YEREVAN, ARMENIA | Oct. 21, 2026 — As the world gathers at COP17 to advance action on nature and biodiversity protection, a new international alliance of health and conservation leaders is launching today to put nature at the heart of healthcare.
Created to meet demand from health professionals and organizations around the world for a convenor and accelerator of the nature prescribing movement, the International Nature Prescribing Alliance (INPA) is a physician-led organization with world-leading expertise in health, nature and biodiversity, social prescribing and sustainable healthcare. Through network building, curated resources and expert-led events, INPA aims to advance community and planetary health — one prescription at a time.
“The launch of INPA is arriving at a critical time. In addition to health issues like zoonotic disease transmission and heat illness from loss of urban green space, degradation of and disconnection from nature also contributes to trillions of dollars in health costs globally from conditions like anxiety, depression and heart disease.
Meanwhile, science tells us people are not only happier and healthier when they’re more connected to nature, but they also do more to protect it. As Co-Founder of Park Prescriptions (PaRx) in Canada, I’ve had a front-row seat to the exponential rise in research and practice at the intersection of nature and health in recent years. This field is at a global inflection point — and I’m excited to help lead the global journey towards better health through nature.”
Some of INPA’s partners include The Wildlife Trusts (UK), NatureScot, Dutch Nature-Inclusive Collective, Italian Academy of Biophilia, Italian Society of Environmental Medicine, Park Rx America, PaRx, People and Parks Foundation (Australia), Canadian Medical Association, National University of Singapore Centre for Sustainable Medicine, Planetary Health Alliance, and Health Care Without Harm.
The new Alliance builds on the success of Canada’s nature prescription program, PaRx, an initiative of BC Parks Foundation that has mobilized over 22,000 regulated health professionals to issue over 2 million prescriptions for nature to people across Canada. Endorsed by over 100 major health organizations, including the Canadian Medical Association, and recognized by the World Health Organization, PaRx has put Canada on the map as a global leader in nature prescribing.
INPA is proud to be hosted by another leading charity in Canada, the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, Canada’s premier network dedicated to advancing environmentally sustainable health care.
Research indicates that nature prescribing is an effective way to improve mental and physical health, decreasing disease burden and the associated ecological footprint of the healthcare sector. It also shows that people across the lifespan engage in more pro-environmental behaviours when they are more connected to nature. Therefore, expanding nature prescribing globally — and at the same time, increasing urban greening and biodiversity conservation to improve nature access — is a uniquely powerful way to simultaneously improve community health, reduce healthcare system emissions, waste and pollution, and shift values in favour of nature conservation and sustainability. Every nature prescription has the potential to restore our connection to the land, build planetary health values and action, and improve our wellbeing.
INPA welcomes international, national and regional health and allied organizations to join its mission to improve community and planetary health through nature.
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Health professionals
“Since time immemorial Indigenous peoples have understood that human health is inseparable from the health of the Earth; the land is not merely a setting for wellness, but our first and most enduring relative. I welcome this global alliance as an important step towards bridging traditional ecological knowledges with contemporary healthcare. By formalizing nature prescribing on an international scale, we are remembering the essential truth that to heal ourselves, we must restore our reciprocal relationship with the more-than-human world.”
“For years, modern medicine has overlooked one of the most powerful pharmacies we have: the natural world. The launch of the International Nature Prescribing Alliance marks a global shift toward treating human health and biodiversity conservation as two sides of the same coin. By supporting health and wellbeing through nature, I believe we can nurture meaningful connections among people, communities, and the natural world.”
“As a GP in the UK, I see how much people’s health is shaped by life outside the consulting room. Access to nature should be part of that conversation, but recommending time outdoors means little if someone has no safe, accessible green space nearby. Nature must not become another health opportunity reserved for those who can afford it. I’m proud to join INPA’s advisory board to help make nature prescribing a practical, inclusive part of healthcare, alongside established treatments. Protecting the natural world is also an investment in our patients’ health, now and for generations to come.”
“The Canadian Medical Association is pleased to support the launch of the International Nature Prescribing Alliance. Nature prescribing is an evidence-informed approach that can support physical and mental health while fostering respectful relationships with the planet and recognizes the interconnectedness of people, communities and nature. The CMA recognizes that this approach uplifts Indigenous perspectives, and supports land-based healing and reconciliation. As the impacts of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss continue to affect health worldwide, initiatives like INPA help advance innovative solutions that support healthier people, communities and ecosystems.”
“People often think of medicine as based in bottles and pills, but some of the most potent therapeutics come with roots, canopy, and open air. By uniting physicians globally through the International Nature Prescribing Alliance, we are reclaiming a fundamental truth: human health cannot be separated from the health of the natural world.”
“As doctors, we spend our lives treating the downstream symptoms of a fractured relationship with the planet. Handing a patient a nature prescription bridges that gap — it lowers blood pressure, quiets the mind, and reminds us that healing the human body and healing the planet are the exact same work.”
