Wellbeing and the environment

The notion that ecosystems provide services that substantially contribute to people’s wellbeing is now widely held. There remains, however, an urgent need to quantify the relationships. On-going research at the Institute seeks to fill this gap by using novel assessment tools such as ‘Mappiness’ in to order to identify the connection between the natural environment and metrics of people’s wellbeing. Clearly, policies to protect and invest in the natural environment will impact on wellbeing too. Research here includes an investigation of how the shift to low-carbon energy in countries such as India and Guinea Bissau impacts on the wellbeing of those individuals and communities participating in this transition.