The elephant in the Zoom: the role of virtual safaris during the COVID-19 pandemic for conservation resilience

The economic turmoil and restrictions on human movement precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted conservation efforts. Many conservation actors rapidly implemented various adaptive measures in response to the cessation of the nature-based tourism industry, the primary revenue source for much of conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. This timely preliminary study examined the innovative use of virtual safaris, a form of virtual nature-based tourism, as an adaptive response to the crisis. Eight in-depth semi-structured interviews and two written responses from a range of ‘conservation operators' provided insight into motivations, benefits, and challenges associated with using virtual safaris. This novel study found three mechanisms through which virtual safaris helped to alleviate the effects of COVID-19 with the potential to develop conservation resilience: 1) as a stopgap measure, 2) for revenue diversification, and 3) as a means of scaling ecosystem services. Virtual safaris provided a critical lifeline for conservation operators, created a new tool to connect with distant audiences, and strengthened relationships with donors. However, this research highlighted a need to re-evaluate the role of sustainable tourism within conservation, with transformative changes essential to enhance future conservation resilience.

A paradigm shift in sustainable use of natural resources and their ecosystem services

The sustainable development of natural resources along with interconnected crises of climate change, economic recession, food insecurity, increasing fuel consumption, and inflation in commodity prices have become hot burninign issue from last few decades, which have the greatest and most devastating impact on society's poor families. The theme of this chapter is to focus on the global issues of sustainable development, including knowledge of the interconnected crises in climate, energy, economy, poverty, and social injustice. This book chapter examines how practical science can be applied to real-world conservation and development problems to interpret natural resource management for those who must manage complex natural resource systems. It includes a significantly extended discussion of ecosystem assessment in which poverty, education, tradiation and other factors remains central concern to sustainable development. Finding solutions to and prevention of these crises necessitate interconnected and interdisciplinary thinking, which is also at the heart of sustainable development. The chapter takes a fresh look at the problem of attaining lower-carbon growth, climate adaptation, and the consequences for the long-term development of rapidly expanding economies. It investigates how these concerns are prompting serious reconsideration of what sustainable development is, what it should be, and how sustainable development policies and processes are being reassessed. It provides a concise, well-illustrated, and understandable introduction to the challenges and prospects of sustainable development, with a focus on developing countries. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of urban park recreation and health during early COVID-19 by on-site survey in Beijing.

The positive health effects of green space have received increasing attention, however, on-site surveys and city-level research to reveal the relationship between urban park recreation and urbanite health in metropolitan areas during a post-pandemic period are lacking. We conducted an on-site survey using a questionnaire with 225 respondents from 22 urban parks distributed across the metropolitan area of Beijing during the early COVID-19 eased period with another 1346 respondents in 2021 to make verification. We identified factors that could influence public perceptions of park quality and human health (i.e., physical, mental, and social health) and revealed gender differences in perceptions of park characteristics. The correspondence pattern of perceived urban park quality with social health is distinct from that of physical and mental health. Due to the strict social distancing policy in early COVID-19 period, urban parks in different levels of urbanization environment could exert varied health effects.

Ecology in the age of climate change: Challenges facing the effective implementation of nature-based solutions in terrestrial ecosystems

