Forum global sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition (Forum FSN)

The sort of “uncultivated” and semi cultivated foods are large in numbers in India, and offer much to the calorific, protein and micro-nutrient needs of human health. Several of these species are either Crop Wild Relatives or economically valuable resource like NWFPs. Many families, especially the women amongst the poor vulnerable communities access this ‘diversity in the lands of commons’ by adopting several management strategies and methods. They also maintain small land holds domesticated or cultivated with diverse kinds of food plants that are not much known to the outside world. The research in this subject area should focus on the need of importance and urgency in reviving the traditional food basket of the world by carrying out integrated research on the nutritional values of the traditional foods and their potential impacts. We should try to find answers for some of the challenging questions like ‘how to create awareness to practice a healthy nutrition system? What are the practical methods to revitalize the traditional food habits of our grandparents, including the use of under-utilized crops? How to promote horticultural and agricultural remedies for nutritional maladies such as Vitamin- A, iron, iodine and zinc deficiencies for improving food and nutritional security of the growing population in developing countries?

I think “Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition” are very closely related as the ecosystem services like crop production, forest production, preserving habitats and biodiversity, water quality regulation, carbon sequestration and regional climate and air quality regulation largely depends on surrounding land use and land cover change and forest health.

Sres. CFS. HILPE

Reciban un sincero saludo de mi parte, a la vez permitanme participacion en presentarle el informe Actividad Forestal Sostenible para la Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional, en lo adelante iniciare el estudio para la presentacion. Porfavor reciban de antemano este breve informe sobre los posible efecto del Niño a la agricultura nacional Republica Dominicana.

I thought the attached report (“Taking the Towns To The People Through Agro-Forestry”,Ed.) would be of interest to you and consideration for inclusion in the consultation efforts.

Regards

Michael Roberto Kenyi Legge,M.Sc(Food Security)

Executive Vision Member

Central Equatoria State Vision 2040 Secretariat

Republic of South Sudan

Juba

In a recent paper 

van Noordwijk M, Bizard V, Wangkapattanawong P, Tata HL, Villamor GB, Leimona B, 2014. Tree cover transitions and food security in Southeast Asia. Global Food Security 3, 200-208, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912414000455 (open access)

we analyzed the wide range of situations in Southeast Asia and identified four distinct 'landscape configurations' that have major, qualitative consequences for the way the quantitative relationship between forests (or tree cover) relate to food security and nutrition. We hope this typology and the information summarized can be used for the current HLPR study.

abstract:

Trees are sources of food, especially fruits, critical for healthy diets. Trees also modify microclimate, water and nutrient flows for crops and livestock, and are a source of income, allowing forest-edge communities to be food-sufficient through trade without cutting down forests. Opportunities for ecological intensification, utilizing trees in agricultural landscapes, vary along stages of a tree cover transition of forest alteration and deforestation followed by agroforestation. The nonlinear forest transition curve can provide both a theory of change (similarity of processes) and a theory of place (configuration of state variables). We reviewed local perspectives on food security for four configurations of the forest and landscape transition in Southeast Asia, with local human population densities ranging from less than 10 to 900 km2 to explore how current generic ‘theories of change’ on how to achieve global food security need more explicit ‘theories of place’ that take such differences into account

Generally forests have played a pivotal role in food and nutrition security, in that the poor and the very poor have benefitted immensely from the collection of wild fruits and vegetables and also have taped into apiculture as well as a source of livehood, however forests have a multifaceted benefit if you look at from a food and security angle. Globally the collection of fruit, vegetable, game hunting, apiculture, has kept the poor afloat with regards to their nutrition well being, whilst at the same time maintaining the environment. A good example is of farmers maintaining the trees that bees use as hives and anthills which give them a high plain of nutrition. Forests on the other hand are linked to livestock production, proper land use plans are a result of correct stocking rates and carrying capacity which results in high livestock off-take rates. The more the animals means an improvement in the plain of nutrition for the household. Some forests prvide wetlands were organic rice and fish farming can be carried out whilist restoring biodiversity.

On the other hand climate change has had some serious threats to forestry and biodiversity, in that some plant vegetable matter has gone into extinction due to unpredictable droughts and floods. This has compelled most climate change specialists to design climate smart agriculture and go into climate smart landscaping so as to presrve the forests, which will in turn savour the poor from going hungry.

A good point is that most traditional leaders have now been involved in the management of forests, through goon land use planning practices, however this still has to be addressed through the farmer first approach so that farmers and poor commuties should also have a say in deciding the role of forests. The ITK indigenous technical methods of farmers should be tapped through having focused group discussions, key informant interviews, so that we extrapolate data, about how forests benefit the larger populace. Women play a pivotal role in the management of forests and food and nutrition agendas, because there are the ones who know areas where edible forests plant matter can be found, so it is about respecting womens roles, that we can expand the forests benefits in securing food and nutrition security and better livelihoods.

Also there is a need for scientists/experts to start respecting the indigenous values of our communities so that there is technological exchange of information between indigenous communities and scientists, lets avoid is senario of experts talking to communties but lets speak with them because they ahve a lot of knowledge.

Also people living in forest areas should be taught on forest conservation measures, through mapping of potential IGAS, biodiveristy mapping and also looking at climate smart technologies and sharing this with them. Data should be collected through various basket of tools on how these communities survive and the need for these people to continue living the way they are now, this will all about restoring livelihoods.