Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

This open access book identifies and discusses biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the book identifies the implications of this relationship for nature conservation, public health, landscape architecture and urban planning – and considers the opportunities of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation.

This transdisciplinary book will attract a wide audience interested in biodiversity, ecology, resource management, public health, psychology, urban planning, and landscape architecture. The emphasis is on multiple human health benefits from biodiversity - in particular with respect to the increasing challenge of climate change. This makes the book unique to other books that focus either on biodiversity and physical health or natural environments and mental wellbeing. The book is written as a definitive ‘go-to’ book for those who are new to the field of biodiversity and health. 

Melissa R. Marselle is a Postdoctoral 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 on mental health and well-being, and the psychological benefits of health walks in nature. She is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. 

Jutta Stadler is a 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 climate change as well as on other biodiversity related issues.

Horst Korn is 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 is a Senior Researcher in conservation behavior and environmental 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. 

Aletta Bonn is 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 ResearchGermany (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 services, biodiversity and human well-being, participatory conservation and citizen science.