Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Understanding the transformative aspects of the Wilderness and Protected Lands experience upon human health

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): Alan Ewert; Jillisa Overholt; Alison Voight; Chun Chieh Wang
    Date: 2011
    Source: In: Watson, Alan; Murrieta-Saldivar, Joaquin; McBride, Brooke, comps. Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Ninth World Wilderness Congress symposium; November 6-13, 2009; Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Proceedings RMRS-P-64. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 140-146.
    Publication Series: Proceedings (P)
    Station: Rocky Mountain Research Station
    PDF: View PDF  (171.7 KB)
    Note: This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document

    Description

    Wilderness and Protected Landscapes (WPLs) have long been considered special areas for a variety of reasons including baseline data, impact analyses, protected zones, and other tangible and intangible values. Another salient, and some would argue, a more important value offered through WPLs is that of human transformation. Accordingly, three theories have provided the bulk of the explanatory framework regarding the connection of WPL to human health: (1) attention restoration theory (ART), (2) psycho-evolutionary theory (PET), and (3) intentionally designed experiences (IDE). Transforming experiences associated with WPLs are often strongly related to emotion, affect, and social cognitive variables, such as developmental/therapeutic health, physical health, self-sufficiency, and educational, spiritual, and aesthetic/creativity benefits. The relationship between these types of experiences and transformations of attitude, beliefs, and behaviors in human populations is presented. The Eastern religions, such as Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and their erudite philosophers, have a long historic link to health, spiritualism, and wilderness environments. In response to this fact, this paper will discuss wilderness and human transformation from both the familiar Western concepts as well as an international (Asian) perspective on wilderness and transformative experiences.

    Publication Notes

    • You may send email to rmrspubrequest@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
    • (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Ewert, Alan; Overholt, Jillisa; Voight, Alison; Wang, Chun Chieh. 2011. Understanding the transformative aspects of the Wilderness and Protected Lands experience upon human health. In: Watson, Alan; Murrieta-Saldivar, Joaquin; McBride, Brooke, comps. Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Ninth World Wilderness Congress symposium; November 6-13, 2009; Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Proceedings RMRS-P-64. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 140-146.

    Keywords

    wilderness, biodiversity, conservation, protected areas, economics, subsistence, tourism, traditional knowledge, community involvement, policy, stewardship, education, spiritual values, Wilderness and Protected Landscapes (WPLs)

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page