© Alex Webb/Magnum Photos for FAO
FAO convenes global workshops on forests, trees and wild species’ contributions to sustainable agrifood systems transformationIn May 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a series of workshops on “Forest food systems and their contribution to food security and nutrition“ to identify and promote priority actions to enhance the sustainable use of forest and tree foods, including wild species. Over 160 participants from nearly 30 countries joined the workshops remotely to exchange knowledge and experiences on enabling the contributions of forests foods to sustainable food systems and optimizing benefits for biodiversity, climate and human health. Forests, woodlands and other ecosystems are home to thousands of wild plants, fungi and animal species – often called non-wood forest products (NWFP) - that are used for food, medicine, energy, income, cultural identity and other practices. Globally, 50 000 wild species are used by some 5.76 billion people and play a vital role in human health and nutrition, especially for women, children, Indigenous Peoples and vulnerable segments of society. Yet these benefits are often overlooked in policy and practice. The workshops aim to guide and strengthen FAO's technical support for harnessing the contribution of NWFPs, particularly wild plants, fungi and animal species, to agrifood systems transformation. They also aim to enhance the linkages and complementarities between agriculture and forestry, and strengthen coordinated and coherent policy response towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Paris Agreement and the Decades of Nutrition and Ecosystem Restoration, and other frameworks. For further information, please see:
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