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Biodiversity And Health In The Face Of Climate Change 1st Ed Melissa R Marselle

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Biodiversity And Health In The Face Of Climate Change 1st Ed Melissa R Marselle Biodiversity And Health In The Face Of Climate Change 1st Ed Melissa R Marselle Biodiversity And Health In The Face Of Climate Change 1st Ed Melissa R Marselle

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Biodiversity And Health In The Face Of Climate Change 1st Ed Melissa R Marselle
Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change Melissa R. Marselle Jutta Stadler Horst Korn Katherine N.Irvine Aletta Bonn Editors
Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change
Melissa R. Marselle • Jutta Stadler • Horst Korn Katherine N. Irvine • Aletta Bonn Editors Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change
ISBN 978-3-030-02317-1    ISBN 978-3-030-02318-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Editors Melissa R. Marselle Department of Ecosystem Services Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig, Germany Horst Korn Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Isle of Vilm Putbus, Germany Aletta Bonn Department of Ecosystem Services Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig, Germany Institute of Biodiversity Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany Jutta Stadler Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Isle of Vilm Putbus, Germany Katherine N. Irvine Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Research Group The James Hutton Institute Aberdeen, Scotland, UK This book is an open access publication
v Foreword I The biosphere underlies the whole sustainable development concept, as the layer on which society and the economy rely. Nature and biodiversity fuel the natural cycles and life-support systems of the planet, on which humanity ultimately depends. Crucially, human health and well-being depend on functional ecosystems and the services they provide. That is why the Convention on Biological Diversity sets out the vision that biodiversity is to be valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet, and delivering benefits essential for all people, including good health. Indeed, managing, restoring and pro- tecting nature in both rural and urban areas provide multiple benefits to human societies. Ecosystem-based approaches to climate change, nature-based solutions for food production, and green infrastructure in cities and elsewhere all contribute to several societal objectives and have a great potential to positively affect human health. However, it is well known that the world is facing a steady and dramatic rate of biodiversity loss from human causes, which may have severe consequences to human health and put in question a range of the Sustainable Development Goals. Further, we live in a context of climate change, which, on the one hand, impacts both health and biodiversity and, on the other, requires thriving ecosystems deliver- ing for mitigation and adaptation. It is thus timely and important to stress the link- ages and interdependencies of the climate-biodiversity-health nexus. Recognizing our fundamental reliance on nature and the value of the services it provides to human health offers increased opportunities for the biodiversity agenda, be it in urban spaces, rural areas, or protected areas. In essence, we need innovative ways to tackle the biodiversity crisis and the societal challenges it contributes to, including exploring nature-based solutions that foster public health and biodiversity conservation. The alignment of the health and biodiversity agendas presents an opportunity to transcend institutional and sectoral siloes and to allow different com- munities to join forces. A coalition of partners from sectors such as public health, nature conservation, urban planning, tourism, climate adaptation and others would be a promising avenue to help pave the way for the transition to sustainability.
vi This volume brings together rich insights of how biological diversity matters to people and their physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being, particularly in the context of a changing climate. Notably, the volume takes a systemic approach to assembling evidence from the social, natural and health sciences, draws on practical expertise from applied case studies, and discusses findings in the frame of ongoing developments in policy and planning. By understanding the true value and potential of biodiversity for health, we can develop the policies, research and practice to safe- guard and secure these crucial contributions from nature to society and to our future. This book helps understand what is at stake and what can be done. We should do it quickly, because we have no alternative – and Mother Nature is the timekeeper. Director for Natural Capital Humberto Delgado Rosa Directorate-General Environment European Commission Brussels, Belgium Foreword I
vii Foreword II Effects of heat-waves, heavy precipitation, river floods, landslides, droughts, forest fires, avalanches and storm surges are all felt in Europe, and more and more fre- quently. These extreme weather- and climate-related events have large impacts on human health, the economy and ecosystems. They are exacerbated by ecosystem degradation. Climate projections show that the frequency and severity of most of these hazards will increase across Europe in the next decades. Thus, reducing their impacts on human health as well as the underlying ecosystem health, and in this way adapting to a changing climate have become top priorities for communities and public authorities. Regarding impacts on human health, heat waves affect especially vulnerable groups such as elderly people by worsening respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, which are aggravated by air pollution. Flooding, landslides and forest fires also cause fatalities. Arguably, enhancing coherence among the many actors involved in the knowledge base, policy responses, and practices on these issues represents an urgent need. New models of governance need to be adopted between national and local levels and across sectors in Europe. Spatial planning and risk prevention poli- cies as well as technical measures need to combine conventional engineering (e.g. raising dikes) with ‘nature-based’ solutions (e.g. making room for rivers). If carried out properly, such projects can be highly efficient and cost-effective and have mul- tiple benefits – for example, building parks that cool cities in the summer – and thereby boost human well-being and also contribute to biodiversity conservation. Updated European regulations and policies on water, agriculture and climate adaptation are driving the push for more sustainable investment solutions to address the challenges posed by climate to address human health and well-being as well as biodiversity. Financing transformational adaptation measures, i.e. measures that change the way a city is built and organized, can be easy or difficult to implement. Measures often fall under the responsibility of other sectors, including water man- agement, transport, nature conservation/protection and health. Collaboration is needed. Taking a comprehensive perspective of integrated and long-term urban develop- ment and considering the municipality as a whole can result in lower overall costs
viii and many additional benefits. Demonstrating these multiple benefits will help to align sectors. The European Commission and the European Environment Agency are hosting the Climate-ADAPT portal to make better use of knowledge on adapta- tion in Europe. The portal provides information on, for example, adaptation policies and strategies, case studies and a database on adaptation resources, to enhance effective uptake by decision-makers and contribute to better coordination among sectors and governance levels. This volume adds significantly to the knowledge base to show the interlinkages of biodiversity and health in a changing climate. The synthesis of knowledge across different disciplines is highly welcomed and will inform practical and actionable management options to climate adaptation to foster, ultimately and in a mutually dependent manner, human health and well-being and ecosystem resilience. Head of Natural Systems and Sustainability Ronan Uhel European Environment Agency Copenhagen, Denmark Foreword II
ix Acknowledgements Synthesizing knowledge in this volume from different disciplines and sectors about biodiversity, health and climate change inter-relationships has been a productive and fruitful collaboration of all contributing authors. The transdisciplinary approach for this book brought together 64 experts from the natural and social sciences as well as from policy and planning representing 15 countries. Working on this volume has been an inspiring, enriching and rewarding journey for us as editors. We are deeply grateful to all authors who contributed to the chapters within this volume. This book would not have been possible without the joint expertise and insights into the various interconnected issues on the topic of biodiversity and health in the face of climate change. We appreciate the stimulating discussion process and hope this dialogue will continue. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all practitioners and policy advisors who have contributed their expertise to the science and case studies in this volume, demonstrating the possibilities for bringing together the issues of biodiversity, health and climate change. Their efforts and active col- laboration made this synthesis possible. We are sincerely thankful to the following peer reviewers who provided valu- able, constructive comments on earlier versions of the chapters in this book: Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo, Amber Pearson, Anja Byg, Aurora Torres, Benjamin Lee, Caroline Hägerhäll, Chantal van Ham, Christopher Coutts, Cynthia Skelhorn, Daniel Cox, David Eichenberg, Delphine Thizy, Elaine Fuertes, Emma Coombes, Emma White, Freddie Lymeus, Hans Keune, Jack Benton, Jana Verboom, Jenny Veitch, Jill Fisher, Kalevi Korpela, Karen Keenleyside, Kathryn Rossiter, Laura B. Cole, Manuel Wolff, Martin Dallimer, Martin Pfeffer, Mike Hardman, Nadja Kabisch, Nick Osborne, Paul Heintzman, Peter Cochrane, Pippin Anderson, Rachel McInnes, Robert Ryan, Ruth Hunter, Sjerp de Vries, Sonja Knapp, Sophus zu Ermgassen, Stephanie Thomas, Stephen Heiland, Suneetha Subramanian, Terry Hartig and Thomas Classen. We are especially grateful to Margaret Deignan from the Springer publishing team and to our Springer project coordinator, Karthika Menon, for their helpful guidance.
x This book developed out of the successful European conference “Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change” on 27–29 June 2017 in Bonn, Germany (for detailed conference documentation, see https://www.ecbcc2017jimdo.com/ european-conference-on-biodiversity-and-climate-change-ecbcc/downloads-pre- sentations/and https://doi.org/10.19217/skr509). The conference was organized by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the climate change interest group of the Network of European Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA) in collaboration with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe co-sponsored the conference. More than 220 experts from 31 countries convened to discuss the importance of the interlinkages between biodiversity, human health, and climate change at this conference. The large number of presented papers and posters illus- trated the highly topical and relevant nature of this field in science, policy and prac- tice, and fueled stimulating debate. This work was supported by the BfN with funds of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the research project “Conferences on Climate Change and Biodiversity” (BIOCLIM, project duration from 2014 to 2017, funding code: 3514 80 020A). Dr. Irvine’s involvement was funded by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. The editors have used their best endeavors to ensure URLs provided for external websites are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for websites and cannot guarantee that contents will remain live or appropriate. Leipzig, Germany Melissa R. Marselle Isle of Vilm, Germany Jutta Stadler Isle of Vilm, Germany Horst Korn Aberdeen, Scotland, UK Katherine N. Irvine Leipzig, Germany Aletta Bonn Acknowledgements
xi Contents 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities and Evidence Gaps������������������������������������    1 Melissa R. Marselle, Jutta Stadler, Horst Korn, Katherine N. Irvine, and Aletta Bonn Part I  Biodiversity and Physical Health 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence��������������������������������������������������������������   17 Sarah J. Lindley, Penny A. Cook, Matthew Dennis, and Anna Gilchrist 3 Climate Change and Pollen Allergies����������������������������������������������������   47 Athanasios Damialis, Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, and Regina Treudler 4 Vector-Borne Diseases������������������������������������������������������������������������������   67 Ruth Müller, Friederike Reuss, Vladimir Kendrovski, and Doreen Montag 5 The Influence of Socio-economic and Socio-demographic Factors in the Association Between Urban Green Space and Health�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   91 Nadja Kabisch 6 Green Spaces and Child Health and Development������������������������������ 121 Payam Dadvand, Mireia Gascon, and Iana Markevych Part II  Biodiversity, Mental Health and Spiritual Well-being 7 Theoretical Foundations of Biodiversity and Mental Well-being Relationships���������������������������������������������������� 133 Melissa R. Marselle
xii 8 Biodiversity in the Context of ‘Biodiversity – Mental Health’ Research�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 159 Sjerp de Vries and Robbert Snep 9 Review of the Mental Health and Well-­ being Benefits of Biodiversity���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 175 Melissa R. Marselle, Dörte Martens, Martin Dallimer, and Katherine N. Irvine 10 Biodiversity and Spiritual Well-being���������������������������������������������������� 213 Katherine N. Irvine, Dusty Hoesly, Rebecca Bell-Williams, and Sara L. Warber Part III  Implications of the Biodiversity and Health Relationship 11 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Implications for Public Health������������������������������������������������ 251 Penny A. Cook, Michelle Howarth, and C. Philip Wheater 12 Biodiversity and Health: Implications for Conservation �������������������� 283 Zoe G. Davies, Martin Dallimer, Jessica C. Fisher, and Richard A. Fuller 13 Supporting Behavioural Entrepreneurs: Using the Biodiversity-Health Relationship to Help Citizens Self-Initiate Sustainability Behaviour������������������������ 295 Raymond De Young 14 Global Developments: Policy Support for Linking Biodiversity, Health and Climate Change�������������������������������������������������������������������� 315 Horst Korn, Jutta Stadler, and Aletta Bonn 15 European Nature and Health Network Initiatives�������������������������������� 329 Hans Keune, Kerstin Friesenbichler, Barbara Häsler, Astrid Hilgers, Jukka-­ Pekka Jäppinen, Beate Job-Hoben, Barbara Livoreil, Bram Oosterbroek, Cristina Romanelli, Hélène Soubelet, Jutta Stadler, Helena Ströher, and Matti Tapaninen Part IV  Planning and Managing Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity and Health in a Changing Climate 16 Nature-Based Solutions and Protected Areas to Improve Urban Biodiversity and Health������������������������������������������ 363 Kathy MacKinnon, Chantal van Ham, Kate Reilly, and Jo Hopkins 17 Environmental, Health and Equity Effects of Urban Green Space Interventions���������������������������������������������������������������������� 381 Ruth F. Hunter, Anne Cleary, and Matthias Braubach Contents
xiii 18 Resilience Management for Healthy Cities in a Changing Climate���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 411 Thomas Elmqvist, Franz Gatzweiler, Elisabet Lindgren, and Jieling Liu 19 Linking Landscape Planning and Health���������������������������������������������� 425 Stefan Heiland, Julia Weidenweber, and Catharine Ward Thompson Part V Conclusions 20 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Perspectives for Science, Policy and Practice���������������������������������������� 451 Melissa R. Marselle, Jutta Stadler, Horst Korn, Katherine N. Irvine, and Aletta Bonn Glossary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 473 Index������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 477 Contents
xv Abbreviations ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder AR Allergic rhinitis ART Attention Restoration Theory BfN German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation BiodivERsA European Research Network on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services BMI Body mass index CBD United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity COP Conference of the Parties COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology CVD Cardiovascular disease DOHaD Developmental origins of health and diseases EC EcoHealth ECDC European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control EcoHealth The International Association for Ecology and Health EEG Electroencephalography EFSA European Food Safety Authority EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EID (Re-)Emerging infectious diseases EKLIPSE Knowledge and Learning Mechanism on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services ENCA European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies EROEI Energy returned on energy invested ESP Ecosystem Service Partnership ESS Ecosystem services EU European Union GI Green infrastructure GIS Geographic information systems GM Genetic modifications GP General practitioner, a medical doctor GPS Global positioning system GVCR Global vector control response
xvi HIA Health Impact Assessment HPHP Healthy Parks Healthy People initiative IPBES Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature IVM Integrated vector management KAS Knowledge-action systems LCP GIS-based least-cost path model MAES Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services MEA Millennium Ecosystem Assessment NBS Nature-based solutions NCD Noncommunicable disease NDVI Normalized difference vegetation index NEOH Network for Evaluation of One Health NESTA UK National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts NGOs Nongovernmental organizations NICA US National Interfaith Coalition on Aging NPPF UK National Planning Policy Framework OH One Health PES Payment for ecosystem services RCT Randomized controlled trial SBSTTA CBD’s Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice SDG UN Sustainable Development Goal SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SES Socio-economic status SIT Sterile insect technique SRT Stress Reduction Theory TEEB The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity TWG Thematic Working Group UGS Urban green space UHI Urban heat island UN United Nations UNEP United Nations Environment Program UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change VBDs Vector-borne diseases WHO World Health Organization Abbreviations
xvii About the Editors and Contributors Editors Melissa R. Marselle Researcher in the Department of Ecosystem Services at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). She is an environmental psychologist whose research focuses on the influence of biodiversity and contact with nature on mental health and well-being. She is a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society. Jutta Stadler Senior scientific officer in the International Nature Conservation Division at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. She has been organizing numerous conferences and workshops on nature conservation and cli- mate change as well as on other biodiversity-related issues. Horst Korn Head of the International Nature Conservation Division at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. His special interest lies in the application of holistic approaches to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the further development and application of science-policy interfaces. Katherine N. Irvine Senior researcher in conservation behavior and environmen- tal psychology at the James Hutton Institute, UK. Her transdisciplinary research focuses on the people-nature relationship, evaluating effectiveness of interventions to facilitate use of nature to promote well-being and sustainable behavior, and the spiritual dimensions of well-being and biodiversity.
xviii Aletta Bonn Professor of Ecosystem Services at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany and head of the Department of Ecosystem Services at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research Germany (UFZ), and the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). With a working background at the science-­ policy interface in the UK and Germany, her research focuses on ecosystem ser- vices, biodiversity and human well-being, participatory conservation, and citizen science. Contributors Rebecca Bell-Williams Research fellow at the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research focuses on nature connection and spiritual well-being. Matthias Braubach Technical officer of Urban Health Equity at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. He has a background in urban geog- raphy and public health. He assists the WHO European Region Member States in the development and implementation of urban policies and interventions that address environmental risks and associated environmental equity issues. Anne Cleary PhD candidate in the School of Medicine at Griffith University, Australia. Her research focuses on the links between nature and health, with a spe- cific focus on urban nature and mental well-being. Penny A. Cook Professor of public health at the University of Salford, UK. Her research focuses on working with communities to improve health, using an asset-­ based community development approach. She is also interested in health behavior and carries out research into sedentary behavior, physical activity and the health benefits of green space. Payam Dadvand Assistant Research Professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain. He is a medical doctor by training and has a PhD in environmental epidemiology. His research focuses on the impacts of both envi- ronmental stressors (e.g. air pollution, climate change) and mitigation measures (e.g. green spaces) on human health, particularly on maternal and child health. Martin Dallimer Associate Professor of Environmental Change at the University of Leeds, UK. His research applies and integrates research techniques from across different disciplines to better understand, and provide solutions for, the sustainable management of natural environments, biodiversity, and ecosystems in a human-­ dominated world. About the Editors and Contributors
xix Athanasios Damialis Aerobiologist at the University Centre for Health Sciences at the Augsburg Hospital, Germany (UNIKA-T), and the German Research Centre for Environmental Health. Since 1996, he has worked in plant and fungal ecology and biology, biometeorology and climate change, and environmental medicine. Two of his future goals are to protect environmental quality and to promote human health via real-time, personalized health information services. Zoe G. Davies Professor of Biodiversity Conservation at the University of Kent, UK. She is a landscape ecologist who uses empirical data to address questions of importance to conservation management and policy. One of her key research inter- ests is understanding biodiversity-human well-being relationships. Sjerp de Vries Senior social scientist in environmental psychology at Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), The Netherlands. His research focuses on cul- tural ecosystem services, especially on the effect of access to and contact with nature on human health and well-being. Raymond De Young Associate Professor of Environmental Psychology and Planning at the University of Michigan, USA. His work explores behavioral responses to the urgent need to transition to a life lived within local resource limits. Despite dismal ecological forecasts, his work is decidedly optimistic but without illusions. Matthew Dennis Lecturer in geographical information science in geography at the University of Manchester, UK. His research focuses on human-dominated systems employing a landscape approach to understanding patterns and processes that influ- ence human health and social-ecological resilience. Thomas Elmqvist Professor in Natural Resource Management at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden. His research is focused on urbanization, urban ecosystem services and components of resilience including the role of social institutions. He has led the “Cities and Biodiversity project” (www. cbobook.org) and is currently leading a Future Earth project entitled “Urban Planet”. Kerstin Ensinger Environmental psychologist at the Black Forest National Park, Germany. She is the director of the social research program of the Black Forest National Park. Her research and teaching activities have focused on issues of the effects of wilderness and nature-based experiences on body and mind. Jessica C. Fisher Conservation researcher at DICE, University of Kent, UK. While her background is in ecology, much of her current work crosses traditional disci- plinary boundaries. She is particularly interested in understanding how human-­ wildlife interactions can help solve conservation challenges. About the Editors and Contributors
xx Kerstin Friesenbichler Policy officer and project manager at Umweltdachverband, an Austrian NGO environmental umbrella organisation. Her work mainly concerns biodiversity, nature conservation and protected areas, the interlinkages of biodiver- sity and human health, and awareness raising among decision-makers and the gen- eral public. She has a master’s degree in nature conservation and biodiversity management. Richard A. Fuller Professor of Conservation and Biodiversity at the University of Queensland, Australia. He studies how people have affected the natural world around them. Much of his work is interdisciplinary, focusing on the interactions between people and nature, how these can be enhanced, and how these relationships can be shaped to build solutions to the biodiversity crisis. Mireia Gascon Environmental epidemiologist at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain. During her PhD, she focused on estimating the impact of pre- and postnatal exposures to chemicals on child health. After obtaining her PhD, she focused her research on improving scientific understanding of the health impacts of the urban environment, particularly air pollution and green spaces and transport planning. Franz Gatzweiler Professor at the Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is executive director of the global science program on system science for urban health and well-being under the International Science Council. His research has focused on the value of ecosystems and biodiversity and institutional change in complex social and ecological systems. Anna Gilchrist Lecturer in environmental planning at the University of Manchester, UK. Her research is focused on biodiversity and ecosystem responses to environmental change and the pressures that are created under changing sociopo- litical conditions. Alistair Griffiths Director of Science and Collections at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the UK and member of the RHS Executive Board. He leads a highly skilled team of scientists focused on research to provide evidence-based solutions to address environmental and horticultural challenges. Prior to the RHS, he was a key player in using horticulture science to create the award-winning Eden Project. His interest is in the science of gardening to benefit the health of biodiver- sity, the environment, and people. Barbara Häsler Senior lecturer in Agrihealth at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, UK. Her research focuses on the application of integrated health approaches to food systems, and how changes in those approaches affect food safety and food security. She also studies how to improve the well-being of people and animals through better resource allocation. About the Editors and Contributors
xxi Stefan Heiland Professor of Landscape Planning and Development at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. Currently his work focuses on adaptation to climate change by landscape planning, urban green infrastructure and its contri- butions to human well-being, and the transition of landscapes, for example, by renewable energies. He was head of the working group preparing the scientific basis of the German Federal Green Infrastructure Concept. Astrid Hilgers Landscape ecologist and senior policy advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. She is the national coordinator of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and of the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for The Netherlands. She is an initia- tor of the international Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators. Dusty Hoesly Lecturer in the departments of Religious Studies andAsianAmerican Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the USA. His research focuses on contemporary American religions and the social scientific study of reli- gion, specializing in how minority religions and spirtual movements shape modern American culture. Jo Hopkins Chair of the IUCN WCPA Health and Well-being Specialist Group. In this role, she advocates for the vital role that parks and protected areas play in ensur- ing a healthy natural world. Jo is also the manager of National and International Engagement at Parks Victoria (Australia) and is responsible for the consolidation of partnerships that deliver on Government policy and facilitates initiatives with mutu- ally beneficial outcomes between partners. Michelle Howarth Senior lecturer in nursing at the University of Salford, UK. She is a specialist in the impact of nature-based interventions on health and well-being. Her current research explores the process, impact and mode of social prescribing as an emerging social movement and how this promotes a person-centred, salutogenic approach to well-being. Ruth F. Hunter Researcher and lecturer in public health at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Her field of expertise is on green space interventions and health behav- ior change, with a focus on natural experiment methodology. Jukka-Pekka Jäppinen Development manager and deputy director of the Biodiversity Centre at the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). He has a long career in working with the research and policy development on biodiversity and ecosystem services, Convention on Biological Diversity (e.g. ecosystem approach), nature management in forestry, nature-based solutions, business and biodiversity, and biodiversity and human health. About the Editors and Contributors
xxii Beate Job-Hoben Scientific assistant in the Nature Conservation and Society Division at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. Her fields of work include nature conservation and sustainable tourism, sports in nature, and health. She studied biology and chemistry in Bonn and ecology in Essen. Nadja Kabisch Junior research group leader on GreenEquityHEALTH at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. The project is funded for 5 years to study potential health outcomes of urban nature under global challenges of climate change and urbanization. Vladimir Kendrovski Technical officer for climate change and health at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. A specialist in the field of health aspects of climate change, he provides and facilitates technical expertise to the WHO European Region Member States for the development and implementation of policies in relation to climate change, extreme events, and health issues. Hans Keune Senior researcher at the Belgian Biodiversity Platform and the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). He works on critical complexity, inter- and transdisciplinary, action research, decision support, environment and health, ecosystem services, biodiversity and health, and One Health/Eco Health. He also coordinates the Chair in Care and the Natural Living Environment at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp. Elisabet Lindgren Physician and associate professor in sustainability science at the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden. Her field of expertise is global envi- ronmental changes and human health, with focus on health and climate change and sustainable cities. Sarah J. Lindley Professor of Geography at the University of Manchester and research director of the Department of Geography, University of Manchester, UK. She is a lead author for the IPBES Regional Assessment for Africa. She is an expert in climate change adaptation, particularly in relation to urban heat. Her main research interests are associated with urban air pollution, climate adaptation and urban ecosystem contributions to people, including regulating ecosystem functions for human health and well-being. Jieling Liu PhD candidate in climate change and sustainable development policies at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She has a background in political science and journalism. Her current research focuses on the institutional frameworks of urban ecological governance in China. About the Editors and Contributors
xxiii Barbara Livoreil Knowledge broker at the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB). She works to promote the use of systematic reviews to support decision and negotiation. Her background is in animal behavior and she also spent 10 years in the field doing conservation biology. Her main interests currently are behavioural change, conservation psychology and mainstreaming biodiversity into society. Kathy MacKinnon Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). The IUCN WCPA is a global network of conservation protected areas professionals supporting well-managed and connected parks and other protected areas as natural solutions to biodiversity loss and other global challenges, including climate change and human health and well-being. Iana Markevych Postdoctoral researcher in the Institute of Epidemiology at the German Research Center for Environmental Health. She is an environmental epide- miologist with a background in ecology. Among others, her interests lie in the field of green space benefits for childhood health. Dörte Martens Researcher at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Germany. She completed her PhD in environmental psychology at the University of Zürich on the effects of different urban forests on psychological well-being. Her current research interests are psychological effects of nature experi- ence areas for children in an urbanized environment. Doreen Montag Lecturer in Global Public Health in the Barts and London School of Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, UK. Her interests lie in health-­ centred global environmental governance, political economy of planetary health, climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development and vector-borne diseases. Ruth Müller Head of the Environmental Toxicology and Medical Entomology Department at Goethe University, Frankfurt in Germany and the head of the Ecology and Genetics Platform of Polo GGB, Italy. She is a vector biologist. Her basic and applied research focuses on mosquito-borne diseases and innovative, environmen- tally friendly control of aedine and anopheline vector species, in particular those altering their distribution with global climate changes. Bram Oosterbroek PhD candidate at the International Centre for Integrated Assessment and Sustainable Development (ICIS), Maastricht University, The Netherlands. His research topic is on a healthy living environment, specialized in the method of spatial modeling. He is working on a GIS model to assess and map the human health impacts of urban green spaces. Kate Reilly EU program officer for Nature-Based Solutions at the IUCN European Regional Office in Brussels, Belgium. She supports IUCN’s work to promote About the Editors and Contributors
xxiv nature-based solutions through a range of projects on urban nature and biodiversity, forest and aquatic ecosystem services, and ecosystem-based management. Friederike Reuss PhD candidate at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany and a research associate in the Department of Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Germany. She has a scientific back- ground in molecular biology. Her present research focuses on bioassays with culicid and drosophilid insects. Cristina Romanelli Coordinator of the CBD and WHO joint work program on biodiversity and human health for the UN Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity in Canada. She is an expert in global policy development, biodiversity and health mainstreaming, cross-sectoral partnerships, and capacity development. She was lead author of Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health. Robbert Snep Senior researcher in Regional Development and Spatial Use at Wageningen Environmental Research, The Netherlands. He is an ecologist. His research connects urban nature science with health and climate adaptation issues of cities. He collaborates with urban designers, developers, NGOs, and local govern- ments in improving the quality of city life. Hélène Soubelet Director of the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB). She is a doctor of veterinary medicine and a master’s degree in plant pathol- ogy. She has a background in public health as she worked for 10 years for the French Ministry of Agriculture and also spent 7 years in the field of biodiversity working for the French Ministry of Ecology. Helena Ströher Scientific assistant in the Nature Conservation and Society divi- sion at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. Helena deals with the implementation of the National Strategy on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. Matti Tapaninen Senior advisor in Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland. Previously, he has worked in protected area management as a park director and regional manager. Matti also has a long international career in the field of pro- tected area management. Jessica Thompson Lead for Health and Well-being at City of Trees based in Manchester, UK. Her background is in community forestry and has worked to engage people in urban forestry initiatives since 2005. She has an MSc in Dementia focused on ‘life-enabling’ green environments. Jessica is a PhD candidate at the University of Salford, UK, exploring well-being impacts of neighborhood greening outreach work. About the Editors and Contributors
xxv Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann Head of the Institute for Environmental Medicine at the University Centre for Health Sciences at Augsburg Hospital, Germany (UNIKA-T), and director the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the German Research Center for Environmental Health. She investigates human-environment interactions focusing on allergic diseases. Her research contributes to our under- standing of how environmental factors act on the body’s epithelial and immunologi- cal interface. In 2013 she was appointed to the board of directors of CK CARE Center for Allergy Research and Education. Regina Treudler Senior physician and a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Leipzig as well as the head of the Leipzig Comprehensive Allergy Centre (LICA) at the University of Leipzig and consultant in the Department of Dermatology at the UMC Leipzig, Germany. She was educated at the Free University of Berlin and at the Université de Paris XII, France. Prof. Treudler received her board examination in dermatology and in allergology at the Charité Allergy center. Chantal van Ham EU program manager for Nature-Based Solutions at the IUCN. She is responsible for IUCN’s activities on urban biodiversity and the coop- eration with cities and subnational governments in Europe. She develops and coor- dinates projects that help policy-makers, cities, and local and regional governments find nature-based solutions for sustainable development to improve quality of life and economic prosperity by mobilizing IUCN knowledge and best practices. Eike von Lindern Co-founder of Dialog N, an independent research institute in Switzerland. He holds a PhD in social and environmental psychology. His work focuses on restorative environments research, health promotion, sustainable devel- opment, and the involvement of the (local) population with parks and protected areas. Veikko Virkkunen Development manager in Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland. He works with projects that increase benefits from protected areas, such as health and well-being, recreation and tourism. His background is in visitor manage- ment and sustainability in protected areas. Sara L. Warber Senior physician and emeritus professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan and the former director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Michigan, USA. She is a clinician-scholar whose research focuses on the effects of nature-based programs and other complex psychosocial-­ spiritual interventions on human health and well-being. Examples include the health benefits of camps, retreats and national group walking programs in the USA and the UK. About the Editors and Contributors
xxvi Catharine Ward Thompson Professor of LandscapeArchitecture at the University of Edinburgh and director of OpenSpace, the research center for inclusive access to outdoor environments at the University of Edinburgh, UK. Her research focuses on salutogenic environments, with a particular focus on deprived populations, and quality of life in older age. Julia Weidenweber Master’s candidate in environmental planning at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. Her master’s thesis focuses on approaches to strengthen the integration of health issues into the German system of landscape planning. C. Philip Wheater Professor of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. As an ecologist and environmental scien- tist, he is interested in how people interact with their environment, especially in urban systems. He also works on conservation and biodiversity management and how it influences local communities, for example in health and education. About the Editors and Contributors
1 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 M. R. Marselle et al. (eds.), Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8_1 Chapter 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities and Evidence Gaps Melissa R. Marselle, Jutta Stadler, Horst Korn, Katherine N. Irvine, and Aletta Bonn Abstract Climate change presents significant challenges to human health and bio- diversity. Increased numbers of extreme climate events, such as heat waves, droughts or flooding, threaten human health and well-being, both directly and indirectly, through impaired ecosystem functioning and reduced ecosystem services. In addi- tion, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases is rising, causing ill health and accelerating costs to the health sector. Nature-based solutions, such as the provision and management of biodiversity, can facilitate human health and well-being, and mitigate the negative effects of climate change. The growing recognition of the importance of biodiversity’s contribution to human health offers great potential for maximising synergies between public health, climate change adaptation and nature M. R. Marselle (*) Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany e-mail: melissa.marselle@ufz.de J. Stadler · H. Korn Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Isle of Vilm, Putbus, Germany e-mail: jutta.stadler@bfn.de; horst.korn@bfn.de K. N. Irvine Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Research Group, The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK e-mail: katherine.irvine@hutton.ac.uk A. Bonn Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany e-mail: aletta.bonn@ufz.de
2 conservation. This book identifies the contribution of biodiversity to physical, men- tal and spiritual health and well-being in the face of climate change, and considers implications across multiple sectors. Keywords Climate change · Biodiversity · Health · Nature-based solutions · Nature conservation · Interdisciplinarity Highlights • Climate change poses significant challenges to both human health and biodiversity. • Green spaces can improve human health and well-being, and mitigate biodiver- sity loss. • The inter-relationships of biodiversity to human physical, mental and spiritual aspects of health and well-being are not yet well understood. • There is great potential for synergies between public health, climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation. 1.1 Background Climate change poses significant challenges to human health and biodiversity. Increased numbers of heat waves, droughts and flooding events due to climate change have negative consequences for both human health and biodiversity (EEA 2016, Box 1.1). The 2003 summer heat wave in Europe gave rise to 70,000 deaths, both directly through temperature stress and indirectly by affecting air quality and respiratory systems (Wolf et al. 2015). The most vulnerable people in society – the elderly, those with chronic diseases and persons of lower socio-economic status – are often most affected. While susceptibility varies geographically and among groups, studies show that an increase of 1 °C in temperature above local comfort Box 1.1: Definitions of Health, Climate Change and Biodiversity Health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO 1948). Climate change is “any change in climate over time, resulting from natu- ral variability or human activity” (IPCC 2007). Biodiversity is “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems” (United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity 1992). (For further definitions, see the Glossary, this volume). M. R. Marselle et al.
