Forests, Health, and Moral Care: a Bioethical and Philosophical Analysis of Environmental Responsibility in Nursing Practice

Forests remain foundational to ecological balance, climate stability, and human health. Through ecosystem services such as air purification, watershed protection, biodiversity conservation, temperature regulation, nutrition support, and disease buffering, forest systems directly and indirectly shape mental, physical, and community well-being. Exposure to forested environments supports stress reduction, emotional resilience, and cognitive functioning, while also sustaining livelihoods, cultural identity, and communal cohesion. Despite increasing recognition of environmental determinants of health, the ethical responsibilities of healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, in advancing ecological stewardship remain underdeveloped, representing a critical gap in nursing ethics and public health discourse. To address this gap, this study employs a philosophical-conceptual approach grounded in interdisciplinary literature synthesis and normative bioethical reasoning, drawing on environmental ethics, nursing ethics, public health, indigenous ecological knowledge, Ubuntu philosophy, and eco-bioethics. The analysis develops a culturally inclusive framework that positions nurses as moral agents of ecological justice, linking relational care with environmental responsibility. Evidence from community-based initiatives, including participatory forest regeneration efforts in Kenya and indigenous-led watershed restoration models in Peru, demonstrates that culturally aligned stewardship enhances ecological outcomes, promotes nutrition and disease prevention, and strengthens community well-being. The study finds that forests must be treated not merely as environmental assets but as infrastructures of health and moral concern, and that nurses have a professional and ethical obligation to integrate environmental literacy, forest-health advocacy, and culturally grounded stewardship into clinical practice, community engagement, education, and policy processes. By framing environmental responsibility as an integral dimension of nursing moral care, this paper contributes to climate-responsive, ethically robust, and culturally inclusive health practice, highlighting the interdependence of ecological and human flourishing.