This is the first debate of a new series of conferences and debates organized by the UNESCOMED Center, which aim to continue placing this center as a reference and meeting point for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the context of the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves.

In this occasion, our Scientific Director Dr. Roser  Maneja had the opportunity to discuss with three experts, Dr. Martí  Boada, Dr. Marta Múgica de la Guerra, and Mr. Quim  Zaldo-Aubanell, about one of the most relevant topics in the current context of the pandemic; the relationship between Nature Protected Areas and  Human Health. Throughout the debate, these experts covered several questions, ranging from the concept of global health and its relationship with nature, to the main benefits of protected areas on health and wellbeing, the role of these areas in the context of Covid-19, or the conciliation between their conservation and their use for health promotion. All these subjects were discussed from a general point of view, but focusing on the European and, more specifically, the Mediterranean context.

The debate video is now available in Spanish with subtitles in English and French:

Full  video in Spanish
Full video with English  Subtitles
Full video with French  Subtitles

Resources and References:

EUROPARC Toolkit (EN): Health  and Well-Being Benefits from Parks and Protected Areas

EUROPARC Spain Manual (ES): Salud y Áreas Protegidas en España

Zaldo-Aubanell, Q., Serra, I., Sardanyés, J., Alsedà, L., Maneja, R., 2021. Reviewing the reliability of Land Use and Land Cover data in studies relating human health to the environment. Environ. Res. 194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110578

Zaldo-Aubanell, Q., Campillo i López, F., Bach, A., Serra, I., Olivet-Vila, J., Saez, M., Pino, D., Maneja, R., 2021. Community Risk Factors in the COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality in Catalonia (Spain). A Population-Based Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18, 3768. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073768

Zaldo-Aubanell, Q., Serra, I., Bach, A., Knobel, P., Campillo i López, F., Belmonte, J., Daunis-i-Estadella, P., Maneja, R., 2022. Environmental Heterogeneity in Human Health Studies. A Compositional Methodology for Land Use and Land cover data. Sci. Total Environ. 806, 150308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150308