Valuing Natural Capital in Communities for Health

Society and the natural environment are deeply interconnected. The decline in the quality and extent of our natural capital (NC) and the ecosystem services we depend on poses a significant challenge to our ability to withstand and adapt to shocks caused by climate change, population growth and environmental changes. Urbanisation has led to substantial environmental degradation, increasing flood risk, urban heat and air pollution while significantly impacting societal health and wellbeing. According to the WHO and the European Commission, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions including for multidisciplinary teams to collaboratively address the mental health and wellbeing crisis. This has also been highlighted as an essential step in addressing the environmental emergencies we face.

The VNiC-Health (Valuing Natural Capital in Communities for Health) project advances a novel, adaptable framework and systems modelling tool for evaluating urban natural capital by integrating health and wellbeing impacts with the natural environment. Developed using a stakeholder led participatory systems modelling approach, the framework uses physiological, psychological, and environmental data to quantify the links between NC quality, human health, and wellbeing. Pilot studies in Dublin's Ballymun community demonstrated that high-quality NC significantly improves emotional, psychological, and physiological health, whereas low-quality spaces negatively affect wellbeing. These findings underscore the importance of integrating high quality natural capital into urban planning and healthcare strategies.