Planetary Health: What’s good for nature, is good for us
The Anthropocene is a wild time to be alive. Our era is one of duality. Though our species is still inextricably linked to the natural world, down to our very DNA, our relationship with it has never been so distant. And, though we’re living longer than we ever have before, this disconnection from nature is greatly impacting our health.
So, how do we come to terms with this duality?
The answer lies in an emerging transdisciplinary field called Planetary Health which acknowledges the link between human well-being and the health of our planet. At its core, this approach recognizes that the degradation of nature—whether through climate change, biodiversity loss, or pollution—directly impacts human health, from increased respiratory disease to the rise of pandemics.
But Planetary Health goes beyond identifying problems; it proposes that we face the duality head-on and calls for a fundamental shift in how we view and interact with nature. By protecting and restoring ecosystems, we don’t just safeguard biodiversity—we create healthier, more resilient communities. This requires both advocacy and action: rethinking our relationship with the natural world, integrating nature-based solutions into policy and education, and fostering a cultural shift where caring for the planet becomes synonymous with caring for ourselves.
In the book Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves, authors Howard Frumkin and Samuel Meyers craft a compelling call to action: “The wellbeing of humanity and the degradation of the rest of the biosphere cannot remain disconnected for much longer.”
In this way, Planetary Health is more than just a field of study. It has evolved into a new social movement, reshaping how we approach conservation and environmental stewardship. Rather than leaving these efforts squarely in the hands of academic institutions and governments, it empowers practitioners across a wide range of sectors—including healthcare, education, urban planning, and business—to integrate environmental solutions into their work. The evidence from the field is being translated into policy initiatives, community-led programs, and hands-on interventions that restore ecosystems while promoting human well-being.
By broadening participation, Planetary Health fosters a collective responsibility for our shared future, ensuring that environmental action is not just a specialized effort but a societal imperative.
In their introduction to the book, Frumkin and Meyers describe Planetary Health’s first task—to demonstrate how human activities are impacting the natural systems that support life and well-being. Data is being gathered to show how pollution is degrading the quality of the air we breathe, for example, or how changes in land use affect the food we can produce.
Using such data, the Global Climate and Health Alliance created a Clean Air Scorecard that helps countries evaluate their air quality. Colombia, the sixth most polluted country in South America, has used the scorecard to identify sources of air pollution and create policies to address them. As part of its commitment to meet the Paris Agreement goals, the country has aimed to increase bicycle use in its cities by 5.5% by 2030, among other initiatives.
Planetary Health also takes a deep look at the moral and ethical impacts of our lost connection with nature. Witnessing the degradation of the natural world takes a toll on our emotional, psychological, and—some may argue—spiritual well-being. It makes sense when you consider our species’ evolutionary history—a staggering 99.9% of which was spent in nature. “When did the reverence and awe that many of us feel in beautiful natural settings lose their authority to guide our collective decisions?” Frumkin and Meyers ask. “These are questions that speak to our place in the world, our relationship to Nature, and who we are as human beings.”
This withdrawal from nature has well-documented mental health implications. Take, as one of many examples, a 2018 survey of people in Brisbane, Australia that evaluated aspects of nature relatedness. People who felt pleasure by spending time in natural settings exhibited protective factors against depression and anxiety. It seems, the closer we are to nature, the closer we are to addressing some of our key public health issues.
The stakes are high and the risks are many, but so are the reasons to hope. At its heart, Planetary Health is a science of course correction, uncovering what Meyers and Frumkin call “the rich terrain of solutions.” Some of these include rapid advancements in energy and transportation technologies, businesses that are redefining their purpose around sustainability, and innovative health and education programs that increase exposure to green spaces.
We have an opportunity to bring humanity onto a different trajectory, they say, but it will require “vigorous and positive action.” The principles of Planetary Health, and its interdisciplinary nature, can help to light the way.
Researchers, urban planners, climate scientists, economists, educators, health care professionals and others must work together to find concrete, actionable ways to secure a healthier future for humans through both nature reconnection and preservation.
