12/01/2024
Researchers reviewed studies from around the world that measure human interaction with nature. They also calculated other indices that could hint at the relationship, like how far the average person lives away from undeveloped land, how many people live in urban areas, and how many trees there are in cities. They defined an “experience of nature” as any interaction someone has with nature. It could include anything from visiting a national park, to seeing a fox in a city garden, to viewing a natural landscape in a Disney movie.
[Related: Even if you live in a city, you can get health benefits from nature]
They found that human interaction with nature has declined in the past few decades. “What we showed basically is that North America and Western Europe are much more disconnected than the rest of the world to nature, but that the rest of the world is following the same trend,” Cazalis tells Popular Science.
One key measure that stood out is that there are less representations of nature in cultural products. Disney movies increasingly depict purely urban landscapes, for example. “For urban populations, these cultural products can be a really important way to build your imagination about nature, especially as a kid, but also as adults,” Cazalis says.
The team, however, cautions there are still large gaps in the research. Still, Cazalis explains that there isn’t enough evidence to make any conclusive statements about the scope and extent to which human interactions with nature have declined. After searching through millions of studies in a database, only about 18 fit the parameters for their review. And a majority of those 18 studies were published in North America, Western Europe or Japan.