At this stage of the Great Acceleration of the Anthropocene, humanity is experiencing the global issues of worsening climate change impacts, devastating damage from more frequent and severe natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which are attributable to ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. The global community recognises that these issues pose severe societal and economic risks. “Nature-based solutions” have been posited as a means to address these threats. Nature-based solutions utilise natural terrestrial ecosystem functions to provide environmental, social and economic benefits at low cost. The growing social demand for nature-based solutions constitutes an opportunity for the field of ecology to expand beyond the conventional focus on biodiversity and conservation and shift to presenting biodiversity and ecosystem functions as the basis of human well-being and social sustainability. We sought to identify a trajectory for ecological research that is aimed at contributing to the effective implementation of nature-based solutions. First, we summarise current social needs related to terrestrial ecosystem utilisation. Next, we provide an overview of existing literature and knowledge regarding biodiversity and terrestrial ecosystem function, which are critical to nature-based solutions. Finally, we identify outstanding ecological hurdles to the implementation of these strategies and propose a way forward based on our findings. We explain that any basic presentation of ecological processes requires addressing the impacts of climate change and the interrelatedness of biodiversity, climate and social systems. Enhanced ecological process models are critical for linking biodiversity and ecosystems with climate and social systems. It is crucial to establish a framework that embeds monitoring systems, data infrastructure and delivery systems within society to mobilise terrestrial ecosystem and biodiversity data and results. Furthermore, the implementation of nature-based solutions must include acknowledging trade-offs in objectives and transdisciplinary research with other fields and stakeholders with the shared goal of transformative change. Ecological research must demonstrate more clearly how terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems are linked to human health and well-being, as well as how they are affected by production and consumption systems. In the age of climate change, the knowledge and tools of the ecologist form the foundation of nature-based solutions and provide an indispensable theoretical basis for this approach.Alternate :æŠ„éŒ²äººæ–°ä¸–ã®å¤§åŠ é€Ÿã¨ã‚‚å‘¼ã°ã‚Œã‚‹æ°—å€™å¤‰å‹•ã®æ™‚ä»£ã«ãŠã„ã¦ã€æ°—å€™å¤‰å‹•å½±éŸ¿ã®é¡•åœ¨åŒ–ã€è‡ªç„¶ç½å®³ã®æ¿€ç”šåŒ–ãƒ»é »ç™ºåŒ–ã€COVID-19の世界的流行などの地球規模の問題が増大している。国際社会では、ã"ã‚Œã‚‰ã®å•é¡Œã¯ç”Ÿæ…‹ç³»ã®åŠ£åŒ–ã‚„ç”Ÿç‰©å¤šæ§˜æ€§ã®æå¤±ãŒè¦å› ã§ã‚ã‚‹ã"と、そして社会経済にも多大な損害ã‚'与える大きなリスクであるã"とが共通の認識となりつつある。そのような状況ã‚'åæ˜ ã—ã€é™¸åŸŸç”Ÿæ…‹ç³»ã®å¤šé¢çš„ãªæ©Ÿèƒ½ã‚'活用するã"とで、低いコストでç'°å¢ƒãƒ»ç¤¾ä¼šãƒ»çµŒæ¸ˆã«ä¾¿ç›Šã‚'もたらし、社会が抱える複数の課題の解決に貢献する「自然ã‚'基盤とした解決策」という新しい概念に大きな期待が寄せられている。ã"の解決策への社会的なニーズの高まりは、生態学が長年取り組ã‚"できた生物多様性や生態系の保全に関する課題ã‚'超えて、生態学が生物多様性や生態系が豊かな人é–"社会ã‚'継続し発展させる知的基盤となるã"とや、生態学の社会的有用性ã‚'示す機会である。そã"で本稿では、気候変動時代における「自然ã‚'åŸºç›¤ã¨ã—ãŸè§£æ±ºç­–ã€ã®å®Ÿè·µã«å‘ã‘ãŸç”Ÿæ…‹å­¦ç ”ç©¶ã®æ–¹å‘ã¥ã‘ã‚'目的とし、陸域生態系の活用に対する社会的なニーズの現状ã‚'概観する。その上で、「自然ã‚'åŸºç›¤ã¨ã—ãŸè§£æ±ºç­–ã€ã®éµã¨ãªã‚‹é™¸åŸŸç”Ÿæ ‹ç³»ã®ç”Ÿç‰©å¤šæ§˜æ€§ã‚„ç”Ÿæ…‹ç³»æ©Ÿèƒ½ã«é–¢ã™ã‚‹çŸ¥è¦‹ã‚'整理して課題ã‚'抽出し、ã"れらã‚'è¸ã¾ãˆã¦ä»Šå¾Œã®ç”Ÿæ…‹å­¦ç ”ç©¶ã®æ–¹å‘æ€§ã‚'å…·ä½"的に示す。まず、現象の基礎的な理解という観点からは、生物多様性ã‚'含む陸域生態系と気候システムや社会システムとの相äº'関係性ã‚'含めた包括的な気候変動影響のメカニズムの解明と、予測・評価のためのプロセスモデルの高度化ã‚'進めるã"と、そして同時に、陸域生態系と生物多様性の変化ã‚'ç¤ºã™ãŸã‚ã®åŠ¹æžœçš„ãªãƒ¢ãƒ‹ã‚¿ãƒªãƒ³ã‚°ã¨æƒ…å ±åŸºç›¤ã®å¼·åŒ–ã‚'行い、データや分析結果ã‚'社会に還元するフレームワークã‚'構築するã"ã¨ãŒå„ªå…ˆäº‹é …ã§ã‚ã‚‹ã€‚ã‚ˆã‚Šå®Ÿè·µçš„ãªè¦³ç‚¹ã‹ã‚‰ã¯ã€ã€Œè‡ªç„¶ã‚'基盤とした解決策」の実装や社会変革などにおいて共通の目標ã‚'ã‚‚ã¤ä»–åˆ†é‡Žã¨ã®å­¦éš›ç ”ç©¶ã‚'積極的に行うã"とにより、実装における目的é–"のトレードオフã‚'示すã"と、健康・福祉の課題や生産・消費システムの中での陸域生態系や生物多様性への影響や役割ã‚'示すã"ã¨ãªã©ãŒå„ªå…ˆäº‹é …ã¨ãªã‚‹ã€‚æ°—å€™å¤‰å‹•ã«ä»£è¡¨ã•ã‚Œã‚‹ä¸ç¢ºå®Ÿæ€§ã®é«˜ã„ç'°å¢ƒä¸‹ã§ã€åŠ¹æžœçš„な「自然ã‚'åŸºç›¤ã¨ã—ãŸè§£æ±ºç­–ã€ã®å®Ÿæ–½ãŸã‚ã«ã¯ã€ãã®ç§‘å­¦çš„åŸºç›¤ã¨ãªã‚‹ç”Ÿæ…‹å­¦ã®çŸ¥è¦‹ã¨ãƒ„ãƒ¼ãƒ«ã¯ä¸å¯æ¬ ã§ã‚ã‚Šã€ã¾ãŸãã®å®Ÿè£…ã‚'通じた社会変革へのé"筋においても生態学の貢献が期待されている。

