Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (727 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A course of action or principle adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual that concerns human interactions with nature and natural resources.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Environmental Policies; Policies, Environmental; Policy, Environmental.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Public Policy; Environment
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 4,241 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Environmental Policy” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 1,760 of them (41.5%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 2,506 records.
Reviews account for 358 records (8.4%) and meta-analyses for 12. Randomized controlled trials number 1 (0.0%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 10 |
| 2010-2019 | 2,506 |
| 2020 onward | 1,760 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 358 | 8.4% |
| Meta-analyses | 12 | 0.3% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 1 | 0.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Environmental Policy"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in public health and nutrition
Population and nutrition studies mostly observe what people eat, breathe or are exposed to and then look for links with health, which shows association and not proof of cause. Self-reported diet is imprecise, people who eat or live differently also differ in other ways, and effects measured across a population may not apply to one person. Check the study design, how exposure was measured, what else was accounted for and the size of the effect, not only whether it was statistically significant.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity | 2020 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 131 | cc by PMID 33293507 · DOI · PMC7723057 |
| Diverse values of nature for sustainability | 2023 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 105 | cc by PMID 37558877 · DOI · PMC10447232 |
| A function-based typology for Earth's ecosystems | 2022 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 87 | cc by PMID 36224387 · DOI · PMC9581774 |
| Rethinking desert definitions: Bridging the gap between science, policy, and conservation | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 41204040 · DOI · PMC12961036 |
Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Many global environmental agendas, including halting biodiversity loss, reversing land degradation, and limiting climate change, depend upon retaining forests with high ecological integrity, yet the scale and degree of forest modification remain poorly quantified and mapped.
- Closing excerpt
- Ambitious policies that prioritize the retention of forest integrity, especially in the most intact areas, are now urgently needed alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and restoring the integrity of forests globally.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (151 words)
Many global environmental agendas, including halting biodiversity loss, reversing land degradation, and limiting climate change, depend upon retaining forests with high ecological integrity, yet the scale and degree of forest modification remain poorly quantified and mapped. By integrating data on observed and inferred human pressures and an index of lost connectivity, we generate a globally consistent, continuous index of forest condition as determined by the degree of anthropogenic modification. Globally, only 17.4 million km2 of forest (40.5%) has high landscape-level integrity (mostly found in Canada, Russia, the Amazon, Central Africa, and New Guinea) and only 27% of this area is found in nationally designated protected areas. Of the forest inside protected areas, only 56% has high landscape-level integrity. Ambitious policies that prioritize the retention of forest integrity, especially in the most intact areas, are now urgently needed alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and restoring the integrity of forests globally.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 33293507 · DOI · PMC7723057
Diverse values of nature for sustainability [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being1,2, addressing the global biodiversity crisis3 still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature's diverse values into decision-making.
- Closing excerpt
- Applying this evidence, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation and address barriers to uptake, ultimately leveraging transformative changes towards more just (that is, fair treatment of people and nature, including inter- and intragenerational equity) and sustainable futures.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (226 words)
Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being1,2, addressing the global biodiversity crisis3 still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature's diverse values into decision-making. These barriers include powerful interests supported by current norms and legal rules such as property rights, which determine whose values and which values of nature are acted on. A better understanding of how and why nature is (under)valued is more urgent than ever4. Notwithstanding agreements to incorporate nature's values into actions, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)5 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals6, predominant environmental and development policies still prioritize a subset of values, particularly those linked to markets, and ignore other ways people relate to and benefit from nature7. Arguably, a 'values crisis' underpins the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss and climate change8, pandemic emergence9 and socio-environmental injustices10. On the basis of more than 50,000 scientific publications, policy documents and Indigenous and local knowledge sources, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) assessed knowledge on nature's diverse values and valuation methods to gain insights into their role in policymaking and fuller integration into decisions7,11. Applying this evidence, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation and address barriers to uptake, ultimately leveraging transformative changes towards more just (that is, fair treatment of people and nature, including inter- and intragenerational equity) and sustainable futures.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 37558877 · DOI · PMC10447232
A function-based typology for Earth's ecosystems [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- As the United Nations develops a post-2020 global biodiversity framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity, attention is focusing on how new goals and targets for ecosystem conservation might serve its vision of 'living in harmony with nature'1,2.
