University of São Paulo series addresses the importance of forests for human well-being
It is easy to understand how forests, parks and all green areas relate to human well-being. In order to deepen the reflection on these benefits, the Symposium Forests and Human Well-Being, bringing together professionals, researchers and students from different areas of knowledge. In line with the 27th United Nations Climate Conference, more commonly referred to as COP 27, the event sought to bring different perspectives on well-being in natural environments, based on research results and experiences on the importance of ecosystem services for health, highlighting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (UN).
In partnership with the event’s organizing committee, the TV USP Piracicaba team produced a series of interviews with eight of the event’s speakers ( see below the list and the link to the programs ). In the interviews, each participant shares a little of their experiences on topics ranging from the challenges of urban mobility in large centers to reforestation projects on the outskirts, passing through the benefits of living with green for psychological and emotional health, educational processes and human sociability, among others.
In the premiere program, the guest was Professor Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, physician, professor at the Faculty of Medicine of USP and commentator for Jornal da Cultura and columnist for Rádio USP. Professor Saldiva has been developing research for several years that map the relationships between human health and life in large cities, and addressed the impact of environmental degradation on human health. “You have to understand nature in order to survive”, says the researcher. In addition to environmental services, such as reducing pollution, temperature and humidity, our organism was programmed to see these green areas and responds to this, as Saldiva says, raising another question: “You can even have green in a city, but the children do not use it, for fear of violence or because they do not ‘see’, they are not used to it”.
To resolve the issue, the researcher informs that it is necessary to encourage coexistence with green. He lists some suggestions, such as the use of vegetable gardens in schools for healthier eating, the construction of viable solutions so that pocket forests occupy degraded areas; or even training homeless people – generating jobs – to take care of these areas. “That is, having a green economy within the urban space and not just in the countryside”, he points out, also remembering the health benefits and co-benefits that this brings to people.