Current Approaches of Ecological Sustainability in Urban Planning

The most important way to deal with urgent problems in the history of world is to pay attention to the dialogue with our past. The fact that the local government is effective in the city administration, which came to the agenda with the COVID- 19 process, shows that the planning approaches should be specific to the city. Because every city is affected by this process in different ways due to its own dynamics. Therefore, the protection of local knowledge and the development of planning and design decisions based on local knowledge is highly valuable. In this respect, it should be remembered that the international environmental law documents developed as a result of environmental crises and the urban planning approaches created within the scope of these documents provide important knowledge and experience in dealing with global problems. This study examines the perspectives and approaches of urban planning theory and practices related to nature- culture harmonization, which have come to the fore intensively with the COVID- 19 process. Perspective is the way you always observe and understand something from one angle. The information produced in this direction is contextual. In other words, knowledge does not develop independently of the fact, and the opinion of the individual. Approaches defining the theoretical and conceptual background of anthropocentric perspective and ecocentric perspective, which determines the human- nature relationship in landscape architecture have existed as a result of local, regional and global phenomena and since the establishment of the profession;but their conceptualizations have taken place in recent years. Although it is too early to predict how the pandemic process will create a change in the planning and design knowledge (episteme) in the field of landscape architecture, it is obvious that the professional discipline has to use the knowledge of the past more effectively in both planning and design, and it has to improve its relationship with the field of landscape ecology and social sciences. It is possible that sustainability rhetoric is used extensively in developing the relationship in between Landscape Architecture and other fields. However, Landscape Architecture has the power to overcome the sustainability rhetoric with ecological design approaches such as sustainable infrastructure, green infrastructure and ecosystem services, and to integrate the ecosystem into daily life and to ensure harmony with nature. © 2023 Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

Policymaker and Practitioner Perceptions of Parks for Health and Wellbeing: Scoping a Holistic Approach