3 thresholds can be associated with an increase in mortality of up to 12% (Gabriel and Endlicher 2011). The frequency and severity of heat waves and other weather-­ related events are expected to increase in Europe with a changing climate. This will have a significant impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning by worsening habitat conditions (EEA 2012). Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), for example, diabetes, cardiovascular dis- eases, mental disorders, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, are a significant risk to health and well-being (WHO 2017b). NCDs are a leading cause of death globally (WHO 2017a) and account for 85% of all deaths in Europe (WHO 2017b). These deaths are largely preventable and linked by common risk factors, such as physical inactivity, alcohol use and environmental factors (WHO 2017a). As such, population-level interventions are necessary to promote mental health and physical activity in order to prevent and control NCDs, and to reduce health-care costs. Supportive environments that facilitate healthier lifestyles and reduce exposure to stressors is one example of such an intervention. New approaches are needed to attenuate the negative effects of climate change and prevent NCDs in order to maxi- mise opportunities for improving human health and preventing biodiversity loss. Nature-based solutions (NBS) (Nesshöver et al. 2017), such as the management of green spaces to increase benefits for people and to mitigate stressors, might be one such approach. Work on NBS demonstrates the importance of green spaces for climate change adaptation and mitigation (Kabisch et al. 2017). Green spaces are also used as natural health clinics to promote human health and well-being (Mayer et al. 2009; Frumkin et al. 2017; Frumkin and Louv 2007), while at the same time providing habitats for a range of species (Niemela 1999; Goddard et al. 2010) and aiding conservation goals. A large body of research shows that contact with green space can improve human health and well-being, through for example reducing stress, depression and negative emotions, and improving positive emotions, mental well-being, cognitive abilities and increasing physical activity (Bowler et al. 2010b; Hartig et al. 2014; Markevych et al. 2017; Frumkin 2001; Irvine and Warber 2002), suggesting that nature can promote public health and prevent NCDs. Moreover, evidence suggests that positive experiences in nature contribute to feel- ings of connection to nature (Mayer et al. 2009), which could also result in greater acceptance of nature conservation activities (Prévot et al. 2018), and thereby pro- tection of our foundation of life on earth (Geng et al. 2015; Zelenski et al. 2015; Capaldi et al. 2015). In this context, there is growing recognition of the contribution of biodiversity to climate change adaptation and human health. Street trees and green space in cities can contribute to climate change adaptation by reducing the impact of high tempera- tures, poor air quality and high water flows (Bowler et al. 2010a, Gill et al. 2007). Biodiversity underpins ecosystem services that are essential for human health and well-being (Cardinale et al. 2012). Ecosystem services provided by biodiversity include the provision of food, timber and medicines as well as climate and water regulation, and cultural services such as the provision of opportunities for recreation (WHO CBD 2015).Yet biodiversity loss can negatively influence physical health 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
4 through loss of these vital services, diminished options for medicines and increased transmission of infectious diseases (WHO CBD 2015; Sandifer et al. 2015; Hough 2014). Unsurprisingly then, biodiversity has been shown to be positively associated with good physical health (Hough 2014; Lovell et al. 2014). Less under- stood, however, are the impacts of biodiversity on other aspects of human health and well-being. Whilst a fast-growing field of research is investigating the influence of biodiversity on mental health and well-being (Aerts et al. 2018; Lovell et al. 2014; Dallimer et al. 2012; Fuller et al. 2007; Wheeler et al. 2015; Cox et al. 2017; Marselle et al. 2015, 2016; Carrus et al. 2015; Cracknell et al. 2016, 2017; Johansson et al. 2014), work is still progressing in this area, and evidence gaps remain. For example, the mechanistic pathways through which biodiversity influences mental health and well-being is undeveloped. Several models consider the pathways through which nature might influence various dimensions of health and well-being (Hartig et al. 2014; Markevych et al. 2017), yet it is unknown whether these same mechanistic pathways would hold for biodiversity and health and well-being rela- tionships. In this book, we aim to synthesise existing studies and further develop the research agenda. Increasingly, the importance of biodiversity for human health and well-being is being recognised by international governments and organizations (WHO CBD 2015, CBD 2017a, ten Brick et al. 2016). The linkage between biodiversity and human health is at the heart of several high-level strategic decisions being taken at a national and international scale. The Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are collaborating to promote the inter- linkages between biodiversity and human health sectors as secured in the Conference of the Parties (COP) 12 Decision XII/21 and joint publications (WHO CBD 2015, CBD 2017a, b, c). The Health 2020 policy framework of the WHO European Region identifies the importance of environmental conditions as health determinants, and has recently published a review of the evidence of urban green space for health (WHO 2017c). The United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development has dedicated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both for health and biodiversity, and current activities under the CBD aim to closely align health and biodiversity issues. The relevance of biodiversity to physical and mental health is also reflected in levels of EU research activity, the quantity of public and private expenditure, and the number of high-profile government initiatives on biodiversity and health (EKLIPSE 2017). High-profile international initiatives and research on biodiversity and health also highlight this burgeoning area (e.g. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Association for Ecology and Health (Eco Health), and One Health). Awareness of the significant potential for synergies between improvement of human health and adaptation to climate change with conservation of biodiversity is also increasing in applied resource management, urban planning, landscape archi- tecture and protected areas management. In practice, there is growing interest in the use of green space in general, and biodiversity in particular, for physical, mental M. R. Marselle et al.
5 and/or spiritual health and well-being. For example, city urban planning projects encourage physical exercise through green infrastructure as a measure to improve human health (Marselle et al. 2013), while also contributing to climate change ­ adaptation as well as to nature conservation. Use of green spaces for health has been advocated inter alia by the New Zealand Ministry of Health’s ‘Green Prescriptions’ programme,1 the USA National Park Service’s ‘Parks and Trails Prescription Partnerships’ programme,2 as well as by the German Government’s ‘Soziale Stadt’3 and ‘Grün in der Stadt’4 initiatives, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation’s ‘Urban Biodiversity’5 theme, the ‘Outdoors for All’ programme by Natural England6 and Scottish Natural Heritage’s ‘Our Natural Health Service’ ini- tiative.7 These co-benefits can only be achieved, however, through joined-up, col- laborative, cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary working, and in this book we demonstrate with case studies good practice examples. Awareness of the impacts of climate change and biodiversity on human health is growing. With this book, we hope to catalyse the discussion about the integral links between climate change, biodiversity and human health. Specifically, this book not only identifies the contribution of biodiversity to physical health, but also to mental and spiritual health and well-being in the face of climate change. The implications of the biodiversity–health relationship for public health, nature conservation, pro-­ environmental behaviour, protected areas and landscape architecture and design are detailed. The book compiles current policy and practice integrating biodiversity, human health and climate change adaptation at both national and international levels. 1.2 Scope of the Book Integrating biodiversity, human health and climate change requires new approaches and transdisciplinary working. One of the challenges facing research, policy and practice on biodiversity and health is that the science has not fully joined together the different disciplines of biodiversity, ecology, public health, psychology, natural resource management, urban planning and landscape architecture to provide a 1 http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/physical-activity/green- prescriptions 2 https://www.nps.gov/public_health/hp/hphp/partners_ptp.htm 3 https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/bauen-wohnen/stadt-wohnen/staedtebau/soziale-stadt/ soziale-stadt-node.html;jsessionid=9F4F2DB35101A11DD1530AE7BA605ABB.1_cid287 4 https://www.gruen-in-der-stadt.de/ 5 https://www.bfn.de/themen/planung/siedlungsbereich.html 6 http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outdoors-for-all-fair-access-to-a-good- quality-natural-environment 7 https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/contributing-healthier-scotland/our-natural- health-service 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
6 cohesive evidence base for action. Whilst studies investigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and on human health, at present there is limited research detailing the inter-relationships of all three topics together. In applied resource man- agement, nature conservation needs to better link to the health sector and vice versa (WHO CBD 2015). The health sector, whilst it has begun to incorporate the health benefits of climate change adaptation (Watts et al. 2015), has yet to fully appreciate the influence of biodiversity. Likewise, the nature conservation commu- nity needs to harness synergies with public health and climate change adaptation. The scope of this book is to align these three areas of research and to link to applica- tion in policy and practice. This book brings together experts from transdisciplinary fields in science, policy and practice to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on biodiver- sity and health relationships in the face of climate change. As such, this book pro- vides a synthesis of the current state of the knowledge drawing from ecology, geography, environmental psychology, public health, medical science and urban planning. Moreover, experts discuss the implications that the health benefits of bio- diversity have for public health, nature conservation and environmental sustainabil- ity. The book also captures in-depth, practical expertise and experience from protected area managers and landscape architects. National and international policy and practice activities regarding biodiversity, health and climate change inter-­ relationships from health and nature conservation agencies are also detailed. The scope of this book is on biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being in the face of climate change. This makes it unique compared to other books that focus on the effect of biodiversity on human physical health (Morand and Lajaunie 2017, Chivian and Bernstein 2008, Grifo and Rosenthal 1997), the contribution of green spaces to physical and mental health (Nilsson et al. 2011, Pearlmutter et al. 2017) or social-environmental equity per- spectives on nature-health relationships (Kopnina and Keune 2010). In addition, the recognition of climate change as an important factor influencing biodiversity as well as health takes up new aspects of the current debate, encouraging new thinking alongside joined-up collaboration and transdisciplinary working. Consequently, some topics of biodiversity and health, such as medicine, food and nutrition, are not covered in this book, as they have already been extensively covered elsewhere (see Morand and Lajaunie 2017, Chivian and Bernstein 2008, Grifo and Rosenthal 1997). As the book focuses on biodiversity in the natural environment, consider- ation of the human microbiome is also not included here. Many of the topics discussed in this book were intensely discussed at the European conference ‘Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change’ that took place in Bonn, Germany, from 27–29 June 2017 (Marselle et al. 2018). The conference was organised by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, the Network of European Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA), and co-sponsored by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. We hope this book contributes to an increased under- M. R. Marselle et al.
7 standing of how green spaces and biodiversity can contribute to human health in a changing climate. 1.3 Structure and Contents of the Book This book is structured in four main parts. The first two parts highlight the important contribution of green spaces and biodiversity to physical health on the one hand, and mental and spiritual health and well-being on the other hand, in a changing climate. Here we also touch on theoretical and methodological considerations. Part III discusses the implications of biodiversity on human health and well-being for specific sectors and describes the current policy and practice perspective. The final part addresses the co-benefits and the implementation challenges associated with the planning and management of urban green spaces for both biodiversity and human health. 1. Part I: Biodiversity and physical health 2. Part II: Biodiversity, mental health and spiritual well-being 3. Part III: Implications of the biodiversity and health relationship 4. Part IV: Planning and managing urban green spaces for biodiversity and health in a changing climate The various chapters provide up-to-date scientific background information, address policy-related issues, lay out pressing urban planning and biological con- servation management questions and identify knowledge gaps. Different chapters provide specific examples and applications of the use of urban green spaces for human health, nature conservation and climate change adaptation with case studies, mainly from Europe and North America. Here we provide a summative overview of each of the book’s four parts. 1.3.1 Part I: Biodiversity and Physical Health The first part considers the impacts that biodiversity has on physical health. The focus is on non-communicable diseases that can be caused or prevented by exposure to green space and biodiversity. The impacts of climate change on biodiversity-­ health relationships are additionally highlighted in the first three chapters. In the first chapter, Sarah Lindley and co-authors provide a general overview of the interlinkages between biodiversity, health and climate change. They highlight the role that climate change has on human health and the adaptation role that NBS can play; this is illustrated with a case study from Manchester, England. Athanasios Damialis and co-authors discuss the impact of climate change on biodiversity and human health through the expanding geographical spread of allergies and allergenic pollen. Further negative effects of biodiversity on human health by vector-borne 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
8 diseases, that may become more prevalent due to a changing climate, are reviewed by Ruth Müller and co-authors. The authors highlight how climate change shapes the distribution and abundance of disease vectors, and the role biodiversity can play in this relationship. The health effects of green space for different socio-economic and socio-demographic population groups is addressed by Nadja Kabisch. Conclusions are drawn about how to design green spaces that are beneficial for the health and well-being of all population groups to protect the most vulnerable in society. Complementing this chapter, Payam Dadvand and co-authors show how urban green spaces can affect the health and development of children living in urban environments. In their review, the authors identify how green spaces influence pre- natal development and pregnancy outcomes, children’s brain development as well as effects on respiratory conditions and physical activity. 1.3.2 Part II: Biodiversity, Mental Health and Spiritual Well-Being Chapters in the second part of the book discuss the evidence of the impact of biodi- versity on mental health and spiritual well-being. The first two chapters touch on theoretical and methodological issues for biodiversity and mental health and well-­ being relationships. The latter chapters review the evidence on the influence biodi- versity has on mental health and spiritual well-being. To set the scene, Melissa Marselle provides an overview of the theoretical frame- works that provide a perspective into the ways that biodiversity can influence men- tal well-being. Complementing this chapter, Sjerp de Vries and Robbert Snep highlight conceptual issues associated with the design of studies when investigating the effect of biodiversity on mental health, drawing out key methodological issues to be considered in future research on biodiversity-mental health relationships. The next chapter by Melissa Marselle and co-authors provides a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on how biodiversity can affect mental health and well-­ being based on a synthesis of 24 studies. Katherine Irvine and colleagues examine evidence of the inter-relationship between biodiversity and spiritual well-being. 1.3.3 Part III: Implications of the Biodiversity and Health Relationship The third part of this book focuses on the policy and practice implications of biodi- versity and health relationships. In particular, the implications of this relationship from the perspective of public health, nature conservation and efforts to promote pro-environmental behaviour are highlighted. The latter chapters review the national M. R. Marselle et al.
9 and international policy and practice support for biodiversity, climate change, and human health. Penny Cook and co-authors provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific literature on the linkages between public health, climate change and biodiversity. The authors demonstrate how access to, and use of, urban green spaces can reduce social inequalities in health, a key goal of modern public health policies and pro- grammes. Reflecting on the health and well-being benefits of nature, Zoe Davies and colleagues discuss the management options to ensure that both biodiversity conservation and people’s health are considered. The authors argue that the evi- dence on biodiversity-health relationships suggests that green spaces should be managed for both people and biodiversity conservation. As the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss will require humans to change their behaviour to consume far fewer resources in a resource finite world, Raymond De Young dis- cusses how to initiate long-term behaviour change. The author argues for a “capacities-­ first approach” to support people to become “behavioural entrepre- neurs” and self-initiate behaviour change. To assess how health agendas are embed- ded in biodiversity policies and vice versa, Horst Korn and co-authors review the international policy agendas with the potential to foster linkages between biodiver- sity conservation and human health, and identify alignments between sectors and avenues for implementation. Reflecting on institutional aspects and challenges of integrating nature and health, Hans Keune and co-authors highlight the need for increased and improved collaboration between the health and nature sectors, as well as science, policy and practice. The chapter presents several international/European examples of nature and health network initiatives as well as various national activi- ties in Europe alongside summarising successes and challenges of each initiative. 1.3.4 Part IV: Planning and Managing Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity and Health in a Changing Climate The last part focuses on planning and managing green spaces in and around cities for nature conservation, health and climate change adaptation. In particular, this part discusses how managers of protected areas and urban green space can work with other sectors to maximise the benefits of these places, and how landscape planners can design urban environments that benefit both people and nature. Kathy MacKinnon and colleagues provide a scene-setting chapter in which they highlight the benefits and services that NBS and protected areas provide for biodiversity, health and climate change adaptation, inter alia in the context of the SDGs. The authors discuss the need for increased and improved collaboration between sectors and stakeholders to foster the use of NBS and protected areas for these multiple benefits. Complementing this chapter, Ruth Hunter and co-authors review the effectiveness of urban green space interventions for improving health and biodiversity and provide recommendations for research, policy and practice 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
10 regarding the design of these types of interventions. Thomas Elmqvist and co- authors propose applying systems thinking to foster sustainable urban develop- ment and resilience. They discuss Knowledge-Action-Systems for urban health, in which knowledge of complex urban system functions and interactions with cli- mate change, and NBS for economic, environmental and social dimensions of urban development, are ­ interlinked by constant feedback loops. The last chapter in this part by Stefan Heiland and colleagues refers to the opportunities for integrat- ing human health into landscape planning projects in order to cope with climate change and societal change. The authors discuss planning policy opportunities for incorporating health issues in Germany and the UK, and provide examples of health-promoting landscape design. The book is complemented with a conclusion chapter which summarises the main challenges for research, policy and practice described in the chapters, high- lights opportunities for future developments, and presents recommendations for tackling the inter-related issues of biodiversity, health and climate change. We hope this book provides important pointers to the flourishing debate on the importance of biodiversity to human health in this current time of climate change, and illustrates good practice with demonstration case studies. Ultimately, we hope this book can fuel further advances in science, policy and practice. Many of the themes have applications beyond urban systems as they focus on solutions for pub- lic health, biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation in a changing world. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the research project “Conferences on Climate Change and Biodiversity” (BIOCLIM, project duration from 2014 to 2017, funding code: 3514 80 020A). Dr. Irvine’s involvement was funded by the Rural Environment Science Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. References Aerts R, Honnay O, Van Nieuwenhuyse A (2018) Biodiversity and human health: mechanisms and evidence of the positive health effects of diversity in nature and green spaces. Br Med Bull 127(1):5–22 Bowler DE, Buyung-Ali L, Knight TM, Pullin AS (2010a) Urban greening to cool towns and cit- ies: a systematic review of the empirical evidence. Landsc Urban Plan 97:147–155. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.05.006 Bowler DE, Buyung-Ali L, Knight T, Pullin AS (2010b) A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health 10:456. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-456 Capaldi CA, Passmore H, Nisbet EK, Zelenski JM, Dopko RL (2015) Flourishing in nature: a review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention. Int J Wellbeing 5(4):1–16. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v5i4.449 Cardinale BJ, Duffy JE, Gonzalez A et al (2012) Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature 486:59–67. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11148 Carrus G, Scopelliti M, Lafortezza R et al (2015) Go greener, feel better? The positive effects of biodiversity on the well-being of individuals visiting urban and peri-urban green areas. Landsc Urban Plann 134:221–228 M. R. Marselle et al.
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Part I Biodiversity and Physical Health
17 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 M. R. Marselle et al. (eds.), Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8_2 Chapter 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence Sarah J. Lindley, Penny A. Cook, Matthew Dennis, and Anna Gilchrist Abstract We are at a point in history marked by unprecedented changes in the environmental foundations of human health and well-being. At the same time, the demands from human populations have never been greater, with profound differ- ences in how we engage with the natural environment. By the middle of this century, when climate change impacts are further increasing, the United Nations expects the global population to be approaching 10 billion. In this chapter, we provide a synthe- sis of published evidence of the complex and important relationships between ele- ments of biodiversity, health and climate change. We draw primarily on reviews conducted in the past five years supplemented with evidence on additional themes. We also develop a detailed case study example focused on urban climate, climate change and biodiversity, taken from the perspective of a large and representative conurbation. The case study uses a body of existing published evidence together with new data and insights to demonstrate important pathways, impacts and out- comes. We end by identifying a set of research questions and stress the need for even more extensive multi-disciplinary and multi-sector approaches. Nevertheless, despite the need for more knowledge, it is already clear that more effective action could, and should, be taken. Keywords Biodiversity · Health · Climate · Review · Mechanisms · Urban S. J. Lindley (*) · M. Dennis Department of Geography, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK e-mail: sarah.lindley@manchester.ac.uk P. A. Cook School of Health and Society, The University of Salford, Salford, UK e-mail: p.a.cook@salford.ac.uk A. Gilchrist Department of Planning and Environmental Management, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK e-mail: anna.gilchrist@manchester.ac.uk
18 Highlights • Biodiversity, health and climate change have multi-scale and interdependent links. • Few studies explicitly connect climate change with biodiversity and physical health. • The full extent of human health impacts from biodiversity losses is unclear. • Action is needed due to climate projections, biodiversity losses and health demands. • New research agendas demand ambitious, multi-disciplinary and cross-sector approaches. 2.1 Introduction Few would now dispute that important links exist between the natural environment and human physical health. Nevertheless, despite considerable progress in concep- tualising and understanding relationships, there is still much to learn about particu- lar connections, their underlying mechanisms, causality and inter-relationships (Sandifer et al. 2015; Ziter 2016; Cameron and Blanusa 2016). Biodiversity is considered one of the underlying requirements for beneficial functioning of ecosystems for human health and well-being and is enshrined as such within policy-focused arenas (Lovell et al. 2014; Sandifer et al. 2015). However, the many interpretations of the term biodiversity, the ways in which it is measured and its inter-relationships with other factors, including climate, present considerable challenges for building and testing hypotheses (Schmeller et al. 2018). Where hypotheses relate to impacts on human health, there are still more elements to con- sider, including an appreciation of direct and indirect pathways, relevant controls and the interdependencies between psychological and physiological processes. Climate change is known to be modifying the natural environment and how it functions in relation to human health (Bonebrake et al. 2018). For example, climate affects ecological states and processes. As climate changes, it affects the function- ing of ecosystems in terms of the quantity and quality of functions with a beneficial role for human physical health. Climate change is also affecting the relative balance of benefits and disbenefits. Furthermore, it has been implicated as one of the mecha- nisms driving global biodiversity loss, though in fact it is just one of a suite of fac- tors that remove and degrade associated ecosystems. Data from 63 protected areas in Germany collected over 29 years has shown a three-quarters reduction in the biomass of flying insects, a much higher loss than previously supposed (Hallmann et al. 2017). However, analysis of climate variables suggested no strong climate signal to explain the decline. While not all climate-related factors could be dis- counted, other large-scale factors were also thought to be contributing, in this case agricultural intensification. Similarly, although climate change leads to health impacts, such as through climate extremes like high temperatures and ­climate-­related S. J. Lindley et al.
19 events like flooding, health trends are also influenced by social, political and wider environmental factors. Climate and biodiversity act as important ‘boundary conditions’ for human health and well-being. These boundary conditions exert an influence on many of the other elements that affect the health and well-being of individuals through natural environments and associated ecosystem functions (Barton and Grant 2006; Dahlgren and Whitehead 2007). The health status of any one person can be seen as a compos- ite of: individual characteristics (e.g. hereditary genetics), the living environment and life experiences, both physical and social (Fig. 2.1 (left)). Health is determined not only through external ecosystem-related processes and factors, but also internal ones, for example, recognising that the human body itself hosts complex and biodi- verse ecosystems that have differing impacts on physical health (Garrett 2015; Ruokolainen et al. 2017) (Fig. 2.1 (right)). External factors include the abundance, type and quality of the natural environment underpinned by ‘external’ biodiversity. Other external factors include social connections (e.g. family and community), access to health infrastructure and income (e.g. through diet). Inevitably, all are related to some extent to wider socio-economic and political contexts. The overarching aim of this chapter is to summarise the current evidence of the links between nature, biodiversity, health and climate change, with a particular emphasis on physical health and well-being, defined as “the quality and perfor- mance of bodily functioning. This includes having the energy to live well, the capac- ity to sense the external environment and our experiences of pain and comfort” Fig. 2.1 Determinants of human health and well-being (Barton and Grant 2006, based on Dahlgren and Whitehead 1991), including biodiversity at the human scale (after Garrett 2015, Ruokolainen et al. 2017) 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
20 (Linton et al. 2016). In the summary, we primarily draw on existing reviews con- ducted in the past five years supplemented with review evidence on additional themes such as diet. The chapter also covers three sub-aims. First, we consider the evidence for nature’s contributions to physical health from the broad perspective of the natural environment (see Sect. 2.2). We look at direct and indirect ways that natural systems influence human health and well-being with reference to the 11 body systems. Given that the body’s systems are highly interconnected, the discus- sion inevitably connects with material presented in other chapters in this volume (e.g. Cook et al. Chap. 11, this volume). Within the scope of this review and synthe- sis, it is also inevitable that not all of the evidence can be covered. Nevertheless, the section shows some of the key mechanisms through which human physical health is influenced, according to the most recent literature. Second, we aim to take a closer look at the importance of different forms of ‘nature’, but with a particular focus on biodiversity (see Sect. 2.3). In cities, nature is often thought of as essential urban green infrastructure – the means through which vital ecological and biodiversity-­ related functions (e.g. habitat provision and landscape connectivity) and most nature-derived human benefits are delivered (Benedict and McMahon 2002). However, cities and their populations cannot be considered in isolation. Therefore, the chapter touches on how the protective role of biodiversity operates through diverse pathways, how it functions at different human and geographical scales and when it is most significant during the life course. The protective role includes, but is not limited to, the regulation of disease emergence, micro-nutrient availability for human sustenance and the promotion of contact with symbiotic bacteria necessary for building up tolerances to environmental allergens (Ruokolainen et al. 2017; Rogalski et al. 2017). Thirdly, we provide an overview of some of the important ways that climate change impacts physical health and the natural environment, including through biodiversity (see Sect. 2.4). A particular emphasis is given to how climate change increases potential poor health burdens (including for example in terms of high temperatures and air pollution in urban areas) and also how extreme climate-related events and long-term climatic trends can erode the beneficial physi- cal health effects of nature, green spaces and biodiversity (LWEC 2015; European Environment Agency 2017). Before concluding on emerging research agendas, the chapter ends with a detailed case study example, focused on urban climate, climate change and biodiversity, primarily from the perspective of how the regulating func- tions of different plant species vary (see Sect. 2.5). Much of the focus of this chapter is on urban areas. Urban areas are where the majority of the population now resides – nearly three quarters in Europe, with 41% in the most densely populated centres (European Environment Agency 2018) – where stressors on human health and well-being tend to be most extreme. Evidence is drawn primarily from a European context, supplemented with evidence from else- where, where possible. It is recognized that this focus gives a particular perspective on connections and the challenges faced that may not be echoed in all contexts. S. J. Lindley et al.