What does this look like? Here are just a few of the Planetary Health solutions implemented with great success in urban areas around Europe:
Room for the River
The Netherlands’ famous flood risk spawned an innovative, nation-wide program called Room for the River, completed in 2019, which aimed to both improve human safety and the environmental quality of their primary river regions.
In the case of the city of Nijmegen, on the Waal river, that meant creating a new floodplain that followed the natural flow of the river. It also meant funding the relocation of displaced residents, but the PPP payoff of this urban regeneration project was massive—resulting in a wildlife haven, new city beach, and large outdoor recreational space. One of the largest climate adaptation projects in Europe, Nijmegen’s Planetary Health approach showed that what’s good for nature can also be good for us.
A similar project is underway in Luxembourg to restore the natural state of the Alzette river and its tributary, the Pétrusse, in order to improve biodiversity and reduce flood risk. The ecological restoration will see the removal of concrete embankments to allow for a more natural flow to the waterway. Riverside plantings will create natural habitats for flora and fauna, and will reinstate the Pétrusse Valley as an ecological corridor.
Photo: Christophe Olinger
Photo: Christophe Olinger
Improvements in biodiversity are already being observed—the sections of river that have been restored are seeing the return of native habitats and species, such as beavers. Biodiversity has been shown to have a direct impact on human health, as well. An experimental 2021 study called “Biodiverse urban forests, happy people” demonstrated a strong link between perceived biodiversity and emotional wellbeing. The study unpacks our response to biodiversity from an evolutionary standpoint. For millenia, humans paid close attention to the quality and richness of a natural environment for our survival. Increased vegetation are indicators of good health for an omnivorous species highly dependent on water, so a river teaming with life can still put a smile on our face.
And the positive impacts of biodiversity extend to our physical health, as well. A 2020 study from Adelaide University found that reintroducing a diverse array of native plants to public spaces can help strengthen people’s immune systems by exposing them to beneficial microbes, including bacteria.
CitiCAP: Personal Carbon Trading Application
Ambient air pollution causes long-term health effects, with some estimates reporting that a reduction in fossil fuels could reduce premature deaths from air pollution by over 3 million annually. One of the primary ways that cities can do this is by increasing public transport use, as well as walking and cycling.
Lahti, Finland made a tech leap towards this aim, becoming the first city in the world to launch a personal travel emissions trading scheme for residents in 2019. The app automatically identified the mode of transportation of its user and calculated a personal emission budget. Those who went below the budget could trade virtual credits for various products on the app’s marketplace. More than a third of app users said they reduced their mobility emissions as a result of the application. In addition to helping to reduce air pollution, the app also helped individuals examine and reduce their personal risk of non-communicable diseases due to physical inactivity.
The city’s innovative work in this, and other areas, led to its designation as the 2021 European Green Capital. The app also led Lahti closer to its goal of reaching carbon neutrality—which it targets to accomplish sometime in 2025. Perhaps its greatest claim to fame, however, is showing the world that carbon-neutral cities can be healthier cities.
GoGreenRoutes
There is a growing body of evidence showing how cities can become healthier and more liveable through better urban design and transport planning. Active travel through green corridors supports healthier lifestyles, reduces emissions, and improves an area’s biodiversity. In fact, the World Health Organization recommends access to green space of at least 0.5 hectares in size no more than 300 meters from home.
In response to these research and policy recommendations, the EU has funded a €10.5m project called GoGreenRoutes which delivers a double dose of Planetary Health. It aims to restore ecologically valuable spaces and improve the mental and physical health of urban residents through improved access to green corridors, linear parks, pocket parks, shared walkways, and other public spaces.
Preserving and expanding on these types of areas is a priority for Estonia’s capital city and GoGreenRoutes partner Tallinn. The city’s diverse landscape offers important migration corridors for many animals, as well as dozens of parks accessible to upwards of 79% of residents. But, for city planners and residents, access is only part of the story. Tallinn’s vision is to involve residents and local stakeholders in the process of co-creating nature-based solutions that meet diverse needs and take vulnerable groups into account.
