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Portugal’s Buçaco National Forest has been certified as the world’s fourth “therapeutic forest.”
The 400-year-old forest in Luso is the first of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula. It joins the Göttweig Healing Forest in Austria and Lahnstein and Bad Nauheim in Germany.
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The newly certified forest’s governing body, the Fundação Mata do Buçaco, describes it as “one of the most rich” in natural, architectural, and cultural heritage. It contains roughly 250 species of trees and shrubs, and more than 56 species of mammals, birds, bats and amphibians, some of which are rare or endangered.
As reported by Euronews, therapeutic forests are woodland areas designed for their benefits. To achieve certification, forests must meet criteria set out by the Healing Forest International Certification Office, including being in a “near-natural” state.
A to-be-certified forest must also have dedicated areas for therapeutic applications and relaxation exercises, a network of paths with variable difficulty, and must offer the services of trained forest therapists and other therapeutic professionals.
“This certification, which places us among the four therapeutic forests worldwide and as the first on the Iberian Peninsula, gives us global status and brings with it great responsibility,” said Gonçalo Breda Marques, the president of the Buçaco foundation.
Buçaco National Forest is certified until 2031.
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The potential health benefits of forest therapy and forest bathing
As noted by the International Society for Forest Therapy, the study of forest therapy’s medical-therapeutic effects is still relatively young, but a growing body of research suggests that “forest bathing” can support positive health outcomes.
In 2019, a meta-analysis found that forest bathing effectively reduced serum and salivary cortisol levels, supporting its use to reduce stress. A separate 2022 meta-analysis found that forest bathing significantly reduced the stress levels and blood pressure of people who lived in urban environments and therefore had a “higher risk of hypertension and psychological stress” compared to rural communities.
Another study, also published in 2019, found that spending at least 120 minutes per week in nature can improve a person’s overall health and wellbeing.
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