21 2.2 Nature’s Contributions to Physical Health In this section, we consider how ecosystems influence human physical health. We discuss direct and indirect pathways which connect the natural environment to human physical health with a particular emphasis on ecosystem regulatory func- tions (e.g. modification of environmental stressors) and provisioning functions (such as the use of ecosystems by people for food, fresh water and fuel). For exam- ple, direct pathways include the health benefits from the consumption of nutritious food and indirect pathways include health benefits due to increased physical activity rates associated with the natural environment. In making this distinction, it is impor- tant to note that beyond the more obvious examples given above, the type and form of pathways are not always fully clear. Whether a process is considered direct or indirect may differ depending on the primary consideration in hand, be it human biological systems, physical environmental systems or some specific form of expo- sure. We consider the evidence from the perspective of the commonly recognised body organ systems, each of which provides a particular function for physical health. The identified body systems are then referenced in subsequent sections of the chapter. The body has 11 interlinked systems: reproductive, integumentary (skin/hair), skeletal, muscular, nervous (brain/brain activity), circulatory/cardiovascular (blood/ transport of nutrients), endocrine (glands/hormones), lymphatic (associated with immune functions), digestive (food), respiratory (breathing) and urinary/renal (waste). Numerous physiological parameters associated with these systems can be measured to determine physical health. In turn, each parameter can be assessed in order to establish underlying mechanisms for the influence of nature, whether through evidenced processes or through ones that are currently only hypothetical. Psychological parameters have been the focus of much of the existing body of research on exposure to nature and the connection between nature and human health. Associated study outcomes have tended to identify positive links between nature and health (Keniger et al. 2013). However, the range of health benefits is much wider, including in terms of cognitive function, social interaction and improved resilience (Sandifer et al. 2015). Sandifer et al. (2015) identify no fewer than 27 published examples of the physi- ological health benefits of interaction with nature (broadly defined as living things and associated landscapes in a wide variety of settings). While some are very broad indicators, others refer to specific physiological metrics, including reduced sympa- thetic/parasympathetic nerve activity, faster healing after illness, surgery or trauma and positive influences on diabetes. Nevertheless, some reviews point to a more inconsistent picture for specific physiological outcomes. For example, positive out- comes are shown for circulatory/cardiovascular, endocrine and immune systems but with a good deal of mixed evidence (Haluza et al. 2014). Figure 2.2 considers evi- dence from the perspective of different pathways, but also highlights inconsisten- cies in the evidence base. 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
22 Interestingly, much of the evidence cited in Haluza et al. (2014) is related to Japan’s ‘Shinrin-Yoku’ (forest-bathing) with most consistency shown for evidence of short-term restorative effects in physiological parameters associated with the car- diovascular, endocrine and immune systems. Studies covered a range of activity types, time periods and populations, but bias is a potential issue due to under-­ reporting of negative or inconclusive findings and a tendency towards short-term studies (Hartig et al. 2014; Haluza et al. 2014). There is less evidence for cumulative effects and therefore how they may translate into measurable mortality and morbid- ity outcomes (ibid.). Some of the published evidence relates to effects that are seen as a result of sim- ply being in ‘natural’ spaces (Haluza et al. 2014). In this context, at least some of the associated mechanisms may be direct, for example physiological responses linked to feelings of well-being inspired by direct engagement with green and blue space (see also Marselle Chap. 7, this volume). Feelings of well-being may come about through impacts on the nervous system and are thus difficult to separate from aspects of psychology and mental health. Nevertheless, the identification of possi- ble direct impacts is important since it suggests that not all of the physical health benefits are associated with physical activity-related physiological responses (given that exercise results in some of the same physiological benefits wherever it is under- taken). That green and blue spaces tend to help to encourage physical exercise is of course also important. More than three quarters of 50 reviewed studies reported Fig. 2.2 Pathways for physiological outcomes associated with ‘exposure to natural environments’ (after van den Bosch and Sang 2017) S. J. Lindley et al.
23 positive associations between how green an environment is and physical activity rates (Kaczynski and Henderson 2007 in Coutts and Hahn 2015). Similar positive associations are also found between ‘blue’ spaces and physical activity rates (Grellier et al. 2017; White et al. 2014) (see also Hunter et al. Chap. 17, this vol- ume). Encouragement of physical activity is particularly important in the context of increases in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) related to inactivity, such as Type 2 diabetes (Cook et al. Chap. 11, this volume). The other important, and increasingly well recognised, pathway explaining why physiological responses might be seen at rest in ‘natural’ spaces is due to the regu- lating functions of green and blue spaces through moderating noise, air quality and temperatures. In other words, some health benefits are due to the influence that green and blue spaces have on removing or reducing environmental stressors, espe- cially in busy, densely populated urban centres (Hartig et al. 2014; Coutts and Hahn 2015; Markevych et al. 2017). Indeed, this also makes physical activity undertaken in urban green spaces potentially more healthy since it could otherwise lead to increased exposure to harmful levels of air pollutants with acute or chronic effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems (Mölter and Lindley 2015). However, the ‘absence of stressors’ argument does not explain all associations, such as have been found in studies where physiological responses are seen in response to visual cues with no direct contact, something that points to psychological and socio-­ cultural factors (Clark et al. 2014). Due to the interwoven biophysical, psychologi- cal and socio-cultural elements underpinning connections between nature and health some conceptualisations are based on grouped biopsychosocial pathways, specifically pathways that positively influence health through reducing the potential for harm (reducing environmental stresses), restoring capacities (improving recov- ery functions) and building capacities (reducing individual susceptibility to harm) (Hartig et al. 2014; Markevych et al. 2017) (see also Marselle et al. Chap. 9, this volume). The role of reduced exposure to environmental noise is one particularly interest- ing example given that reductions in noise exposure have been given relatively little emphasis in earlier models, e.g. Hartig et al. (2014), compared to those developed more recently, e.g. Markevych et al. (2017) and van den Bosch and Sang (2017). Explanatory mechanisms have also been proposed to link noise stress with impacts on cardiovascular, respiratory, immune response and metabolic health through stress-response models (Recio et al. 2016). Similar processes may apply to some of the other common environmental stressors, in addition to the better known, but still imperfectly understood connections. For example, new research is finding a wider range of connections between air pollution and human health than ever before, not just through morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases but also through neurodevelopmental disorders and birth defects (Landrigan et al. 2018). It should be remembered that environmental stresses also affect other ani- mals and have been linked to biodiversity loss. Although an issue that is particularly acute in urban areas, anthropogenic sources have been found to elevate noise levels 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
24 in more than a fifth of protected areas in the USA, reaching levels known to have negative effects on wildlife (Buxton et al. 2017). Direct physical health outcomes from ecosystem functions may be difficult to evidence for some pathways, but one more obvious direct way that nature influences physical health is through human sustenance and micro-nutrient availability. Primary production from plant materials is the initial source of food energy for all living beings, and humans directly consume 25–50% of the energy embodied in plant-life even before considering the consumption of animals that plants also sus- tain (Coutts and Hahn 2015). However, human health is not just a matter of the quantity of energy consumed but also its diversity. Diversity in diet and the micro- nutrient supply this provides is something that can be linked to wider ecological biodiversity too (see Sect. 2.3). Plants and other natural sources are also responsible for a large proportion of the medicines currently in use today, contributing to almost a third of all marketed drug products sold (Coutts and Hahn 2015). Bioactive compounds, and their role in dis- ease prevention and ageing, are still the subject of much important research. For example, evidence for the anti-microbial properties of phenolics in berries is impor- tant in the context of growing antibiotic resistance (Paredes-Lopez et al. 2010). Polyphenols from berries also have a range of other positive functional properties, including anti-inflammatory, neuro-protective, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-­ mutagenic roles (Nile and Park 2014). Polyphenols are just one of the bioactive compound groups found in berries, which are also rich sources of vitamins and minerals (ibid.). Brassica vegetables are associated with anti-cancer properties as well as a range of other health benefits (Moreno et al. 2006). Other food groups have similar beneficial properties, such as seaweed and fungi. These provisioning functions of ecosystems (such as the use of ecosystems by people for food, fresh water, fuel and animal forage) are a critical component of human health with a huge literature and evidence base. Fuel from ecosystem sources (e.g. wood) impacts health too, including cooking, facilitating water puri- fication and also via the improved ability for people to moderate living conditions. The connections between provisioning functions and health can be indirect, for example through the role of pollinators in agricultural systems (IPBES 2016). Relationships can be complex with both beneficial and detrimental roles for human health, varying between and within species and also in response to local environ- mental factors. For example, a recent study of crops across five continents found that some 39% of crop flower visits are from insects other than bee species (such as flies and wasps) and the relative importance varies considerably by crop type and location (Rader et al. 2016). In other contexts, some of these species are regarded as pests and can be associated with negative health effects, such as via food contamination. S. J. Lindley et al.
25 2.3 Biodiversity and Physical Health In this section, we consider the range of connections and pathways between biodi- versity and human physical health, beginning with the scale of the human body before looking at processes operating at wider spatial scales. Given that much of the evidence in the previous section considered the natural environment in a broad sense, here we examine how biodiversity metrics are linked to ecosystem functions affecting physical health. In considering the role of biodiversity on human health it is useful to start by recognising the human body as an ecosystem, with both internal and external micro- biota, something that has been termed the human core microbiome (Karkman et al. 2017). The human gut alone contains some 1,014 bacterial strains and species as well as other micro-organisms and viruses, the mix of which is unique to each indi- vidual and which changes during the life course (Odamaki et al. 2016; Seksik and Landman 2015). The concept of the exposome has been developed to recognize the role of factors shown in Fig. 2.1 in determining human health and well-being, the significance of environment and how human health is affected by cumulative influ- ences over time, and therefore the life course (Renz et al. 2017). Renz et al. (2017) further propose the meta-exposome as a means of connecting human exposures with those of the wider biosphere and linking ecosystem health at all scales to human health (Fig. 2.3), a notion that is echoed elsewhere (e.g. Sandifer et al. 2015). Major microbiota colonisation events are associated with particular parts of the human life cycle, such as birth, but continue throughout the life course dependent on lifestyle, environment and exposure (Ruokolainen et al. 2017). The so-called ‘old friends’ hypothesis also relates to this process of gaining health benefits from beneficial symbiotic microbes. Benefits are associated with many of the body organ systems and are multi-functional. For example, as well as helping with the healthy development of the immune system, beneficial microbes can also perform protec- tive roles when human hosts encounter allergens (Rook 2013; Ruokolainen et al. 2017). Both environmental and behavioural factors are involved in the development of dysbiosis, where alterations in microbiota may result in a negative cycle of ill-­ heath (Fig. 2.3). Dysbiosis is also implicated in problems associated with the integ- umentary, digestive and urinary/renal systems as well as disorders in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems (Carding et al. 2015; Renz et al. 2017). Lack of contact with sources of symbiotic microbiota is one of the outcomes of people’s growing ‘extinction of experience’ of natural environments, and lack of contact even of itself tends to promote greater disassociation (Cox and Gaston 2018). Of course, biodiversity does not just affect human health through the body’s own ecosystem. As well as affecting humans directly, such microbiota relation- ships also underpin the healthy functioning of wider ecosystems on which humans depend (Flandroy et al. 2018). Biodiversity is also important at community, neigh- bourhood and regional scales. For example, in Australia, where 31% of the popula- tion are estimated to be affected by long-term respiratory conditions, after socio-economic factors, the second and third most important determinants of 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
26 positive respiratory health are associated with landscape biodiversity (vegetation diversity and species richness) (Liddicoat et al. 2018). Many critical ecosystem processes operate on much larger spatial scales and ultimately impact global pro- cesses through the effect that ecosystems exert on wider natural systems, such as climate, water and air quality, and the impact that they have on food nutritional quality and diversity (Harrison et al. 2014; Ziter 2016; Schwarz et al. 2017). Nutritional diversity is important for ensuring good physical health (Lovell et al. 2014), but biodiversity in agricultural systems is important for a range of other reasons, such as supporting ecosystem health (and therefore functions such as pol- lination and soil regulation) and protecting against potential problems from pests Fig. 2.3 The inter-relationships between human and ecological health as expressed through the exposome concept (top) and the pathways to reductions in physical health through dysbiosis (bot- tom) (Renz et al. 2017) S. J. Lindley et al.
27 and diseases in large areas of monoculture crops (Dobson et al. 2006). In turn, biodiversity ultimately affects human health by making agricultural systems more inherently resilient and less liable to large scale losses (Dobson et al. 2006). Evidence also suggests a link between biodiversity and the productivity of systems for human use, for example more biodiverse woodlands and fisheries are more productive for fuel and food (Harrison et al. 2014). In order to understand mechanisms in more detail, it is necessary to unpack the concept of biodiversity and understand how, where and when its different elements are important. Otherwise, there is considerable potential for uncertainty and the potential to equate ‘ecosystem services’ and ‘biodiversity’ so that they are seen as essentially the same thing (Mace et al. 2012). Indeed, there is still considerable disagreement about which ecosystem and biodiversity metrics should be considered (ibid.), with most reviews considering metrics beyond those implied by the defini- tion used to frame this volume. Figure 2.4 shows two examples of diagrammatic representations of biodiversity metrics and the functions of ecosystems known to influence human health, a number of which relate to the pathways that have already been identified in Sect. 2.2. Figure 2.4 (top) identifies a range of biodiversity metrics of different levels of complexity and summarises the available evidence on how they relate to ecosystem functions that have a useful role for people in urban areas. Some of the connections are identified as being positive (red – beneficial for functions) while others are nega- tive (blue – detrimental for functions). For example, Schwarz et al. (2017) (Fig. 2.4 (top)) reviewed 82 studies that examined taxonomic diversity and its links to useful ecosystem functions in urban areas. The studies identified positive connections through pollination, soil protection and fertility, pest control, fresh water and envi- ronmental regulation. However, the studies also identified some negative connec- tions, even for these same pathways. Therefore, even taking the one example of urban ecosystems, the extent to which there are positive compared to negative effects depends on context and perspective (Díaz et al. 2018). Some of the biodiver- sity metrics, such as functional identity (associated with 22 studies) were found to have only positive effects on urban ecosystem functions. While it may be assumed that these effects are then positive for human health, this claim cannot be made on the basis of the review findings alone. Figure 2.4 (bottom) identifies ecological ele- ments acting as ‘Ecosystem Service Providers’, i.e. the conduits through which the various biotic attributes listed act to benefit or harm human beings. For example, a wide range of function providers exist for pest regulation, from single species to functional groups and whole habitats. In this case, most studies have connected pest regulation to species within single functional groups. There are fewer studies con- sidering multiple functional groups which makes cross-connections more difficult to determine. Ultimately considering the impacts of environmental stressors, includ- ing climate change, will require the systematic investigation of cross connections and whole ecosystem responses. 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
Now don't talk. We shall have plenty of opportunities of discussing him, and hypnotism, and a thousand and one things. Take a grip of yourself, and will that the mephitic influence shall not affect you. You won't thoroughly succeed, but the effort will be good. The feeling of tenseness increased as they advanced. To Forrester it seemed as though a hot band were tightening round his temples; but he kept silence. Glancing at Beresford, he perceived on his face an expression of grim, almost savage, determination. They went on, the passage becoming lighter moment by moment, until, after they had walked a few hundred yards, it widened out into a cavern, much less spacious than that which they had left, but almost as light as open ground at noonday. At the edge of it Beresford halted. Stand here, and watch, he said. In the centre of the floor there was a large square slab of some greyish substance--the only spot in the cavern through which the green rays did not, as it were, percolate. It was about three feet each way, and stood a few inches above the floor. Upon it lay a coil of thin yellow-green chain, like an immense brass watch-guard tinged with verdigris, and an oblong lump about a foot in length, and of the same colour. A few feet above, a stout bar of yellow metal projected from the wall of the cavern, having at its free end, exactly over the centre of the slab, a wheel over which another chain hung. These objects first caught Forrester's attention, no doubt because they formed a group in the centre of an otherwise bare floor; but they held it only for a moment or two. His eyes were diverted to a living figure. From a hitherto unnoticed recess on his left hand came a bent, decrepit, cadaverous Chinaman, to all
appearance very old, carrying a thin square plate, in colour a dirty greenish-grey. He toddled slowly towards the slab, looking neither to right nor left, laid the plate upon it, and passed through a hole in the centre of the plate what seemed to be a small catch in the aforesaid lump of metal. This latter he attached to the chain hanging over the wheel. This done, he moved to one side, and standing at a distance of about ten feet from the slab, pulled at the chain which lay upon it, and which, as Forrester now saw, was fastened to a stout ring in its upper edge. The slab moved on hinges slowly towards the Chinaman, and as it rose from the floor, a shaft of pale green light, blinding in its brilliance, shot up to the roof, fourteen or fifteen feet above, causing the two Englishmen to start back and retreat some paces into the passage. Forrester was conscious of an intensification of his nervous excitement. His ears buzzed; his skin tingled as if he were in an electric bath; his impulse was to cover his eyes and rush headlong to escape the terrible glare and its psychical accompaniment. But seeing Beresford venturing back by degrees, he exerted his will to the utmost, and followed him.
A shaft of pale green light, blinding in its brilliance, shot up to the roof. The Chinaman, who was probably at the outset less nervously organised than they, and was certainly inured to the conditions, was carefully paying out the chain over the wheel, with its weighted plate, into a hole in the floor. As Forrester now perceived, the two chains were one, which was much longer than had appeared when it was coiled up. When it was stretched to its full length, it rose vertically from the slab to the bar, ran through hooks in this for a few feet, then descended perpendicularly over the wheel. The Chinaman drew back, and leant against the wall in the relaxed attitude of one
waiting. To the Englishmen, in this overpowering atmosphere, the period of inaction seemed an hour: it was really about five minutes. Then the Chinaman approached the chain, taking care to remain as far as possible from the hole, and with careful deliberateness hauled it in, moving backward as he did so. Forrester waited with feverish impatience as it clinked inch by inch over the wheel. When at last the square plate came to the top, the Chinaman raised it until there was room for the slab to pass beneath it, and prevented it from slipping down over the wheel by hooking the chain to the wall, leaving, however, the greater part of the chain free. Then, with a quickness all the more surprising because of his slow movements hitherto, he rushed with bent head at the slab, gave it one vigorous push, and darted back to the wall, catching at the chain in time to prevent the slab from falling violently. When it was settled in its place, and the blinding glare was shut off, the old man sank on the floor as if to rest after tremendous exertions. At first Forrester felt a dull disappointment. Without a definite expectation, he had anticipated some striking phenomenon as the result of this elaborate performance. The plate, whose upper surface was towards him, seemed after its long descent to be exactly as it was before: there was no change in it, nor had it brought anything up from the pit into which it had been plunged. But after a few minutes had passed, the Chinaman turned it over, and Forrester was mildly surprised to perceive that the under surface had changed its colour. It was now greenish yellow, like the chain, the bar, and all the other parts of the machinery. In his half-dazed condition he did not suspect the extraordinary character of the transformation.
The Chinaman having reversed the plate, fastened it again to the chain, and went through the same series of careful movements as before. During the second period of waiting, Forrester, prompted by his companion, followed with his eyes the vertical path of the shaft of light from the hole to the roof. He noticed there an aperture, corresponding in size to the hole. A little fine dust was falling from this aperture, like soot from a chimney, into and around the opening of the pit, the minute particles dancing and glistening like the motes in a sunbeam. When the plate came up the second time, its colour was the same on both sides. The Chinaman unhooked it, carried it across the cavern into the recess, and reappeared with a similar plate, dull and lustreless as the first had been. Beresford drew Forrester away, and hurried him back through the passage, saying nothing until they regained the larger cavern. Then he halted, clutched the lapels of Forrester's coat, and said:-- Well, what do you think of that? I don't understand, Forrester replied, something in his companion's manner convicting him of stupidity. Beresford smiled. I don't wonder, he said. You have seen what the alchemists from Trismegistus to Roger Bacon spent their lives in fruitless efforts to discover, and what Paracelsus would have given the world to see. You have seen lead transmuted into gold! That is the Old Man of the Mountain's secret. Come along to my particular nook: I will tell you all I know.
CHAPTER XII EXPLANATIONS AND DISCOVERIES I wish I had my pipe, growled Beresford as Forrester sat beside him against the wall of the cavern. Good cut-bar is wasted on the desiccated old anatomy up above. However! ... Redfern and I, as you know, had gone to Chinese Turkestan for a few months' excavating. You have heard of the sand-buried ruins of Khotan. No? Well, seven or eight hundred miles north-west of us, between the vast Taklamakan desert and the icy Kara-Kash ranges, there is an oasis, stretching some three hundred miles from east to west, known as the oasis of Khotan. You think of an oasis, I daresay, as a verdant, beautiful spot. Khotan is not that. There is verdure: the people grow crops; but a great part of the district is simply dust. During long periods of time the sand of the desert has swept across it, destroying, and yet preserving, cities that were once the flourishing centres of an advanced civilisation.... That smacks rather of the lecture room, I'm afraid. Lecturing is my shop, of course. Well, not to bore you, excavations have been going on at Khotan, bringing to light highly artistic objects--vases, frescoes, coins, ivories, and so on--which prove that it was long ago the seat of an Indian Buddhist civilisation. Redfern and I had looked forward to making some interesting finds, but we never dreamed of the one we did actually make. We were poking about in a heap of decomposed rubbish and humus, among fragments of pottery, bones of animals, chips of rotten wood, copper coins and what not, when I suddenly spotted a painted tablet like nothing we had yet come upon. I picked it up, and, scraping away at the accretions of siliceous
matter that defaced it--my dear fellow, the mere thought of it sets me all of a jigget even now--under that layer, I say, I found a strip of paper about eight inches by three, torn at one corner, and covered with a few lines of writing in what we call cursive Central-Asian Brahmi. It was a beautiful specimen at least twelve hundred years old, and valuable enough on that account; but when I came to decipher it--if one can jump out of one's skin, I nearly did so. It was a letter, apparently from father to son, a sort of death-bed farewell, and it gave detailed directions for a journey to the far side of the Himalayas--that is to say, the southern side--to a spot where lead was transmuted into gold! Redfern pooh-poohed it, chanted 'Rowley, Powley, gammon and spinach' like a schoolboy, and when I ventured to suggest there might be something in it, was so rude that I reminded him of what I should have done twenty years ago if my fag had cheeked me. However, I was very patient, and after much persuasion I got him to agree to make a start for the place on the off chance that the story was something more than a fable. We set off with a miscellaneous crew of Turki natives, following the very explicit directions of the paper. But the country was so extraordinarily difficult, and the hardships of travel so great, that our escort deserted one after another. We replaced them where we could with fellows picked up en route, Tibetans most of them; but these too, when it came to crossing the passes of the Himalayas, funked it, and ultimately we were left with a single follower, a Tibetan, a regular brick of a fellow. I won't tell you what we went through; after all, we couldn't expect a walk over! Unluckily, the paper was torn at the corner, as I
said, and I believe the missing portion described the exact locality of the spot we were making for. Without it we were at a loss, and wandered a few miles farther south than we ought to have done, until we fell in with some little forest people who told us about a mysterious region beyond a gigantic waterfall, which they were afraid to approach because of the Eye. That seemed promising! We made tracks for the fall, just as you did; we found the rift, marched up it, saw the canoes, and flattered ourselves that we should before long be in a position to verify or disprove the ancient legend. I led the way; our Tibetan came next; Redfern brought up the rear. We kept a good look-out, of course; but had no suspicion of danger until I heard the clang of the shutter behind me. They had dropped it a minute too soon. The Tibetan and I were shut in; Redfern was shut out; they hadn't seen him, fifty yards or so behind, round the bend. What followed was pretty much as you described your own experiences. I had just time to fire off my revolver in a way that Redfern would understand as a warning, before the gas overcame me. My Tibetan was already unconscious: I never saw him again. Next day they took me into the Temple, and I had a very interesting interview with the August and Venerable. As I told you, he did not turn on the Eye for my benefit; indeed, he was very courteous and suave, and I didn't pay much attention to his exposition of the Law of the Eye. It was only when I had committed the unpardonable offence of knocking down one of his priests, and he sent me down here, that I thought him anything but a plausible old humbug with ogreish tendencies.
Prepared as I was, his little hypnotic tricks with the green eye had made no impression on me. The general atmosphere of mystery, and what I learned from the people on the plateau, convinced me that he was hiding some precious secret below stairs, and the sight of his golden throne made me suspect its nature. Never in my life was I better pleased than when they brought me down their subterranean stairs to learn wisdom! And I hadn't been here an hour before my suspicions became certainty. That Chinaman yonder will be engaged all day in letting lead plates down into the pit, and drawing them up pure gold. The plates are brought down from above: they explain the knocking you heard from the building near the old iniquity's pagoda. There is not a tool of any kind here: nothing but chopsticks, even, for eating our food; the lead is cut and hammered into plates above. The first day I was on the plateau I saw some of the prisoners staggering to that building under heavy loads. I conjecture that the Old Man has confederates somewhere outside, in China probably, who supply him at intervals with the lead, and receive the gold in return. It sounds incredible, exclaimed Forrester, interrupting his companion for the first time. The word 'incredible' ought to be banished from our vocabulary, Beresford rejoined emphatically. Nothing is incredible. They'd have said the same thing only thirty years ago about petrol engines, wireless telegraphy, and aeroplanes. I am convinced that the search for the Philosopher's Stone, which baffled the alchemists for hundreds of years, was not the absurdity we have been taught to regard it. In some far distant age, someone discovered that Nature herself turned the base into the precious metal; the fact was
rumoured abroad, though the scene of the transmutation was never allowed to become known; and the alchemists wasted their lives in trying to do artificially what had already been done by natural process. Why, aren't our chemists at the present day groping in the same direction? Don't they tell us that all terrestrial things are merely forms of the same ultimate element, or manifestations of the same ultimate force? Doesn't every fresh discovery point that way? But how is it done? I don't know; the Old Man doesn't know; nobody knows. In that pit yonder, a hundred and fifty feet deep, as I calculate, there is a bed of some substance that possesses this marvellous property-- call it radio-active if you like. It can't be radium, for the emanations of radium produce sores on the body, as you know, and these wretched Chinamen have no sores. Its effect, from what you tell me- -and I confess your news astonished and appalled me--is far more terrible. Evidently exposure to its direct ray causes instant demolition--annihilation is not the word; dust remains. Proximity to it brings about a sapping of the will; you yourself felt that in your cell; I feel it too. In the cavern yonder the effect is intensified. This mysterious power causes the mind to decay and the body to wither. How old do you suppose that Chinaman is? He looks about seventy. He is twenty-eight! I don't know it from himself; he has no memory, cannot even tell you his name. But one of the others is his cousin--looks forty and is actually twenty-two. He has been here a year, taking his turn with the rest at the work; they have a day each. And there's a mystery about the whole organisation which at present I can't fathom. All the prisoners here engaged in the horrible work
are young Chinamen of good family. I was told that on the plateau. Why does the old villain employ none but his own countrymen? I shall find out by and by; I haven't been here long enough to learn much; the poor wretches are so mentally abject that I have to go slowly with them. I do know this: that they are all brought in by priests of the second order. When one dies--their bodies are cast into the pit--he is immediately replaced by another. It seems that some of these priests are constantly prowling about the country, snatching up likely subjects here and there, some to recruit the labourers on the plateau, others for this diabolical work below. Your old Indian told me that every now and then a priest of the second order shaves his moustache and head, and enters the ranks of the first, after which he never goes into the world outside. It suggests that they are promoted after they have bagged a certain number of prisoners. How the priests are themselves recruited I don't know. They are all celibates; I suppose the Old Man has emissaries out proselytising. But these are all conjectures: I hope to find out a good deal more for certain before we get away. You know how to get away, then? Forrester asked eagerly. I haven't given it a thought! was the placid answer. I pin my faith to old Runnymede--Redfern, Ruddyweed, Runnymede; you twig the process? But if he doesn't come?--if he is dead? cried Forrester, too much concerned with actualities to be interested in the evolution of nicknames. We can't get down to the rift, even if we escape from here like the negrito. What negrito?
