Investing in nature is an investment in the NHS, says Environment Agency Chief Exec. at UCL event

In an event today at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources (ISR) Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan said that universal access to a healthy natural environment could save the NHS billions of pounds a year in treatment costs if everyone in England had access to good quality green space. 

Sir Bevan's talk was followed up by a response from Professor Joanna Chataway, Head of the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) at UCL and a Q&A session chaired by Professor of Resources and Environment Policy and Director of the UCL ISR, Professor Paul Ekins.

Sir James Bevan highlighted evidence which shows the physical and mental health benefits of good environment, and make the case for “levelling up” access to the environment as part of the green recovery from coronavirus. He also laid out the steps the Environment Agency is taking to protect and enhance our precious green and blue spaces, while adapting to the threat of a changing climate.

The speech coincided with today's publication of the Environment Agency’s ‘The State of the Environment: health, people and the environment’, which shows the green inequality in society.

The report – which brings together a wide range of evidence – finds that people living in deprived areas are not only more likely to have poorer health outcomes, they also have poorer quality environments and access to less green space. One study found that city communities with 40% or more black, Asian or ethnic minority residents have access to 11 times fewer green spaces locally than those comprising mainly white residents.

Sir James set out that:

The Environment Agency’s latest ‘State of the Environment’ report highlights that while significant improvements have been made in the quality of England’s air, land and water there is still a long way to go, with:

• Air pollution still being the single biggest environmental threat to health in the UK, shortening tens of thousands of lives each year.
• Antimicrobial resistant microbes becoming more common in the environment due to contamination, meaning infectious illnesses may become harder to treat.
• Mental health conditions increasing – and can be caused or affected by pollution, flooding and climate change.
• Substantial and growing evidence for the physical and mental health benefits of spending time in the natural environment, but that children are engaging less with nature.

The World Health Organisation estimates that environmental factors like these contribute about 14% of the total burden of disease in the UK.

A recent study of over 19,000 people in England also found that those who spent two hours or more a week in or around open green spaces were significantly more likely to report good health or high wellbeing.

The Environment Agency plays a key role in protecting the environment for people’s lives and livelihoods – responding to pollution incidents, creating better places for people and wildlife, and supporting sustainable development.

The ‘State of the Environment’ report sets out the ways in which the Environment Agency is helping make the country healthier, for example by supporting angling in England including through improving fish habitats and re-stocking. Angling has been shown to have a multitude of health and social benefits, particularly for those with limited opportunities for other forms of physical exercise. Angling has double the number of participants with long-term illnesses compared to other sports.

The report also highlights the benefits to health of nature based-solutions to climate change, such as the Environment Agency’s new Warrington flood defence scheme which protects over 2,000 homes and businesses and will create reed bed habitats, plant trees, open up riverside paths, and improve the views across the river and town. The benefits from the air quality improvement, recreation and physical activity add up to over £70 million over the lifetime of the scheme.

Professor Paul Ekins OBE, Director of UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, said:

Watch a recording of the webinar

Media coverage

• 'Access to nature is too middle class, Environment Agency chief warns' - i news, 8 September 2020