“Biophilia reminds us that our connection with nature is fundamental to human health and psychological well-being. Through Nature Prescriptions Italy, the Italian Academy of Biophilia is working to translate this scientific understanding into evidence-based approaches to prevention and care. The International Nature Prescribing Alliance offers a unique opportunity to connect research, healthcare professionals and institutions worldwide, making meaningful contact with nature an integral part of how we promote health.”
“The interrelationship between people and nature has been ignored for far too long in medicine. INPA is formalizing a mechanism to re-introduce this relationship as a fundamental part of the identity and development and healthcare of patients. This step enhances the credibility of clinicians and validates patient experiences in nature.”
“Nature prescribing is a clinically relevant, no-cost intervention that offers a non-pharmacologic, evidence-based practice clinicians can adopt immediately. For public health professionals, it highlights a scalable strategy requiring no new infrastructure. For environmentalists and the public, it underscores the role of nearby nature as a public health asset. INPA’s global launch shows that science has finally caught up with common sense.
Park Rx America’s research findings give healthcare providers the evidence they need to confidently prescribe parks to improve their patients’ health. In medicine and public health, it’s rare to find an intervention that is cost-effective, evidence-based, and easy to use. Nature prescribing offers a practical way to combat chronic disease and to help us move more outside and connect with nature.”
Sustainable healthcare organizations
“As more clinicians prescribe time in nature, we need cities designed to make those prescriptions possible — which means urban green space is essential infrastructure for health. The International Nature Prescribing Alliance is helping lead this shift towards healthier, more nature-connected communities, and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care is proud to support its launch as a key step towards a more sustainable, prevention-focused health system.”
“Sustainable healthcare means building systems that heal patients without transgressing the planet’s ecological limits. Nature prescribing is an ideal example of low-carbon medicine — replacing high-emissions clinical pathways with preventative, community-rooted care that nurtures both human vitality and planetary net-zero goals.”
“True sustainable health care does not just manage disease and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; it also restores our ecology. When health systems champion nature prescriptions, they transform clinical practice into an active force for environmental stewardship and long-term community resilience.”
“Biodiversity loss and burnout stem from the same root cause: a dangerous disconnect from the living world. The International Nature Prescribing Alliance offers a visionary path forward where protecting a forest, wetland or city park is recognized as essential planetary health infrastructure.”
“Human health cannot be separated from the environments in which we live. At the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA), we recognize nature prescribing as an important opportunity to strengthen prevention and translate scientific evidence into practical public health interventions. By supporting the International Nature Prescribing Alliance, SIMA is committed to advancing collaboration between environmental medicine, clinical practice and public policy, while promoting access to healthy natural environments as an essential determinant of human health and well-being.”
Health & conservation organizations
“Children love the living world. When we honour their love, we raise healthier kids and a generation that will care for the Earth. Prescribing Nature can reconnect young people with the living world that sustains them, and remind us all that time outside is good medicine. I’m delighted to welcome the International Nature Prescribing Alliance, and I hope its work benefits children around the globe.”
“When a person falls in love with a local forest, river, or coastal trail through a doctor’s prescription, they become its most fierce defender. Scaling nature prescribing worldwide creates a powerful loop: the natural world heals our bodies, and in return, our care ensures that wildlife and wild spaces thrive.”
“Green and blue spaces rich in nature are fundamental infrastructure for our physical and mental wellbeing: they prevent illness, aid recovery, and foster community resilience, while simultaneously anchoring our efforts on climate, biodiversity, and equity.
In Scotland, green prescriptions and other pathways for improving health and well-being through nature connection have been successfully piloted by ground-breaking partnerships between health, environment, and other sectors. The challenge now is to turn the evidence and learning from this work into coordinated action for green health both locally and nationally through Scotland’s framework for advancing green health, and supported globally through initiatives such as the International Nature Prescribing Alliance.”
“Caught up in our modern, screen-focused lifestyles, we have forgotten a fundamental truth about ourselves: we humans are part of nature. And like every living thing, healthy humans need healthy habitats to survive.
First Nations peoples around the world have long understood this, and we can learn from their knowledge and practices how to live more sustainably as part of the natural world. Nature Prescriptions can also help us realise that when we notice, connect with and care for nature, we’re caring for ourselves, now and into the future.”
“The natural world is a source of wonder and beauty, filled with the most amazing plants and wildlife. But nature is more than this — it’s also a proven health service. Time spent in nature reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, boosts immune systems, and improves mental health. Children who play in nature are more active, more resilient, and more connected to the world around them. Yet, our natural world is being destroyed at an alarming rate, and this biodiversity loss puts this vital Natural Health Service at risk. Halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 is essential for both wildlife and human wellbeing and COP17 must deliver this ambition, with governments honouring their commitments to protect and restore nature. Now is the time to accelerate progress towards the delivery of the Global Biodiversity Framework and take urgent, sustained action.”
“We are part of nature. A nature prescription can help people recover and reconnect — and that connection can work both ways. Working in a community garden or helping clean up a local park or beach allows people to give back to nature as part of their own recovery. INPA can help bring these practices into everyday healthcare through international exchange.”