Didn't you know? One escaped the other day, got on to the plateau, and took refuge with the old zamindar. He was caught, and I believe it was he that we saw destroyed by the Eye. Dear me! That is very remarkable. I hadn't the least idea escape was possible. We must discover how the little fellow managed it, though it's of minor importance beside other things we have to learn. For instance, knowing what we do of the tremendous destructive power of that mysterious substance below ground, how did old what's-his-name above contrive to imprison a portion of it in his mitre without atomising himself? Clearly there must be some things that it doesn't affect--like that slab yonder. Why, I remember! Look at this! Forrester exclaimed, taking from his pocket the crumpled sheet which he had found so useful in his cell. Unfolding it, he went on: It was given me by the Indian girl, who received it from the negrito. She said that it saved from the Eye. When I held it between my eyes and the monster on the wall I could scarcely see the glare. It was a godsend. Marvels upon marvels! cried Beresford, fingering the crackling sheet curiously. We must look into this. But here comes dinner: we shall have plenty of time! CHAPTER XIII A DRY BONE The dishes containing the midday meal were brought to the prisoners by the two negrito sentinels, who received them from the
guard at the further end of the ledge. The food, abundant in quantity, consisted of a variety of Chinese viands, strange to the Englishmen's taste, but not unpalatable. The Old Man feeds us well, Beresford remarked, handling his chopsticks dexterously. He doesn't want to hasten Nature's destructive work by starving us. Drinking-water, by the way, is got from a little stream that trickles into the lake just round the corner. I confess I shouldn't care to drink the water in which that antediluvian monster disports himself. We'll take a look at him presently--if we get a chance, for he appears to be rather shy: I suppose he feels hopelessly old-fashioned, or perhaps he has an aristocratic pride in his long descent, and scorns the company of such new creatures as mere men. Why isn't the place more stuffy than it is? Forrester asked. Where does the air come from? That puzzled me at first, but I discovered the other day that there is a constant current of air, slight, but quite perceptible, over the surface of the lake, through this cavern, and into a narrow cleft which I'll show you by and by. There must be a passage into the upper air. The temperature is rather too high to suit me; but the air is pure enough, and many of the dungeons in medieval castles were much worse places--barring the peculiarly oppressive effect of the stuff below.... You don't get on very well with your chopsticks. Like everything else, they require practice. One thing I can't make out is why we are allowed such freedom. You seem to be at liberty to move about as you please, talk to the prisoners--you speak Chinese?
Yes, but only out of earshot of the priest in his sentry-box yonder. I don't want him to blab to the August and Venerable--not that it matters, perhaps. The explanation of our freedom is, of course, that it is only such freedom as birds have in a cage. The passage by which we came is barred by the guards. There are no tools or implements of any kind which could be used as weapons; in fact, there's nothing here but ourselves and a few bamboo rods yonder against the wall, which I fancy must be used for keeping the sentry-box in repair. It's rather dull work for the priest, sitting there all day alone and mum; a new fellow comes every day. After dinner Beresford led Forrester back to the transmuting cavern, and across it into a passage similar to that by which they had reached the spot. It was a cul-de-sac, except that at its further end there was a narrow cleft in the wall. The opening was barely a foot wide, and the sides were of solid rock. There were slight marks which seemed to indicate that at some time or other an attempt had been made to enlarge the opening by chipping; but the marks were very old, and it was clear that the task, if attempted, had been abandoned as hopeless. The cleft had a slight upward slope, but looking along it, Forrester saw no sign of daylight, nor did he hear any sound from the further end, which was not visible. They both agreed that no human being could possibly squeeze himself through so constricted a passage. Returning to the outer cavern, they went to the entrance and stepped on to the ledge outside. They peered across the gloomy lake, but failed to discover the monster whose image they had seen outlined on the wall.
He is not at home to-day, evidently, said Beresford. Well, we have exhausted the objects of interest: all that we can do for the rest of the day is to sit on our bunkers and 'tell sad stories of the death of kings' or anything else you like. Later on I'll tackle the prisoners again. I try to stir them up a bit and get them to talk, without much success so far except with Wing Wu and his cousin. They are so horribly depressed, poor wretches! By Jove! I do wish I had my pipe. It was impossible to gauge the passage of time. The successive days, as Beresford explained, were marked only by the arrival and departure of the guardian priests, and by the cessation from work of the man in the smaller cavern, who returned to his companions when a certain number of the leaden plates had been changed into gold. These were placed in charge of the priest on duty, who superintended their removal by the negritos when relieved next day. That night, Beresford found the two younger Chinamen a little more communicative than they had been before. Wing Wu, indeed, evinced much pleasure in meeting Forrester again, and talked to him with a certain eagerness in English. He was the eldest son of a mandarin, he explained, and had kept a few terms at Oxford. Wen Shih, who had passed with distinction the innumerable examinations inflicted on Chinese literati, had been for a few months his father's secretary. In some subtle fashion he had obtained a commanding influence over the young man. Always courteous and agreeable, he enjoyed the complete confidence of his master, and gradually Wing Wu found himself consulting the secretary in every circumstance of his life, however trivial, until he lost all independence of judgment and even of action. He was at Wen Shih's beck and call, did his
behests even against his own will, and felt that Wen Shih dictated the words he uttered, and arranged his very thoughts. As I half suspected, said Beresford, who had been listening intently, these peripatetic priests are accomplished hypnotists. Under hypnotic influence a susceptible subject will declare black white, swear that his own blood is ink, and imagine himself his own grandfather, or any other absurdity. Go on, please. Wing Wu explained that one day Wen Shih announced that he was going a journey, and that the lad was to accompany him. The command was obeyed unquestioningly. All the details of the journey were a blank to Wing Wu until the adventure with the elephant, which seemed to have shocked him temporarily into his right mind. Here Forrester took up the tale, describing the peculiar dazed sensation which both he and Jackson had experienced once or twice on the march. He was trying his powers on you, of course, said Beresford. Your friend Jackson was the most susceptible of the three, Mackenzie the least. You may be sure Wen Shih gave a full account of his experiments to his august master, and I can imagine the old villain taking a fiendish delight in sapping away at Mackenzie, the toughest of you. I only wonder he didn't send Mackenzie down here. We'll see if Chung Tong can tell us any more. He addressed the cousin in Chinese, trying with infinite patience to allure his mind from the present circumstances to his past life. Chung Tong's story, such as it was, told haltingly, resembled Wing Wu's in almost every particular. He added a detail which Beresford seized on, keeping the man's wandering attention fixed on it as firmly as possible. It came out that for many years past there had
occurred at intervals mysterious disappearances in his family. Young men in the twenties had left their homes suddenly, leaving no clue to their destination, and never returning. A light dawns! cried Beresford, in unacademic excitement. The Old Man must have a spite against this particular family, and wreaks it upon them by stealing away these youths, doing them to death in this fatal laboratory of his. But why?--why? What have they done to incur vengeance so horrible? But no further information could be elicited from the prematurely aged young Chinaman. His enfeebled brain was exhausted by its unaccustomed groping into the past. Beresford did not press him, but worried the problem, as a dog worries a bone, for hours before he slept. Next morning, the priest whose spell of duty had concluded, after a brief conversation with his newly arrived colleague, signified that Beresford was to accompany him on his return to the upper quarters. Forrester shook when he understood. Must you go? he implored, the scenes in the Temple appearing luridly before his mind's eye. I shall go, Beresford replied tranquilly. Buck up, my dear fellow. The August and Venerable won't demolish me yet. I expect it's a little cat-and-mouse performance. What if I bell the cat! At any rate do take the screen with you! Not at all. I don't want to lose that. We haven't discovered its secret yet. If I shouldn't come back--well, keep up your courage. Pin your faith to Redfern: I needn't say any more. Forrester wrung his hand, and watched him pass along the half ledge, across the crazy bridge, over the rest of the ledge and into
the passage beyond. At the entrance Beresford turned and waved his hand, smiling with the serenity of a man whose mind is at ease. Two or three hours went by. Forrester paced up and down the cavern in uncontrollable agitation. The thought of losing this cheery companion was torture. He wondered with a carking anxiety what had happened to Mackenzie and Jackson--to Hamid Gul, too, the faithful servant whose little odd turns of phrase assumed almost a pathetic winningness as they recurred to his mind. But always his thoughts came back to Beresford; his imagination focussed that solitary figure confronting the cold, implacable personification of Fate on his golden throne. Many times he went to the entrance, not heeding, unheeded by, the mute effigy in the sentry-box, and gazed across the lake into the opening beyond. For what seemed an eternity no vision of the lithe sturdy form came to gladden his eyes. But on one of these occasions his anxious ear caught the dull tramp of many feet, and presently, at the head of a negrito escort, appeared Beresford himself. Back again! he shouted, his strong voice rolling over the lake. Forrester met him at the entrance of the cave, and clasped his hand in a nervous grip.
Forrester met him at the entrance of the cave. I've had quite a good time, said Beresford, linking arms. The Old Man has been puzzling his wicked old head over my tablet, and he'll puzzle till doomsday for me! He orated solemnly, of course, about the Law of the Eye, and very cleverly hinted, without actually saying so, that the Law demanded an exact translation of the Brahmi writing. I told him, quite politely, to go to Jericho. He, quite politely, regretted that I had made such a poor use of my opportunities of learning wisdom. A mischievous impulse seized me to give him a shock, so I let out a few home-truths--in Chinese! Believe me, he didn't turn a hair: I don't believe he has one to turn. He scored there, but on the whole I think we may consider it a drawn game. He recommended me to persevere in the pursuit of wisdom,
wrapped himself in his mist-blanket, and no doubt crept back like a disappointed spider to his web. Beresford found next day, however, that the Old Man's politeness had its reverse side. When the new priest arrived, he signified that the Englishman was to do a day's work in the inner cavern. It's not meant in kindness, Beresford remarked to Forrester, but I couldn't have wished for anything better. I shall work quicker than the Chinamen, and when my tale of bricks is complete I shall have a good part of the day to myself. Lend me that screen of yours, will you? Forrester waited impatiently for the day to end. When Beresford returned, very white and tired, he said:-- I've something to tell you. Give me forty winks after supper and I'll be as fresh as a lark. A little later, in their quiet corner, Beresford began:-- That slab! I'm convinced that it's nothing but a sort of cement, made of the dust that has fallen from the roof, and that this screen is of the same material. I believe that the mysterious force from below, while it turns lead into gold, makes powder of all other substances exposed to its rays. This dust is no longer subject to its influence, and forms a shield against it. But for the dust, it would have bored a hole right through the roof to the upper air ages ago; but the coating of dust on the sides and roof of the cavity has preserved it. Of course, the slight earth tremors that are constantly occurring, unnoticed by us, shake down particles of the dust, and leave portions of the rock surface exposed to the action of the rays. So there's a very gradual process of eating away going on, and in
course of time the rock above the cavern will be pierced clean through. I see, said Forrester. The force must have been in action for ages, so that it may be ages before the hole is made. Anyway, it doesn't matter to us. I'm not so sure of that, returned Beresford quietly. If we could only hasten the process, and get a ladder, we might pay our venerable host a surprise visit one of these days, for I'm pretty sure, thinking over the direction of the passages we came through on the way here, that we're almost directly under the Temple. That itself is underground, or it wouldn't glow with the green light; and you may be sure it's connected with the Old Man's pagoda. It would give me great joy to intrude upon his solitude, and see him in his bath, so to speak. I'd rather give him a wide berth, said Forrester. Anyhow, it doesn't seem possible. We have no ladder, and certainly we can't emulate the Earth- shaker, and engineer a series of mild earthquakes expressly for our own convenience. Ah well! like the heathen, I daresay we imagine a vain thing. What's that line of Virgil?--animum pictura ... you remember the passage; where Æneas is looking at the frescoes in Dido's palace, 'and with an empty picture feeds his mind.' Well, better feed the mind even on fancies than let it starve, like these poor Chinamen. And now for sleep. It became clear that the Old Man had set himself pitilessly to undermine Beresford's courage. Instead of taking his turn with the Chinamen in rotation at the enervating work in the inner cavern, Beresford was given the task every second day. Robust as he was,
and endowed with great strength of will, the electric atmosphere wrought its devitalising effect on him, and Forrester, after a week, noticed with sickening dread that his eyes were less bright, his cheeks less rounded, his voice less resonant. An offer to replace him was rejected by the priest; Forrester wondered why he himself was being spared. The hours dragged very heavily while Beresford was absent at his work. Forrester had nothing to do. He roamed about the cavern, talked a little to Wing Wu, looked in at Beresford occasionally; but during the greater part of the day he had only his thoughts to occupy him. But it happened one day, as he passed the spot where the spare bamboo poles were laid, that an idea flashed into his mind. It seemed fantastic, probably impracticable; but it might at least be attempted: anything was better than this stagnant life in death. The success or failure of the scheme that had occurred to him depended on the accuracy of Beresford's theory that the dust formed by the action of the rays on the cavern roof protected the rock from further destruction. If this was correct, and the dust could be removed, exposing fresh surfaces, the piercing of the chimney could be accelerated far beyond its normal rate. With a sufficiently long pole the dust coating could be brought down during the intervals when the rays were shut off by the slab. Such a pole might be constructed from the bamboo rods. A difficulty arose from the fact that the cavern was never dark. It was always pervaded by the dim green light emanating from the walls. But the rods were partially screened by the sentry-box, and Forrester thought that in the dead of night, when the priest was
asleep, and the negritos more or less drowsy, he might succeed in purloining the bamboo, and carrying it into the passage beyond the inner cavern. Without mentioning the matter to Beresford, he waited till all was quiet, then stole round the wall towards the rods, picked up as many as he could carry, and made his way undetected to the place determined on. Next night he removed a few more in the same way. Their disappearance had apparently not been noticed by the priest. The following day was Beresford's turn of duty. In the early morning, after the new priest had arrived, Forrester told his companion what he had done. Fiat experimentum! cried Beresford delightedly. I will tell you the result to-night. But not a word to Wing Wu. One of these days Wen Shih may occupy the sentry-box, and the poor lad will blab everything. As soon as he had completed the transmutation of the allotted number of plates, Beresford fitted two of the bamboo rods together telescopically, tied his coat by its sleeves to the end of the pole thus formed, and inserting this wad into the cavity, thoroughly scoured its roof. A considerable quantity of fine dust fell on to the slab and the floor around. He then raised the slab, allowing the rays to play on the roof for a longer time than when the leaden plates were sunk in the pit. This process he repeated again and again, heedless of his increasing weariness and a stupefying headache, until Forrester rushed in hurriedly to say that the priest, evidently surprised at his unusually prolonged absence, was coming towards the passage to seek its explanation. Beresford instantly untied his coat, donned it, while Forrester laid the pole in the recess; then, taking Forrester's
arm, met the priest at the entrance, feigning a deeper exhaustion than he actually felt. The priests seldom entered the inner cavern; this man threw a casual glance around it, and followed the prisoners back to the outer cavern, suspecting nothing. It works! Beresford whispered when he got to his customary place, and at once fell into a dead sleep. Later on, he told Forrester that the experiment had succeeded beyond his hope. As nearly as I could measure with the pole, he said, the cavity is lengthened by at least a foot. The rays act with tremendous rapidity. In a few days, unless we are much deeper than I think, we shall have cut a hole right through to the level of the Temple floor. But what then? asked Forrester dejectedly. I thought of it merely as giving us something to do--you are doing it all!-- something that would buck you up if it proved your theory; but it will do us no good. It will at least scare the Old Man. If we are careful, he will never suspect that we have anything to do with it. He may even think the place no longer safe for his old carcase, and decamp. Leaving us to perish! There's an old saw, 'Never go up to the chimney-pots to look for the rain.' We'll take things as they come. By the way, do you feel able to take a turn to-night, when all's quiet? The clink of the chain can't be heard here, and it will quicken the job. I'll try, said Forrester at once. I've felt mean ever since they put you on and left me out. Thanks! One thing we must be very careful about: to brush away the dust to the sides of the cavern. We mustn't arouse
suspicion. Will you do that before you leave? Don't work for more than an hour or two, as nearly as you can guess, and come away at once if you feel faint. Lay the pole against the wall of the farther passage; the Chinamen never go there, and thank goodness the priests are shy of the place, small blame to them! The work thus begun was continued at every opportunity during the succeeding days and nights. The pole had to be lengthened by the addition of another rod: foot by foot the chimney was excavated, the width of it remaining uniform, corresponding to the shape of the hole in the floor. Every night before they slept the Englishmen talked over the progress made during the day. If we only had a ladder! said Beresford once. I agree with you: the mere cutting of the chimney will be an empty triumph. We shouldn't be properly constituted men if we didn't wish to profit by our energies. Every man who isn't a mug, as soon as he has conquered one difficulty, burns to tackle another. I've puzzled and puzzled, but I see no way whatever of using the chimney as a channel of escape. Couldn't we make a ladder of bamboo? Quite impossible! To begin with, there isn't enough of it; then, we have no tools. It is tantalising in the extreme. There's this to be said. Even if we did break through, it would only be to find ourselves in the midst of our enemies. It would mean the Eye for both of us. I have been wondering lately whether that wouldn't after all be better than to stay here much longer. Forrester, the Old Man has beaten me at last. If he sends for me again, I'm afraid I shall
ignominiously cave in. It was one thing to pity those poor Chinamen when we had no real personal knowledge of what they were suffering. It is quite another to share it, to feel the steady sapping of one's vigour, the horrible blankness that comes over one's mind. I know for the first time in my life what it is to writhe in the clutches of Giant Despair. In his many blank moments, Forrester reflected in utter desolation of spirit on their desperate case. Ill and miserable as he himself felt, he dwelt, not on his own condition, but on the appalling change that was creeping over the once buoyant-hearted companion of his imprisonment. The cheeriness was gone. It was an effort now to Beresford to talk. The sickly hue induced by the greenish light had become on his countenance a ghastly pallor. His limbs shook, his gait was slow and stumbling, his once upright frame was beginning to stoop like that of an old man. On his days off duty he lay like a log, sleeping, or simply existing in apathy and listlessness. Was he to drift thus on a slow tide towards death? One night, Forrester was wearily laying the pole in its resting- place, when he heard a sudden click near by, such as might be caused by the fall of some hard substance on the floor. He looked down, but there was nothing on the smooth rock to account for the sound. In a moment it was followed by a second click, apparently a little nearer, and from the direction of the cleft in the wall. His curiosity thoroughly aroused, Forrester stooped and glanced in. The light in the cleft was dim, but after peering for a few seconds, he caught sight of a small object at a distance of perhaps ten or twelve feet away. He had not noticed it when looking into the cleft before, but that might merely have been because he was not expecting to
see anything, nor indeed making a keen examination. But it seemed that the object must have moved; otherwise the click was scarcely explicable; and Forrester was sufficiently interested to wish to get hold of it. It was far beyond reach; the cleft was too narrow to admit his head and shoulders; but he could edge one of the shorter bamboo rods sideways into the hole, and then worry the object forward until he could grasp it. This was the work of less than a minute. To his intense mortification, the thing, when it came to hand, turned out to be nothing but a bone. He was on the point of throwing it back, when the idea struck him that the discovery might give a momentary fillip to Beresford's flagging spirits. So he slipped the bone into his pocket, and returned to the outer cavern. Next morning he accompanied Beresford, as he sometimes did, to the entrance of the transmuting chamber, and watched him commence his daily task. He had forgotten the incident of the night. But when the place was irradiated with the brilliant rays, he chanced to put his hand into his pocket, felt the bone, and drew it out, thinking now so little of it as to purpose casting it into the open pit. But as he turned it over in his hand, he caught sight of some thin white scratches upon it, at first sight irregular and fortuitous, but, at a second glance, forming, as it seemed to him, the initials of his name, R.F. Puzzled, and a little excited, he looked at it more carefully. It was not an old bone; a fragment of tendon, still supple, adhered to it. Examining it end-wise, he saw that the interior was filled with a fine substance that might be desiccated marrow. He shook it; some
of the powdery contents fell to the floor. He knocked it against his boot, and almost shouted with amazement: for at his feet lay a tiny spill of paper, apparently rice paper, very tightly wound. He shook it: some of the powdery contents fell to the floor.
Hot now with excitement, he unrolled the paper with nervous fingers, and saw on it, in small characters written, as it seemed, with the fire-blackened end of a sharp stick, the words, Give me my bone. CHAPTER XIV HEAD COOK Mackenzie and Jackson, it will be remembered, had been removed from the Temple before Forrester, at the close of the scene with the Old Man. They were taken back to their separate cells, and locked in for the rest of the day. Jackson's nerves were shaken all to pieces; Mackenzie, whose robuster physique was less affected, was in desperate anxiety as to Forrester's fate. He spent a wretched day, a still more wretched night. By turning his back on the monster he managed to fend off the worst effects of the baleful eye; but the consciousness that it was there behind him with its unwinking glare intensified his distress. When morning came, and he was escorted again to the foot of the rock stairway, he welcomed the respite afforded by the prospect of a day in the open air, and hoped against hope that the Old Man had relented, and would allow Forrester to join him. Night brings counsel, and Mackenzie was a long-headed Scot. He had come to the decision that it would be sheer folly, after what had happened, to repeat his refusal to work on the plantations. The depressing influence of solitude and the mysterious light was no
doubt relied on by the Old Man to bring his prisoners to a proper docility. Well, Mackenzie would assume that virtue, if he had it not, and he would advise his friends, if they came, to fall in with his own plan: to work with apparent resignation, though always alert to seize on any opportunity of escape that might offer itself. When he was handed a spade, therefore, by the priest who appeared to act as taskmaster, he accepted it, and set to work on the plot of ground assigned to him. But he took care not to ply his implement too energetically, stopping every now and again to mop his brow with his sleeve and to heave the sigh appropriate to a forced labourer. As the day wore on, and neither of his friends appeared, he feared the worst. Jackson's absence might easily be accounted for by a nervous breakdown natural to a man of his temperament; but Forrester would have come if he had been at liberty to do so, and it seemed only too likely that he had either been demolished by the Eye, or that he was still confined to his cell, or possibly condemned to some other punishment whose nature Mackenzie could not guess. At the close of the day he sought to relieve his suspense by addressing a question to the priest, but received only a stony stare. He could not tell whether the man understood him or not. Several days passed in the same dreary, hopeless fashion. Mackenzie kept away from the old zamindar, who, though his daughter had been restored to him, was visibly broken down by a haunting dread of calamities yet to come. He exchanged only a few words now and again with Sher Jang, fearing, in the one case as in the other, that closer intercourse with them might tend to their harm. But one morning he was as much delighted as surprised to
see Jackson appear at the head of the stairway. He had been supported in the climb, practically pushed up, by one of the priests. The taming process was evidently regarded as successful. From that time the two friends remained constantly on the plateau, being given a small hut among the cluster nearest to the dwellings of the priests. It contained no furniture; their only bedding was a blanket apiece. In the fresh air, and under the bracing influence of Mackenzie's companionship, Jackson, in some degree, recovered tone. The two friends worked side by side. No check was placed on their association; it was evidently assumed that they were resigned to their lot, or at any rate too much dominated by their fears to give trouble. After the first day together they never spoke of Forrester: in their hearts they believed that they would see him no more. But they sometimes speculated on the fate of Hamid Gul. They had never seen him since they passed his unconscious body in the rift. It seemed monstrous that so humble a member of their party should have fallen a victim to the Old Man's malignity; yet they could only surmise that, whatever the reason might be, the man had been put out of the way. It was therefore with a joyous surprise that they saw him one day staggering across a field under a load of vegetables. Mackenzie called to him, but Hamid, though he must have heard the cry, pursued his way without so much as a turn of the head. There's a reason for that, said Mackenzie. Hamid is no fool. Some hours later, when work had ceased, and all the slaves had returned to their huts, a dark form appeared in the open doorway of that which Mackenzie and Jackson shared.
Where is Forrester sahib, please to say, sahibs? came in a whisper from Hamid Gul. Come away in, man, cried Mackenzie, --if it is safe. It is right as rain, sahib, replied the Bengali. Chinky jossers believe me a one-eyed ass. But Forrester sahib? We don't know: we fear he is dead. Hamid's one eye and twisted features told rather of rage than of sorrow. He poured forth a torrent of abuse in his own tongue, invoking the direst curses on the heads of the oppressors, and the uttermost defilement of their graves. Where have you been all this time? What have they done to you? asked Mackenzie. I am head cook and bottle-washer, sahib--may the sons of pigs boil everlastingly in oil! Hiked into kitchen, there I was, I having sung my praises quite a lot. For sake of self and master, I pocketed feelings and dignity and concocted that pilaff of lamb Forrester sahib was such nuts on. A bald-headed chap kept eye on me, and made me gobble a bit; then carried dish away, and told me in due course it was well. When he was gone, pig of Chinky cook put his nose out of joint and was exceedingly rude, saying many things in barbarous lingo of libellous nature. But you don't understand Chinese! Mackenzie interposed. Exactly, quite so, sahib; but he had a face! My sublime effort took the cake, sahibs. They offered me job on spot. Every day I made something fresh and bilious, and cook in office did not get look in. He lost his wool, sahibs, and one day set on me tooth and nails, and bald-head found us going at it hammer and tongs. Chinaman got bag, and I got crib.
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  • 5. Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change Melissa R. Marselle Jutta Stadler Horst Korn Katherine N.Irvine Aletta Bonn Editors
  • 6. Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change
  • 7. Melissa R. Marselle • Jutta Stadler • Horst Korn Katherine N. Irvine • Aletta Bonn Editors Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change
  • 8. ISBN 978-3-030-02317-1    ISBN 978-3-030-02318-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Editors Melissa R. Marselle Department of Ecosystem Services Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig, Germany Horst Korn Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Isle of Vilm Putbus, Germany Aletta Bonn Department of Ecosystem Services Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig, Germany Institute of Biodiversity Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany Jutta Stadler Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Isle of Vilm Putbus, Germany Katherine N. Irvine Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Research Group The James Hutton Institute Aberdeen, Scotland, UK This book is an open access publication
  • 9. v Foreword I The biosphere underlies the whole sustainable development concept, as the layer on which society and the economy rely. Nature and biodiversity fuel the natural cycles and life-support systems of the planet, on which humanity ultimately depends. Crucially, human health and well-being depend on functional ecosystems and the services they provide. That is why the Convention on Biological Diversity sets out the vision that biodiversity is to be valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet, and delivering benefits essential for all people, including good health. Indeed, managing, restoring and pro- tecting nature in both rural and urban areas provide multiple benefits to human societies. Ecosystem-based approaches to climate change, nature-based solutions for food production, and green infrastructure in cities and elsewhere all contribute to several societal objectives and have a great potential to positively affect human health. However, it is well known that the world is facing a steady and dramatic rate of biodiversity loss from human causes, which may have severe consequences to human health and put in question a range of the Sustainable Development Goals. Further, we live in a context of climate change, which, on the one hand, impacts both health and biodiversity and, on the other, requires thriving ecosystems deliver- ing for mitigation and adaptation. It is thus timely and important to stress the link- ages and interdependencies of the climate-biodiversity-health nexus. Recognizing our fundamental reliance on nature and the value of the services it provides to human health offers increased opportunities for the biodiversity agenda, be it in urban spaces, rural areas, or protected areas. In essence, we need innovative ways to tackle the biodiversity crisis and the societal challenges it contributes to, including exploring nature-based solutions that foster public health and biodiversity conservation. The alignment of the health and biodiversity agendas presents an opportunity to transcend institutional and sectoral siloes and to allow different com- munities to join forces. A coalition of partners from sectors such as public health, nature conservation, urban planning, tourism, climate adaptation and others would be a promising avenue to help pave the way for the transition to sustainability.