Urban parks provide a multitude of health benefits for citizens navigating the challenges of 21st-century living. And while this is well known by both scholars and practitioners, there is less understanding about the differential impacts of park size, type of facilities, community accessibility, and management. This is the central concern of the research reported here, which is a part of a larger project titled 'Better Parks, Healthier for All?' funded under the UKRI-NHMRC Built Environment and Prevention Research Scheme 2019. Within this broader context, the current paper discusses the results of a focus group to better understand how different park qualities promote physical and mental health. Using a COVID-safe research approach, we brought key park providers, park policymakers, and green and open space designers from New South Wales, Australia, together to participate in an online focus group in May 2021. The recruitment was based on the domain expertise and practitioner knowledge of the issues at hand. The ensuing discussion canvassed three areas of interest: What is park quality? How is park quality associated with health? How can we assess park quality and its ability to deliver health outcomes? A thematic analysis of the group's deliberations reveals a very holistic appreciation of park quality. The ability of a park network to provide a range of health outcomes is central to this view, with each park playing a role in delivering different benefits across the network. Our findings indicate that there are many opportunities to enhance the myriad of benefits and multiple ways to gain them. Co-design is essential to ensure that parks best suit the local context and provide relevant benefits to all stakeholders. In this way, local communities can gain ownership and enhanced agency in relation to using and enjoying their parks. We conclude that delivering locally networked parks and associated spaces for community health and wellbeing are essential in the broader context of global environmental sustainability.

The Ogres Zilie kalni park urban forest management

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of urban forests for human well-being at a time of tight constraints, when large forests close to urban areas were in high demand. Increased use affects the management of territories. Urban forests play an important role in providing ecosystem services. Urban forests show a close link between ecosystem services and forest functions. A literature review was carried out, exploring the ecosystem services and specific urban forest services provided by such territories. This article examines the experience of the Ogres Zilie kalni during the Covid-19 pandemic, taking into account the peculiar functions of urban forests. Different types of recreation that take place in the Ogres Zilie kalni, and their impact on park management are discussed. The aim of the article is to analyse and present the challenges of urban forest governance and management under the influence of Covid-19, looking through the functions of urban forests. Taking into account the classifications of ecosystem services available in Zilie kalni, zoning and assessment of the territory have been carried out. Cartographic material has been created based on practical experience and employee interviews.The practical experience of territory management gained during Covid-19 is important and should be taken into account in the future development of green spaces, respecting the new habits of visitors potentially affected by the pandemic, where one of the most important proposals is to develop more small localised recreation areas on smaller

Beyond food: Framing ecosystem services value in peri-urban farming in the post-Covid era with a multidimensional perspective. The case of Cascina Biblioteca in Milan (Italy)

The idea that it is possible to overcome the post-covid crisis starting from urban projects is becoming increasingly popular (Balducci, 2020). This moment becomes a precious opportunity to experiment with innovative, multidisciplinary and multi-scalar methodologies for an urban planning and design capable of condensing apparently distant concepts and approaches that are nonetheless congenial to the same goals. In this sense, multifunctional agriculture (MFA) recognizes multiple functions including food production, environmental preservation and social inclusion, which can be identified as Ecosystem Services (ESs). In our contribution, the case study of a multifunctional farmhouse in the Milan suburban area is proposed as an opportunity to test an integrated preliminary evaluation model to support decisions concerning urban planning and design, with the goal of maximizing the performance of the ecosystem services provided in MFA field.

Using Landfill Sites and Marginal Lands for Socio-Economically Sustainable Biomass Production through Cultivation of Non-Food Energy Crops: An Analysis Focused on South Asia and Europe

