is key to preventing anxiety and depression in young people, study finds,” UWE Bristol, 2021.

[2]Taylor, M.S. et al., “Research note: Urban street tree density and antidepressant prescription rates—A cross-sectional study in London, UK,” Landscape and Urban Planning, Elsevier, 2015.

[3]Bijnens, E.M. et al., “Residential green space and child intelligence and behavior across urban, suburban, and rural areas in Belgium: A longitudinal birth cohort study of twins,” PLoS Medicine, PLOS, 2020. 

[4]Kuo, F.E. and Sullivan, W.C., “Environment and crime in the inner city: Does vegetation reduce crime?” Environment and Behavior, 2001.

[5]See Gascon, M. et al., “Residential green spaces and mortality: A systematic review,” Environmental International, Elsevier, 2016. One study, involving 100,000 participants, found that living in the greenest neighbourhoods means a 12% higher survival rate over an eight-year period compared to the greyest (even adjusting for risk factors such as age, ethnicity, smoking, and socio-economic status): James, P. et al., “Exposure to Greenness and Mortality in a Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study of Women,” Environmental Health Perspectives, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (United States), 2016.

Photo by Jake Hailstone

UNDERSTANDING NATURE DEPRIVATION

To be nature deprived is to suffer from a deficit of green space. Both people and places can be described as nature deprived. For people, the consequences of nature deprivation include stress, mental illness, dementia, diabetes, cancer, heart problems and lung disease; for places, the associated dangers include flooding, pollution and temperature rise – all of which circle back to harm human (and nonhuman) beings. Understanding the consequences of nature deprivation is straightforward: you simply invert the “benefits” we get from green spaces.

Certain communities are disproportionately impacted by this environmental injustice. How nature deprived you are likely reflects your income, mental and physical ability, education, employment status and ethnicity. Across the Industrialised West, wealthier, whiter urban neighbourhoods are significantly greener – full of well-funded parks and private gardens. In the United States (where the disparity has its roots in redlining) people of colour are 3 times more likely than white people to live in gravely nature deprived neighbourhoods. [6] In England, neighbourhoods where 40% of residents are people of colour have 11 times less greenery then overwhelmingly white ones,  [7] and the country’s most affluent urban neighbourhoods have 5 times more public green space than its most deprived wards (not to mention the private gardens). [8]

Nature deprivation doesn’t leave its shoes at the door – its effects spiral out, putting strain not only on individuals, but communities and national services too. UK charity Fields In Trust discovered that parks and green spaces provide a total £34 billion worth of wellbeing benefits to the population, and save the National Health Service at least £111 million a year through reduced GP visits alone. [9] Imagine the gargantuan pressure not only on health services, but on social services, street maintenance and law enforcement were these spaces to disappear! Fields in Trust’s Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths, concluded, “any decision by a public body to remove a park or green space is completely short-sighted”.

Our growing disconnect from nature is also fuelling the climate crisis. We cannot expect people to love or care for something that they have no relationship to and, as it stands, fewer and fewer people have a relationship with the natural world. This common sense is backed up by reams of evidence. A 2020 study of over 24,000 people found that those with greater connection to natural environments were more likely to behave in ways that benefit the Earth, including recycling, walking or cycling (rather than driving), and environmental volunteering. [10] The reverse is also true: the more nature deprived we are, the less likely we are to take actions necessary to limit global temperature rise and curb the sixth mass extinction.

[6] Landau, V.A., McClure, M.L. and Dickson, B.G., “Analysis of the Disparities in Nature Loss and Access to Nature,” Conservation Science Partners, 2020.

[7]Cabe Space, “Community green: using local spaces to tackle inequality and improve health,” Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, 2010. 

[8] CABE Space, “Urban green nation: Building the evidence base,” Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, 2010.

[9]https://www.fieldsintrust.org/revaluing 

[10] Alcock, I. et al., “Associations between pro-environmental behaviour and neighbourhood nature, nature visit frequency and nature appreciation: Evidence from a nationally representative survey in England,” Environment International, Elsevier, 2020.

Photo by Fahrul Azmi

LOOKING FORWARD

Despite these dangers, nature deprivation is a fast-growing crisis. Already, 2.8 million people in the UK have no green space within a 10 minute walk. [11] In the USA, it’s a staggering 100 million. [12] Globally, the figure is likely to exceed 1 billion. As humanity urbanises at an alarming rate (in 1900, just 1 in every 6 Homo sapiens lived in an urban environment; by 2050, it will be 4 out of 6) these numbers will rise sharply – unless we take action to stop them.

Galvanised by the disparities in access to green space that were highlighted and exacerbated by Covid-19 lockdowns, in April 2020, I founded Nature is a Human Right, the campaign and petition to enshrine nature contact in international human rights legislation. Now, in 2022, we have an illuminating, gripping manifesto for the cause: the Nature is a Human Right anthology brings together leading global voices – scientists, activists, artists and more – in an international, intergenerational call to arms.

We stand at a crossroads. Our planet could either become more grey, unjust, and unravel into health and climate chaos, or we can help to make it greener, healthier, happier and more equal. If we believe in a fair and just society, and wish to limit unnecessary suffering, we must fight for a world in which no one is nature deprived – a world in which access to green space is not a privilege, but a right.

[11] https://www.fieldsintrust.org/green-space-index 

[12] https://www.tpl.org/10minutewalk

To learn more about Ellen's new book and organization, Nature Is A Human Right go to natureisahumanright.earth

Photo by Devansh Bhikajee

ELLEN MILES

is an activist and writer from London. She created the environmental justice campaign Nature is a Human Right, and edited the celebrated anthology based on it, featuring original contributions from notable scientists, activists, artists and nature writers. In her spare time, she's a guerrilla gardener, organising local action with her social enterprise, Dream Green, and inspiring global audiences online as Octavia Chill.

Ellen's new book, Nature is a Human Right is available now in UK bookstores, and for pre-order in the United States, Canadaand Australia. Join the movement @natureisahumanright.