Forests, biodiversity and food security

THINKING beyond the canopy

Forests, biodiversity & food security

Managing wild species and systems for food securityWCC, Jeju

8th September 2011

Terry C.H. Sunderland


What is food security?

Commonly accepted and useddefinition for food security:“Food security exists when allpeople, at all times, havephysical and economic accessto sufficient, safe and nutritiousfood to meet their dietary needsand food preferences for ahealthy and active life” (WorldFood Summit, 1996)


However…. This definition infers that

access to enough food is anadequate criterion to achievefood security

Yet access to food must besustainable in the long term

Human well-being is closelyrelated to access to widerenvironmental health such asaccess to clean water,sanitation and biodiverseproductive ecosystems

Food security does not alwaysequate to nutritional security


Forests, biodiversity and food security One billion people rely on forest products

for nutrition and income Biodiversity provides important safety-net

during times of food insecurity Wild harvested meat provides 30-50% of

protein intake for many rural communities 75% of world’s population rely on

biodiversity for primary health care $90 billion / annum in (primarily invisible)

NTFP trade Products derived from genetic resources

worth estimated $500 billion/year 45% of global food production comes from

diverse small-holder agricultural systems Long tradition of managing forests for food Ecosystem services provided by forests


Global trends in food production Agriculture began around

12,000 years ago Approx. 7,000 plant species

and several thousand animalspecies historically used forhuman nutrition and health

Since 1900, global trendtowards diet simplification

Today, 12 plant crops and 14animal species provide 98%of world’s food needs

Wheat, rice and maize: morethan 50% of energy intake


Effects of diet simplification

More than 800 million people areunder-nourished and 200 millionchildren are under-weight

In 2009, more than 1 billion peoplewere classified as “hungry”: thehighest number in recorded history

Another 1 billion people suffer frommicronutrient deficiencies, includingVitamin A, Iron, and Zinc

Greater incidence of Type IIdiabetes among urban dwellers

Vulnerability to catastrophic events:climate-related, pests and diseases,market forces


Purported legacy of green revolution Disaggregation of agriculture and

natural resource management Significant increases in food

production have been achievedthrough high-input, intensive, andindustrial agriculture that is heavilydependent on fossil fuels andagro-chemicals resulting in:• Pollution• Increased CO² emissions• Land conversion• Loss of biodiversity• Uneven distribution of food

supplies and financial benefits• Loss of livelihoods for small

holder farmers


Challenges to achieving globalfood security

Population growth Climate change Food inequity Gender inequity Globalisation Continued forest and

biodiversity loss


Challenges: population growth Global population estimated

to grow to nine billion+ by2050

If current agricultural model isfollowed, this will requireconversion of further onebillion ha of land

Changing diets: transition tomeat-based diet veryinefficient use of resources

How to feed the world’sgrowing and more affluentpopulation while conservingbiodiversity?


Challenges: climate change The impacts of rising

temperatures and more-extremeweather events will likely hurt thepoor, especially rural farmers, themost

Agricultural yields in Africa coulddecline by more than 30 percentby 2050 (IPCC)

Biodiverse multi-functionallandscapes more resilient toclimate change effects andcontinue to provide ecosystemservice

Recent climate-related eventshave led to increase in basic foodprices and “food riots”



Challenges: Food inequity

Food inequity: While one billion people go hungry, one billionpeople are over-weight or obese (daily feast or famine)

Food waste (post harvest and post purchase) Purchasing power: Singapore/Hong Kong are food secure,

while India, a major agricultural producer, is not


Challenges: agricultural investment

Since 2005, food prices haveincreased 50-80% in developingcountries

Funding for agriculturaldevelopment has droppedsignificantly over the lastdecade and are now at historiclows (only 4% of total overseasaid)

Developing country investmentvery low, despite contribution ofagriculture to GDP


Challenges: Gender inequity

Women comprise up to 60% and 80% of small-holder farmers inAsia and sub-Saharan Africa respectively

More likely to include diverse range of products Described as “guardians of food security” for the household Maternal health and nutrition is key for future productivity Many women lack access to land tenure, credit, extension

services


Innovations for integrated biodiversityand food security benefits?

Marginal lands (in the tropics480 million ha of land available)

Diversification of productionsystems: tree crops, inter-cropsand maintenance of ecosystemservices (incl. carbon storage)

Tenure reform Conservation agriculture Fair and equitable access to

markets especially for small-holder farmers

Land sparing or land sharing?


New approaches for integratingagriculture and biodiversity?

“Eco-agriculture” (Scherr and McNeely 2006) “Back to the land: New green revolution” (Time 2010) “Agroecology is complimentary to conventional agriculture and

needs scaling up” (United Nations 2011) “New agriculture needed…” (UNDP 2011) “Agro-ecological approach” (World Bank 2011) “Integrated management of biodiversity for food and agriculture”

(FAO 2011)


Read more….

Special issue ofInternational ForestryReview on “Forests,biodiversity and foodsecurity” published inNovember 2011


What’s missing?


“Protectingbiodiversityandensuringfoodsecurityarepartofa

singleagenda”(Godfray2011:Science)

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