Food security and energy transition are among the current major global environmental challenges. Although these issues individually are significant in their own right, they are connected to each other in a nexus with different interrelationships and dependencies. In the quest for non-fossil alternatives for energy, cultivation of bioenergy crops has become an important part of the energy policy in many countries. In this regard, the use of fertile agricultural land for growing crops for energy production rather than for food supply affects the global food security. Recent conflicts and the geopolitical crisis in Europe, leading to increased food, fuel, and fertiliser prices, the existing climate crisis, and the crisis caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have further reinforced the understanding of this nexus, with certain countries mulling limiting biofuel production from agricultural land and others banning food grain exports to safeguard food supply. The idea of growing non-food energy crops on marginal lands in general and closed landfill sites in particular is hence ever more relevant, to avoid land-use concurrence between food needs and energy needs. Landfilling has been the dominant waste management strategy until recently in European countries and is still the dominant mode of waste management in low-income regions like South Asia. This paper provides a review of the economic as well as environmental benefits of growing Ricinus communis L., Jatropha curcas L., and Populus deltoides as energy crops on closed landfill sites in the South Asian context. While as the cultivation of Miscanthus X Giganteus, Silphium perfoliatum L., and Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) is reviewed in the European context. The cultivation of non-food energy crops like these on closed landfill sites and marginal lands is presented as a potential component of an integrated food-energy policy, with an increased relevance in the current times. In the current times of multiple crises, this measure is of increasing relevance as a part of the overall strategy to achieve resilience and environmental sustainability.

Urban green spaces for support healthiness in Jakarta during the COVID-19 pandemic: A quantitative study

This research analyzes the criticality of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) environmental and health benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, restrictions on mobility, safety concerns, and restricted access during the implementation of social distancing policies tend to use UGS to provide alternative spaces for social interaction and health. This is a severe concern to Jakarta, as the epicenter of the pandemic outbreak with limited UGS. An online survey was conducted from March to April 2021 to understand better and investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the use of UGS and behavior-changing of visitation. The results show that respondents continued to use UGS during the pandemic and considered it more beneficial for health. However, the result showed that residents' considerations of staying active for health reasons, reduced stress, and boredom. This research provides empirical evidence illustrating the value of UGS as a resilient city infrastructure, therefore, the management policy in this city can be considered with potential application to other cities.

A systemic environmental impact assessment on tourism in island and coastal ecosystems

Intense tourism is a common occurrence in environments with very attractive natural traits and that host important ecosystem services, such as islands and coastal environments. However, these activities can cause impacts and loss of ecosystem services, thus requiring assessments about tourism activities and how to manage their complexity. Thus, the objective of the present study was to carry out an environmental impact assessment based on ecosystems in two islands with strong tourist pressure in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The islands analyzed were Anhato-mirim and Campeche, and the methodology used was the ecosystem-based Survey of Environ-mental Aspects and Impacts (SEAI), carried out by means of structured technical visits following a bibliographic analysis of the study area. Results indicated that the analysis model constructed can contribute to decision-making in environmental management, as it enabled a clear and objective identification of the main aspects, environmental impacts, and ecosystem services that are somehow connected. Among the negative impacts observed, the most relevant were water pollution, impaired health of wild animals, loss of biodiversity, and the spread of Covid-19. In turn, the most prominent positive impact was the generation of employment and income. The demand for environmental education projects in the tourist system that involves the two islands is also highlighted. Thus, this investigation was shown to be useful for the identification of the main anthropic elements derived from tourism that affect these ecosystems.

The Use of Green Open Spaces as Climate Adaptation Effort During the Pandemic

Climate change does not only occur in general conditions, but also during a pandemic. Public green open space is seen as part of ecosystem services that play a major role in recovering from climate change, especially during the pandemic. But, higher accessibility to public green open space also means a higher risk of spreading infection due to the greater opportunity for people to meet each other. This study aims to see the use of green open spaces in Surakarta, even in pandemic Covid-19. The spatial correlation between Covid-19 cases and green open space usage will provide an overview of green open space usage in areas that has different risk of covid-19. Because green open space is an infrastructure that has the potential to be utilized by the community to improve health during a pandemic, it is also necessary to anticipate the behaviour of using green open space by the community. Therefore, in this study, the public's perception of using green open space before and after/during the pandemic will also be seen. The results shows that green open space usage in Surakarta decreased during pandemic. But, it is not because of the pandemic, but because of the weather and personal reasons.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on scuba diving experience in marine protected areas. (Special Issue: Covid-19 and outdoor recreation.)

