Training Manual On Forests And Trees For Food Security And Nutrition

Currently in Tanzania, training institutions for professionals in cross-cutting sectors such as forestry and agriculture do not adequately capture the role of forest and tree resources for food security and nutrition, leading to dependency on one sector – agriculture – to cater for food and nutrition diversity. This undervalues the fundamental role of forest ecosystem services for sustainable agriculture by regulating water flows, stabilizing soils, maintaining soil fertility, regulating the climate, and providing habitat for wild pollinators and predators of agricultural pests. Provision of education on sustainable forests and trees for food security and nutrition at all levels seems to be the most conceivable entry point to ensure that adequate knowledge and skills are imparted to professionals. The goals of this training manual are to: enhance the recognition and significance of forestry to food security and nutrition through the sustainable management and use of forests and trees2; enhance the food security and nutrition benefits from the forests and trees; enhance and stimulate research and training capacity; strengthen institutional frameworks by incorporating food security and nutrition objectives in forest management policies, programmes and projects; and develop value chains based on forest and tree resources for sustainable development in the country. The overall objective is to create awareness and enable increased investment in the forestry sector for food security and nutrition in Tanzania. This training manual is also meant to serve as a useful tool for sharing and exchanging knowledge and experiences across different regions (within the country) and beyond.

The main objectives of this curriculum are to: understand the role of forests in climate change mitigation; have a better understanding on community forestry and community forestry instructions; realize the importance of stakeholders’ participation and their roles in the establishment of community forestry

Forests have the potential to contribute to food security and nutrition in a number of ways. They are a source of food and they provide woodfuel for cooking, income, employment and ecosystem services that are essential to support agricultural and fishery production. Despite this potential, most often the existing forestry policies are focused on economic efficiency and do not consider the relevance of forests to sustainable food security and nutrition. Conversion of forests to other land uses, for example, is usually justified on an economic basis, with insufficient attention to the long-term environmental and livelihood impacts on local people. This forestry guidance note leads policymakers to realize the potential for forestry policies to support the food security and nutrition of local populations and the world as a whole and to implement necessary changes in the existing forestry policies to give greater consideration to these issues.

This manual is designed for a four-day training course on climate-smart agriculture that would take the learner from the basics of climate science to the impacts of climate change and the linkages among climate, agriculture and food security. It contains four modules, each addressing a particular aspect and consisting of several sessions that are held either in plenary, as one group, or in smaller work groups. The content and structure of this manual has been developed and tested through fieldwork involving extension agents and agricultural producers in Zambia, Malawi and Viet Nam.

"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.

First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.