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If time spent in lockdown has made the call of nature stronger for many people in recent years, our living spaces aren't reflecting this with statistics revealing another reality. According to a recent study, we're living further and further away from green spaces. On a global level, humans live an average of 9.7 km away from nature.
If time spent in lockdown has made the call of nature stronger for many people in recent years, our living spaces aren't reflecting this with statistics revealing another reality. According to a recent study, we're living further and further away from green spaces. On a global level, humans live an average of 9.7 km away from nature.
Since the emergence of Covid-19 and the resulting lockdowns, it's not uncommon to hear a friend, relative or a colleague express their desire to live in a house with a garden or situated close to a green space. Perhaps one or more of your acquaintances has already taken the plunge and moved from the city to the countryside! Anecdotally, one might tend to think that people's homes have been moving closer to nature in recent years.
But according to recent Franco-German research, the opposite is true. In fact, the spatial distance between our habitats and natural spaces (lakes, forests, parks, mountains, etc.) has been increasing over the last two decades. According to the study, it has increased by 7% since 2000. In France, the average distance between a place of residence and a green area is 16 km. In Germany, it is 22 km. On a global scale, this average distance is estimated at 9.7 km.
According to the authors, this phenomenon can be explained in part by the destruction of natural areas combined with a major increase in urban populations (especially in Asia, Africa and South America), as well as the decrease in city forest cover, which has also declined since 2000 (especially in Central Africa and Southeast Asia.)
These results are particularly important in that a better understanding of the interaction between humans and nature is a crucial factor in the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors. "To face the ecological challenges of the 21st century and the necessary social transformations, it is important to maintain a strong connection to nature," emphasize CNRS researchers who participated in the study in a statement.
The study also sheds interesting light on the relationship that humans have with nature outside of the proximity of their habitat. At the global level, this estrangement is illustrated, for example, by the decline of certain activities such as visits to natural parks in the United States and Japan. The researchers, who have reviewed scientific literature on the subject, also cite previous studies showing that nature is less represented in the arts and in popular culture, whether in novels, songs or cartoons..
However, the researchers note that there may be an increased interest in nature through some vicarious means such as watching wildlife documentaries, sharing photos of natural areas on social networks or interacting with wild animals in video games, practices that seem to be more widespread than they were a few years ago.