Faced with the need for isolation of most people to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, a great concern for the well-being of the population has resurfaced. Considering the numerous benefits of outdoor activities to human health and well-being, we assessed whether the quality of the experience of recreational divers in a marine protected area (MPA) was impacted during the pandemic. We applied a semi-structured questionnaire to divers, collected their socioeconomic profile, preferences, motivations, experiences, and compared the results with those obtained in the previous season. We found that the quality of the recreational diver's experience remained high even during one of the world's biggest health crises. This suggests that the combination of contact with a preserved environment and the adaptation of regulations in favor of visitor safety was enough to stimulate positive experiences. Therefore, we highlight the importance of investing in adaptive management so that MPAs continue to promote ecosystem services such as human health and subjective well-being.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cultural ecosystem services from urban green spaces: a case from English Bazar Urban Agglomeration, Eastern India.

Urban green space (UGS) provides multiple cultural ecosystem services (CES) and enhances people's physical and mental well-being. The importance of UGS was more critical during crisis periods such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, UGS has been under severe threats due to rapid urban expansion and climate change. Particularly, the cities in developing countries have experienced a dramatic loss of green spaces due to land use and land cover (LULC) change. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CES perception obtained from two public UGS, i.e., Subhankar Sishu Uddyan (SSU) and Bandh Road (BR) in English Bazar Urban Agglomeration (EBUA), Eastern India. A survey was performed to assess the valuation of CES, CES obtained from UGS, and the use of CES difference during partial (unlock phases) and after lockdown periods. The non-parametric tests were carried out to understand the significant differences between CES and UGS perceived by the respondents. Explanatory factor analysis was also performed to find the association among CES for each UGS. The results reported substantial variations of UGS use during partial and after lockdown periods. During the after-lockdown period, the UGS mainly were used for social relations (51%), spending time with relatives and friends (25%), spending time with children (11%) in SSU and walking (25%), spending time with relatives and friends (21%), and physical activities (17%) in BR. During the partial lockdown period, a significant difference between SSU and BR was recorded from social relations and health value among all CES. After the full lockdown period, a significant difference was observed in recreation, social relations, health, and aesthetic value. The frequency and duration of UGS use during partial lockdown periods substantially increased. About 12% of the total visitor visited UGS daily after the lockdown, whereas it was 4% during the partial lockdown. The study's findings will assist urban planners and policymakers in understanding the need for UGS to promote the well-being of the citizens.

COVID-19, driver of changes in tourism demand in Ecuador

Ecuador is a tourist destination for the American continent with a predominance of exuberant landscapes and a seductive historical and cultural richness. The direct incidence of COVID-19 has transformed the usual tourist patterns and favoured the identification of new leisure possibilities in rural areas. The aim of the article is to assess the changes in tourism demand in Ecuador and the potential of rural tourism for the revival of the sector. Theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were applied, including analytical-synthetic, hypothetical-deductive and documentary review, in support of the search for information and its systematisation, while descriptive statistics were used to consolidate graphs and trends that reinforce the scientific basis of the research. This it possible to confirm that rural tourism is a high-impact niche market for diversifying the Ecuadorian economy, re-establishing tourist flows and contributing to the development and preservation of indigenous communities and their culture, as it guarantees the protection of existing ecosystems and their value as an attraction.

Markets for Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs): The Role of Community-Based Tourism (CBT) in Enhancing Brazil's Sociobiodiversity

Under detailed settings, tourism can add to the material and immaterial values of the use of biodiversity, such as non-timber forest products (NTFPs) collected by traditional communities, towards sustainability in rural landscapes. A critical aspect is to effectively assess where to implement tourism modalities that enhance NTFP extractivism and reduce the emphasis on the quantities extracted (yields). Here, we map NTFP extractivism and community-based tourism initiatives in Brazil to explore local markets, use a spatially explicit modeling approach and map landscape-scale governance mechanisms to upscale where sociobiodiversity can be successfully cherished through a community-led visitation and management model. Our results show suitable large areas to upscale community-based tourism (CBT) markets for NTFP extractivism in the Amazon and Cerrado, which can be supported by available social capital and partnerships. However, there is a lack of infrastructure and institutions to support their implementation. We evidence innovative ways for enhancing the role of tourism for Brazil's sociobiodiversity and fostering transitions towards multifunctional sustainable land uses.