  • 10. vi This volume brings together rich insights of how biological diversity matters to people and their physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being, particularly in the context of a changing climate. Notably, the volume takes a systemic approach to assembling evidence from the social, natural and health sciences, draws on practical expertise from applied case studies, and discusses findings in the frame of ongoing developments in policy and planning. By understanding the true value and potential of biodiversity for health, we can develop the policies, research and practice to safe- guard and secure these crucial contributions from nature to society and to our future. This book helps understand what is at stake and what can be done. We should do it quickly, because we have no alternative – and Mother Nature is the timekeeper. Director for Natural Capital Humberto Delgado Rosa Directorate-General Environment European Commission Brussels, Belgium Foreword I
  • 11. vii Foreword II Effects of heat-waves, heavy precipitation, river floods, landslides, droughts, forest fires, avalanches and storm surges are all felt in Europe, and more and more fre- quently. These extreme weather- and climate-related events have large impacts on human health, the economy and ecosystems. They are exacerbated by ecosystem degradation. Climate projections show that the frequency and severity of most of these hazards will increase across Europe in the next decades. Thus, reducing their impacts on human health as well as the underlying ecosystem health, and in this way adapting to a changing climate have become top priorities for communities and public authorities. Regarding impacts on human health, heat waves affect especially vulnerable groups such as elderly people by worsening respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, which are aggravated by air pollution. Flooding, landslides and forest fires also cause fatalities. Arguably, enhancing coherence among the many actors involved in the knowledge base, policy responses, and practices on these issues represents an urgent need. New models of governance need to be adopted between national and local levels and across sectors in Europe. Spatial planning and risk prevention poli- cies as well as technical measures need to combine conventional engineering (e.g. raising dikes) with ‘nature-based’ solutions (e.g. making room for rivers). If carried out properly, such projects can be highly efficient and cost-effective and have mul- tiple benefits – for example, building parks that cool cities in the summer – and thereby boost human well-being and also contribute to biodiversity conservation. Updated European regulations and policies on water, agriculture and climate adaptation are driving the push for more sustainable investment solutions to address the challenges posed by climate to address human health and well-being as well as biodiversity. Financing transformational adaptation measures, i.e. measures that change the way a city is built and organized, can be easy or difficult to implement. Measures often fall under the responsibility of other sectors, including water man- agement, transport, nature conservation/protection and health. Collaboration is needed. Taking a comprehensive perspective of integrated and long-term urban develop- ment and considering the municipality as a whole can result in lower overall costs
  • 12. viii and many additional benefits. Demonstrating these multiple benefits will help to align sectors. The European Commission and the European Environment Agency are hosting the Climate-ADAPT portal to make better use of knowledge on adapta- tion in Europe. The portal provides information on, for example, adaptation policies and strategies, case studies and a database on adaptation resources, to enhance effective uptake by decision-makers and contribute to better coordination among sectors and governance levels. This volume adds significantly to the knowledge base to show the interlinkages of biodiversity and health in a changing climate. The synthesis of knowledge across different disciplines is highly welcomed and will inform practical and actionable management options to climate adaptation to foster, ultimately and in a mutually dependent manner, human health and well-being and ecosystem resilience. Head of Natural Systems and Sustainability Ronan Uhel European Environment Agency Copenhagen, Denmark Foreword II
  • 13. ix Acknowledgements Synthesizing knowledge in this volume from different disciplines and sectors about biodiversity, health and climate change inter-relationships has been a productive and fruitful collaboration of all contributing authors. The transdisciplinary approach for this book brought together 64 experts from the natural and social sciences as well as from policy and planning representing 15 countries. Working on this volume has been an inspiring, enriching and rewarding journey for us as editors. We are deeply grateful to all authors who contributed to the chapters within this volume. This book would not have been possible without the joint expertise and insights into the various interconnected issues on the topic of biodiversity and health in the face of climate change. We appreciate the stimulating discussion process and hope this dialogue will continue. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all practitioners and policy advisors who have contributed their expertise to the science and case studies in this volume, demonstrating the possibilities for bringing together the issues of biodiversity, health and climate change. Their efforts and active col- laboration made this synthesis possible. We are sincerely thankful to the following peer reviewers who provided valu- able, constructive comments on earlier versions of the chapters in this book: Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo, Amber Pearson, Anja Byg, Aurora Torres, Benjamin Lee, Caroline Hägerhäll, Chantal van Ham, Christopher Coutts, Cynthia Skelhorn, Daniel Cox, David Eichenberg, Delphine Thizy, Elaine Fuertes, Emma Coombes, Emma White, Freddie Lymeus, Hans Keune, Jack Benton, Jana Verboom, Jenny Veitch, Jill Fisher, Kalevi Korpela, Karen Keenleyside, Kathryn Rossiter, Laura B. Cole, Manuel Wolff, Martin Dallimer, Martin Pfeffer, Mike Hardman, Nadja Kabisch, Nick Osborne, Paul Heintzman, Peter Cochrane, Pippin Anderson, Rachel McInnes, Robert Ryan, Ruth Hunter, Sjerp de Vries, Sonja Knapp, Sophus zu Ermgassen, Stephanie Thomas, Stephen Heiland, Suneetha Subramanian, Terry Hartig and Thomas Classen. We are especially grateful to Margaret Deignan from the Springer publishing team and to our Springer project coordinator, Karthika Menon, for their helpful guidance.
  • 14. x This book developed out of the successful European conference “Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change” on 27–29 June 2017 in Bonn, Germany (for detailed conference documentation, see https://www.ecbcc2017jimdo.com/ european-conference-on-biodiversity-and-climate-change-ecbcc/downloads-pre- sentations/and https://doi.org/10.19217/skr509). The conference was organized by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the climate change interest group of the Network of European Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA) in collaboration with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe co-sponsored the conference. More than 220 experts from 31 countries convened to discuss the importance of the interlinkages between biodiversity, human health, and climate change at this conference. The large number of presented papers and posters illus- trated the highly topical and relevant nature of this field in science, policy and prac- tice, and fueled stimulating debate. This work was supported by the BfN with funds of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the research project “Conferences on Climate Change and Biodiversity” (BIOCLIM, project duration from 2014 to 2017, funding code: 3514 80 020A). Dr. Irvine’s involvement was funded by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. The editors have used their best endeavors to ensure URLs provided for external websites are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for websites and cannot guarantee that contents will remain live or appropriate. Leipzig, Germany Melissa R. Marselle Isle of Vilm, Germany Jutta Stadler Isle of Vilm, Germany Horst Korn Aberdeen, Scotland, UK Katherine N. Irvine Leipzig, Germany Aletta Bonn Acknowledgements
  • 15. xi Contents 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities and Evidence Gaps������������������������������������    1 Melissa R. Marselle, Jutta Stadler, Horst Korn, Katherine N. Irvine, and Aletta Bonn Part I  Biodiversity and Physical Health 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence��������������������������������������������������������������   17 Sarah J. Lindley, Penny A. Cook, Matthew Dennis, and Anna Gilchrist 3 Climate Change and Pollen Allergies����������������������������������������������������   47 Athanasios Damialis, Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, and Regina Treudler 4 Vector-Borne Diseases������������������������������������������������������������������������������   67 Ruth Müller, Friederike Reuss, Vladimir Kendrovski, and Doreen Montag 5 The Influence of Socio-economic and Socio-demographic Factors in the Association Between Urban Green Space and Health�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   91 Nadja Kabisch 6 Green Spaces and Child Health and Development������������������������������ 121 Payam Dadvand, Mireia Gascon, and Iana Markevych Part II  Biodiversity, Mental Health and Spiritual Well-being 7 Theoretical Foundations of Biodiversity and Mental Well-being Relationships���������������������������������������������������� 133 Melissa R. Marselle
  • 16. xii 8 Biodiversity in the Context of ‘Biodiversity – Mental Health’ Research�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 159 Sjerp de Vries and Robbert Snep 9 Review of the Mental Health and Well-­ being Benefits of Biodiversity���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 175 Melissa R. Marselle, Dörte Martens, Martin Dallimer, and Katherine N. Irvine 10 Biodiversity and Spiritual Well-being���������������������������������������������������� 213 Katherine N. Irvine, Dusty Hoesly, Rebecca Bell-Williams, and Sara L. Warber Part III  Implications of the Biodiversity and Health Relationship 11 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Implications for Public Health������������������������������������������������ 251 Penny A. Cook, Michelle Howarth, and C. Philip Wheater 12 Biodiversity and Health: Implications for Conservation �������������������� 283 Zoe G. Davies, Martin Dallimer, Jessica C. Fisher, and Richard A. Fuller 13 Supporting Behavioural Entrepreneurs: Using the Biodiversity-Health Relationship to Help Citizens Self-Initiate Sustainability Behaviour������������������������ 295 Raymond De Young 14 Global Developments: Policy Support for Linking Biodiversity, Health and Climate Change�������������������������������������������������������������������� 315 Horst Korn, Jutta Stadler, and Aletta Bonn 15 European Nature and Health Network Initiatives�������������������������������� 329 Hans Keune, Kerstin Friesenbichler, Barbara Häsler, Astrid Hilgers, Jukka-­ Pekka Jäppinen, Beate Job-Hoben, Barbara Livoreil, Bram Oosterbroek, Cristina Romanelli, Hélène Soubelet, Jutta Stadler, Helena Ströher, and Matti Tapaninen Part IV  Planning and Managing Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity and Health in a Changing Climate 16 Nature-Based Solutions and Protected Areas to Improve Urban Biodiversity and Health������������������������������������������ 363 Kathy MacKinnon, Chantal van Ham, Kate Reilly, and Jo Hopkins 17 Environmental, Health and Equity Effects of Urban Green Space Interventions���������������������������������������������������������������������� 381 Ruth F. Hunter, Anne Cleary, and Matthias Braubach Contents
  • 17. xiii 18 Resilience Management for Healthy Cities in a Changing Climate���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 411 Thomas Elmqvist, Franz Gatzweiler, Elisabet Lindgren, and Jieling Liu 19 Linking Landscape Planning and Health���������������������������������������������� 425 Stefan Heiland, Julia Weidenweber, and Catharine Ward Thompson Part V Conclusions 20 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Perspectives for Science, Policy and Practice���������������������������������������� 451 Melissa R. Marselle, Jutta Stadler, Horst Korn, Katherine N. Irvine, and Aletta Bonn Glossary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 473 Index������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 477 Contents
  • 18. xv Abbreviations ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder AR Allergic rhinitis ART Attention Restoration Theory BfN German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation BiodivERsA European Research Network on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services BMI Body mass index CBD United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity COP Conference of the Parties COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology CVD Cardiovascular disease DOHaD Developmental origins of health and diseases EC EcoHealth ECDC European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control EcoHealth The International Association for Ecology and Health EEG Electroencephalography EFSA European Food Safety Authority EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EID (Re-)Emerging infectious diseases EKLIPSE Knowledge and Learning Mechanism on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services ENCA European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies EROEI Energy returned on energy invested ESP Ecosystem Service Partnership ESS Ecosystem services EU European Union GI Green infrastructure GIS Geographic information systems GM Genetic modifications GP General practitioner, a medical doctor GPS Global positioning system GVCR Global vector control response
  • 19. xvi HIA Health Impact Assessment HPHP Healthy Parks Healthy People initiative IPBES Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature IVM Integrated vector management KAS Knowledge-action systems LCP GIS-based least-cost path model MAES Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services MEA Millennium Ecosystem Assessment NBS Nature-based solutions NCD Noncommunicable disease NDVI Normalized difference vegetation index NEOH Network for Evaluation of One Health NESTA UK National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts NGOs Nongovernmental organizations NICA US National Interfaith Coalition on Aging NPPF UK National Planning Policy Framework OH One Health PES Payment for ecosystem services RCT Randomized controlled trial SBSTTA CBD’s Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice SDG UN Sustainable Development Goal SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SES Socio-economic status SIT Sterile insect technique SRT Stress Reduction Theory TEEB The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity TWG Thematic Working Group UGS Urban green space UHI Urban heat island UN United Nations UNEP United Nations Environment Program UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change VBDs Vector-borne diseases WHO World Health Organization Abbreviations
  • 20. xvii About the Editors and Contributors Editors Melissa R. Marselle Researcher in the Department of Ecosystem Services at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). She is an environmental psychologist whose research focuses on the influence of biodiversity and contact with nature on mental health and well-being. She is a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society. Jutta Stadler Senior scientific officer in the International Nature Conservation Division at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. She has been organizing numerous conferences and workshops on nature conservation and cli- mate change as well as on other biodiversity-related issues. Horst Korn Head of the International Nature Conservation Division at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. His special interest lies in the application of holistic approaches to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the further development and application of science-policy interfaces. Katherine N. Irvine Senior researcher in conservation behavior and environmen- tal psychology at the James Hutton Institute, UK. Her transdisciplinary research focuses on the people-nature relationship, evaluating effectiveness of interventions to facilitate use of nature to promote well-being and sustainable behavior, and the spiritual dimensions of well-being and biodiversity.
  • 21. xviii Aletta Bonn Professor of Ecosystem Services at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany and head of the Department of Ecosystem Services at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research Germany (UFZ), and the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). With a working background at the science-­ policy interface in the UK and Germany, her research focuses on ecosystem ser- vices, biodiversity and human well-being, participatory conservation, and citizen science. Contributors Rebecca Bell-Williams Research fellow at the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research focuses on nature connection and spiritual well-being. Matthias Braubach Technical officer of Urban Health Equity at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. He has a background in urban geog- raphy and public health. He assists the WHO European Region Member States in the development and implementation of urban policies and interventions that address environmental risks and associated environmental equity issues. Anne Cleary PhD candidate in the School of Medicine at Griffith University, Australia. Her research focuses on the links between nature and health, with a spe- cific focus on urban nature and mental well-being. Penny A. Cook Professor of public health at the University of Salford, UK. Her research focuses on working with communities to improve health, using an asset-­ based community development approach. She is also interested in health behavior and carries out research into sedentary behavior, physical activity and the health benefits of green space. Payam Dadvand Assistant Research Professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain. He is a medical doctor by training and has a PhD in environmental epidemiology. His research focuses on the impacts of both envi- ronmental stressors (e.g. air pollution, climate change) and mitigation measures (e.g. green spaces) on human health, particularly on maternal and child health. Martin Dallimer Associate Professor of Environmental Change at the University of Leeds, UK. His research applies and integrates research techniques from across different disciplines to better understand, and provide solutions for, the sustainable management of natural environments, biodiversity, and ecosystems in a human-­ dominated world. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 22. xix Athanasios Damialis Aerobiologist at the University Centre for Health Sciences at the Augsburg Hospital, Germany (UNIKA-T), and the German Research Centre for Environmental Health. Since 1996, he has worked in plant and fungal ecology and biology, biometeorology and climate change, and environmental medicine. Two of his future goals are to protect environmental quality and to promote human health via real-time, personalized health information services. Zoe G. Davies Professor of Biodiversity Conservation at the University of Kent, UK. She is a landscape ecologist who uses empirical data to address questions of importance to conservation management and policy. One of her key research inter- ests is understanding biodiversity-human well-being relationships. Sjerp de Vries Senior social scientist in environmental psychology at Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), The Netherlands. His research focuses on cul- tural ecosystem services, especially on the effect of access to and contact with nature on human health and well-being. Raymond De Young Associate Professor of Environmental Psychology and Planning at the University of Michigan, USA. His work explores behavioral responses to the urgent need to transition to a life lived within local resource limits. Despite dismal ecological forecasts, his work is decidedly optimistic but without illusions. Matthew Dennis Lecturer in geographical information science in geography at the University of Manchester, UK. His research focuses on human-dominated systems employing a landscape approach to understanding patterns and processes that influ- ence human health and social-ecological resilience. Thomas Elmqvist Professor in Natural Resource Management at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden. His research is focused on urbanization, urban ecosystem services and components of resilience including the role of social institutions. He has led the “Cities and Biodiversity project” (www. cbobook.org) and is currently leading a Future Earth project entitled “Urban Planet”. Kerstin Ensinger Environmental psychologist at the Black Forest National Park, Germany. She is the director of the social research program of the Black Forest National Park. Her research and teaching activities have focused on issues of the effects of wilderness and nature-based experiences on body and mind. Jessica C. Fisher Conservation researcher at DICE, University of Kent, UK. While her background is in ecology, much of her current work crosses traditional disci- plinary boundaries. She is particularly interested in understanding how human-­ wildlife interactions can help solve conservation challenges. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 23. xx Kerstin Friesenbichler Policy officer and project manager at Umweltdachverband, an Austrian NGO environmental umbrella organisation. Her work mainly concerns biodiversity, nature conservation and protected areas, the interlinkages of biodiver- sity and human health, and awareness raising among decision-makers and the gen- eral public. She has a master’s degree in nature conservation and biodiversity management. Richard A. Fuller Professor of Conservation and Biodiversity at the University of Queensland, Australia. He studies how people have affected the natural world around them. Much of his work is interdisciplinary, focusing on the interactions between people and nature, how these can be enhanced, and how these relationships can be shaped to build solutions to the biodiversity crisis. Mireia Gascon Environmental epidemiologist at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain. During her PhD, she focused on estimating the impact of pre- and postnatal exposures to chemicals on child health. After obtaining her PhD, she focused her research on improving scientific understanding of the health impacts of the urban environment, particularly air pollution and green spaces and transport planning. Franz Gatzweiler Professor at the Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is executive director of the global science program on system science for urban health and well-being under the International Science Council. His research has focused on the value of ecosystems and biodiversity and institutional change in complex social and ecological systems. Anna Gilchrist Lecturer in environmental planning at the University of Manchester, UK. Her research is focused on biodiversity and ecosystem responses to environmental change and the pressures that are created under changing sociopo- litical conditions. Alistair Griffiths Director of Science and Collections at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the UK and member of the RHS Executive Board. He leads a highly skilled team of scientists focused on research to provide evidence-based solutions to address environmental and horticultural challenges. Prior to the RHS, he was a key player in using horticulture science to create the award-winning Eden Project. His interest is in the science of gardening to benefit the health of biodiver- sity, the environment, and people. Barbara Häsler Senior lecturer in Agrihealth at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, UK. Her research focuses on the application of integrated health approaches to food systems, and how changes in those approaches affect food safety and food security. She also studies how to improve the well-being of people and animals through better resource allocation. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 24. xxi Stefan Heiland Professor of Landscape Planning and Development at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. Currently his work focuses on adaptation to climate change by landscape planning, urban green infrastructure and its contri- butions to human well-being, and the transition of landscapes, for example, by renewable energies. He was head of the working group preparing the scientific basis of the German Federal Green Infrastructure Concept. Astrid Hilgers Landscape ecologist and senior policy advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. She is the national coordinator of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and of the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for The Netherlands. She is an initia- tor of the international Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators. Dusty Hoesly Lecturer in the departments of Religious Studies andAsianAmerican Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the USA. His research focuses on contemporary American religions and the social scientific study of reli- gion, specializing in how minority religions and spirtual movements shape modern American culture. Jo Hopkins Chair of the IUCN WCPA Health and Well-being Specialist Group. In this role, she advocates for the vital role that parks and protected areas play in ensur- ing a healthy natural world. Jo is also the manager of National and International Engagement at Parks Victoria (Australia) and is responsible for the consolidation of partnerships that deliver on Government policy and facilitates initiatives with mutu- ally beneficial outcomes between partners. Michelle Howarth Senior lecturer in nursing at the University of Salford, UK. She is a specialist in the impact of nature-based interventions on health and well-being. Her current research explores the process, impact and mode of social prescribing as an emerging social movement and how this promotes a person-centred, salutogenic approach to well-being. Ruth F. Hunter Researcher and lecturer in public health at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Her field of expertise is on green space interventions and health behav- ior change, with a focus on natural experiment methodology. Jukka-Pekka Jäppinen Development manager and deputy director of the Biodiversity Centre at the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). He has a long career in working with the research and policy development on biodiversity and ecosystem services, Convention on Biological Diversity (e.g. ecosystem approach), nature management in forestry, nature-based solutions, business and biodiversity, and biodiversity and human health. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 25. xxii Beate Job-Hoben Scientific assistant in the Nature Conservation and Society Division at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. Her fields of work include nature conservation and sustainable tourism, sports in nature, and health. She studied biology and chemistry in Bonn and ecology in Essen. Nadja Kabisch Junior research group leader on GreenEquityHEALTH at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. The project is funded for 5 years to study potential health outcomes of urban nature under global challenges of climate change and urbanization. Vladimir Kendrovski Technical officer for climate change and health at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. A specialist in the field of health aspects of climate change, he provides and facilitates technical expertise to the WHO European Region Member States for the development and implementation of policies in relation to climate change, extreme events, and health issues. Hans Keune Senior researcher at the Belgian Biodiversity Platform and the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). He works on critical complexity, inter- and transdisciplinary, action research, decision support, environment and health, ecosystem services, biodiversity and health, and One Health/Eco Health. He also coordinates the Chair in Care and the Natural Living Environment at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp. Elisabet Lindgren Physician and associate professor in sustainability science at the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden. Her field of expertise is global envi- ronmental changes and human health, with focus on health and climate change and sustainable cities. Sarah J. Lindley Professor of Geography at the University of Manchester and research director of the Department of Geography, University of Manchester, UK. She is a lead author for the IPBES Regional Assessment for Africa. She is an expert in climate change adaptation, particularly in relation to urban heat. Her main research interests are associated with urban air pollution, climate adaptation and urban ecosystem contributions to people, including regulating ecosystem functions for human health and well-being. Jieling Liu PhD candidate in climate change and sustainable development policies at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She has a background in political science and journalism. Her current research focuses on the institutional frameworks of urban ecological governance in China. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 26. xxiii Barbara Livoreil Knowledge broker at the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB). She works to promote the use of systematic reviews to support decision and negotiation. Her background is in animal behavior and she also spent 10 years in the field doing conservation biology. Her main interests currently are behavioural change, conservation psychology and mainstreaming biodiversity into society. Kathy MacKinnon Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). The IUCN WCPA is a global network of conservation protected areas professionals supporting well-managed and connected parks and other protected areas as natural solutions to biodiversity loss and other global challenges, including climate change and human health and well-being. Iana Markevych Postdoctoral researcher in the Institute of Epidemiology at the German Research Center for Environmental Health. She is an environmental epide- miologist with a background in ecology. Among others, her interests lie in the field of green space benefits for childhood health. Dörte Martens Researcher at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Germany. She completed her PhD in environmental psychology at the University of Zürich on the effects of different urban forests on psychological well-being. Her current research interests are psychological effects of nature experi- ence areas for children in an urbanized environment. Doreen Montag Lecturer in Global Public Health in the Barts and London School of Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, UK. Her interests lie in health-­ centred global environmental governance, political economy of planetary health, climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development and vector-borne diseases. Ruth Müller Head of the Environmental Toxicology and Medical Entomology Department at Goethe University, Frankfurt in Germany and the head of the Ecology and Genetics Platform of Polo GGB, Italy. She is a vector biologist. Her basic and applied research focuses on mosquito-borne diseases and innovative, environmen- tally friendly control of aedine and anopheline vector species, in particular those altering their distribution with global climate changes. Bram Oosterbroek PhD candidate at the International Centre for Integrated Assessment and Sustainable Development (ICIS), Maastricht University, The Netherlands. His research topic is on a healthy living environment, specialized in the method of spatial modeling. He is working on a GIS model to assess and map the human health impacts of urban green spaces. Kate Reilly EU program officer for Nature-Based Solutions at the IUCN European Regional Office in Brussels, Belgium. She supports IUCN’s work to promote About the Editors and Contributors
  • 27. xxiv nature-based solutions through a range of projects on urban nature and biodiversity, forest and aquatic ecosystem services, and ecosystem-based management. Friederike Reuss PhD candidate at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany and a research associate in the Department of Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Germany. She has a scientific back- ground in molecular biology. Her present research focuses on bioassays with culicid and drosophilid insects. Cristina Romanelli Coordinator of the CBD and WHO joint work program on biodiversity and human health for the UN Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity in Canada. She is an expert in global policy development, biodiversity and health mainstreaming, cross-sectoral partnerships, and capacity development. She was lead author of Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health. Robbert Snep Senior researcher in Regional Development and Spatial Use at Wageningen Environmental Research, The Netherlands. He is an ecologist. His research connects urban nature science with health and climate adaptation issues of cities. He collaborates with urban designers, developers, NGOs, and local govern- ments in improving the quality of city life. Hélène Soubelet Director of the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB). She is a doctor of veterinary medicine and a master’s degree in plant pathol- ogy. She has a background in public health as she worked for 10 years for the French Ministry of Agriculture and also spent 7 years in the field of biodiversity working for the French Ministry of Ecology. Helena Ströher Scientific assistant in the Nature Conservation and Society divi- sion at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. Helena deals with the implementation of the National Strategy on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. Matti Tapaninen Senior advisor in Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland. Previously, he has worked in protected area management as a park director and regional manager. Matti also has a long international career in the field of pro- tected area management. Jessica Thompson Lead for Health and Well-being at City of Trees based in Manchester, UK. Her background is in community forestry and has worked to engage people in urban forestry initiatives since 2005. She has an MSc in Dementia focused on ‘life-enabling’ green environments. Jessica is a PhD candidate at the University of Salford, UK, exploring well-being impacts of neighborhood greening outreach work. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 28. xxv Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann Head of the Institute for Environmental Medicine at the University Centre for Health Sciences at Augsburg Hospital, Germany (UNIKA-T), and director the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the German Research Center for Environmental Health. She investigates human-environment interactions focusing on allergic diseases. Her research contributes to our under- standing of how environmental factors act on the body’s epithelial and immunologi- cal interface. In 2013 she was appointed to the board of directors of CK CARE Center for Allergy Research and Education. Regina Treudler Senior physician and a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Leipzig as well as the head of the Leipzig Comprehensive Allergy Centre (LICA) at the University of Leipzig and consultant in the Department of Dermatology at the UMC Leipzig, Germany. She was educated at the Free University of Berlin and at the Université de Paris XII, France. Prof. Treudler received her board examination in dermatology and in allergology at the Charité Allergy center. Chantal van Ham EU program manager for Nature-Based Solutions at the IUCN. She is responsible for IUCN’s activities on urban biodiversity and the coop- eration with cities and subnational governments in Europe. She develops and coor- dinates projects that help policy-makers, cities, and local and regional governments find nature-based solutions for sustainable development to improve quality of life and economic prosperity by mobilizing IUCN knowledge and best practices. Eike von Lindern Co-founder of Dialog N, an independent research institute in Switzerland. He holds a PhD in social and environmental psychology. His work focuses on restorative environments research, health promotion, sustainable devel- opment, and the involvement of the (local) population with parks and protected areas. Veikko Virkkunen Development manager in Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland. He works with projects that increase benefits from protected areas, such as health and well-being, recreation and tourism. His background is in visitor manage- ment and sustainability in protected areas. Sara L. Warber Senior physician and emeritus professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan and the former director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Michigan, USA. She is a clinician-scholar whose research focuses on the effects of nature-based programs and other complex psychosocial-­ spiritual interventions on human health and well-being. Examples include the health benefits of camps, retreats and national group walking programs in the USA and the UK. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 29. xxvi Catharine Ward Thompson Professor of LandscapeArchitecture at the University of Edinburgh and director of OpenSpace, the research center for inclusive access to outdoor environments at the University of Edinburgh, UK. Her research focuses on salutogenic environments, with a particular focus on deprived populations, and quality of life in older age. Julia Weidenweber Master’s candidate in environmental planning at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. Her master’s thesis focuses on approaches to strengthen the integration of health issues into the German system of landscape planning. C. Philip Wheater Professor of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. As an ecologist and environmental scien- tist, he is interested in how people interact with their environment, especially in urban systems. He also works on conservation and biodiversity management and how it influences local communities, for example in health and education. About the Editors and Contributors
  • 30. 1 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 M. R. Marselle et al. (eds.), Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8_1 Chapter 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities and Evidence Gaps Melissa R. Marselle, Jutta Stadler, Horst Korn, Katherine N. Irvine, and Aletta Bonn Abstract Climate change presents significant challenges to human health and bio- diversity. Increased numbers of extreme climate events, such as heat waves, droughts or flooding, threaten human health and well-being, both directly and indirectly, through impaired ecosystem functioning and reduced ecosystem services. In addi- tion, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases is rising, causing ill health and accelerating costs to the health sector. Nature-based solutions, such as the provision and management of biodiversity, can facilitate human health and well-being, and mitigate the negative effects of climate change. The growing recognition of the importance of biodiversity’s contribution to human health offers great potential for maximising synergies between public health, climate change adaptation and nature M. R. Marselle (*) Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany e-mail: [email protected] J. Stadler · H. Korn Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Isle of Vilm, Putbus, Germany e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] K. N. Irvine Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Research Group, The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK e-mail: [email protected] A. Bonn Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany e-mail: [email protected]
  • 31. 2 conservation. This book identifies the contribution of biodiversity to physical, men- tal and spiritual health and well-being in the face of climate change, and considers implications across multiple sectors. Keywords Climate change · Biodiversity · Health · Nature-based solutions · Nature conservation · Interdisciplinarity Highlights • Climate change poses significant challenges to both human health and biodiversity. • Green spaces can improve human health and well-being, and mitigate biodiver- sity loss. • The inter-relationships of biodiversity to human physical, mental and spiritual aspects of health and well-being are not yet well understood. • There is great potential for synergies between public health, climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation. 1.1 Background Climate change poses significant challenges to human health and biodiversity. Increased numbers of heat waves, droughts and flooding events due to climate change have negative consequences for both human health and biodiversity (EEA 2016, Box 1.1). The 2003 summer heat wave in Europe gave rise to 70,000 deaths, both directly through temperature stress and indirectly by affecting air quality and respiratory systems (Wolf et al. 2015). The most vulnerable people in society – the elderly, those with chronic diseases and persons of lower socio-economic status – are often most affected. While susceptibility varies geographically and among groups, studies show that an increase of 1 °C in temperature above local comfort Box 1.1: Definitions of Health, Climate Change and Biodiversity Health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO 1948). Climate change is “any change in climate over time, resulting from natu- ral variability or human activity” (IPCC 2007). Biodiversity is “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems” (United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity 1992). (For further definitions, see the Glossary, this volume). M. R. Marselle et al.
