A global policy brief issued by the Vienna-based International Union of Forest Research Organizations warns that human health is at risk due to poor forest conservation and management, and inappropriate selection of tree species.
Although the impact can be seen across all stages of life, the effects on children are especially significant. At least 24% of global deaths and 28% of deaths among children under 5, as well as cognitive function and other repercussions later in life, are due to negative, modifiable environmental factors, such as air pollution, and the exacerbation of allergic diseases by climate change-driven temperatures that prolong pollen seasons.
The benefits of exposure to green spaces and forested areas have been well documented, most recently with regard to improvements in depression and anxiety. Other important advantages include better wellbeing and cardiometabolic health in adults, improved cognitive ageing and longevity in the elderly, and optimal neurodevelopment in children.
But forests and green spaces also provide safety nets for food security, water and air purification, and the livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable populations, which are significantly impacted by changes in how land is used, urbanization, and loss of biodiversity. Notably, changes in land use are believed to have led to the emergence of more than 30% of new diseases since 1960 and, in recent decades, have fuelled zoonotic spillover and ensuing outbreaks, like SARS-CoV-1, Ebola, and COVID-19.
Today, according to 2020 Eurostat estimates, roughly 39% of the European Union (or ~159 million hectares) is covered with forests. But that number is deceptive, and size alone does not tell the entire story.
Non-native tree species—which account for 44% of planted forests globally (and higher proportions in Europe)—are believed to alter biodiversity and introduce tree pathogens or new insect species depending on how they are managed. Moreover, a lack of unevenly aged trees (a mix of young and progressively fewer mature trees) can significantly impact the ability of forests to respond to climate fluctuations.
The current policy brief goals support the World Health Organization’s One Health Initiative, which calls on multiple policy and medical sectors to examine the interface between animal and human health. They also support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3, which underscores the relationship between sustainable development and human health and wellbeing at all ages.
For Europe and the rest of the world, forest-health relations are integral to strategies that address and tackle global crises, especially for children’s future wellbeing. To address these challenges, the policy brief’s authors are calling on decision makers at all levels and across multiple sectors to recognize how closely integrated human health and the ecosystem actually are.