- Closing excerpt
- This new information infrastructure will support knowledge transfer for ecosystem-specific management and restoration, globally standardized ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting and progress on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (201 words)
As the United Nations develops a post-2020 global biodiversity framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity, attention is focusing on how new goals and targets for ecosystem conservation might serve its vision of 'living in harmony with nature'1,2. Advancing dual imperatives to conserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services requires reliable and resilient generalizations and predictions about ecosystem responses to environmental change and management3. Ecosystems vary in their biota4, service provision5 and relative exposure to risks6, yet there is no globally consistent classification of ecosystems that reflects functional responses to change and management. This hampers progress on developing conservation targets and sustainability goals. Here we present the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Ecosystem Typology, a conceptually robust, scalable, spatially explicit approach for generalizations and predictions about functions, biota, risks and management remedies across the entire biosphere. The outcome of a major cross-disciplinary collaboration, this novel framework places all of Earth's ecosystems into a unifying theoretical context to guide the transformation of ecosystem policy and management from global to local scales. This new information infrastructure will support knowledge transfer for ecosystem-specific management and restoration, globally standardized ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting and progress on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 36224387 · DOI · PMC9581774
Rethinking desert definitions: Bridging the gap between science, policy, and conservation [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Deserts are often misperceived as desolate, non-productive landscapes.
- Closing excerpt
- We challenge these misconceptions and advocate for a more nuanced understanding of deserts to strengthen scientific and policy frameworks.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (149 words)
Deserts are often misperceived as desolate, non-productive landscapes. This perception contributes to the misuse of terms like 'semiarid' and 'desertification', creating ambiguity in how deserts are defined and geographically delineated. Such conceptual confusion can hinder effective policy by obscuring what constitutes a desert and where they occur. We identify key incongruencies between climatic and ecological approaches to classifying deserts, revealing nearly 12 million km2 of distinct, non-overlapping desert regions globally. A new, more comprehensive desert classification is needed to better support policy goals in desert regions. This refined understanding is especially urgent as human pressures accelerate land degradation across drylands-a process the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification refers to as 'desertification'. However, the term is misperceived as the expansion of deserts while ignoring land degradation in actual desert regions. We challenge these misconceptions and advocate for a more nuanced understanding of deserts to strengthen scientific and policy frameworks.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41204040 · DOI · PMC12961036
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Safeguarding pollinators and their values to human well-being [5]
- Research article Eutrophication: A new wine in an old bottle? [6]
- Research article An overview on the advanced oxidation processes applied for the treatment of water pollutants defined in the recently launched Directive 2013/39/EU [7]
- Research article Contaminated sites in Europe: review of the current situation based on data collected through a European network [8]
- Research article Landscape--wildfire interactions in southern Europe: implications for landscape management [9]
- Research article Children's vulnerability to toxic chemicals: a challenge and opportunity to strengthen health and environmental policy [10]
References
- Grantham HS, Duncan A, Evans TD, Jones KR, Beyer HL, Schuster R, et al.. Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity. . 2020. PMID 33293507 · DOI · PMC7723057
- Pascual U, Balvanera P, Anderson CB, Chaplin-Kramer R, Christie M, González-Jiménez D, et al.. Diverse values of nature for sustainability. . 2023. PMID 37558877 · DOI · PMC10447232
- Keith DA, Ferrer-Paris JR, Nicholson E, Bishop MJ, Polidoro BA, Ramirez-Llodra E, et al.. A function-based typology for Earth's ecosystems. . 2022. PMID 36224387 · DOI · PMC9581774
- Lewin A, Murali G, Roll U, Sternberg T, Rachmilevitch S. Rethinking desert definitions: Bridging the gap between science, policy, and conservation. . 2026. PMID 41204040 · DOI · PMC12961036
- Potts SG, Imperatriz-Fonseca V, Ngo HT, Aizen MA, Biesmeijer JC, Breeze TD, et al.. Safeguarding pollinators and their values to human well-being. Nature. 2016. PMID 27894123 · DOI
- Le Moal M, Gascuel-Odoux C, Ménesguen A, Souchon Y, Étrillard C, Levain A, et al.. Eutrophication: A new wine in an old bottle?. Sci Total Environ. 2019. PMID 30223216 · DOI
- Ribeiro AR, Nunes OC, Pereira MF, Silva AM. An overview on the advanced oxidation processes applied for the treatment of water pollutants defined in the recently launched Directive 2013/39/EU. Environ Int. 2015. PMID 25461413 · DOI
- Panagos P, Van Liedekerke M, Yigini Y, Montanarella L. Contaminated sites in Europe: review of the current situation based on data collected through a European network. J Environ Public Health. 2013. PMID 23843802 · DOI · PMC3697397
- Moreira F, Viedma O, Arianoutsou M, Curt T, Koutsias N, Rigolot E, et al.. Landscape--wildfire interactions in southern Europe: implications for landscape management. J Environ Manage. 2011. PMID 21741757 · DOI
- Landrigan PJ, Goldman LR. Children's vulnerability to toxic chemicals: a challenge and opportunity to strengthen health and environmental policy. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011. PMID 21543423 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.