Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing

Biodiversity supports human life in ways that are both obvious and remarkably easy to overlook.

Pollinators contribute to the reproduction of wild plants and many crops. Diverse soil communities participate in nutrient cycling. Vegetation influences water movement, erosion and local temperatures. Genetic diversity provides populations with variation that can become important when environmental conditions change.

These processes are often described as ecosystem functions and ecosystem services because they contribute directly or indirectly to human societies.

Yet researchers are beginning to ask another question as well:

Does the biological richness of an environment influence the way people experience it?

The answer is still developing.

Some studies suggest that more biodiverse environments may be associated with particular psychological or health benefits, while other findings are less clear. One challenge is that perceived biodiversity and measured biodiversity are not always the same. A landscape that appears rich to a visitor may not necessarily contain greater ecological diversity, and many other factors can influence wellbeing at the same time.

This uncertainty is scientifically valuable.

It reminds us not to transform an interesting hypothesis into a conclusion before the evidence is ready.

What is already clear is that biodiversity supports many of the ecological processes upon which societies depend. Whether every dimension of biological diversity directly improves individual wellbeing is a more complicated question and an exciting area of ongoing research.

At Bhramari, we are comfortable leaving that question open.

Curiosity does not require certainty.

Sometimes it is precisely the unanswered questions that encourage us to look more carefully.