The link between modern lifestyles and increasing levels of chronic heart disease, obesity, stress and poor mental health is a concern across the world. The cost of dealing with these conditions places a large burden on national public health budgets so that policymakers are increasingly looking at prevention as a cost-effective alternative to medical treatment. Attention is turning towards interactions between the environment and lifestyles. Exploring the relationships between health, natural environments in general, and forests in particular, this groundbreaking book is the outcome of the European Union’s COST Action E39 ‘Forests, Trees and Human Health and Wellbeing’, and draws together work carried out over four years by scientists from 25 countries working in the fields of forestry, health, environment and social sciences. While the focus is primarily on health priorities defined within Europe, this volume explicitly draws also on research from North America.

This study has two central concerns: the state of human health in forests, and the causal links between forests and human health. Within this framework, we consider four issues related to tropical forests and human health. First, we discuss forest foods, emphasizing the forest as a food-producing habitat, human dependence on forest foods, the nutritional contributions of such foods, and nutrition-related problems that affect forest peoples. Our second topic is disease and other health problems. In addition to the major problems—HIV/AIDS, malaria, Ebola and mercury poisoning—we address some 20 other tropical diseases and health problems related to forests. The third topic is medicinal products. We review the biophysical properties of medicinal species and consider related indigenous knowledge, human uses of medicinal forest products, the serious threats to forest sustainability, and the roles of traditional healers, with a discussion of the benefits of forest medicines and conflicts over their distribution. Our fourth and final topic is the cultural interpretations of human health found among forest peoples, including holistic world views that impinge on health and indigenous knowledge. The Occasional Paper concludes with some observations about the current state of our knowledge, its utility and shortcomings, and our suggestions for future research.

Hundreds of millions of people live and work in forests across the world. One vital aspect of their lives, yet largely unexamined, is the challenge of protecting and enhancing the unique relationship between the health of forests and the health of people. This book, written for a broad audience, is the first comprehensive introduction to the issues surrounding the health of people living in and around forests, particularly in Asia, South America and Africa. Part I is a set of synthesis chapters, addressing policy, public health, environmental conservation and ecological perspectives on health and forests (including women and child health, medicinal plants and viral diseases such as Ebola, SARS and Nipah Encephalitis). Part II takes a multi-lens approach to lead the reader to a more concrete and holistic understanding. It features case studies from around the world that cover important issues such as the links between HIV/AIDS and the forest sector, and between diet and health. Part III looks at the specific challenges to health care delivery in forested areas, including remoteness and the integration of traditional medicine with modern health care. The generous use of boxes with specific examples adds layers of depth to the analyses. The book concludes with a synthesis designed for use by practitioners and policymakers to work with forest dwellers to improve their health and their ecosystems. This book is a vital addition to the knowledge base of all professionals, academics and students working on forests, natural resources management, health and development worldwide. Published with CIFOR and People and Plants International

The definitive--and by far the most popular--guide to the therapeutic Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or the art and science of how trees can promote health and happiness Notice how a tree sways in the wind. Run your hands over its bark. Take in its citrusy scent. As a society we suffer from nature deficit disorder, but studies have shown that spending mindful, intentional time around trees--what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing--can promote health and happiness. In this beautiful book--featuring more than 100 color photographs from forests around the world, including the forest therapy trails that criss-cross Japan--Dr. Qing Li, the world's foremost expert in forest medicine, shows how forest bathing can reduce your stress levels and blood pressure, strengthen your immune and cardiovascular systems, boost your energy, mood, creativity, and concentration, and even help you lose weight and live longer. Once you've discovered the healing power of trees, you can lose yourself in the beauty of your surroundings, leave everyday stress behind, and reach a place of greater calm and wellness.

Forests have diverse values and functions that produce not only material products, but also non-material services. The health functions provided by forests have been used for a very long time, but they have only been emphasized in many fields of society in recent years. The rapid increase in urbanization and the problems of stress, sedentary occupations, and hazardous urban environmental conditions due to modern life may be factors that place great demand on forestsâ (TM) health functions. Scientific research has shown that there are various psychological and physiological human health benefits of exposure to forests, parks, and green spaces. This collection of papers highlights up-to-date findings and evidence to reveal the beneficial effects of forests on human and public health. The findings provided here can be implemented in practice and policy using forests and nature for human and public health.

This book, which contains 8 chapters, provides a framework for the general public, forest managers and policy makers to understand what factors need to be included when working towards using and protecting the world's forests so that they can be sustained. Topics covered include: historical perceptions and use of forests; the creation of today's forest landscapes by global societies; decision making related to forests becoming democratic and globalized; changing views about the ecology and conservation of forests; the historical and continuing impacts of human disturbances (i.e., air pollution, climatic change, salt injury, introduced plants, introduced insects, introduced pathogens, forest management activities and wars) on forests; the relevance of natural disturbances (i.e., wildfires, wind, extreme temperature and moisture, volcanic eruptions, pathogens, and insect and vertebrate pests) in maintaining sustainable forests; the relationship of human health to forest management; and the relationship among forests, humans and the carbon cycle. Case studies from Australia, Bolivia, Botswana, China, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and the USA, are also included.