Citation

Wu YC, Wu HY. Lancet Planet. Health 2018; 2(8): e325-e326.

Affiliation

Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30160-8

PMID

30082043

Abstract

Suicide has recently emerged as a subject of discussion under the framework of planetary health. Helbich and colleagues1 state that municipalities with more green space could reduce their suicide rates, and that exposure to natural environments lowers suicide mortality. Chang and Gunnell2 echo the need for further research on informed land use and urban planning to reduce suicide rates. However, exposure to green space is not always a positive factor contributing to better mental health, since nature is perceived, accessed, and used differently by people of different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

The rights and ownership of the state, and its governance over land, determine the accessibility of green spaces. A critique on the global environment stressed the importance of subjective and lived experiences perceived from within.3 Suicide incidents encountered during our fieldwork in Taiwan represent the complex association between suicide and the natural environment. For example, in March, 2018, a 63-year-old Atayal farmer in an Indigenous township called Wufeng, where the Atayal people have long settled, died by suicide by swallowing pesticide. In August, 2017, the farmer reportedly violated the Soil and Water Conservation Act by digging in his own land illegally and was thus required to pay a fine of NT$140 000 (approximately US$4700). The farmer was illiterate and unfamiliar with the law. Having suffered from severe gout for 20 years, he could not work but had to rent out his land to others to be farmed at a very low price. He chose to take his own life because he could not afford to pay the fine.

Indigenous Atayal communities used to live in the mountains, lands that are now regulated by the state and have also become a popular leisure place for urbanites. Wufeng is one of the Indigenous townships with the highest density of campsites in Taiwan and is commonly used ...

Language: en