The role of protected areas in supporting human health: a call to broaden the assessment of conservation outcomes

Ongoing global biodiversity loss has far-reaching consequences for human health and well-being. While protected areas (PAs) have become a major policy instrument for biodiversity conservation, their role in supporting human health remains unclear. Here, we synthesize both positive and negative aspects of PAs on different dimensions of human health and provide several theoretical advances to assess the effectiveness of PAs in promoting human health. We finally identify three major research gaps requiring urgent attention. Implementing an interdisciplinary research program remains a priority to better comprehend the linkages between human health, ecosystem services and conservation policies at global scale. We believe this is key to improve the management of PAs and their surrounding areas and foster co-benefits for biodiversity and human health.