Role of sustainable forests for food security and nutrition
1. What issues should be addressed by the Committee in the biennium 2016-2017?
The issue of not fully understood link between forests and food security and nutrition should be addressed.
It is estimated that 1.6 billion rural people worldwide depend upon forests to some extent for their livelihoods (World Bank, 2002). Despite this figure, the traditional view of forests as a mere source of wood and income is still prevalent. During the International Conference on “Forests for Food Security and Nutrition” (May 2013), the provisioning role of forests as a source of nutritious food was highlighted.
Furthermore, the use of woodfuel as the main type of cooking fuel in about one-third of the World’s households indicates forests’ vital role in cooking practices and care. Therefore, woodfuel plays an important role in ensuring food security and nutrition as well. Based on the average household size in every country, this amounts to about 2.4 billion people (FAO STAT 2011).
However, there still remains a lack of evidence-based and comprehensive understanding on forests’ contribution to food security and nutrition. Consequently, the issues that should be addressed by the Committee in the biennium 2016-17 are those surrounding the vital and still not fully understood relationship between forests and food security and nutrition.
2. Explain the issues and describe why you are proposing it
a) Partial understandingof forests’ contribution to food security and nutrition needs to be improved to capture its contribution across all four dimensions of food security.
In most cases the commonly known links are limited to the direct food consumption (food availability) and the contribution to income generation (economic access) from forests. A comprehensive picture, which includes the utilization and the stability dimensions, needs to be established.
b) Most of the existing analysis is scattered and systematic evidence on forests’ contribution to food security and nutrition at different levels, in particular, global, national and household levels, is lacking.
c) The mentioned issues above need to be addressed in order to increase food security and nutrition via:
· enhancing our understanding and strengthening capacity development in cross-sectoral forestry and food security and nutrition policies and programmes; and
· enabling relevant policy considerations for forestry and food security and nutrition to be properly integrated and validated.
3. What kind of activity do you propose to address this issue? Which kind of CFS workstream should be put in place to address it?
a) A major workstream
b) Another type of workstream
c) An HLPE report
The 41st CFS should consider the topic of “assessing the role of sustainable forests for food security and nutrition” for an HLPE report.
Role of sustainable forests for food security and nutrition
1. What issues should be addressed by the Committee in the biennium 2016-2017?
The issue of not fully understood link between forests and food security and nutrition should be addressed.
It is estimated that 1.6 billion rural people worldwide depend upon forests to some extent for their livelihoods (World Bank, 2002). Despite this figure, the traditional view of forests as a mere source of wood and income is still prevalent. During the International Conference on “Forests for Food Security and Nutrition” (May 2013), the provisioning role of forests as a source of nutritious food was highlighted.
Furthermore, the use of woodfuel as the main type of cooking fuel in about one-third of the World’s households indicates forests’ vital role in cooking practices and care. Therefore, woodfuel plays an important role in ensuring food security and nutrition as well. Based on the average household size in every country, this amounts to about 2.4 billion people (FAO STAT 2011).
However, there still remains a lack of evidence-based and comprehensive understanding on forests’ contribution to food security and nutrition. Consequently, the issues that should be addressed by the Committee in the biennium 2016-17 are those surrounding the vital and still not fully understood relationship between forests and food security and nutrition.
2. Explain the issues and describe why you are proposing it
a) Partial understanding of forests’ contribution to food security and nutrition needs to be improved to capture its contribution across all four dimensions of food security.
In most cases the commonly known links are limited to the direct food consumption (food availability) and the contribution to income generation (economic access) from forests. A comprehensive picture, which includes the utilization and the stability dimensions, needs to be established.
b) Most of the existing analysis is scattered and systematic evidence on forests’ contribution to food security and nutrition at different levels, in particular, global, national and household levels, is lacking.
c) The mentioned issues above need to be addressed in order to increase food security and nutrition via:
· enhancing our understanding and strengthening capacity development in cross-sectoral forestry and food security and nutrition policies and programmes; and
· enabling relevant policy considerations for forestry and food security and nutrition to be properly integrated and validated.
3. What kind of activity do you propose to address this issue? Which kind of CFS workstream should be put in place to address it?
a) A major workstream
b) Another type of workstream
c) An HLPE report
The 41st CFS should consider the topic of “assessing the role of sustainable forests for food security and nutrition” for an HLPE report.