  • 32. 3 thresholds can be associated with an increase in mortality of up to 12% (Gabriel and Endlicher 2011). The frequency and severity of heat waves and other weather-­ related events are expected to increase in Europe with a changing climate. This will have a significant impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning by worsening habitat conditions (EEA 2012). Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), for example, diabetes, cardiovascular dis- eases, mental disorders, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, are a significant risk to health and well-being (WHO 2017b). NCDs are a leading cause of death globally (WHO 2017a) and account for 85% of all deaths in Europe (WHO 2017b). These deaths are largely preventable and linked by common risk factors, such as physical inactivity, alcohol use and environmental factors (WHO 2017a). As such, population-level interventions are necessary to promote mental health and physical activity in order to prevent and control NCDs, and to reduce health-care costs. Supportive environments that facilitate healthier lifestyles and reduce exposure to stressors is one example of such an intervention. New approaches are needed to attenuate the negative effects of climate change and prevent NCDs in order to maxi- mise opportunities for improving human health and preventing biodiversity loss. Nature-based solutions (NBS) (Nesshöver et al. 2017), such as the management of green spaces to increase benefits for people and to mitigate stressors, might be one such approach. Work on NBS demonstrates the importance of green spaces for climate change adaptation and mitigation (Kabisch et al. 2017). Green spaces are also used as natural health clinics to promote human health and well-being (Mayer et al. 2009; Frumkin et al. 2017; Frumkin and Louv 2007), while at the same time providing habitats for a range of species (Niemela 1999; Goddard et al. 2010) and aiding conservation goals. A large body of research shows that contact with green space can improve human health and well-being, through for example reducing stress, depression and negative emotions, and improving positive emotions, mental well-being, cognitive abilities and increasing physical activity (Bowler et al. 2010b; Hartig et al. 2014; Markevych et al. 2017; Frumkin 2001; Irvine and Warber 2002), suggesting that nature can promote public health and prevent NCDs. Moreover, evidence suggests that positive experiences in nature contribute to feel- ings of connection to nature (Mayer et al. 2009), which could also result in greater acceptance of nature conservation activities (Prévot et al. 2018), and thereby pro- tection of our foundation of life on earth (Geng et al. 2015; Zelenski et al. 2015; Capaldi et al. 2015). In this context, there is growing recognition of the contribution of biodiversity to climate change adaptation and human health. Street trees and green space in cities can contribute to climate change adaptation by reducing the impact of high tempera- tures, poor air quality and high water flows (Bowler et al. 2010a, Gill et al. 2007). Biodiversity underpins ecosystem services that are essential for human health and well-being (Cardinale et al. 2012). Ecosystem services provided by biodiversity include the provision of food, timber and medicines as well as climate and water regulation, and cultural services such as the provision of opportunities for recreation (WHO CBD 2015).Yet biodiversity loss can negatively influence physical health 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
  • 33. 4 through loss of these vital services, diminished options for medicines and increased transmission of infectious diseases (WHO CBD 2015; Sandifer et al. 2015; Hough 2014). Unsurprisingly then, biodiversity has been shown to be positively associated with good physical health (Hough 2014; Lovell et al. 2014). Less under- stood, however, are the impacts of biodiversity on other aspects of human health and well-being. Whilst a fast-growing field of research is investigating the influence of biodiversity on mental health and well-being (Aerts et al. 2018; Lovell et al. 2014; Dallimer et al. 2012; Fuller et al. 2007; Wheeler et al. 2015; Cox et al. 2017; Marselle et al. 2015, 2016; Carrus et al. 2015; Cracknell et al. 2016, 2017; Johansson et al. 2014), work is still progressing in this area, and evidence gaps remain. For example, the mechanistic pathways through which biodiversity influences mental health and well-being is undeveloped. Several models consider the pathways through which nature might influence various dimensions of health and well-being (Hartig et al. 2014; Markevych et al. 2017), yet it is unknown whether these same mechanistic pathways would hold for biodiversity and health and well-being rela- tionships. In this book, we aim to synthesise existing studies and further develop the research agenda. Increasingly, the importance of biodiversity for human health and well-being is being recognised by international governments and organizations (WHO CBD 2015, CBD 2017a, ten Brick et al. 2016). The linkage between biodiversity and human health is at the heart of several high-level strategic decisions being taken at a national and international scale. The Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are collaborating to promote the inter- linkages between biodiversity and human health sectors as secured in the Conference of the Parties (COP) 12 Decision XII/21 and joint publications (WHO CBD 2015, CBD 2017a, b, c). The Health 2020 policy framework of the WHO European Region identifies the importance of environmental conditions as health determinants, and has recently published a review of the evidence of urban green space for health (WHO 2017c). The United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development has dedicated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both for health and biodiversity, and current activities under the CBD aim to closely align health and biodiversity issues. The relevance of biodiversity to physical and mental health is also reflected in levels of EU research activity, the quantity of public and private expenditure, and the number of high-profile government initiatives on biodiversity and health (EKLIPSE 2017). High-profile international initiatives and research on biodiversity and health also highlight this burgeoning area (e.g. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Association for Ecology and Health (Eco Health), and One Health). Awareness of the significant potential for synergies between improvement of human health and adaptation to climate change with conservation of biodiversity is also increasing in applied resource management, urban planning, landscape archi- tecture and protected areas management. In practice, there is growing interest in the use of green space in general, and biodiversity in particular, for physical, mental M. R. Marselle et al.
  • 34. 5 and/or spiritual health and well-being. For example, city urban planning projects encourage physical exercise through green infrastructure as a measure to improve human health (Marselle et al. 2013), while also contributing to climate change ­ adaptation as well as to nature conservation. Use of green spaces for health has been advocated inter alia by the New Zealand Ministry of Health’s ‘Green Prescriptions’ programme,1 the USA National Park Service’s ‘Parks and Trails Prescription Partnerships’ programme,2 as well as by the German Government’s ‘Soziale Stadt’3 and ‘Grün in der Stadt’4 initiatives, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation’s ‘Urban Biodiversity’5 theme, the ‘Outdoors for All’ programme by Natural England6 and Scottish Natural Heritage’s ‘Our Natural Health Service’ ini- tiative.7 These co-benefits can only be achieved, however, through joined-up, col- laborative, cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary working, and in this book we demonstrate with case studies good practice examples. Awareness of the impacts of climate change and biodiversity on human health is growing. With this book, we hope to catalyse the discussion about the integral links between climate change, biodiversity and human health. Specifically, this book not only identifies the contribution of biodiversity to physical health, but also to mental and spiritual health and well-being in the face of climate change. The implications of the biodiversity–health relationship for public health, nature conservation, pro-­ environmental behaviour, protected areas and landscape architecture and design are detailed. The book compiles current policy and practice integrating biodiversity, human health and climate change adaptation at both national and international levels. 1.2 Scope of the Book Integrating biodiversity, human health and climate change requires new approaches and transdisciplinary working. One of the challenges facing research, policy and practice on biodiversity and health is that the science has not fully joined together the different disciplines of biodiversity, ecology, public health, psychology, natural resource management, urban planning and landscape architecture to provide a 1 http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/physical-activity/green- prescriptions 2 https://www.nps.gov/public_health/hp/hphp/partners_ptp.htm 3 https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/bauen-wohnen/stadt-wohnen/staedtebau/soziale-stadt/ soziale-stadt-node.html;jsessionid=9F4F2DB35101A11DD1530AE7BA605ABB.1_cid287 4 https://www.gruen-in-der-stadt.de/ 5 https://www.bfn.de/themen/planung/siedlungsbereich.html 6 http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outdoors-for-all-fair-access-to-a-good- quality-natural-environment 7 https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/contributing-healthier-scotland/our-natural- health-service 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
  • 35. 6 cohesive evidence base for action. Whilst studies investigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and on human health, at present there is limited research detailing the inter-relationships of all three topics together. In applied resource man- agement, nature conservation needs to better link to the health sector and vice versa (WHO CBD 2015). The health sector, whilst it has begun to incorporate the health benefits of climate change adaptation (Watts et al. 2015), has yet to fully appreciate the influence of biodiversity. Likewise, the nature conservation commu- nity needs to harness synergies with public health and climate change adaptation. The scope of this book is to align these three areas of research and to link to applica- tion in policy and practice. This book brings together experts from transdisciplinary fields in science, policy and practice to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on biodiver- sity and health relationships in the face of climate change. As such, this book pro- vides a synthesis of the current state of the knowledge drawing from ecology, geography, environmental psychology, public health, medical science and urban planning. Moreover, experts discuss the implications that the health benefits of bio- diversity have for public health, nature conservation and environmental sustainabil- ity. The book also captures in-depth, practical expertise and experience from protected area managers and landscape architects. National and international policy and practice activities regarding biodiversity, health and climate change inter-­ relationships from health and nature conservation agencies are also detailed. The scope of this book is on biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being in the face of climate change. This makes it unique compared to other books that focus on the effect of biodiversity on human physical health (Morand and Lajaunie 2017, Chivian and Bernstein 2008, Grifo and Rosenthal 1997), the contribution of green spaces to physical and mental health (Nilsson et al. 2011, Pearlmutter et al. 2017) or social-environmental equity per- spectives on nature-health relationships (Kopnina and Keune 2010). In addition, the recognition of climate change as an important factor influencing biodiversity as well as health takes up new aspects of the current debate, encouraging new thinking alongside joined-up collaboration and transdisciplinary working. Consequently, some topics of biodiversity and health, such as medicine, food and nutrition, are not covered in this book, as they have already been extensively covered elsewhere (see Morand and Lajaunie 2017, Chivian and Bernstein 2008, Grifo and Rosenthal 1997). As the book focuses on biodiversity in the natural environment, consider- ation of the human microbiome is also not included here. Many of the topics discussed in this book were intensely discussed at the European conference ‘Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change’ that took place in Bonn, Germany, from 27–29 June 2017 (Marselle et al. 2018). The conference was organised by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, the Network of European Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA), and co-sponsored by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. We hope this book contributes to an increased under- M. R. Marselle et al.
  • 36. 7 standing of how green spaces and biodiversity can contribute to human health in a changing climate. 1.3 Structure and Contents of the Book This book is structured in four main parts. The first two parts highlight the important contribution of green spaces and biodiversity to physical health on the one hand, and mental and spiritual health and well-being on the other hand, in a changing climate. Here we also touch on theoretical and methodological considerations. Part III discusses the implications of biodiversity on human health and well-being for specific sectors and describes the current policy and practice perspective. The final part addresses the co-benefits and the implementation challenges associated with the planning and management of urban green spaces for both biodiversity and human health. 1. Part I: Biodiversity and physical health 2. Part II: Biodiversity, mental health and spiritual well-being 3. Part III: Implications of the biodiversity and health relationship 4. Part IV: Planning and managing urban green spaces for biodiversity and health in a changing climate The various chapters provide up-to-date scientific background information, address policy-related issues, lay out pressing urban planning and biological con- servation management questions and identify knowledge gaps. Different chapters provide specific examples and applications of the use of urban green spaces for human health, nature conservation and climate change adaptation with case studies, mainly from Europe and North America. Here we provide a summative overview of each of the book’s four parts. 1.3.1 Part I: Biodiversity and Physical Health The first part considers the impacts that biodiversity has on physical health. The focus is on non-communicable diseases that can be caused or prevented by exposure to green space and biodiversity. The impacts of climate change on biodiversity-­ health relationships are additionally highlighted in the first three chapters. In the first chapter, Sarah Lindley and co-authors provide a general overview of the interlinkages between biodiversity, health and climate change. They highlight the role that climate change has on human health and the adaptation role that NBS can play; this is illustrated with a case study from Manchester, England. Athanasios Damialis and co-authors discuss the impact of climate change on biodiversity and human health through the expanding geographical spread of allergies and allergenic pollen. Further negative effects of biodiversity on human health by vector-borne 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
  • 37. 8 diseases, that may become more prevalent due to a changing climate, are reviewed by Ruth Müller and co-authors. The authors highlight how climate change shapes the distribution and abundance of disease vectors, and the role biodiversity can play in this relationship. The health effects of green space for different socio-economic and socio-demographic population groups is addressed by Nadja Kabisch. Conclusions are drawn about how to design green spaces that are beneficial for the health and well-being of all population groups to protect the most vulnerable in society. Complementing this chapter, Payam Dadvand and co-authors show how urban green spaces can affect the health and development of children living in urban environments. In their review, the authors identify how green spaces influence pre- natal development and pregnancy outcomes, children’s brain development as well as effects on respiratory conditions and physical activity. 1.3.2 Part II: Biodiversity, Mental Health and Spiritual Well-Being Chapters in the second part of the book discuss the evidence of the impact of biodi- versity on mental health and spiritual well-being. The first two chapters touch on theoretical and methodological issues for biodiversity and mental health and well-­ being relationships. The latter chapters review the evidence on the influence biodi- versity has on mental health and spiritual well-being. To set the scene, Melissa Marselle provides an overview of the theoretical frame- works that provide a perspective into the ways that biodiversity can influence men- tal well-being. Complementing this chapter, Sjerp de Vries and Robbert Snep highlight conceptual issues associated with the design of studies when investigating the effect of biodiversity on mental health, drawing out key methodological issues to be considered in future research on biodiversity-mental health relationships. The next chapter by Melissa Marselle and co-authors provides a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on how biodiversity can affect mental health and well-­ being based on a synthesis of 24 studies. Katherine Irvine and colleagues examine evidence of the inter-relationship between biodiversity and spiritual well-being. 1.3.3 Part III: Implications of the Biodiversity and Health Relationship The third part of this book focuses on the policy and practice implications of biodi- versity and health relationships. In particular, the implications of this relationship from the perspective of public health, nature conservation and efforts to promote pro-environmental behaviour are highlighted. The latter chapters review the national M. R. Marselle et al.
  • 38. 9 and international policy and practice support for biodiversity, climate change, and human health. Penny Cook and co-authors provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific literature on the linkages between public health, climate change and biodiversity. The authors demonstrate how access to, and use of, urban green spaces can reduce social inequalities in health, a key goal of modern public health policies and pro- grammes. Reflecting on the health and well-being benefits of nature, Zoe Davies and colleagues discuss the management options to ensure that both biodiversity conservation and people’s health are considered. The authors argue that the evi- dence on biodiversity-health relationships suggests that green spaces should be managed for both people and biodiversity conservation. As the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss will require humans to change their behaviour to consume far fewer resources in a resource finite world, Raymond De Young dis- cusses how to initiate long-term behaviour change. The author argues for a “capacities-­ first approach” to support people to become “behavioural entrepre- neurs” and self-initiate behaviour change. To assess how health agendas are embed- ded in biodiversity policies and vice versa, Horst Korn and co-authors review the international policy agendas with the potential to foster linkages between biodiver- sity conservation and human health, and identify alignments between sectors and avenues for implementation. Reflecting on institutional aspects and challenges of integrating nature and health, Hans Keune and co-authors highlight the need for increased and improved collaboration between the health and nature sectors, as well as science, policy and practice. The chapter presents several international/European examples of nature and health network initiatives as well as various national activi- ties in Europe alongside summarising successes and challenges of each initiative. 1.3.4 Part IV: Planning and Managing Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity and Health in a Changing Climate The last part focuses on planning and managing green spaces in and around cities for nature conservation, health and climate change adaptation. In particular, this part discusses how managers of protected areas and urban green space can work with other sectors to maximise the benefits of these places, and how landscape planners can design urban environments that benefit both people and nature. Kathy MacKinnon and colleagues provide a scene-setting chapter in which they highlight the benefits and services that NBS and protected areas provide for biodiversity, health and climate change adaptation, inter alia in the context of the SDGs. The authors discuss the need for increased and improved collaboration between sectors and stakeholders to foster the use of NBS and protected areas for these multiple benefits. Complementing this chapter, Ruth Hunter and co-authors review the effectiveness of urban green space interventions for improving health and biodiversity and provide recommendations for research, policy and practice 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
  • 39. 10 regarding the design of these types of interventions. Thomas Elmqvist and co- authors propose applying systems thinking to foster sustainable urban develop- ment and resilience. They discuss Knowledge-Action-Systems for urban health, in which knowledge of complex urban system functions and interactions with cli- mate change, and NBS for economic, environmental and social dimensions of urban development, are ­ interlinked by constant feedback loops. The last chapter in this part by Stefan Heiland and colleagues refers to the opportunities for integrat- ing human health into landscape planning projects in order to cope with climate change and societal change. The authors discuss planning policy opportunities for incorporating health issues in Germany and the UK, and provide examples of health-promoting landscape design. The book is complemented with a conclusion chapter which summarises the main challenges for research, policy and practice described in the chapters, high- lights opportunities for future developments, and presents recommendations for tackling the inter-related issues of biodiversity, health and climate change. We hope this book provides important pointers to the flourishing debate on the importance of biodiversity to human health in this current time of climate change, and illustrates good practice with demonstration case studies. Ultimately, we hope this book can fuel further advances in science, policy and practice. Many of the themes have applications beyond urban systems as they focus on solutions for pub- lic health, biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation in a changing world. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the research project “Conferences on Climate Change and Biodiversity” (BIOCLIM, project duration from 2014 to 2017, funding code: 3514 80 020A). Dr. Irvine’s involvement was funded by the Rural Environment Science Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. References Aerts R, Honnay O, Van Nieuwenhuyse A (2018) Biodiversity and human health: mechanisms and evidence of the positive health effects of diversity in nature and green spaces. Br Med Bull 127(1):5–22 Bowler DE, Buyung-Ali L, Knight TM, Pullin AS (2010a) Urban greening to cool towns and cit- ies: a systematic review of the empirical evidence. Landsc Urban Plan 97:147–155. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.05.006 Bowler DE, Buyung-Ali L, Knight T, Pullin AS (2010b) A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health 10:456. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-456 Capaldi CA, Passmore H, Nisbet EK, Zelenski JM, Dopko RL (2015) Flourishing in nature: a review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention. Int J Wellbeing 5(4):1–16. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v5i4.449 Cardinale BJ, Duffy JE, Gonzalez A et al (2012) Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature 486:59–67. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11148 Carrus G, Scopelliti M, Lafortezza R et al (2015) Go greener, feel better? The positive effects of biodiversity on the well-being of individuals visiting urban and peri-urban green areas. Landsc Urban Plann 134:221–228 M. R. Marselle et al.
  • 40. 11 CBD (2017a) Biodiversity and human health. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada. https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/72d6/b5bb/9244e977048688ec45735d2c/sbstta- 21-04-en.pdf. Accessed 30 Jan 2018 CBD (2017b) Recommendation adopted by the subsidiary body on scientific, technical and tech- nological advice. XXI/3. Health and biodiversity. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada. https://www.cbd.int/doc/recommendations/sbstta-21/sbstta-21- rec-03-en.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2018 CBD (2017c) Workshop on biodiversity and health for the European Region. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada. https://www.cbd.int/health/european/ default.shtml. Accessed 12 Jan 2018 Chivian E, Bernstein A (eds) (2008) Sustaining life: how our health depends on biodiversity. Oxford University Press, Oxford Cox DTC, Shanahan DF, Hudson HL et al (2017) Doses of neighborhood nature: the benefits for mental health of living with nature. Bioscience 67:147–155. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/ biw173 Cracknell D, White MP, Pahl S, Nichols WJ, Depledge MH (2016) Marine biota and psycho- logical well-being: a preliminary examination of dose–response effects in an aquarium setting. Environ Behav 48(10):1242–1269. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916515597512 Cracknell D, White MP, Pahl S, Depledge MH (2017) A preliminary investigation into the restor- ative potential of public aquaria exhibits: a UK student-based study. Landsc Res 42(1):18–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2016.1243236 Dallimer M, Irvine KN, Skinner AMJ et al (2012) Biodiversity and the feel-good factor: under- stand associations between self-reports human well-being and species richness. Bioscience 62(1):47–55 EEA (2012) Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2012. An indicator-based report. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark. https://www.eea.europa.eu/ publications/climate-impacts-and-vulnerability-2012 EEA (2016) Extreme temperatures and health. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark. https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/heat-and-health-2/assessment EKLIPSE (2017) Types and components of natural or man-made urban and suburban green and blue spaces affecting human mental health and mental well-being. Available: http://www. eklipse-mechanism.eu/documents/32503/0/Final_DoW_Health_08092017.pdf/d5e269a2- da6b-4809-9458-fd9747ca383c. Accessed 15 Jan 2018 Frumkin H (2001) Beyond toxicity: human health and the natural environment. Am J Prev Med 20(3):234–240 Frumkin H, Louv R (2007) The powerful link between conserving land and preserving health. Land Trust Alliance, Washington, DC Frumkin H, Bratman GN, Breslow SJ et al (2017) Nature contact and human health: a research agenda. Environ Health Perspect 125(7):075001. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1663 Fuller RA, Irvine KN, Devine-Wright P, Warren PH, Gaston KJ (2007) Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity. Biol Lett 3:390–394 Gabriel KM, Endlicher WR (2011) Urban and rural mortality rates during heat waves in Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany. Environ Pollut 159:2044–2050 Geng L, Xu J,Ye L, Zhou W, Zhou K (2015) Connection with nature and environmental behaviors. PLoS One 10(5):e0127247. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127247 Gill SE, Handley JF, Ennos AR, Pauleit S (2007) Adapting cities for climate change: the role of the green infrastructure. Built Environ 33:155–133 Goddard M, Dougill AJ, Benton TG (2010) Scaling up from gardens: biodiversity conservation in urban environments. Trends Ecol Evol 25:90–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.07.016 Grifo F, Rosenthal J (eds) (1997) Biodiversity and human health. Island Press, Washington, DC Hartig T, Mitchell R, de Vries S, Frumkin H (2014) Nature and health. Annu Rev Public Health 35:207–228. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182443 Hough R (2014) Biodiversity and human health: evidence for causality? Biodivers Conserv 23:267–288 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
  • 41. 12 IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/contents. html Irvine KN, Warber SL (2002) Greening healthcare: practicing as if the natural environment really mattered. Altern Ther Health Med 8(5):76–83 Johansson M, Gyllin M, Witzell J, Küller M (2014) Does biological quality matter? Direct and reflected appraisal of biodiversity in temperate deciduous broad-leaf forest. Urban For Urban Green 13:28–37 Kabisch N, Stadler J, Korn H, Bonn A (eds) (2017) Nature-based solutions to climate change in urban areas – Linkages between science, policy and practice, Theory and Practice of Urban Sustainability Transitions. Springer International Publishing, Cham Kopnina H, Keune H (2010) Health and environment: social science perspectives. Nova Science Publishers, New York Lovell R, Wheeler BW, Higgins SL, Irvine KN, Depledge MH (2014) A systematic review of the health and wellbeing benefits of biodiverse environments. J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev 17(1):1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10937404.2013.856361 Markevych I, Schoierer J, Hartig T et al (2017) Exploring pathways linking greenspace to health: theoretical and methodological guidance. Environ Res 158:301–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. envres.2017.06.028 Marselle MR, Irvine KN, Warber SL (2013) Walking for well-being: are group walks in certain types of natural environments better for well-being than group walks in urban environments? Int J Environ Res Public Health 10:5603–5628 Marselle MR, Irvine KN, Lorenzo-Arribas A, Warber SL (2015) Moving beyond green: exploring the relationship of environment type and indicators of perceived environmental quality on emo- tional well-being following group walks. Int J Environ Res Public Health 12(1):106. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120100106 Marselle MR, Irvine KN, Lorenzo-Arribas A, Warber SL (2016) Does perceived restorativeness mediate the effects of perceived biodiversity and perceived naturalness on emotional well-­ being following group walks in nature? J Environ Psychol 46:217–232 Marselle MR, Stadler J, Korn H, Bonn A (eds) (2018) Proceedings of the European Conference “Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change – Challenges, Opportunities and Evidence Gaps”. BfN-Skripten 509. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn, Germany. https://www.bfn.de/fileadmin/BfN/service/Dokumente/skripten/Skript509.pdf Mayer FS, Frantz CM, Bruehlman-Senecal E, Dolliver K (2009) Why is nature beneficial? The role of connectedness to Nature. Environ Behav 41(5):607 Morand S, Lajaunie C (eds) (2017) Biodiversity and health: linking life, ecosystems and societies. Elsevier, Oxford Nesshöver C, Assmuth T, Irvine KN et al (2017) The science, policy and practice of nature-based solutions: an interdisciplinary perspective. Sci Total Environ 579:1215–1227 Niemela J (1999) Ecology and urban planning. Biodivers Conserv 8:119–131 Nilsson K, Sangster M, Gallis C et al (eds) (2011) Forest, trees and human health. Springer, Dordrecht Pearlmutter D, Calfapietra C, Samson R et al (eds) (2017) The urban forest: cultivating green infrastructure for people and the environment. Springer, Cham Prévot A-C, Cheval H, Raymond R, Cosquer A (2018) Routine experiences of nature in cities can increase personal commitment toward biodiversity conservation. Biol Conserv 226:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.07.008 Sandifer PA, Sutton-Grier AE, Ward BP (2015) Exploring connections among nature, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being: opportunities to enhance health and biodiversity conservation. Ecosyst Serv 12:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.12.007 ten Brick P, Mutafogla K, Schweitzer J et al. (2016) The health and social benefits of nature and biodiversity protection. Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), London/Brussels. https://ieep.eu/publications/new-study-on-the-health-and-social-benefits-of-biodiversity-and- nature-protection. Accessed 30 July 2018 M. R. Marselle et al.
  • 42. 13 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) Convention on Biological Diversity. https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf. Accessed 12 July 2018 Watts N, Adger WN, Agnolucci P et al (2015) Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health. Lancet 386:1861–1914 Wheeler BW, Lovell R, Higgins SL et al (2015) Beyond greenspace: an ecological study of popu- lation general health and indicators of natural environment type and quality. Int J Health Geogr 14(1):17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-015-0009-5 WHO (2017a) Fact sheets on sustainable development goals: health targets for noncommunica- ble diseases. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/350278/Fact-sheet-SDG-NCD- FINAL-25-10-17.pdf?ua=1. Accessed 30 July 2018 WHO (2017b) Noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organization regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable- diseases. Accessed 13 July 2018 WHO (2017c) Urban green space interventions and health: a review of impacts and effective- ness. World Health Organization regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark. http:// www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/337690/FULL-REPORT-for-LLP.pdf?ua=1. Accessed 30 July 2018 WHO CBD (2015) Connecting global priorities: biodiversity and human health. A state of the knowledge review. World Health Organization Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. http://www.who.int/globalchange/publications/biodiversity-human-health/en/. Accessed 30 July 2018 Wolf T, Lyne K, Martinez GS, Kendrovski V (2015) The health effects of climate change in the WHO European region. Climate 3:901–936 World Health Organization (1948) Constitution of WHO: principles. http://www.who.int/about/ mission/en/ Zelenski JM, Dopko RL, Capaldi CA (2015) Cooperation is in our nature: nature exposure may promote cooperative and environmentally sustainable behavior. J Environ Psychol 42:24–31 Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. 1 Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change: Challenges, Opportunities…
  • 43. Part I Biodiversity and Physical Health
  • 44. 17 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 M. R. Marselle et al. (eds.), Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8_2 Chapter 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence Sarah J. Lindley, Penny A. Cook, Matthew Dennis, and Anna Gilchrist Abstract We are at a point in history marked by unprecedented changes in the environmental foundations of human health and well-being. At the same time, the demands from human populations have never been greater, with profound differ- ences in how we engage with the natural environment. By the middle of this century, when climate change impacts are further increasing, the United Nations expects the global population to be approaching 10 billion. In this chapter, we provide a synthe- sis of published evidence of the complex and important relationships between ele- ments of biodiversity, health and climate change. We draw primarily on reviews conducted in the past five years supplemented with evidence on additional themes. We also develop a detailed case study example focused on urban climate, climate change and biodiversity, taken from the perspective of a large and representative conurbation. The case study uses a body of existing published evidence together with new data and insights to demonstrate important pathways, impacts and out- comes. We end by identifying a set of research questions and stress the need for even more extensive multi-disciplinary and multi-sector approaches. Nevertheless, despite the need for more knowledge, it is already clear that more effective action could, and should, be taken. Keywords Biodiversity · Health · Climate · Review · Mechanisms · Urban S. J. Lindley (*) · M. Dennis Department of Geography, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK e-mail: [email protected] P. A. Cook School of Health and Society, The University of Salford, Salford, UK e-mail: [email protected] A. Gilchrist Department of Planning and Environmental Management, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK e-mail: [email protected]
  • 45. 18 Highlights • Biodiversity, health and climate change have multi-scale and interdependent links. • Few studies explicitly connect climate change with biodiversity and physical health. • The full extent of human health impacts from biodiversity losses is unclear. • Action is needed due to climate projections, biodiversity losses and health demands. • New research agendas demand ambitious, multi-disciplinary and cross-sector approaches. 2.1 Introduction Few would now dispute that important links exist between the natural environment and human physical health. Nevertheless, despite considerable progress in concep- tualising and understanding relationships, there is still much to learn about particu- lar connections, their underlying mechanisms, causality and inter-relationships (Sandifer et al. 2015; Ziter 2016; Cameron and Blanusa 2016). Biodiversity is considered one of the underlying requirements for beneficial functioning of ecosystems for human health and well-being and is enshrined as such within policy-focused arenas (Lovell et al. 2014; Sandifer et al. 2015). However, the many interpretations of the term biodiversity, the ways in which it is measured and its inter-relationships with other factors, including climate, present considerable challenges for building and testing hypotheses (Schmeller et al. 2018). Where hypotheses relate to impacts on human health, there are still more elements to con- sider, including an appreciation of direct and indirect pathways, relevant controls and the interdependencies between psychological and physiological processes. Climate change is known to be modifying the natural environment and how it functions in relation to human health (Bonebrake et al. 2018). For example, climate affects ecological states and processes. As climate changes, it affects the function- ing of ecosystems in terms of the quantity and quality of functions with a beneficial role for human physical health. Climate change is also affecting the relative balance of benefits and disbenefits. Furthermore, it has been implicated as one of the mecha- nisms driving global biodiversity loss, though in fact it is just one of a suite of fac- tors that remove and degrade associated ecosystems. Data from 63 protected areas in Germany collected over 29 years has shown a three-quarters reduction in the biomass of flying insects, a much higher loss than previously supposed (Hallmann et al. 2017). However, analysis of climate variables suggested no strong climate signal to explain the decline. While not all climate-related factors could be dis- counted, other large-scale factors were also thought to be contributing, in this case agricultural intensification. Similarly, although climate change leads to health impacts, such as through climate extremes like high temperatures and ­climate-­related S. J. Lindley et al.
