Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the quality of the green and blue spaces around our homes and neighbourhoods, and the variety of wildlife they encourage. Climate change is a primary driver of biodiversity loss, so we must recognise the importance of providing environments where wildlife can thrive alongside residents and communities.

Water and soil are a key concern for health and the health equity of sustainable communities. This acknowledgement culminated in the government passing the biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirement under the Town and Country Planning Act in late 2023. BNG provides not only a strategy but also a requirement for creating and improving natural habitats by ensuring that a development has demonstrated a measurable positive impact of 10% on biodiversity compared to its pre-development state. [49]

Some research on England’s biodiversity and its role in climate mitigation [50] has concluded that the current condition of protected areas in England provides
insufficient and inadequate safeguarding against species and habitat loss. The lack of protections and insufficient management of England’s high conservation areas place a high proportion of the carbon storage that these habitats facilitate at risk. This suggests that improvements would not benefit biodiversity but improve climate change mitigation. [51]

The inevitable interaction between humans and nature means that in order for biodiversity to thrive people need to interact with and protect natural spaces. Successful stewardship, engagement and maintenance models for natural spaces have the additional benefit of involving people and creating a sense of community. Benefits also include the likes of planning for healthy walkable environments and offering opportunities to improve biodiversity through improved street connectivity, which in turn better connects flora and fauna across landscapes. [52] Promoting the ecological complexity and robustness of
biodiversity through improved management practices represents a resource with the ability to improve human health. [53]

Biophilic design aims to foster the connections between humans and nature, including with principles such as the use of natural materials and the provision of daylight. Research supports the benefits of biophilic design elements for people’s health and wellbeing, for example by lowering levels of stress and cortisol (which directly impact stress levels) for those in natural spaces. [54] Other benefits include decreasing the urban heat island effect through shading and improving air quality through creating natural barriers and trapping road pollutants. [55] There are also mental health benefits to biodiversity, and therapeutic effects have been reported from listening to birdsong or sounds of flowing water. [56] There is also increasing evidence revealing the influence of smell on multiple human wellbeing factors, often via a strong link to memory and through environmental factors such as experiencing woodland scents. [57]