<
https://theconversation.com/stealth-privatisation-in-iconic-national-parks-threatens-public-access-to-natures-health-boost-188063>
"Australia’s national parks in several states are under siege from
privatisation by stealth. Developers are using the lure of ecotourism to build
posh private lodges with exclusive access deep inside many iconic parks.
The problem is, not everyone can afford private lodges. There’s a real danger
in letting developers take over precious parts of nature. We know nature is
good for our mental health – and the wilder the better. One in five Australians
report at least one episode of mental illness in the previous year.
Our new research shows protected areas in Australia boost the mental health of
visitors, seen in productivity gains of up to 11% for people who visit at least
once a month. Nationwide, that means our national parks give us a productivity
gain of 1.8% and cut healthcare costs by 0.6%. We found the therapeutic effects
of nature for mentally unhealthy park visitors are 2.5 times greater than for
mentally healthy visitors.
Access to nature in national parks is one of the few free mental health boosts
available to the less well-off as well as the wealthy. If creeping
privatisation takes root in our parks – replacing campsites with expensive
accommodation – those who most need the boost from nature will find it harder
to get."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
