The Community-Environment-Health Nexus: Connecting Community-Led Climate Action to Health Co-Benefits

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Community Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Climate action initiatives often overlook potential health co-benefits.
• The role of green and blue space contact in climate action needs further investigation.
• Understanding these co-benefits can inform integrated climate and health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze health and wellbeing outcomes from community-led climate action projects.
• To identify the impact of green and blue space engagement on health co-benefits.
• To propose a framework for understanding the nexus between community environment and health.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 32 community-led climate action projects.
• Data extracted from final reports of projects funded by Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network (ECCAN).
• Analysis covered projects in energy, transport, food, circular economy, and green space themes, involving 3195 participants.

Main Results:

• 66% of projects reported secondary health and wellbeing outcomes, despite health not being a primary objective.
• Projects with high nature contact demonstrated stronger health co-benefits.
• Significant improvements in mental wellbeing (76%) and community engagement (94%) were reported, particularly with blue space engagement.

Conclusions:

• Community engagement with green and blue spaces in climate action consistently generates positive health outcomes.
• A framework, the Community-Environment-Health Nexus (CEHN), is proposed to explain these synergistic health benefits.
• Dual-purpose programming for climate and health is recommended.