Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition
Sustainable Forestry
Sustainable forestry abounds when forestry resources are managed sustainably. Therefore, in this submission, the term ‘sustainable forestry’ is synonymous with ‘sustainable forestry management.’ Sustainable forestry management is the process of managing forest to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives, with regard to the provision of a continuous flow of desired forest products and services, without due reduction of its inherent values and future productivity and without due undesirable effects on the physical and social environment. Or, it is a set of objectives, activities and outcomes that are consistent with sustaining the forest ecosystem and improving the quality of lives of communities. Sustainable forest management (SFM) is ecologically sound, economically viable and socially acceptable. SFM is a vital component of sustainable development.
Food Security
Food security is a situation when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The concept of food security (FS) cuts across the physical supply and availability of food, the macro and micro social systems that determine entitlements to food, nutritional value and the capacity of the body to use the food, among others. Marketing, trade and information systems are put into consideration at a macro level. The four dimensions of food security are availability, access, stability and utilization. Food security indicators include average dietary supply adequacy, road density, access to improved water sources, percentage of adults who are underweight, per capita food production variability, etc.
Forest ecosystem services
A wide range of services to society are provided by forest ecosystems. Such services range from reliable flows of clean water to productive soil, and carbon sequestration. Types of ecosystem services include environmental goods (food, fresh water), regulating services (climate regulation, water purification), supporting services (nutrient cycling, soil formation), and cultural services (aesthetic, educational). Illustrative ecosystem services range from purification of air and water and control of agricultural pests, to wind breaking and partial climatic stabilization. Presently, many of these services are either undervalued or have no financial value at all. However, markets are emerging for ecosystem services due to growing concerns.
Forest Ecosystem Services and Agriculture
The sustainability of a farming system is its ability to maintain productivity in spite of large disturbances, such as repeated stress or a major perturbation. Examples of stress include soil erosion, pests, diseases, storms, etc. The sustainability, stability and equitability of farming systems have to be considered separately and in relation to each other, in order to achieve “balanced” agricultural development. Agricultural development can be viewed as a progression of changes in the relative values of the stability, equitability and sustainability of a farming system. Because of the enduring need to raise productivity, the challenge is to do it in a sustainable, stable and equitable manner. Thus, farming systems should be socially acceptable, ecologically stable and economically viable. Because of forest ecosystem services, trees and forests can augment the sustainability, and stability of farming systems. An example of a system in which mixtures of crops are grown to enhance balance in farming is agroforestry. In this way, the natural capital is improved, productivity increased, and food and nutrition security can be achieved.
About Governance
Governance is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources. Good governance is characterized by predictable, open and informed policy-making based on transparent processes, as well as a bureaucracy imbued with a professional culture. It includes an executive arm of government which is accountable for its actions, a strong civil society participating in public affairs and rule of law. Conversely, poor governance is the antithesis of good governance. It results in illegality in production and marketing, and negates sustainable forestry, agriculture and food security. Poor governance is marked by inconsistent policy and legal frameworks, insufficient enforcement capacity, inadequate monitoring of resources and supply chains, market distortions and corruption. According to the World Bank, annual losses in the global market attributed to illegal logging were more than USD. 10 billion in the year 2008, and in government revenue as much as USD. 5 billion.
State of the World’s Forests
Overall, the world’s forests are dwindling fast, as shown in the following table:
Country/area
Extent of forest 2010
Annual change rate
Forest area
% of land area
Area per 1000 people
1990-2000
2000-2010
1000 Ha.
(%)
(Ha.)
(1000 Ha.)
(%)
(1000 Ha.)
(%)
Central Africa
Burundi
172
7
21
-9
-3.7
-3
-1.4
Cameroon
19,916
42
1,043
-220
-0.9
-220
-1.0
Equatorial Guinea
1,626
58
2,467
-0.6
-0.6
-12
-0.7
East Africa
Comoros
3
2
4
0
-4.0
-1
-9.3
Uganda
2,988
15
94
-88
-2.0
-88
-2.6
Mayotte
14
37
73
0
-1.2
0
-1.3
Central Asia
Armenia
262
9
85
-4
-1.3
-4
-1.5
Kazakhstan
3,309
1
213
-6
-0.2
-6
-0.2
Georgia
2,742
39
637
-1
0
-3
-0.1
South Asia
Bangladesh
1,442
11
9
-3
-0.2
-3
-0.2
Nepal
3,636
25
126
-92
-2.1
-26
-0.7
Sri-Lanka
1,860
29
93
-27
-1.2
-22
-1.1
Central America
Honduras
5,192
46
709
-174
-2.4
-120
-2.1
Nicaragua
3,114
26
549
-70
-1.7
-70
-2.0
El-Salvador
287
14
47
-5
-1.3
-5
-1.4
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (State of the World’s Forest, 2011)
The picture is gloomy in both relative and absolute terms. In Cameroon, for example, the area of forest decreased by at least 44,000 ha between the year 1990 and 2010. This gives an average of 22,000 ha per year!! Overall reduction in global forest area was 2.1%, which is really significant. The underlying causes of deforestation and/or forest degradation include demographic, economic, technological, political, institutional and cultural factors. Deforestation and forest degradation is a threat to food and nutrition security, because of the services provided by forest ecosystems, as mentioned earlier.
Remedial action
Addressing poor governance is of utmost importance. This involves tackling inconsistent forest policy and legal frameworks, inconsistent enforcement capacity, inadequate monitoring, market distortions and corruption. Transparency, responsive bureaucracy, accountability, rule of law, strong civil society and respect for authentic institutions must be achieved in the quest for sustainable forestry, food and nutrition security, at local, national, regional and global levels.
The very essence of good governance is ensuring equitable sharing of benefits along the global continuum. The Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development should address food and nutrition security needs and aspirations of the global community, efficiently and effectively. Lack of political commitment, lack of sub-national support, lack of a substantive framework, lack of integrated approaches, and other factors should be looked into. A plausible framework is the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach. It espouses the pillars of sustainable development and results in ‘holism’. It is important to guarantee long-term access rights to resources, to strengthen small and medium forest enterprises and put in place more effective laws for non-wood forest products. Years of experimenting and learning are expressed in the traditional knowledge of indigenous people. Traditional knowledge should be upheld and enhanced. The programme Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) is an opportunity to address the plight of the poor and vulnerable, who are heavily dependent on forest resources. Moreover, urban forests and local economies can generate jobs and income, which strengthen food and nutrition security.
Finally, given the indicators of food and nutrition security, and the dimensions thereof, a programme to invest in sustainable forestry for food and nutrition security should do the following:
- 1. Basic infrastructure: Roads, transportation, communication, energy, irrigation, etc.
- 2. Production and storage support: Input supply, farm machinery, extension services, weather forecasting, producer associations and cooperatives, etc.
- 3. Marketing and business support: Structural services, information services, intelligence, chambers of commerce, etc.
- 4. Financial support: Credit services, banking services, crop/farm insurance schemes, trading exchanges, etc.
- 5. Policy and regulatory framework: Security, land tenure, investment grants, safety net functions, etc.
Research on these factors should be carefully and strategically done. It calls for a multi-disciplinary approach.
In my opinion, this is a blueprint for ensuring availability, access, stability and utilization of food. Sustainable forestry or Sustainable Forest Management is astronomically vital in the quest for global food and nutrition security.
Justine Mwanje