Having worked most of my career on food security, nutrition and livelihoods, and addressing these issues from the micro-level up, I have no doubt as to the contribution of forests and trees to sustainable livelihoods and local diets.
- a. The decision to consider forests from a FSN perspective is appreciated, but from my experience the four dimensions (availability, access, utilization and stability) - which have been progressively identified at macro-level for political and institutional reasons - do not help much when discussing sustainable development, right to food or systems approach.
While foresters are usually very much aware of the need for integrated natural resource management and participatory approaches, in organisations such as FAO, they have by and large been constrained by the organizational chart to maintain a predominantly technical silo approach. The same is true of other technical departments and while all field staff usually agree that integrated local development is needed, institutional structures do not encourage or allow them to join forces effectively.
Trying to identify the causes of malnutrition and therefore the constraints faced by different population groups (see below) is the first step in the development of local strategies for food security and nutrition, and helps to understand the role of forest and trees in people's livelihoods, and therefore the potential role of the forestry sector in assisting people but above all in preventing and/or mitigating the constraints they face. Again and again changes in diets and livelihoods and related malnutrition can be traced back to external factors, such as the shift to market economy, trade regulations or allocation/grabbing of forested lands (including simplistic conservation projects), which in turn lead to non-maintenance or destruction of natural resources and local biodiversity (e.g. charcoal production for survival).
For further information, please refer to Integration of food security and nutrition in forestry planning: the role of participatory approaches (not recent but still valid) http://www.fao.org/docrep/x7273e/x7273e04.htm#P0_0
b. address the central issue of biodiversity and ecosystem functions in its linkages to FSN. Indigenous groups have developed sustainable approaches to natural resource management for food security and resilience based on the use of local biodiversity. It is urgent to review this experience and tap on the remaining knowledge before it disappears as it may well contribute to alternative approaches for sustainable development.
c. it is urgent to assess the direct and indirect impact of trade regulation, sectoral policies and private sector investment on forest resources and local livelihoods and set up accountability mechanisms;
d. address the question of “FSN of whom”? Understanding the perceptions of these different population groups is the first step towards a mediation process. The involvement of all groups in the development and implementation of local development strategies is essential.
Florence Egal