How does nature benefit people?

Tom: 

Nature can help us tackle all kinds of challenges our society faces. 

For example, we know that green spaces improve air quality, water quality, health and wellbeing and decrease levels of stress. Nature also has a vital role in pollination, which we rely on for much of our food. And in cities it can help reduce the heat island effect and decrease surface area run-off, cutting flood risk.

Studies have mapped the cooling effect of green spaces in the Victoria area of London and shown how they decrease surface area run-off. This is important as the aim is to reduce the volume of water that has to be pumped out from Victoria Station, meaning decreased pumping costs and energy use for TfL. It also means less disruption for passengers.  

Hannah: 

Manchester is another great example. They have found that increasing tree cover in the city by 10% could counteract the heat island effect, which is predicted to become more severe with climate change. This means that by planting more trees, Manchester would be able to keep the city cooler, making the nights more comfortable, decreasing the need for air conditioners (reducing energy use) and potentially resulting in fewer excess deaths as a result of heatwaves.

In the past it was assumed that people didn’t appreciate the wide-ranging benefits nature brings, but our research shows they know it helps them in lots of ways. It also shows people want investment in nature close to them – in their local community.

What is the connection between nature and net zero?

Hannah: 

We have to look at the climate and ecological emergencies together; we cannot solve one without the other. 

If we lose an ecosystem like the Amazon rainforest due to climate change, the knock-on effects could make other regions like effect rainfall in the grain belt in the US, decreasing the food supply for the USA. It works the other way round too; the most cost-effective approaches to sequestering carbon at the moment involve harnessing nature: planting trees and restoring peat bogs. 

What does this mean for urban environments? Should we aim to plant as many trees as possible?

Tom: 

We’ve done studies for clients looking at the carbon they could store by planting trees over their estate. While planting as many trees as possible would give the maximum carbon impact, it wouldn’t necessarily achieve the greatest biodiversity gains or the biggest improvements for society and our health and wellbeing. It is always better to consider all the possible benefits you could get from nature alongside carbon sequestration. 

If nature provides so many benefits, should it be more highly valued?

Tom:

We currently place a monetary value of zero on much of nature. Every time you buy a loaf of bread, you pay for the ingredients, the wrapper, the baker’s time and so on. But the cost of the impact a product has on nature or the value it provides is not factored in. For example, the knock on effects on the insect populations from the pesticides used to grow the wheat and the impact this has on pollination, the impact on water quality from soil erosion, or the picturesque view the field creates – none of these are accounted for. Taking these dependencies on and benefits from nature into account can be done by assessing the natural capital. 
The recently released Dasgupta Review  has a stark warning: our focus on economic prosperity is undermining the natural environment, and our impact on the natural environment is undermining prosperity. This is why it’s important for society and businesses to value nature. In fact, similarly to those businesses that didn’t survive the Industrial Revolution because they failed to adopt the new technology, I’m convinced that businesses that ignore the environment in their own operations and supply chains will not survive the 21st-century.    Companies should be interested in boosting biodiversity and natural capital because, ultimately, it decreases the business risk and can improve the bottom line. Plus, its increasingly recognised as important for investors. In other words, looking after nature is good for business.

Hannah: 

Our research shows that although people want investment in nature near them, they perhaps overlook the value of nature in urban environments. In fact, biodiversity can often be higher, and bring more benefits, in a city than in some rural landscapes. For example, a remote conifer plantation of non-native species is likely to have relatively low biodiversity and it’s hard for people to access. But an area of native planting in a city like London can be very biodiverse and also bring health and wellbeing benefits to huge numbers of people – not just those who live in, or who can afford to visit, the countryside. 

Do you think that people and nature can live well together?

Hannah: 

It’s essential that they do. As humans, who we are is affected   by our environment, just as our environment is also affected by us. Most natural environments in the UK have been co-created by people and nature. Think of the chalk grasslands created by grazing livestock, or the diverse woodland created by coppicing and pollarding. The inter-relationship between people and the environment can be good for both if we appreciate the true value of nature.