Forests, food security and nutrition

THINKING beyond the canopy

Forests, food security and nutritionTerry Sunderland

ATBC Annual Conference, Honolulu13th July 2015


Global trends in food production• Agriculture began around

12,000 years ago• Approx. 7,000 plant species

and several thousand animal species historically used for human nutrition and health

• Since 1900, global trend towards diet simplification

• Today, 12 plant crops and 14 animal species provide 98% of world’s food needs

• Wheat, rice and maize: represent more than 50% of global energy intake

(Sunderland 2011, IFR; Khoury et al. 2014, PNAS)


Effects of diet simplification

• More than 800 million people are under-nourished and 200 million children are under-weight

• In 2009, more than 1 billion people were classified as “hungry”

• One billion people obese: greater incidence of Type II diabetes among urban dwellers

• Environmental degradation: agriculture significant driver of deforestation & GHG emissions

• Vulnerability to catastrophic events: climate-related, pests and diseases, market forces

(Sayer et al. 2013, PNAS: Powell et al. 2015, Food Security)


Forests and livelihoods: the evidence• One billion+ people rely on forest products

for nutrition and income in some way (Agrawal et al 2013)

• One fifth of rural income derived from the environment (Wunder et al 2014)

• Wild harvested meat provides 30-50% of protein intake for many rural communities (Nasi et al 2011)

• 80% of world’s population rely on biodiversity for primary health care (IUCN 2013)

• 40% of global food production comes from diverse small-holder agricultural systems in multi-functional landscapes (FAO 2010)

• Long tradition of managing forests for food (IUFRO 2013)

• Forests sustaining agriculture: ecosystem services provision (Foli et al. 2014)


Are forests and trees important for food and nutritional security?

Collection of nutritious NTFPs

Farm/forest mosaics may promote more diverse diets

Agroforestry and farming systems

Ecosystem services of forests & trees for agriculture

Availability of fuel wood Provision of ‘back up’ foods

for lean season = safety nets


• Study integrating USAID’s DHS nutrition data from 21 countries in Africa, integrated with GIS (Modis) data on % tree cover to test the relationship between tree cover and child nutrition indicators

• Poverty Environment Network (PEN) and forest food consumption

Testing the hypothesis


• There is a statistically significant positive relationship between % tree cover and dietary diversity

• Fruit and vegetable consumption first increases and then decreases with tree cover (peak tree cover is ca. 45%)

• There is no statistically significant relationship between tree cover and animal source foods

(Ickowitz et al. 2014 Global Environmental Change)

Results


• Low- to medium forest food use occurs in most countries;• High-level forest food use occurs in significant subset of

countries• Forest foods not only contribute significantly towards

adequate nutrition, but evidence suggests forest food users in certain sites may enjoy more nutrient rich diets than their average national counterparts: regardless of poverty

• In five of the sites, the top quartile of forest animal food users in our study consumed more than 50% of the national average average for meat consumption

• In many sites forest fruits and vegetables contribute substantially to RDA;

(Rowland et al. in review, Env. Cons.)

Poverty and Environment Network(7,569 HH’s; 24 countries)


• Results of the DHS & PEN studies give an indication that there are interesting relationships that need further investigation, but we need more evidence• DHS/PEN data are not ideal• The GIS data don’t tell us the type/configuration of

trees/forests• PEN doesn’t tell us which people buy forest foods likely

so they are probably underreported• Data can’t explain WHY people in areas with more trees

have more diverse diets• So…. we are doing further studies on the ground

What do we know and what do we still need to find out?


“Forests sustaining agriculture”

Nutrient Cycling:

Studies conducted in agroforestry systems (AFS): 79% showed a positive effect of tree presence

Pollination:

87% of studies showed a positive effect of nearby (0.3 – 1.6km) forest/forest fragment

Pollination and nutrition linkages

Climate regulation:

Yields of some tree crops diminish, further from forests

Forests, trees = resilience(Foli et al. 2014 Env. Evidence; Ellis et al 2015, Plos One)


Influencing the agenda?

• Leading role with the IUFRO Global Forests Expert Panel on Forests and Food Security (published May 2015)

• Invitation to lead the High Level Panel of Experts by the Committee on World Food Security: “Sustainable forestry and food and nutritional security”

• Engagement with wider CGIAR Consortium Research Programmes A4NH, AAAS

• Member of the Landscape Partners for Food and Nature (LPFN)

• Sessions at CGIAR Dialogues/Global Landscapes Forum

• Listed as one of the 101 “Institutions to watch” for 2015 by FoodTank


Key conclusions• Diverse forest and tree-based production systems offer

advantages over monocropping systems because of their adaptability and resilience.

• There are a multitude of ecosystem services provided by forests and trees that simultaneously support food production, nutrition, sustainability and environmental and human health.

• Managing landscapes on a multi-functional basis that combines food production, biodiversity conservation and the maintenance of ecosystem services can contribute to food and nutritional security

• Forests and trees alone will not achieve global food security, but can play a major role: discourse has started to change


[email protected]

@TCHSunderland