Researchers at The James Hutton Institute, a world-leading scientific research institute at the forefront of transformative science for the sustainable management of land, crops and natural resources, have identified a set of indicators for assessing the quality of green and blue spaces – helping understand how they can be used to tackle the challenges posed by environmental, social and economic crises.
In recent years, research has suggested that green and blue spaces – defined as natural and managed spaces which encompass vegetation and/or water bodies in rural and urban environments – are integral to addressing global crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss and economic divides. As well as benefitting the health and wellbeing of those who visit them, these spaces provide vital refuges for threatened species, store carbon, reduce temperatures and offer free places to exercise and socialise.
However, much of the recent research around green and blue spaces has put the focus on availability without accounting for variation in quality. Work on the benefits of green spaces has shown that quality is of more importance than quantity, but definitions and indicators which measure quality are rarely consistent and may not provide the best assessment.
In an effort to remedy this, Hutton researchers have identified 72 indicators of green and blue space quality applicable to Scotland. These indicators, which are laid out in a new paper, consider the benefits provided to the environment, people, communities and businesses. The study found that quality for people and the environment had a wider range of indicators overall when compared to communities and businesses, and that the indicators most often used when assessing spaces in Scotland were not always the indicators considered most important by practitioners and stakeholders. This suggests a trade-off between what can be measured, or needs to be measured for reporting, and what may be most beneficial for the quality of green and blue spaces.
Researchers identified these indicators of quality by using the Four Capitals framework – a method focusing on how a space contributes to natural capital, human capital, social capital and produced capital. They also carried out a literature review and conducted both an online survey and workshops in Perth and Aberdeen to gather opinions on the importance of different indicators.
Future research will look at measuring indicators which are important but rarely used, in order to improve understanding and management of green and blue space quality.
Dr Michaela Roberts, an environmental economist at the Hutton and co-author of the paper, said: “Scotland’s green and blue spaces are important for people’s health and wellbeing, as well as providing valuable community spaces, opportunities to experience nature, and spaces for business.
“However, the benefits provided by green and blue spaces relies on their quality. We hope that a better understanding of the dimensions of quality of green and blue space in Scotland will help facilitate improvements to quality, and therefore the extent of benefits felt by communities.”