Within the context of rapid biodiversity loss and the increasing prevalence of inflammatory diseases, it is critical to understand the relationships between biodiversity and human health and well-being across scales. Honghong is working on the project mapping the existing evidence for the “biodiversity hypothesis”, which states that loss of biodiversity (e.g. declining microbial diversity) or reduced contact with biodiversity leads to declines in health and well-being (e.g. through immune dysfunction). Honghong will systematically explore many different aspects of biodiversity and human health, for example how exposure to blue space, such as rivers and lakes, impacts human health and wellbeing. With this project, we will identify the present knowledge gaps and give recommendations on how to better design urban environments to serve human health, by protecting biodiversity.

People: Honghong Li, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Raf Jansen