Forest is one of the richest terrestrial ecosystems. Forests are the real seat of biodiversity and are in fact the main source of ecosystem functions useful to human. Forests play regulatory role (climate), protection role (predators of agricultural pests, soils) and production role (food, wood), including food production (fruits, leaves, nuts, insects, etc). A large part of agricultural production depends on pollination made by insects living in forests.
Forest foods and tree products such as leaves, seeds, nuts, honey, fruits, fungi and insects were important components of rural diets for thousands of years (FAO, 2013). The wide range of medicinal plants found in the forests contributes to the health and well-being of forest-dependent people and is the basis for many pharmaceutical products now manufactured worldwide. Forests are an important source of fodder for livestock, especially in arid areas. The genetic diversity present in natural forests has tremendous potential for the discovery, development and improvement of new sources of food and medicine. There is significant potential for greater use of forest species, including plants and insects for food production on a large scale. Numerous of forest foods and tree products have an extremely high nutritional value. Forest wetlands and mangrove forests help protect coastal areas against flooding, thus increasing the stability of food production in coastal areas.
Forests are sources of food and important income for the poor populations, and women in particular, and could be essential in times of economic, political and ecological crisis. The presence of forests increases the resilience of ecosystems and the ability of people to meet their nutritional needs.
A wide range of agroforestry systems is available to support food and nutrition security, through the direct provision of food, increasing farmers' income, the supply of fuel for cooking, soil improvement and agricultural productivity, and the contribution of other ecosystem services.
Indigenous peoples and other local communities have a vast wealth of traditional knowledge on the cultivation, harvesting and preparation of forest and tree foods and sustainable land management. One of the best known wild palms in Benin is B. aethiopum whose pulp and seeds are used as food, as well as its rootlets, shoots and the terminal bud. B. aethiopum palm wine is also collected. The ashes of the male flower are used as "salt" and are the raw material for various medical substances (Mollet, 1999). Other wild palms are Raffia sudanica, Raphia hookeri and Raphia vinifera which are used for human food (palm wine), utensils and tools, construction, and cultural purposes and in traditional medicine (Akoegninou 2006; Jiofack, 2011).
However, the importance of forest, recognized through the Rio Convention on biological diversity (ratified in 1993) and the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas (signed in 1997), contrasts a bit with the pace of forest loss in the world, especially in Africa. For example, from 1990 to 1995, a total loss of 298 000 ha of forest cover was recorded in Benin (FAO, 1999) and as a result, many plant species are threatened and disappearing more and more of their natural ecosystems (Adomou, 2005). Deforestation, climate change, overexploitation, bad farming systems, population pressure, wild fires, etc. contribute to the loss of indigenous plants (Assogbadjo et al., 2010). That’s why the sustainability of the forest management is beginning a growing concern. Sustainable forest management is a broad and evolving concept aimed at ensuring the sustainable use and conservation of forests, while providing benefits to local populations, including strengthening food security and nutrition. This sustainable forest management calls for objective and empirical analysis of the socio-economic factors that determine the forests maintenance or degradation.
Emile Houngbo