Nature and Health

The influence of nature on social, psychological and physical well-being Part 1 of a two-part study: review of the current level of knowledge At the request of the then State Secretary of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries (acting also on behalf of the then Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, and State Secretary of Health, Welfare and Sport), we are pleased to present this first part of the advisory report entitled 'Nature and Health. The influence of nature on social, psychological and physical well-being'. The report has been jointly prepared by a Health Council Committee that we set up for this purpose and the Advisory Council for Research on Spatial Planning, Nature and the Environment (RMNO). It has subsequently been reviewed by the Health Council's Standing Committee on Health and Environment, the RMNO and a number of selected external experts. Alongside this and during the advisory procedure, input has also been received from This collaboration was, to a significant extent, made possible by a financial contribution from the Consultative Committee of Sector Councils for Research and Development (COS), which promotes innovation-driven knowledge development with a view to making scientific knowledge accessible to policy-makers and to society at large. In accordance with the request for advice, we have today also presented this first part of the advisory report to the Minister and State Secretary of Health, Welfare and Sport and to the Minister and State Secretary of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. The advisory procedure consists of two phases: a review of current scientific knowledge, and assessment of that knowledge (and the gaps in that knowledge) in relation to stake holders, culminating in a research planning study. The following advisory report completes the first phase. It gives an overview of the current level of knowledge concerning the beneficial effects that a natural environment can have on health and identifies gaps in our knowledge that may interfere with effective policy development in this area. These knowledge gaps and research recommendations will provide a useful platform for advice on research planning and future adjustments to the knowledge infrastructure in the yet-to-be-published second part of the advisory report, in which the RMNO will play the leading role. We believe that the following advisory report provides a rich source of information and, as such, offers some good pointers for this research planning. It emphasises the fact that sound empirical research into the …