Vormsi park, located in the city’s most populous district, is about 4.4 hectares in size. As is described on the GoGreenRoutes website, “Located between high and low rise buildings, bordered between Estonia and Russian speaking communities in Tallinn, between ages and interest and between natural environment and city streets, Vormsi Park is the perfect area to bring community members together.”
That collaboration resulted in the co-design of a new urban garden with local citizens, aimed at increasing social interaction and reducing stress levels. Local trees are now managed by residents, as well as a new rain garden, which concentrates water in smaller areas for better irrigation. These nature-based solutions increase the environmental quality of the downtown area, counterbalancing the adverse health effects of urban living.
Tallinn, which became the European Green Capital City in 2023, has shown that carbon-neutral and biodiverse cities can be co-created to maximize the benefit of all.
These are just three of the many Planetary Health initiatives being tried and tested around Europe. If its leaders and communities continue this innovative work—redesigning more urban areas under the tenants of Planetary Health—it will be a model for the rest of the world to follow.
Sources
About GoGreenRoutes. https://gogreenroutes.eu/about/project
After millennia of agricultural expansion, the world has passed ‘peak agricultural land’. (2022). https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/06/agricultural-expansion-land-food-production-wildlife-biodiversity/
AQLI Columbia Fact Sheet. https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Colombia-Fact-Sheet-2023_Final-1.pdf
Billions of people still breathe unhealthy air: new WHO data. (2022). https://www.who.int/news/item/04-04-2022-billions-of-people-still-breathe-unhealthy-air-new-who-data
Climate-Proof Cities: City of Tallinn, Estonia. https://networknature.eu/casestudy/19307
Conversations on Planetary Health. (September 2017). https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Planetary-Health-101-Information-and-Resources.pdf
Copernicus Global Climate Report 2024 confirms last year as the warmest on record, first ever above 1.5°C annual average temperature. (January 2025). https://www.copernicus.eu/en/news/news/copernicus-global-climate-report-2024-confirms-last-year-warmest-record-first-ever-above
Dean, J., et al. (2018). Is Nature Relatedness Associated with Better Mental and Physical Health? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6069224/
Frumkin, H. and Meyers, S. (2020). Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves. Island Press. https://www.google.lu/books/edition/Planetary_Health/Cn_pDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover
Halonen, J, et al. (2021). A call for urgent action to safeguard our planet and our health in line with the helsinki declaration. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935120314973#bib41
Lopez-Haro, J., et al. (2024). Association between Active Use of Urban Green Spaces and Well-Being in Adults Aged 18–65 Years: A Systematic Review. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/JHP1040
Mills, J., et al. (2020). Revegetation of urban green space rewilds soil microbiotas with implications for human health and urban design. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.13175
NDC Clean Air Scorecard. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/es/clean-air-ndc-scorecard/
Ngheim, T.P.L., et al. (2021). Biodiverse urban forests, happy people: Experimental evidence linking perceived biodiversity, restoration, and emotional wellbeing. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866721000558
Presentation of an agreement to restore the Alzette. (2023). https://gouvernement.lu/en/gouvernement/yuriko-backes/actualites.gouvernement2024%2Ben%2Bactualites%2Btoutes_actualites%2Bcommuniques%2B2023%2B03-mars%2B30-welfring-backes-renaturation-alzette.html
Room for the River Programme. (2019). https://www.dutchwatersector.com/news/room-for-the-river-programme
Room for the River Waal—protecting the city of Nijmegen. (2020). https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/metadata/case-studies/room-for-the-river-waal-2013-protecting-the-city-of-nijmegen
Tallinn, Estonia. https://gogreenroutes.eu/cities/tallinn
The City of Lahti unveils a personal carbon trading scheme. (2020). https://urban-mobility-observatory.transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/city-lahti-unveils-personal-carbon-trading-scheme-2020-07-03_en
Urban green spaces and health. (2016). Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/345751/WHO-EURO-2016-3352-43111-60341-eng.pdf
Johanna Sorrentino is a writer and content strategist specializing in health, science, and education. You can read more of her work and connect with her on LinkedIn.