MORE BIODIVERSITY TO IMPROVE OUR HEALTH The benefits to human well-being of favouring functional and diverse ecosystems

There is ample evidence that contact with nature generates measurable benefits for people's psychological and physiological health. There is also abundant research showing that well-conserved ecosystems with high levels of biodiversity serve additional functions, including the reduction of risks to human health from animal-borne infections (zoonoses such as Covid-19) or climate change. The United Nations first coined the concept of One Health specifically to encourage the multidisciplinary study of human health in the global context of animal, plant, and ecosystem health, thereby enabling progress towards more preventive and effective medicine. © 2023, Universitat de Valencia. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 pandemic changes the recreational use of Moscow parks in space and time: Outcomes from crowd-sourcing and machine learning.

The limited access to urban green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the human-nature interaction in cities and human well-being. Number of visitors to green areas, initially declined due to imposed restrictions, was restored after they were lifted as established by several studies across the globe However, little is still known about changes in behavior and preferences of park visitors in the post-COVID time. In this study, we investigated spatial-temporal patterns of recreational activities in the three urban parks in Moscow (Russia) prior, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown (in 2019 and 2020). The selected parks represent two different types: a centrally located park with much infrastructure and open landscapes (Gorky Park) and parks located at the outskirts of the city center with a more forested landscape and little infrastructure (Timiryazevski and Sokolniki parks). Recreational activities were identified based on the analysis of social media photos using machine-learning algorithms. As expected, park closures during lockdown resulted in overall decrease in the number of taken photos. After the parks were re-opened, however, the number of photos did not grow immediately. The number of photos only restored after almost three months, and the visiting peak shifted to autumn. Differences between parks were related to the type of the park and its landscape structure. The lowest decrease in the number of photos was observed for the Timiryazevsky park - a semi-natural green area, while the centrally located Gorky Park was the most affected, likely due to the strictest control measures. In comparison to 2019, photos in 2020 were more evenly distributed across the area in all the three parks. Besides, 'natural' areas became the main attractors for the visitors - photos under 'nature observation' category became the most popular. Spatial distribution of the recreational activities in post-lockdown period was characterized by larger distances between photos, likely corresponding to the social distancing. COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of green areas for citizens, but also changed their recreational preferences and overall behavior in parks. The observed shift from high density of visitors around entertainments and attractions in 2019 to a more homogeneous and less dense distribution along the natural zones in 2020 reveals a new pattern in visitors behavior and preference, which shall be considered in spatial planning of the parks. Increasing availability of natural green areas and their integration in urban green infrastructures can become the most relevant policy to consider the crucial role of urban nature as a source of resilience in turbulent times.

Informing the design of urban green and blue spaces through an understanding of Europeans' usage and preferences

In light of global climate change and the biodiversity crisis, making cities more resilient through an adjusted design of urban green and blue spaces is crucial. Nature-based solutions help address these challenges while providing opportunities for nature experiences, and providing cultural ecosystem services that support public health. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated stressors highlighted the interrelated socio-ecological services provided by nature-based solutions like urban green and blue spaces.This pan-European study therefore aimed to enhance the socio-ecological understanding of green and blue spaces to support their design and management. Using an online survey, green and blue space preferences, usage, and pandemic-related changes in greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies were examined.Greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies were associated with respondents' (N = 584 from 15 countries) geographical location, dominant type of neighbourhood greenspace and greenspace availability during the pandemic, but not greenspace perceptions or sociodemographic background.Greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies were generally high;however, Southern Europeans reported lower greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies both before and during the pandemic than Northern Europeans. Many Southern Europeans also reported having few neighbourhood greenspaces and low greenspace availability during the pandemic.The most common outdoor recreational activity among respondents before the pandemic was walking or running with the most frequently stated purpose of time spent outdoors being restorative in nature (i.e. relaxing or calming down). Most Europeans had positive perceptions of green and blue spaces with preferences for structurally diverse and natural or unmanaged green elements.This highlights the importance of accessible green and blue spaces both in everyday life and during times of crisis. Stakeholders, their preferences, and regional and cultural differences should be included in the co-design of urban green and blue spaces to maximize their potential for both people and nature.Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.