Britain ranks near the bottom of a new global survey measuring people’s emotional connection to nature, placing 55th out of 61 countries — well below nations such as Nepal, Iran and South Africa.
The study, published in Ambio, surveyed 57,000 people worldwide and found that Nepal is the most “nature-connected” nation, followed by Iran, South Africa, Bangladesh and Nigeria. At the other end, Spain, Japan, Israel, Germany and Canada joined the UK among the least connected.
Researchers from the University of Derby and Austria found that spirituality and religious faith were the strongest predictors of closeness to nature, while urbanisation, wealth, and internet use were linked to weaker connections. Societies focused on business and economic growth also tended to be less nature-connected.
Professor Miles Richardson, who led the study, said the results reflect the UK’s highly technological and commercial culture. “We’ve become a more rational, economic society. The challenge now is how to reintegrate natural thinking into our daily lives,” he said.
Richardson suggested bringing nature into healthcare, business decisions and even law, such as through biodiversity requirements. He also called for cities to go beyond adding parks and instead create “sacred” urban spaces that inspire emotional bonds with nature.
The bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, welcomed the study’s findings, adding: “What we notice, we begin to love; what we love, we come to treasure; and what we treasure, we want to protect.”
