We know that forests already play a key role in mitigating the effects of climate change. This report makes it very clear that they also play a key role in alleviating hunger and improving nutrition.
- Christoph Wildburger, International Union of Forest Research Organizations
About one in nine people globally still suffer from hunger, but the world’s forests have great potential to improve their nutrition and ensure their livelihoods. In fact, forests and forestry are essential to achieving food security as the limits of boosting agricultural production become increasingly clear.
That’s according to the most comprehensive scientific analysis to date of the relationship between forests, food and nutrition, released today in New York at a side event of the United Nations Forum on Forests.
The new report, compiled by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations’ (IUFRO) Expert Panel on Forests and Food Security, underlines the vital role that forests play in food security, as well as the need for the most vulnerable groups of society to have secure access to forest foods.
More than 60 renowned scientists from around the world collaborated on the peer‐reviewed publication “Forests, Trees and Landscapes for Food Security and Nutrition: A Global Assessment Report”, which was led by Dr Bhaskar Vira of Cambridge University’s Department of Geography.
“Forest foods often provide a safety net during periods of food shortages,” says Vira. “In the study, we reveal impressive examples which show how forests and trees can complement agricultural production and contribute to the income of local people, especially in the most vulnerable regions of the world.”
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Image:Cacao fruits
Credit: Dennis Tang
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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