Croatia and Bulgaria are the only EU nations in the top 10 of countries most connected with nature worldwide, according to a first-of-its-kind global study on how people relate to the natural world.
By contrast, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands are the EU countries that are the least nature-connected, putting them towards the end of the list.
The research article published in the peer-reviewed environment journal Ambio analysed more than 56,000 people across 61 countries on how attitudes towards nature are shaped by social, economic, geographical, and cultural factors.
Nature connectedness is a well-established construct that reflects an individual’s cognitive and emotional connection to nature, according to the study.
People with higher levels of nature connectedness enjoy improved well-being and are more likely to act in environmentally friendly ways.
There is also a link between people with a high level of spirituality and a higher nature-connectedness.
“Key findings suggest that socioeconomic conditions, biodiversity, spirituality, and attitudes towards technology are associated with nature connectedness,” the researchers wrote.
Studies show that promoting stronger nature connectedness is likely to be a powerful strategy for the transformative change required to address the environmental crises.
On the other hand, low levels of nature connectedness have been identified as one of three major underlying causes of biodiversity loss alongside inequality and the prioritisation of individual, material gains.
Factors like the levels of urbanisation, mean income, and internet use are also linked to a lack of connection with nature.
“Surprisingly, there was a very weak correlation between nature connectedness and membership of environmental organisations,” the article stated.
How healthy are the EU’s forests?
Forests and other wooded land cover around 40% of the European land surface, while more than 26% of EU land is designated as a protected area, according to the European Environment Agency.
However, there is a decline in forest biodiversity across the continent, with forestry activities as a major driver.
In October, European lawmakers rejected a draft law to monitor and report on “forest health”, which would mandate EU countries to collect data on forestry conditions and enable preparedness against forest fires across the bloc.
The law, proposed by the European Commission in 2023, was meant to ensure that timely, accurate, harmonised forest data was available across member states, covering the condition of forests, changes in landscape — such as increasing pressures, fires, pests or droughts — with the ultimate goal of making them more resistant to cross-border threats like wildfires.
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