  • 46. 19 events like flooding, health trends are also influenced by social, political and wider environmental factors. Climate and biodiversity act as important ‘boundary conditions’ for human health and well-being. These boundary conditions exert an influence on many of the other elements that affect the health and well-being of individuals through natural environments and associated ecosystem functions (Barton and Grant 2006; Dahlgren and Whitehead 2007). The health status of any one person can be seen as a compos- ite of: individual characteristics (e.g. hereditary genetics), the living environment and life experiences, both physical and social (Fig. 2.1 (left)). Health is determined not only through external ecosystem-related processes and factors, but also internal ones, for example, recognising that the human body itself hosts complex and biodi- verse ecosystems that have differing impacts on physical health (Garrett 2015; Ruokolainen et al. 2017) (Fig. 2.1 (right)). External factors include the abundance, type and quality of the natural environment underpinned by ‘external’ biodiversity. Other external factors include social connections (e.g. family and community), access to health infrastructure and income (e.g. through diet). Inevitably, all are related to some extent to wider socio-economic and political contexts. The overarching aim of this chapter is to summarise the current evidence of the links between nature, biodiversity, health and climate change, with a particular emphasis on physical health and well-being, defined as “the quality and perfor- mance of bodily functioning. This includes having the energy to live well, the capac- ity to sense the external environment and our experiences of pain and comfort” Fig. 2.1 Determinants of human health and well-being (Barton and Grant 2006, based on Dahlgren and Whitehead 1991), including biodiversity at the human scale (after Garrett 2015, Ruokolainen et al. 2017) 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
  • 47. 20 (Linton et al. 2016). In the summary, we primarily draw on existing reviews con- ducted in the past five years supplemented with review evidence on additional themes such as diet. The chapter also covers three sub-aims. First, we consider the evidence for nature’s contributions to physical health from the broad perspective of the natural environment (see Sect. 2.2). We look at direct and indirect ways that natural systems influence human health and well-being with reference to the 11 body systems. Given that the body’s systems are highly interconnected, the discus- sion inevitably connects with material presented in other chapters in this volume (e.g. Cook et al. Chap. 11, this volume). Within the scope of this review and synthe- sis, it is also inevitable that not all of the evidence can be covered. Nevertheless, the section shows some of the key mechanisms through which human physical health is influenced, according to the most recent literature. Second, we aim to take a closer look at the importance of different forms of ‘nature’, but with a particular focus on biodiversity (see Sect. 2.3). In cities, nature is often thought of as essential urban green infrastructure – the means through which vital ecological and biodiversity-­ related functions (e.g. habitat provision and landscape connectivity) and most nature-derived human benefits are delivered (Benedict and McMahon 2002). However, cities and their populations cannot be considered in isolation. Therefore, the chapter touches on how the protective role of biodiversity operates through diverse pathways, how it functions at different human and geographical scales and when it is most significant during the life course. The protective role includes, but is not limited to, the regulation of disease emergence, micro-nutrient availability for human sustenance and the promotion of contact with symbiotic bacteria necessary for building up tolerances to environmental allergens (Ruokolainen et al. 2017; Rogalski et al. 2017). Thirdly, we provide an overview of some of the important ways that climate change impacts physical health and the natural environment, including through biodiversity (see Sect. 2.4). A particular emphasis is given to how climate change increases potential poor health burdens (including for example in terms of high temperatures and air pollution in urban areas) and also how extreme climate-related events and long-term climatic trends can erode the beneficial physi- cal health effects of nature, green spaces and biodiversity (LWEC 2015; European Environment Agency 2017). Before concluding on emerging research agendas, the chapter ends with a detailed case study example, focused on urban climate, climate change and biodiversity, primarily from the perspective of how the regulating func- tions of different plant species vary (see Sect. 2.5). Much of the focus of this chapter is on urban areas. Urban areas are where the majority of the population now resides – nearly three quarters in Europe, with 41% in the most densely populated centres (European Environment Agency 2018) – where stressors on human health and well-being tend to be most extreme. Evidence is drawn primarily from a European context, supplemented with evidence from else- where, where possible. It is recognized that this focus gives a particular perspective on connections and the challenges faced that may not be echoed in all contexts. S. J. Lindley et al.
  • 48. 21 2.2 Nature’s Contributions to Physical Health In this section, we consider how ecosystems influence human physical health. We discuss direct and indirect pathways which connect the natural environment to human physical health with a particular emphasis on ecosystem regulatory func- tions (e.g. modification of environmental stressors) and provisioning functions (such as the use of ecosystems by people for food, fresh water and fuel). For exam- ple, direct pathways include the health benefits from the consumption of nutritious food and indirect pathways include health benefits due to increased physical activity rates associated with the natural environment. In making this distinction, it is impor- tant to note that beyond the more obvious examples given above, the type and form of pathways are not always fully clear. Whether a process is considered direct or indirect may differ depending on the primary consideration in hand, be it human biological systems, physical environmental systems or some specific form of expo- sure. We consider the evidence from the perspective of the commonly recognised body organ systems, each of which provides a particular function for physical health. The identified body systems are then referenced in subsequent sections of the chapter. The body has 11 interlinked systems: reproductive, integumentary (skin/hair), skeletal, muscular, nervous (brain/brain activity), circulatory/cardiovascular (blood/ transport of nutrients), endocrine (glands/hormones), lymphatic (associated with immune functions), digestive (food), respiratory (breathing) and urinary/renal (waste). Numerous physiological parameters associated with these systems can be measured to determine physical health. In turn, each parameter can be assessed in order to establish underlying mechanisms for the influence of nature, whether through evidenced processes or through ones that are currently only hypothetical. Psychological parameters have been the focus of much of the existing body of research on exposure to nature and the connection between nature and human health. Associated study outcomes have tended to identify positive links between nature and health (Keniger et al. 2013). However, the range of health benefits is much wider, including in terms of cognitive function, social interaction and improved resilience (Sandifer et al. 2015). Sandifer et al. (2015) identify no fewer than 27 published examples of the physi- ological health benefits of interaction with nature (broadly defined as living things and associated landscapes in a wide variety of settings). While some are very broad indicators, others refer to specific physiological metrics, including reduced sympa- thetic/parasympathetic nerve activity, faster healing after illness, surgery or trauma and positive influences on diabetes. Nevertheless, some reviews point to a more inconsistent picture for specific physiological outcomes. For example, positive out- comes are shown for circulatory/cardiovascular, endocrine and immune systems but with a good deal of mixed evidence (Haluza et al. 2014). Figure 2.2 considers evi- dence from the perspective of different pathways, but also highlights inconsisten- cies in the evidence base. 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
  • 49. 22 Interestingly, much of the evidence cited in Haluza et al. (2014) is related to Japan’s ‘Shinrin-Yoku’ (forest-bathing) with most consistency shown for evidence of short-term restorative effects in physiological parameters associated with the car- diovascular, endocrine and immune systems. Studies covered a range of activity types, time periods and populations, but bias is a potential issue due to under-­ reporting of negative or inconclusive findings and a tendency towards short-term studies (Hartig et al. 2014; Haluza et al. 2014). There is less evidence for cumulative effects and therefore how they may translate into measurable mortality and morbid- ity outcomes (ibid.). Some of the published evidence relates to effects that are seen as a result of sim- ply being in ‘natural’ spaces (Haluza et al. 2014). In this context, at least some of the associated mechanisms may be direct, for example physiological responses linked to feelings of well-being inspired by direct engagement with green and blue space (see also Marselle Chap. 7, this volume). Feelings of well-being may come about through impacts on the nervous system and are thus difficult to separate from aspects of psychology and mental health. Nevertheless, the identification of possi- ble direct impacts is important since it suggests that not all of the physical health benefits are associated with physical activity-related physiological responses (given that exercise results in some of the same physiological benefits wherever it is under- taken). That green and blue spaces tend to help to encourage physical exercise is of course also important. More than three quarters of 50 reviewed studies reported Fig. 2.2 Pathways for physiological outcomes associated with ‘exposure to natural environments’ (after van den Bosch and Sang 2017) S. J. Lindley et al.
  • 50. 23 positive associations between how green an environment is and physical activity rates (Kaczynski and Henderson 2007 in Coutts and Hahn 2015). Similar positive associations are also found between ‘blue’ spaces and physical activity rates (Grellier et al. 2017; White et al. 2014) (see also Hunter et al. Chap. 17, this vol- ume). Encouragement of physical activity is particularly important in the context of increases in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) related to inactivity, such as Type 2 diabetes (Cook et al. Chap. 11, this volume). The other important, and increasingly well recognised, pathway explaining why physiological responses might be seen at rest in ‘natural’ spaces is due to the regu- lating functions of green and blue spaces through moderating noise, air quality and temperatures. In other words, some health benefits are due to the influence that green and blue spaces have on removing or reducing environmental stressors, espe- cially in busy, densely populated urban centres (Hartig et al. 2014; Coutts and Hahn 2015; Markevych et al. 2017). Indeed, this also makes physical activity undertaken in urban green spaces potentially more healthy since it could otherwise lead to increased exposure to harmful levels of air pollutants with acute or chronic effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems (Mölter and Lindley 2015). However, the ‘absence of stressors’ argument does not explain all associations, such as have been found in studies where physiological responses are seen in response to visual cues with no direct contact, something that points to psychological and socio-­ cultural factors (Clark et al. 2014). Due to the interwoven biophysical, psychologi- cal and socio-cultural elements underpinning connections between nature and health some conceptualisations are based on grouped biopsychosocial pathways, specifically pathways that positively influence health through reducing the potential for harm (reducing environmental stresses), restoring capacities (improving recov- ery functions) and building capacities (reducing individual susceptibility to harm) (Hartig et al. 2014; Markevych et al. 2017) (see also Marselle et al. Chap. 9, this volume). The role of reduced exposure to environmental noise is one particularly interest- ing example given that reductions in noise exposure have been given relatively little emphasis in earlier models, e.g. Hartig et al. (2014), compared to those developed more recently, e.g. Markevych et al. (2017) and van den Bosch and Sang (2017). Explanatory mechanisms have also been proposed to link noise stress with impacts on cardiovascular, respiratory, immune response and metabolic health through stress-response models (Recio et al. 2016). Similar processes may apply to some of the other common environmental stressors, in addition to the better known, but still imperfectly understood connections. For example, new research is finding a wider range of connections between air pollution and human health than ever before, not just through morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases but also through neurodevelopmental disorders and birth defects (Landrigan et al. 2018). It should be remembered that environmental stresses also affect other ani- mals and have been linked to biodiversity loss. Although an issue that is particularly acute in urban areas, anthropogenic sources have been found to elevate noise levels 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
  • 51. 24 in more than a fifth of protected areas in the USA, reaching levels known to have negative effects on wildlife (Buxton et al. 2017). Direct physical health outcomes from ecosystem functions may be difficult to evidence for some pathways, but one more obvious direct way that nature influences physical health is through human sustenance and micro-nutrient availability. Primary production from plant materials is the initial source of food energy for all living beings, and humans directly consume 25–50% of the energy embodied in plant-life even before considering the consumption of animals that plants also sus- tain (Coutts and Hahn 2015). However, human health is not just a matter of the quantity of energy consumed but also its diversity. Diversity in diet and the micro- nutrient supply this provides is something that can be linked to wider ecological biodiversity too (see Sect. 2.3). Plants and other natural sources are also responsible for a large proportion of the medicines currently in use today, contributing to almost a third of all marketed drug products sold (Coutts and Hahn 2015). Bioactive compounds, and their role in dis- ease prevention and ageing, are still the subject of much important research. For example, evidence for the anti-microbial properties of phenolics in berries is impor- tant in the context of growing antibiotic resistance (Paredes-Lopez et al. 2010). Polyphenols from berries also have a range of other positive functional properties, including anti-inflammatory, neuro-protective, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-­ mutagenic roles (Nile and Park 2014). Polyphenols are just one of the bioactive compound groups found in berries, which are also rich sources of vitamins and minerals (ibid.). Brassica vegetables are associated with anti-cancer properties as well as a range of other health benefits (Moreno et al. 2006). Other food groups have similar beneficial properties, such as seaweed and fungi. These provisioning functions of ecosystems (such as the use of ecosystems by people for food, fresh water, fuel and animal forage) are a critical component of human health with a huge literature and evidence base. Fuel from ecosystem sources (e.g. wood) impacts health too, including cooking, facilitating water puri- fication and also via the improved ability for people to moderate living conditions. The connections between provisioning functions and health can be indirect, for example through the role of pollinators in agricultural systems (IPBES 2016). Relationships can be complex with both beneficial and detrimental roles for human health, varying between and within species and also in response to local environ- mental factors. For example, a recent study of crops across five continents found that some 39% of crop flower visits are from insects other than bee species (such as flies and wasps) and the relative importance varies considerably by crop type and location (Rader et al. 2016). In other contexts, some of these species are regarded as pests and can be associated with negative health effects, such as via food contamination. S. J. Lindley et al.
  • 52. 25 2.3 Biodiversity and Physical Health In this section, we consider the range of connections and pathways between biodi- versity and human physical health, beginning with the scale of the human body before looking at processes operating at wider spatial scales. Given that much of the evidence in the previous section considered the natural environment in a broad sense, here we examine how biodiversity metrics are linked to ecosystem functions affecting physical health. In considering the role of biodiversity on human health it is useful to start by recognising the human body as an ecosystem, with both internal and external micro- biota, something that has been termed the human core microbiome (Karkman et al. 2017). The human gut alone contains some 1,014 bacterial strains and species as well as other micro-organisms and viruses, the mix of which is unique to each indi- vidual and which changes during the life course (Odamaki et al. 2016; Seksik and Landman 2015). The concept of the exposome has been developed to recognize the role of factors shown in Fig. 2.1 in determining human health and well-being, the significance of environment and how human health is affected by cumulative influ- ences over time, and therefore the life course (Renz et al. 2017). Renz et al. (2017) further propose the meta-exposome as a means of connecting human exposures with those of the wider biosphere and linking ecosystem health at all scales to human health (Fig. 2.3), a notion that is echoed elsewhere (e.g. Sandifer et al. 2015). Major microbiota colonisation events are associated with particular parts of the human life cycle, such as birth, but continue throughout the life course dependent on lifestyle, environment and exposure (Ruokolainen et al. 2017). The so-called ‘old friends’ hypothesis also relates to this process of gaining health benefits from beneficial symbiotic microbes. Benefits are associated with many of the body organ systems and are multi-functional. For example, as well as helping with the healthy development of the immune system, beneficial microbes can also perform protec- tive roles when human hosts encounter allergens (Rook 2013; Ruokolainen et al. 2017). Both environmental and behavioural factors are involved in the development of dysbiosis, where alterations in microbiota may result in a negative cycle of ill-­ heath (Fig. 2.3). Dysbiosis is also implicated in problems associated with the integ- umentary, digestive and urinary/renal systems as well as disorders in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems (Carding et al. 2015; Renz et al. 2017). Lack of contact with sources of symbiotic microbiota is one of the outcomes of people’s growing ‘extinction of experience’ of natural environments, and lack of contact even of itself tends to promote greater disassociation (Cox and Gaston 2018). Of course, biodiversity does not just affect human health through the body’s own ecosystem. As well as affecting humans directly, such microbiota relation- ships also underpin the healthy functioning of wider ecosystems on which humans depend (Flandroy et al. 2018). Biodiversity is also important at community, neigh- bourhood and regional scales. For example, in Australia, where 31% of the popula- tion are estimated to be affected by long-term respiratory conditions, after socio-economic factors, the second and third most important determinants of 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
  • 53. 26 positive respiratory health are associated with landscape biodiversity (vegetation diversity and species richness) (Liddicoat et al. 2018). Many critical ecosystem processes operate on much larger spatial scales and ultimately impact global pro- cesses through the effect that ecosystems exert on wider natural systems, such as climate, water and air quality, and the impact that they have on food nutritional quality and diversity (Harrison et al. 2014; Ziter 2016; Schwarz et al. 2017). Nutritional diversity is important for ensuring good physical health (Lovell et al. 2014), but biodiversity in agricultural systems is important for a range of other reasons, such as supporting ecosystem health (and therefore functions such as pol- lination and soil regulation) and protecting against potential problems from pests Fig. 2.3 The inter-relationships between human and ecological health as expressed through the exposome concept (top) and the pathways to reductions in physical health through dysbiosis (bot- tom) (Renz et al. 2017) S. J. Lindley et al.
  • 54. 27 and diseases in large areas of monoculture crops (Dobson et al. 2006). In turn, biodiversity ultimately affects human health by making agricultural systems more inherently resilient and less liable to large scale losses (Dobson et al. 2006). Evidence also suggests a link between biodiversity and the productivity of systems for human use, for example more biodiverse woodlands and fisheries are more productive for fuel and food (Harrison et al. 2014). In order to understand mechanisms in more detail, it is necessary to unpack the concept of biodiversity and understand how, where and when its different elements are important. Otherwise, there is considerable potential for uncertainty and the potential to equate ‘ecosystem services’ and ‘biodiversity’ so that they are seen as essentially the same thing (Mace et al. 2012). Indeed, there is still considerable disagreement about which ecosystem and biodiversity metrics should be considered (ibid.), with most reviews considering metrics beyond those implied by the defini- tion used to frame this volume. Figure 2.4 shows two examples of diagrammatic representations of biodiversity metrics and the functions of ecosystems known to influence human health, a number of which relate to the pathways that have already been identified in Sect. 2.2. Figure 2.4 (top) identifies a range of biodiversity metrics of different levels of complexity and summarises the available evidence on how they relate to ecosystem functions that have a useful role for people in urban areas. Some of the connections are identified as being positive (red – beneficial for functions) while others are nega- tive (blue – detrimental for functions). For example, Schwarz et al. (2017) (Fig. 2.4 (top)) reviewed 82 studies that examined taxonomic diversity and its links to useful ecosystem functions in urban areas. The studies identified positive connections through pollination, soil protection and fertility, pest control, fresh water and envi- ronmental regulation. However, the studies also identified some negative connec- tions, even for these same pathways. Therefore, even taking the one example of urban ecosystems, the extent to which there are positive compared to negative effects depends on context and perspective (Díaz et al. 2018). Some of the biodiver- sity metrics, such as functional identity (associated with 22 studies) were found to have only positive effects on urban ecosystem functions. While it may be assumed that these effects are then positive for human health, this claim cannot be made on the basis of the review findings alone. Figure 2.4 (bottom) identifies ecological ele- ments acting as ‘Ecosystem Service Providers’, i.e. the conduits through which the various biotic attributes listed act to benefit or harm human beings. For example, a wide range of function providers exist for pest regulation, from single species to functional groups and whole habitats. In this case, most studies have connected pest regulation to species within single functional groups. There are fewer studies con- sidering multiple functional groups which makes cross-connections more difficult to determine. Ultimately considering the impacts of environmental stressors, includ- ing climate change, will require the systematic investigation of cross connections and whole ecosystem responses. 2 Biodiversity, Physical Health and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence
  • 55. Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
  • 56. Now don't talk. We shall have plenty of opportunities of discussing him, and hypnotism, and a thousand and one things. Take a grip of yourself, and will that the mephitic influence shall not affect you. You won't thoroughly succeed, but the effort will be good. The feeling of tenseness increased as they advanced. To Forrester it seemed as though a hot band were tightening round his temples; but he kept silence. Glancing at Beresford, he perceived on his face an expression of grim, almost savage, determination. They went on, the passage becoming lighter moment by moment, until, after they had walked a few hundred yards, it widened out into a cavern, much less spacious than that which they had left, but almost as light as open ground at noonday. At the edge of it Beresford halted. Stand here, and watch, he said. In the centre of the floor there was a large square slab of some greyish substance--the only spot in the cavern through which the green rays did not, as it were, percolate. It was about three feet each way, and stood a few inches above the floor. Upon it lay a coil of thin yellow-green chain, like an immense brass watch-guard tinged with verdigris, and an oblong lump about a foot in length, and of the same colour. A few feet above, a stout bar of yellow metal projected from the wall of the cavern, having at its free end, exactly over the centre of the slab, a wheel over which another chain hung. These objects first caught Forrester's attention, no doubt because they formed a group in the centre of an otherwise bare floor; but they held it only for a moment or two. His eyes were diverted to a living figure. From a hitherto unnoticed recess on his left hand came a bent, decrepit, cadaverous Chinaman, to all
  • 57. appearance very old, carrying a thin square plate, in colour a dirty greenish-grey. He toddled slowly towards the slab, looking neither to right nor left, laid the plate upon it, and passed through a hole in the centre of the plate what seemed to be a small catch in the aforesaid lump of metal. This latter he attached to the chain hanging over the wheel. This done, he moved to one side, and standing at a distance of about ten feet from the slab, pulled at the chain which lay upon it, and which, as Forrester now saw, was fastened to a stout ring in its upper edge. The slab moved on hinges slowly towards the Chinaman, and as it rose from the floor, a shaft of pale green light, blinding in its brilliance, shot up to the roof, fourteen or fifteen feet above, causing the two Englishmen to start back and retreat some paces into the passage. Forrester was conscious of an intensification of his nervous excitement. His ears buzzed; his skin tingled as if he were in an electric bath; his impulse was to cover his eyes and rush headlong to escape the terrible glare and its psychical accompaniment. But seeing Beresford venturing back by degrees, he exerted his will to the utmost, and followed him.
  • 58. A shaft of pale green light, blinding in its brilliance, shot up to the roof. The Chinaman, who was probably at the outset less nervously organised than they, and was certainly inured to the conditions, was carefully paying out the chain over the wheel, with its weighted plate, into a hole in the floor. As Forrester now perceived, the two chains were one, which was much longer than had appeared when it was coiled up. When it was stretched to its full length, it rose vertically from the slab to the bar, ran through hooks in this for a few feet, then descended perpendicularly over the wheel. The Chinaman drew back, and leant against the wall in the relaxed attitude of one
  • 59. waiting. To the Englishmen, in this overpowering atmosphere, the period of inaction seemed an hour: it was really about five minutes. Then the Chinaman approached the chain, taking care to remain as far as possible from the hole, and with careful deliberateness hauled it in, moving backward as he did so. Forrester waited with feverish impatience as it clinked inch by inch over the wheel. When at last the square plate came to the top, the Chinaman raised it until there was room for the slab to pass beneath it, and prevented it from slipping down over the wheel by hooking the chain to the wall, leaving, however, the greater part of the chain free. Then, with a quickness all the more surprising because of his slow movements hitherto, he rushed with bent head at the slab, gave it one vigorous push, and darted back to the wall, catching at the chain in time to prevent the slab from falling violently. When it was settled in its place, and the blinding glare was shut off, the old man sank on the floor as if to rest after tremendous exertions. At first Forrester felt a dull disappointment. Without a definite expectation, he had anticipated some striking phenomenon as the result of this elaborate performance. The plate, whose upper surface was towards him, seemed after its long descent to be exactly as it was before: there was no change in it, nor had it brought anything up from the pit into which it had been plunged. But after a few minutes had passed, the Chinaman turned it over, and Forrester was mildly surprised to perceive that the under surface had changed its colour. It was now greenish yellow, like the chain, the bar, and all the other parts of the machinery. In his half-dazed condition he did not suspect the extraordinary character of the transformation.
  • 60. The Chinaman having reversed the plate, fastened it again to the chain, and went through the same series of careful movements as before. During the second period of waiting, Forrester, prompted by his companion, followed with his eyes the vertical path of the shaft of light from the hole to the roof. He noticed there an aperture, corresponding in size to the hole. A little fine dust was falling from this aperture, like soot from a chimney, into and around the opening of the pit, the minute particles dancing and glistening like the motes in a sunbeam. When the plate came up the second time, its colour was the same on both sides. The Chinaman unhooked it, carried it across the cavern into the recess, and reappeared with a similar plate, dull and lustreless as the first had been. Beresford drew Forrester away, and hurried him back through the passage, saying nothing until they regained the larger cavern. Then he halted, clutched the lapels of Forrester's coat, and said:-- Well, what do you think of that? I don't understand, Forrester replied, something in his companion's manner convicting him of stupidity. Beresford smiled. I don't wonder, he said. You have seen what the alchemists from Trismegistus to Roger Bacon spent their lives in fruitless efforts to discover, and what Paracelsus would have given the world to see. You have seen lead transmuted into gold! That is the Old Man of the Mountain's secret. Come along to my particular nook: I will tell you all I know.
  • 61. CHAPTER XII EXPLANATIONS AND DISCOVERIES I wish I had my pipe, growled Beresford as Forrester sat beside him against the wall of the cavern. Good cut-bar is wasted on the desiccated old anatomy up above. However! ... Redfern and I, as you know, had gone to Chinese Turkestan for a few months' excavating. You have heard of the sand-buried ruins of Khotan. No? Well, seven or eight hundred miles north-west of us, between the vast Taklamakan desert and the icy Kara-Kash ranges, there is an oasis, stretching some three hundred miles from east to west, known as the oasis of Khotan. You think of an oasis, I daresay, as a verdant, beautiful spot. Khotan is not that. There is verdure: the people grow crops; but a great part of the district is simply dust. During long periods of time the sand of the desert has swept across it, destroying, and yet preserving, cities that were once the flourishing centres of an advanced civilisation.... That smacks rather of the lecture room, I'm afraid. Lecturing is my shop, of course. Well, not to bore you, excavations have been going on at Khotan, bringing to light highly artistic objects--vases, frescoes, coins, ivories, and so on--which prove that it was long ago the seat of an Indian Buddhist civilisation. Redfern and I had looked forward to making some interesting finds, but we never dreamed of the one we did actually make. We were poking about in a heap of decomposed rubbish and humus, among fragments of pottery, bones of animals, chips of rotten wood, copper coins and what not, when I suddenly spotted a painted tablet like nothing we had yet come upon. I picked it up, and, scraping away at the accretions of siliceous
  • 62. matter that defaced it--my dear fellow, the mere thought of it sets me all of a jigget even now--under that layer, I say, I found a strip of paper about eight inches by three, torn at one corner, and covered with a few lines of writing in what we call cursive Central-Asian Brahmi. It was a beautiful specimen at least twelve hundred years old, and valuable enough on that account; but when I came to decipher it--if one can jump out of one's skin, I nearly did so. It was a letter, apparently from father to son, a sort of death-bed farewell, and it gave detailed directions for a journey to the far side of the Himalayas--that is to say, the southern side--to a spot where lead was transmuted into gold! Redfern pooh-poohed it, chanted 'Rowley, Powley, gammon and spinach' like a schoolboy, and when I ventured to suggest there might be something in it, was so rude that I reminded him of what I should have done twenty years ago if my fag had cheeked me. However, I was very patient, and after much persuasion I got him to agree to make a start for the place on the off chance that the story was something more than a fable. We set off with a miscellaneous crew of Turki natives, following the very explicit directions of the paper. But the country was so extraordinarily difficult, and the hardships of travel so great, that our escort deserted one after another. We replaced them where we could with fellows picked up en route, Tibetans most of them; but these too, when it came to crossing the passes of the Himalayas, funked it, and ultimately we were left with a single follower, a Tibetan, a regular brick of a fellow. I won't tell you what we went through; after all, we couldn't expect a walk over! Unluckily, the paper was torn at the corner, as I
  • 63. said, and I believe the missing portion described the exact locality of the spot we were making for. Without it we were at a loss, and wandered a few miles farther south than we ought to have done, until we fell in with some little forest people who told us about a mysterious region beyond a gigantic waterfall, which they were afraid to approach because of the Eye. That seemed promising! We made tracks for the fall, just as you did; we found the rift, marched up it, saw the canoes, and flattered ourselves that we should before long be in a position to verify or disprove the ancient legend. I led the way; our Tibetan came next; Redfern brought up the rear. We kept a good look-out, of course; but had no suspicion of danger until I heard the clang of the shutter behind me. They had dropped it a minute too soon. The Tibetan and I were shut in; Redfern was shut out; they hadn't seen him, fifty yards or so behind, round the bend. What followed was pretty much as you described your own experiences. I had just time to fire off my revolver in a way that Redfern would understand as a warning, before the gas overcame me. My Tibetan was already unconscious: I never saw him again. Next day they took me into the Temple, and I had a very interesting interview with the August and Venerable. As I told you, he did not turn on the Eye for my benefit; indeed, he was very courteous and suave, and I didn't pay much attention to his exposition of the Law of the Eye. It was only when I had committed the unpardonable offence of knocking down one of his priests, and he sent me down here, that I thought him anything but a plausible old humbug with ogreish tendencies.
