Indigenous people’s must be considered as urbanites seek relief from the pressures of the city in Taiwan’s green spaces.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/23
By: Greg Brost
Credit: Reuters / TPG
Do green spaces lower suicide rates? A new study suggests that for European city dwellers, the answer is yes, but when it comes to indigenous peoples the question opens a web of complexity that highlights the urgent need for action and education on issues related to transitional justice in Taiwan.
In a study released earlier this year in The Lancet Planetary Health, researchers attempted to explore the relationship between green space and suicide. Findings showed a reduced suicide risk for people in the Netherlands who live in municipalities with a large proportion of green space.
In response to the study, however, a comment article appeared in the August 2018 issue of The Lancet Planetary Health, in which authors Wu Yi-cheng and Harry Yi-Jui Wu argue that connections between suicide and green space should include the perspective and situation of indigenous people, such as the population of more than half a million who live in Taiwan.
For these indigenous populations, the authors propose, exposure to natural environments doesn’t necessarily contribute to a lower suicide risk, and city folks’ desires for green space may have negative impacts on the indigenous communities impacted by an urbanite exodus to the hills. [FULL STORY]