Ecosystem services and health benefits—an urban perspective

Ecosystem services provide water, food, shelter, fuelwood, fibres, and medicinal plants, and contribute to local and global climate regulation, moderation of extreme events, run-off mitigation, erosion prevention, waste treatment, air purification, noise reduction, pollination, biological control, and biodiversity—conditions that all directly and indirectly influence human health. In addition, ecosystem services provide recreation, mental and physical health, and aesthetic and spiritual considerations. A rapidly urbanizing world in combination with global changes are creating new health risks or enhancing existing health concerns. Possible impacts on human health of ecosystem services were evaluated in three different urban environments (i.e. affluent mature, affluent growing, and low-income growing). The outcomes suggest that several health concerns in cities worldwide can be reduced or avoided by acknowledging and integrating beneficial impacts on health from ecosystem services in urban planning.