  • 64. Prepared as I was, his little hypnotic tricks with the green eye had made no impression on me. The general atmosphere of mystery, and what I learned from the people on the plateau, convinced me that he was hiding some precious secret below stairs, and the sight of his golden throne made me suspect its nature. Never in my life was I better pleased than when they brought me down their subterranean stairs to learn wisdom! And I hadn't been here an hour before my suspicions became certainty. That Chinaman yonder will be engaged all day in letting lead plates down into the pit, and drawing them up pure gold. The plates are brought down from above: they explain the knocking you heard from the building near the old iniquity's pagoda. There is not a tool of any kind here: nothing but chopsticks, even, for eating our food; the lead is cut and hammered into plates above. The first day I was on the plateau I saw some of the prisoners staggering to that building under heavy loads. I conjecture that the Old Man has confederates somewhere outside, in China probably, who supply him at intervals with the lead, and receive the gold in return. It sounds incredible, exclaimed Forrester, interrupting his companion for the first time. The word 'incredible' ought to be banished from our vocabulary, Beresford rejoined emphatically. Nothing is incredible. They'd have said the same thing only thirty years ago about petrol engines, wireless telegraphy, and aeroplanes. I am convinced that the search for the Philosopher's Stone, which baffled the alchemists for hundreds of years, was not the absurdity we have been taught to regard it. In some far distant age, someone discovered that Nature herself turned the base into the precious metal; the fact was
  • 65. rumoured abroad, though the scene of the transmutation was never allowed to become known; and the alchemists wasted their lives in trying to do artificially what had already been done by natural process. Why, aren't our chemists at the present day groping in the same direction? Don't they tell us that all terrestrial things are merely forms of the same ultimate element, or manifestations of the same ultimate force? Doesn't every fresh discovery point that way? But how is it done? I don't know; the Old Man doesn't know; nobody knows. In that pit yonder, a hundred and fifty feet deep, as I calculate, there is a bed of some substance that possesses this marvellous property-- call it radio-active if you like. It can't be radium, for the emanations of radium produce sores on the body, as you know, and these wretched Chinamen have no sores. Its effect, from what you tell me- -and I confess your news astonished and appalled me--is far more terrible. Evidently exposure to its direct ray causes instant demolition--annihilation is not the word; dust remains. Proximity to it brings about a sapping of the will; you yourself felt that in your cell; I feel it too. In the cavern yonder the effect is intensified. This mysterious power causes the mind to decay and the body to wither. How old do you suppose that Chinaman is? He looks about seventy. He is twenty-eight! I don't know it from himself; he has no memory, cannot even tell you his name. But one of the others is his cousin--looks forty and is actually twenty-two. He has been here a year, taking his turn with the rest at the work; they have a day each. And there's a mystery about the whole organisation which at present I can't fathom. All the prisoners here engaged in the horrible work
  • 66. are young Chinamen of good family. I was told that on the plateau. Why does the old villain employ none but his own countrymen? I shall find out by and by; I haven't been here long enough to learn much; the poor wretches are so mentally abject that I have to go slowly with them. I do know this: that they are all brought in by priests of the second order. When one dies--their bodies are cast into the pit--he is immediately replaced by another. It seems that some of these priests are constantly prowling about the country, snatching up likely subjects here and there, some to recruit the labourers on the plateau, others for this diabolical work below. Your old Indian told me that every now and then a priest of the second order shaves his moustache and head, and enters the ranks of the first, after which he never goes into the world outside. It suggests that they are promoted after they have bagged a certain number of prisoners. How the priests are themselves recruited I don't know. They are all celibates; I suppose the Old Man has emissaries out proselytising. But these are all conjectures: I hope to find out a good deal more for certain before we get away. You know how to get away, then? Forrester asked eagerly. I haven't given it a thought! was the placid answer. I pin my faith to old Runnymede--Redfern, Ruddyweed, Runnymede; you twig the process? But if he doesn't come?--if he is dead? cried Forrester, too much concerned with actualities to be interested in the evolution of nicknames. We can't get down to the rift, even if we escape from here like the negrito. What negrito?
  • 67. Didn't you know? One escaped the other day, got on to the plateau, and took refuge with the old zamindar. He was caught, and I believe it was he that we saw destroyed by the Eye. Dear me! That is very remarkable. I hadn't the least idea escape was possible. We must discover how the little fellow managed it, though it's of minor importance beside other things we have to learn. For instance, knowing what we do of the tremendous destructive power of that mysterious substance below ground, how did old what's-his-name above contrive to imprison a portion of it in his mitre without atomising himself? Clearly there must be some things that it doesn't affect--like that slab yonder. Why, I remember! Look at this! Forrester exclaimed, taking from his pocket the crumpled sheet which he had found so useful in his cell. Unfolding it, he went on: It was given me by the Indian girl, who received it from the negrito. She said that it saved from the Eye. When I held it between my eyes and the monster on the wall I could scarcely see the glare. It was a godsend. Marvels upon marvels! cried Beresford, fingering the crackling sheet curiously. We must look into this. But here comes dinner: we shall have plenty of time! CHAPTER XIII A DRY BONE The dishes containing the midday meal were brought to the prisoners by the two negrito sentinels, who received them from the
  • 68. guard at the further end of the ledge. The food, abundant in quantity, consisted of a variety of Chinese viands, strange to the Englishmen's taste, but not unpalatable. The Old Man feeds us well, Beresford remarked, handling his chopsticks dexterously. He doesn't want to hasten Nature's destructive work by starving us. Drinking-water, by the way, is got from a little stream that trickles into the lake just round the corner. I confess I shouldn't care to drink the water in which that antediluvian monster disports himself. We'll take a look at him presently--if we get a chance, for he appears to be rather shy: I suppose he feels hopelessly old-fashioned, or perhaps he has an aristocratic pride in his long descent, and scorns the company of such new creatures as mere men. Why isn't the place more stuffy than it is? Forrester asked. Where does the air come from? That puzzled me at first, but I discovered the other day that there is a constant current of air, slight, but quite perceptible, over the surface of the lake, through this cavern, and into a narrow cleft which I'll show you by and by. There must be a passage into the upper air. The temperature is rather too high to suit me; but the air is pure enough, and many of the dungeons in medieval castles were much worse places--barring the peculiarly oppressive effect of the stuff below.... You don't get on very well with your chopsticks. Like everything else, they require practice. One thing I can't make out is why we are allowed such freedom. You seem to be at liberty to move about as you please, talk to the prisoners--you speak Chinese?
  • 69. Yes, but only out of earshot of the priest in his sentry-box yonder. I don't want him to blab to the August and Venerable--not that it matters, perhaps. The explanation of our freedom is, of course, that it is only such freedom as birds have in a cage. The passage by which we came is barred by the guards. There are no tools or implements of any kind which could be used as weapons; in fact, there's nothing here but ourselves and a few bamboo rods yonder against the wall, which I fancy must be used for keeping the sentry-box in repair. It's rather dull work for the priest, sitting there all day alone and mum; a new fellow comes every day. After dinner Beresford led Forrester back to the transmuting cavern, and across it into a passage similar to that by which they had reached the spot. It was a cul-de-sac, except that at its further end there was a narrow cleft in the wall. The opening was barely a foot wide, and the sides were of solid rock. There were slight marks which seemed to indicate that at some time or other an attempt had been made to enlarge the opening by chipping; but the marks were very old, and it was clear that the task, if attempted, had been abandoned as hopeless. The cleft had a slight upward slope, but looking along it, Forrester saw no sign of daylight, nor did he hear any sound from the further end, which was not visible. They both agreed that no human being could possibly squeeze himself through so constricted a passage. Returning to the outer cavern, they went to the entrance and stepped on to the ledge outside. They peered across the gloomy lake, but failed to discover the monster whose image they had seen outlined on the wall.
  • 70. He is not at home to-day, evidently, said Beresford. Well, we have exhausted the objects of interest: all that we can do for the rest of the day is to sit on our bunkers and 'tell sad stories of the death of kings' or anything else you like. Later on I'll tackle the prisoners again. I try to stir them up a bit and get them to talk, without much success so far except with Wing Wu and his cousin. They are so horribly depressed, poor wretches! By Jove! I do wish I had my pipe. It was impossible to gauge the passage of time. The successive days, as Beresford explained, were marked only by the arrival and departure of the guardian priests, and by the cessation from work of the man in the smaller cavern, who returned to his companions when a certain number of the leaden plates had been changed into gold. These were placed in charge of the priest on duty, who superintended their removal by the negritos when relieved next day. That night, Beresford found the two younger Chinamen a little more communicative than they had been before. Wing Wu, indeed, evinced much pleasure in meeting Forrester again, and talked to him with a certain eagerness in English. He was the eldest son of a mandarin, he explained, and had kept a few terms at Oxford. Wen Shih, who had passed with distinction the innumerable examinations inflicted on Chinese literati, had been for a few months his father's secretary. In some subtle fashion he had obtained a commanding influence over the young man. Always courteous and agreeable, he enjoyed the complete confidence of his master, and gradually Wing Wu found himself consulting the secretary in every circumstance of his life, however trivial, until he lost all independence of judgment and even of action. He was at Wen Shih's beck and call, did his
  • 71. behests even against his own will, and felt that Wen Shih dictated the words he uttered, and arranged his very thoughts. As I half suspected, said Beresford, who had been listening intently, these peripatetic priests are accomplished hypnotists. Under hypnotic influence a susceptible subject will declare black white, swear that his own blood is ink, and imagine himself his own grandfather, or any other absurdity. Go on, please. Wing Wu explained that one day Wen Shih announced that he was going a journey, and that the lad was to accompany him. The command was obeyed unquestioningly. All the details of the journey were a blank to Wing Wu until the adventure with the elephant, which seemed to have shocked him temporarily into his right mind. Here Forrester took up the tale, describing the peculiar dazed sensation which both he and Jackson had experienced once or twice on the march. He was trying his powers on you, of course, said Beresford. Your friend Jackson was the most susceptible of the three, Mackenzie the least. You may be sure Wen Shih gave a full account of his experiments to his august master, and I can imagine the old villain taking a fiendish delight in sapping away at Mackenzie, the toughest of you. I only wonder he didn't send Mackenzie down here. We'll see if Chung Tong can tell us any more. He addressed the cousin in Chinese, trying with infinite patience to allure his mind from the present circumstances to his past life. Chung Tong's story, such as it was, told haltingly, resembled Wing Wu's in almost every particular. He added a detail which Beresford seized on, keeping the man's wandering attention fixed on it as firmly as possible. It came out that for many years past there had
  • 72. occurred at intervals mysterious disappearances in his family. Young men in the twenties had left their homes suddenly, leaving no clue to their destination, and never returning. A light dawns! cried Beresford, in unacademic excitement. The Old Man must have a spite against this particular family, and wreaks it upon them by stealing away these youths, doing them to death in this fatal laboratory of his. But why?--why? What have they done to incur vengeance so horrible? But no further information could be elicited from the prematurely aged young Chinaman. His enfeebled brain was exhausted by its unaccustomed groping into the past. Beresford did not press him, but worried the problem, as a dog worries a bone, for hours before he slept. Next morning, the priest whose spell of duty had concluded, after a brief conversation with his newly arrived colleague, signified that Beresford was to accompany him on his return to the upper quarters. Forrester shook when he understood. Must you go? he implored, the scenes in the Temple appearing luridly before his mind's eye. I shall go, Beresford replied tranquilly. Buck up, my dear fellow. The August and Venerable won't demolish me yet. I expect it's a little cat-and-mouse performance. What if I bell the cat! At any rate do take the screen with you! Not at all. I don't want to lose that. We haven't discovered its secret yet. If I shouldn't come back--well, keep up your courage. Pin your faith to Redfern: I needn't say any more. Forrester wrung his hand, and watched him pass along the half ledge, across the crazy bridge, over the rest of the ledge and into
  • 73. the passage beyond. At the entrance Beresford turned and waved his hand, smiling with the serenity of a man whose mind is at ease. Two or three hours went by. Forrester paced up and down the cavern in uncontrollable agitation. The thought of losing this cheery companion was torture. He wondered with a carking anxiety what had happened to Mackenzie and Jackson--to Hamid Gul, too, the faithful servant whose little odd turns of phrase assumed almost a pathetic winningness as they recurred to his mind. But always his thoughts came back to Beresford; his imagination focussed that solitary figure confronting the cold, implacable personification of Fate on his golden throne. Many times he went to the entrance, not heeding, unheeded by, the mute effigy in the sentry-box, and gazed across the lake into the opening beyond. For what seemed an eternity no vision of the lithe sturdy form came to gladden his eyes. But on one of these occasions his anxious ear caught the dull tramp of many feet, and presently, at the head of a negrito escort, appeared Beresford himself. Back again! he shouted, his strong voice rolling over the lake. Forrester met him at the entrance of the cave, and clasped his hand in a nervous grip.
  • 74. Forrester met him at the entrance of the cave. I've had quite a good time, said Beresford, linking arms. The Old Man has been puzzling his wicked old head over my tablet, and he'll puzzle till doomsday for me! He orated solemnly, of course, about the Law of the Eye, and very cleverly hinted, without actually saying so, that the Law demanded an exact translation of the Brahmi writing. I told him, quite politely, to go to Jericho. He, quite politely, regretted that I had made such a poor use of my opportunities of learning wisdom. A mischievous impulse seized me to give him a shock, so I let out a few home-truths--in Chinese! Believe me, he didn't turn a hair: I don't believe he has one to turn. He scored there, but on the whole I think we may consider it a drawn game. He recommended me to persevere in the pursuit of wisdom,
  • 75. wrapped himself in his mist-blanket, and no doubt crept back like a disappointed spider to his web. Beresford found next day, however, that the Old Man's politeness had its reverse side. When the new priest arrived, he signified that the Englishman was to do a day's work in the inner cavern. It's not meant in kindness, Beresford remarked to Forrester, but I couldn't have wished for anything better. I shall work quicker than the Chinamen, and when my tale of bricks is complete I shall have a good part of the day to myself. Lend me that screen of yours, will you? Forrester waited impatiently for the day to end. When Beresford returned, very white and tired, he said:-- I've something to tell you. Give me forty winks after supper and I'll be as fresh as a lark. A little later, in their quiet corner, Beresford began:-- That slab! I'm convinced that it's nothing but a sort of cement, made of the dust that has fallen from the roof, and that this screen is of the same material. I believe that the mysterious force from below, while it turns lead into gold, makes powder of all other substances exposed to its rays. This dust is no longer subject to its influence, and forms a shield against it. But for the dust, it would have bored a hole right through the roof to the upper air ages ago; but the coating of dust on the sides and roof of the cavity has preserved it. Of course, the slight earth tremors that are constantly occurring, unnoticed by us, shake down particles of the dust, and leave portions of the rock surface exposed to the action of the rays. So there's a very gradual process of eating away going on, and in
  • 76. course of time the rock above the cavern will be pierced clean through. I see, said Forrester. The force must have been in action for ages, so that it may be ages before the hole is made. Anyway, it doesn't matter to us. I'm not so sure of that, returned Beresford quietly. If we could only hasten the process, and get a ladder, we might pay our venerable host a surprise visit one of these days, for I'm pretty sure, thinking over the direction of the passages we came through on the way here, that we're almost directly under the Temple. That itself is underground, or it wouldn't glow with the green light; and you may be sure it's connected with the Old Man's pagoda. It would give me great joy to intrude upon his solitude, and see him in his bath, so to speak. I'd rather give him a wide berth, said Forrester. Anyhow, it doesn't seem possible. We have no ladder, and certainly we can't emulate the Earth- shaker, and engineer a series of mild earthquakes expressly for our own convenience. Ah well! like the heathen, I daresay we imagine a vain thing. What's that line of Virgil?--animum pictura ... you remember the passage; where Æneas is looking at the frescoes in Dido's palace, 'and with an empty picture feeds his mind.' Well, better feed the mind even on fancies than let it starve, like these poor Chinamen. And now for sleep. It became clear that the Old Man had set himself pitilessly to undermine Beresford's courage. Instead of taking his turn with the Chinamen in rotation at the enervating work in the inner cavern, Beresford was given the task every second day. Robust as he was,
  • 77. and endowed with great strength of will, the electric atmosphere wrought its devitalising effect on him, and Forrester, after a week, noticed with sickening dread that his eyes were less bright, his cheeks less rounded, his voice less resonant. An offer to replace him was rejected by the priest; Forrester wondered why he himself was being spared. The hours dragged very heavily while Beresford was absent at his work. Forrester had nothing to do. He roamed about the cavern, talked a little to Wing Wu, looked in at Beresford occasionally; but during the greater part of the day he had only his thoughts to occupy him. But it happened one day, as he passed the spot where the spare bamboo poles were laid, that an idea flashed into his mind. It seemed fantastic, probably impracticable; but it might at least be attempted: anything was better than this stagnant life in death. The success or failure of the scheme that had occurred to him depended on the accuracy of Beresford's theory that the dust formed by the action of the rays on the cavern roof protected the rock from further destruction. If this was correct, and the dust could be removed, exposing fresh surfaces, the piercing of the chimney could be accelerated far beyond its normal rate. With a sufficiently long pole the dust coating could be brought down during the intervals when the rays were shut off by the slab. Such a pole might be constructed from the bamboo rods. A difficulty arose from the fact that the cavern was never dark. It was always pervaded by the dim green light emanating from the walls. But the rods were partially screened by the sentry-box, and Forrester thought that in the dead of night, when the priest was
  • 78. asleep, and the negritos more or less drowsy, he might succeed in purloining the bamboo, and carrying it into the passage beyond the inner cavern. Without mentioning the matter to Beresford, he waited till all was quiet, then stole round the wall towards the rods, picked up as many as he could carry, and made his way undetected to the place determined on. Next night he removed a few more in the same way. Their disappearance had apparently not been noticed by the priest. The following day was Beresford's turn of duty. In the early morning, after the new priest had arrived, Forrester told his companion what he had done. Fiat experimentum! cried Beresford delightedly. I will tell you the result to-night. But not a word to Wing Wu. One of these days Wen Shih may occupy the sentry-box, and the poor lad will blab everything. As soon as he had completed the transmutation of the allotted number of plates, Beresford fitted two of the bamboo rods together telescopically, tied his coat by its sleeves to the end of the pole thus formed, and inserting this wad into the cavity, thoroughly scoured its roof. A considerable quantity of fine dust fell on to the slab and the floor around. He then raised the slab, allowing the rays to play on the roof for a longer time than when the leaden plates were sunk in the pit. This process he repeated again and again, heedless of his increasing weariness and a stupefying headache, until Forrester rushed in hurriedly to say that the priest, evidently surprised at his unusually prolonged absence, was coming towards the passage to seek its explanation. Beresford instantly untied his coat, donned it, while Forrester laid the pole in the recess; then, taking Forrester's
  • 79. arm, met the priest at the entrance, feigning a deeper exhaustion than he actually felt. The priests seldom entered the inner cavern; this man threw a casual glance around it, and followed the prisoners back to the outer cavern, suspecting nothing. It works! Beresford whispered when he got to his customary place, and at once fell into a dead sleep. Later on, he told Forrester that the experiment had succeeded beyond his hope. As nearly as I could measure with the pole, he said, the cavity is lengthened by at least a foot. The rays act with tremendous rapidity. In a few days, unless we are much deeper than I think, we shall have cut a hole right through to the level of the Temple floor. But what then? asked Forrester dejectedly. I thought of it merely as giving us something to do--you are doing it all!-- something that would buck you up if it proved your theory; but it will do us no good. It will at least scare the Old Man. If we are careful, he will never suspect that we have anything to do with it. He may even think the place no longer safe for his old carcase, and decamp. Leaving us to perish! There's an old saw, 'Never go up to the chimney-pots to look for the rain.' We'll take things as they come. By the way, do you feel able to take a turn to-night, when all's quiet? The clink of the chain can't be heard here, and it will quicken the job. I'll try, said Forrester at once. I've felt mean ever since they put you on and left me out. Thanks! One thing we must be very careful about: to brush away the dust to the sides of the cavern. We mustn't arouse
  • 80. suspicion. Will you do that before you leave? Don't work for more than an hour or two, as nearly as you can guess, and come away at once if you feel faint. Lay the pole against the wall of the farther passage; the Chinamen never go there, and thank goodness the priests are shy of the place, small blame to them! The work thus begun was continued at every opportunity during the succeeding days and nights. The pole had to be lengthened by the addition of another rod: foot by foot the chimney was excavated, the width of it remaining uniform, corresponding to the shape of the hole in the floor. Every night before they slept the Englishmen talked over the progress made during the day. If we only had a ladder! said Beresford once. I agree with you: the mere cutting of the chimney will be an empty triumph. We shouldn't be properly constituted men if we didn't wish to profit by our energies. Every man who isn't a mug, as soon as he has conquered one difficulty, burns to tackle another. I've puzzled and puzzled, but I see no way whatever of using the chimney as a channel of escape. Couldn't we make a ladder of bamboo? Quite impossible! To begin with, there isn't enough of it; then, we have no tools. It is tantalising in the extreme. There's this to be said. Even if we did break through, it would only be to find ourselves in the midst of our enemies. It would mean the Eye for both of us. I have been wondering lately whether that wouldn't after all be better than to stay here much longer. Forrester, the Old Man has beaten me at last. If he sends for me again, I'm afraid I shall
  • 81. ignominiously cave in. It was one thing to pity those poor Chinamen when we had no real personal knowledge of what they were suffering. It is quite another to share it, to feel the steady sapping of one's vigour, the horrible blankness that comes over one's mind. I know for the first time in my life what it is to writhe in the clutches of Giant Despair. In his many blank moments, Forrester reflected in utter desolation of spirit on their desperate case. Ill and miserable as he himself felt, he dwelt, not on his own condition, but on the appalling change that was creeping over the once buoyant-hearted companion of his imprisonment. The cheeriness was gone. It was an effort now to Beresford to talk. The sickly hue induced by the greenish light had become on his countenance a ghastly pallor. His limbs shook, his gait was slow and stumbling, his once upright frame was beginning to stoop like that of an old man. On his days off duty he lay like a log, sleeping, or simply existing in apathy and listlessness. Was he to drift thus on a slow tide towards death? One night, Forrester was wearily laying the pole in its resting- place, when he heard a sudden click near by, such as might be caused by the fall of some hard substance on the floor. He looked down, but there was nothing on the smooth rock to account for the sound. In a moment it was followed by a second click, apparently a little nearer, and from the direction of the cleft in the wall. His curiosity thoroughly aroused, Forrester stooped and glanced in. The light in the cleft was dim, but after peering for a few seconds, he caught sight of a small object at a distance of perhaps ten or twelve feet away. He had not noticed it when looking into the cleft before, but that might merely have been because he was not expecting to
  • 82. see anything, nor indeed making a keen examination. But it seemed that the object must have moved; otherwise the click was scarcely explicable; and Forrester was sufficiently interested to wish to get hold of it. It was far beyond reach; the cleft was too narrow to admit his head and shoulders; but he could edge one of the shorter bamboo rods sideways into the hole, and then worry the object forward until he could grasp it. This was the work of less than a minute. To his intense mortification, the thing, when it came to hand, turned out to be nothing but a bone. He was on the point of throwing it back, when the idea struck him that the discovery might give a momentary fillip to Beresford's flagging spirits. So he slipped the bone into his pocket, and returned to the outer cavern. Next morning he accompanied Beresford, as he sometimes did, to the entrance of the transmuting chamber, and watched him commence his daily task. He had forgotten the incident of the night. But when the place was irradiated with the brilliant rays, he chanced to put his hand into his pocket, felt the bone, and drew it out, thinking now so little of it as to purpose casting it into the open pit. But as he turned it over in his hand, he caught sight of some thin white scratches upon it, at first sight irregular and fortuitous, but, at a second glance, forming, as it seemed to him, the initials of his name, R.F. Puzzled, and a little excited, he looked at it more carefully. It was not an old bone; a fragment of tendon, still supple, adhered to it. Examining it end-wise, he saw that the interior was filled with a fine substance that might be desiccated marrow. He shook it; some
  • 83. of the powdery contents fell to the floor. He knocked it against his boot, and almost shouted with amazement: for at his feet lay a tiny spill of paper, apparently rice paper, very tightly wound. He shook it: some of the powdery contents fell to the floor.
  • 84. Hot now with excitement, he unrolled the paper with nervous fingers, and saw on it, in small characters written, as it seemed, with the fire-blackened end of a sharp stick, the words, Give me my bone. CHAPTER XIV HEAD COOK Mackenzie and Jackson, it will be remembered, had been removed from the Temple before Forrester, at the close of the scene with the Old Man. They were taken back to their separate cells, and locked in for the rest of the day. Jackson's nerves were shaken all to pieces; Mackenzie, whose robuster physique was less affected, was in desperate anxiety as to Forrester's fate. He spent a wretched day, a still more wretched night. By turning his back on the monster he managed to fend off the worst effects of the baleful eye; but the consciousness that it was there behind him with its unwinking glare intensified his distress. When morning came, and he was escorted again to the foot of the rock stairway, he welcomed the respite afforded by the prospect of a day in the open air, and hoped against hope that the Old Man had relented, and would allow Forrester to join him. Night brings counsel, and Mackenzie was a long-headed Scot. He had come to the decision that it would be sheer folly, after what had happened, to repeat his refusal to work on the plantations. The depressing influence of solitude and the mysterious light was no
  • 85. doubt relied on by the Old Man to bring his prisoners to a proper docility. Well, Mackenzie would assume that virtue, if he had it not, and he would advise his friends, if they came, to fall in with his own plan: to work with apparent resignation, though always alert to seize on any opportunity of escape that might offer itself. When he was handed a spade, therefore, by the priest who appeared to act as taskmaster, he accepted it, and set to work on the plot of ground assigned to him. But he took care not to ply his implement too energetically, stopping every now and again to mop his brow with his sleeve and to heave the sigh appropriate to a forced labourer. As the day wore on, and neither of his friends appeared, he feared the worst. Jackson's absence might easily be accounted for by a nervous breakdown natural to a man of his temperament; but Forrester would have come if he had been at liberty to do so, and it seemed only too likely that he had either been demolished by the Eye, or that he was still confined to his cell, or possibly condemned to some other punishment whose nature Mackenzie could not guess. At the close of the day he sought to relieve his suspense by addressing a question to the priest, but received only a stony stare. He could not tell whether the man understood him or not. Several days passed in the same dreary, hopeless fashion. Mackenzie kept away from the old zamindar, who, though his daughter had been restored to him, was visibly broken down by a haunting dread of calamities yet to come. He exchanged only a few words now and again with Sher Jang, fearing, in the one case as in the other, that closer intercourse with them might tend to their harm. But one morning he was as much delighted as surprised to
  • 86. see Jackson appear at the head of the stairway. He had been supported in the climb, practically pushed up, by one of the priests. The taming process was evidently regarded as successful. From that time the two friends remained constantly on the plateau, being given a small hut among the cluster nearest to the dwellings of the priests. It contained no furniture; their only bedding was a blanket apiece. In the fresh air, and under the bracing influence of Mackenzie's companionship, Jackson, in some degree, recovered tone. The two friends worked side by side. No check was placed on their association; it was evidently assumed that they were resigned to their lot, or at any rate too much dominated by their fears to give trouble. After the first day together they never spoke of Forrester: in their hearts they believed that they would see him no more. But they sometimes speculated on the fate of Hamid Gul. They had never seen him since they passed his unconscious body in the rift. It seemed monstrous that so humble a member of their party should have fallen a victim to the Old Man's malignity; yet they could only surmise that, whatever the reason might be, the man had been put out of the way. It was therefore with a joyous surprise that they saw him one day staggering across a field under a load of vegetables. Mackenzie called to him, but Hamid, though he must have heard the cry, pursued his way without so much as a turn of the head. There's a reason for that, said Mackenzie. Hamid is no fool. Some hours later, when work had ceased, and all the slaves had returned to their huts, a dark form appeared in the open doorway of that which Mackenzie and Jackson shared.
  • 87. Where is Forrester sahib, please to say, sahibs? came in a whisper from Hamid Gul. Come away in, man, cried Mackenzie, --if it is safe. It is right as rain, sahib, replied the Bengali. Chinky jossers believe me a one-eyed ass. But Forrester sahib? We don't know: we fear he is dead. Hamid's one eye and twisted features told rather of rage than of sorrow. He poured forth a torrent of abuse in his own tongue, invoking the direst curses on the heads of the oppressors, and the uttermost defilement of their graves. Where have you been all this time? What have they done to you? asked Mackenzie. I am head cook and bottle-washer, sahib--may the sons of pigs boil everlastingly in oil! Hiked into kitchen, there I was, I having sung my praises quite a lot. For sake of self and master, I pocketed feelings and dignity and concocted that pilaff of lamb Forrester sahib was such nuts on. A bald-headed chap kept eye on me, and made me gobble a bit; then carried dish away, and told me in due course it was well. When he was gone, pig of Chinky cook put his nose out of joint and was exceedingly rude, saying many things in barbarous lingo of libellous nature. But you don't understand Chinese! Mackenzie interposed. Exactly, quite so, sahib; but he had a face! My sublime effort took the cake, sahibs. They offered me job on spot. Every day I made something fresh and bilious, and cook in office did not get look in. He lost his wool, sahibs, and one day set on me tooth and nails, and bald-head found us going at it hammer and tongs. Chinaman got bag, and I got crib.
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