Forests Trees And Landscapes For Food Security And Nutrition

As population estimates for 2050 reach over 9 billion, issues of food security and nutrition have been dominating academic and policy debates. A total of 805 million people are undernourished worldwide and malnutrition affects nearly every country on the planet. Despite impressive productivity increases, there is growing evidence that conventional agricultural strategies fall short of eliminating global hunger, as well as having long-term ecological consequences. Forests can play an important role in complementing agricultural production to address the Sustainable Development Goals on zero hunger. Forests and trees can be managed to provide better and more nutritionally-balanced diets, greater control over food inputs—particularly during lean seasons and periods of vulnerability (especially for marginalised groups)—and deliver ecosystem services for crop production. However forests are undergoing a rapid process of degradation, a complex process that governments are struggling to reverse. This volume provides important evidence and insights about the potential of forests to reducing global hunger and malnutrition, exploring the different roles of landscapes, and the governance approaches that are required for the equitable delivery of these benefits. Forests and Food is essential reading for researchers, students, NGOs and government departments responsible for agriculture, forestry, food security and poverty alleviation around the globe.

"The current report reflects the importance of policy coherence and integration more than any previous GFEP (Global Forest Expert Panels) assessment. It comes at a time when the United Nations General Assembly seeks to adopt a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which build upon the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and converge with the post-2015 development agenda. In this context, the eradication of hunger, realisation of food security and the improvement of nutrition are of particular relevance. By 2050, the international community will face the challenge of providing 9 billion people with food, shelter and energy. Despite impressive productivity increases, there is growing evidence that conventional agricultural strategies will fall short of eliminating global hunger and malnutrition. The assessment report in hand provides comprehensive scientific evidence on how forests, trees and landscapes can be - and must be - an integral part of the solution to this global problem. In other words, we must connect the dots and see the bigger picture."--Preface.

As population estimates for 2050 reach over 9 billion, issues of food security and nutrition have been dominating academic and policy debates. A total of 805 million people are undernourished worldwide and malnutrition affects nearly every country on the planet. Despite impressive productivity increases, there is growing evidence that conventional agricultural strategies fall short of eliminating global hunger, as well as having long-term ecological consequences. Forests can play an important role in complementing agricultural production to address the Sustainable Development Goals on zero hunger. Forests and trees can be managed to provide better and more nutritionally-balanced diets, greater control over food inputs-particularly during lean seasons and periods of vulnerability (especially for marginalised groups)-and deliver ecosystem services for crop production. However forests are undergoing a rapid process of degradation, a complex process that governments are struggling to reverse. Forests have huge potential to reduce global hunger and malnutrition. Forests and Food provides the evidence and insights necessary for harnessing that power. This timely volume is essential reading for researchers, students, NGOs and governments around the globe.

As population estimates for 2050 reach over 9 billion, issues of food security and nutrition have been dominating academic and policy debates. A total of 805 million people are undernourished worldwide and malnutrition affects nearly every country on the planet. Despite impressive productivity increases, there is growing evidence that conventional agricultural strategies fall short of eliminating global hunger, as well as having long-term ecological consequences. Forests can play an important role in complementing agricultural production to address the Sustainable Development Goals on zero hunger. Forests and trees can be managed to provide better and more nutritionally-balanced diets, greater control over food inputs - particularly during lean seasons and periods of vulnerability (especially for marginalised groups) - and deliver ecosystem services for crop production. However forests are undergoing a rapid process of degradation, a complex process that governments are struggling to reverse. This volume provides important evidence and insights about the potential of forests to reducing global hunger and malnutrition, exploring the different roles of landscapes, and the governance approaches that are required for the equitable delivery of these benefits. Forests and Food is essential reading for researchers, students, NGOs and government departments responsible for agriculture, forestry, food security and poverty alleviation around the globe.

"As population estimates for 2050 reach over 9 billion, issues of food security and nutrition have been dominating academic and policy debates. A total of 805 million people are undernourished worldwide and malnutrition affects nearly every country on the planet. Despite impressive productivity increases, there is growing evidence that conventional agricultural strategies fall short of eliminating global hunger, as well as having long-term ecological consequences. Forests can play an important role in complementing agricultural production to address the Sustainable Development Goals on zero hunger. Forests and trees can be managed to provide better and more nutritionally-balanced diets, greater control over food inputs - particularly during lean seasons and periods of vulnerability (especially for marginalised groups) - and deliver ecosystem services for crop production. However forests are undergoing a rapid process of degradation, a complex process that governments are struggling to reverse. This volume provides important evidence and insights about the potential of forests to reducing global hunger and malnutrition, exploring the different roles of landscapes, and the governance approaches that are required for the equitable delivery of these benefits. Forests and Food is essential reading for researchers, students, NGOs and government departments responsible for agriculture, forestry, food security and poverty alleviation around the globe." This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

Agricultural expansion has transformed and fragmented forest habitats at alarming rates across the globe, but particularly so in tropical landscapes. The resulting land-use configurations encompass varying mosaics of tree cover, human settlements and agricultural land units. Meanwhile, global demand for agricultural commodities is at unprecedented levels. The need to feed nine billion people by 2050 in a world of changing food demands is causing increasing agricultural intensification. As such, market-orientated production systems are now increasingly replacing traditional farming practices, but at what cost? The Agrarian Change project, coordinated by the Center for International Forestry Research, explores the conservation, livelihood and food security implications of land-use and agrarian change processes at the landscape scale. This book provides detailed background information on seven multi-functional landscapes in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Zambia and Burkina Faso. The focal landscapes were selected as they exhibit various scenarios of changing forest cover, agricultural modification and integration with local and global commodity markets. A standardized research protocol will allow for future comparative analyses between these sites. Each case study chapter provides a comprehensive description of the physical and socioeconomic context of each focal landscape and a structured account of the historical and political drivers of land-use change occurring in the area. Each case study also draws on contemporary information obtained from key informant interviews, focus group discussions and preliminary data collection regarding key topics of interest including: changes in forest cover and dependency on forest products, farming practices, tenure institutions, the role and presence of conservation initiatives, and major economic activities. The follow-on empirical study is already underway in the landscapes described in this book. It examines responses to agrarian change processes at household, farm, village and landscape levels with a focus on poverty levels, food security, dietary diversity and nutrition, agricultural yields, biodiversity, migration and land tenure. This research intends to provide much needed insights into how landscape-scale land-use trajectories manifest in local communities and advance understanding of multi-functional landscapes as socioecological systems.

A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.

The Special Issue, entitled “Forest, Food and Nutrition”, is focused on understanding of the intersection and linking existing between forests, food, and nutrition. Forest ecosystems are an important biodiversity environment resource for many species. Forests and trees play a key role in food production and have a relevant impact also on nutrition. Plants and animals in the forests enable nutrient-rich food sources to be available, and can provide important contributions to dietary diversity, quality, and quantity.