Forests, trees and agroforestry: What role in food security and nutrition?
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Transcript of Forests, trees and agroforestry: What role in food security and nutrition?
THINKING beyond the canopy
Forests, trees and agroforestry: What role in food security and
nutrition?
Terry SunderlandGlobal Landscapes Forum, Lima, Peru
7thDecember 2014
THINKING beyond the canopy
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 a. 2014)
THINKING beyond the canopy
Are forests and trees important for food and nutrition security?
Collection of nutritious NTFPs
Farming 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
THINKING beyond the canopy
• Study using 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
• Sample: ca.93,000 children between ages 13 and 59 months in over 9,500 communities
Testing the hypothesis
THINKING beyond the canopy
• 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
Results
THINKING beyond the canopy
“Forests sustaining agriculture”
Nutrient Cycling:
All studies conducted in agroforestry systems (AFS)
79% studies showed a positive effect of tree presence
Pollination:
87% of studies showed a positive effect of nearby (0.3 – 1.6km) forest/forest fragment
Climate regulation:
Yields of some tree crops diminish, further from forests
Forests, trees = resilience
THINKING beyond the canopy
Multi-functionality at landscape scale
• Combination of separate land units with different functions (spatial segregation)
• Different functions on the same unit of land but separated in time (temporal segregation)
• Different functions on the same unit of land at the same time (functional integration or “real multi-functionality)
THINKING beyond the canopy
GFEP review: Key conclusions
• Diverse forest and tree-based production systems offer advantages over mono-crops because of their adaptability and resilience.
• There are a multitude of ecosystem services provided by forests and trees that simultaneously support food production, 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 provides opportunities to achieve food and nutritional security
• Forests and trees alone will not achieve global food security, but can play a major role