The document highlights the critical interconnections between forests, biodiversity, and food security, emphasizing that sustainable access to nutritious food relies on healthy ecosystems. It discusses global challenges such as population growth, climate change, food inequity, and the consequences of diet simplification that contribute to food insecurity. The paper also advocates for integrated approaches to biodiversity and agriculture for enhancing food security.

1. Forests, biodiversity and food security
Terry Sunderland, PhD
2nd World Biodiversity Congress,
Kuching, Malaysia
THINKING beyond the canopy
10th September 2011

2. Forests matter
Biodiversity
Make up 15%
of Earth’s surface
Home to 50%
of land-based species
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3. Deforestation
Net change
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
South America
Africa
Asia
Europe
North and Central America
Oceania
1990-2000 2000-2005
Source: FAO Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) 2005 THINKING beyond the canopy

4. What is food security?
 Commonly accepted and used
definition for food security:
“Food security exists when all
people, at all times, have
physical and economic access
to sufficient, safe and nutritious
food to meet their dietary needs
and food preferences for a
healthy and active life” (World
Food Summit, 1996)
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5. However….
 This definition infers that
access to enough food is an
adequate criterion to achieve
food security
 Yet access to food must be
sustainable in the long term
 Human well-being is closely
related to access to wider
environmental health such as
access to clean water,
sanitation and biodiverse
productive ecosystems
 Food security does not always
equate to nutritional security
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6. 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 systems
 Long tradition of managing forests for food
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7. Forests matter
Borneo
 Covers 1% of the Earth’s surface
 Contains more than 6% of plant,
bird and mammal species
 Field surveys from East Kalimantan
undertaken by CIFOR identified:
• more than 2100 different species
• these had over 3600 uses
• 119 had no known substitute
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8. Global trends in food production
 Agriculture began around
12,000 years ago
 Approx. 7,000 plant species
and several thousand animal
species historically used for
human nutrition and health
 Since 1900, global trend
towards diet simplification
 Today, 12 plant crops and 14
animal species provide 98%
of world’s food needs
 Wheat, rice and maize: more
than 50% of energy intake
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9. Effects of diet simplification
 More than 800 million people are
under-nourished and 200 million
children are under-weight
 In 2009, more than 1 billion people
were classified as “hungry”: the
highest number in history
 Another 1 billion people suffer from
micronutrient deficiencies, including
Vitamin A, Iron, and Zinc
 Greater incidence of Type II
diabetes among urban dwellers
 Vulnerability to catastrophic events:
climate-related, pests and diseases,
market forces
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10. Legacy of green revolution
 Disaggregation of agriculture and
natural resource management
 Increases in food production have
been achieved through high-input,
intensive, and industrial
agriculture that is heavily
dependent on fossil fuels and
agro-chemicals
 Resulting in:
• Pollution
• Increased CO² emissions
• Land conversion
• Loss of biodiversity
• Uneven distribution of food
supplies
• Loss of livelihoods for small
holders
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11. Challenges to achieving global
food security
 Population growth
 Climate change
 Food inequity
 Gender inequity
 Globalisation
 Continued forest and
biodiversity loss
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12. Challenges: population growth
 Global population estimated
to grow to nine billion by
2050
 If current agricultural model is
followed, this will require
conversion of further one
billion ha of land
 Changing diets: transition to
meat-based diet very
inefficient use of resources
 How to feed the world’s
population while conserving
biodiversity?
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13. Challenges: climate change
 The impacts of rising
temperatures and more-extreme
weather events will likely hurt the
poor, especially rural farmers, the
most
 Agricultural yields in Africa could
decline by more than 30 percent
by 2050 (IPCC)
 Biodiverse multi-functional
landscapes more resilient to
climate change effects and
continue to provide ecosystem
service
 Recent climate-related events
have led to increase in basic food
prices and “food riots”
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14. THINKING beyond the canopy

15. Challenges: Food inequity
 Food inequity: While one billion people go hungry, one billion
people 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 beyond the canopy
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16. Challenges: agricultural investment
 Since 2005, food prices have
increased 50 to 80% in
developing countries
 Funding for agricultural
development has dropped
significantly over the last
decade and are now at historic
lows (only 4% of total overseas
aid)
 Developing country investment
very low, despite contribution of
agriculture to GDP
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17. Challenges: Gender inequity
 Women comprise up to 60% and 80% of small-holder farmers in
Asia 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
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18. Culture and nature: what linkages?
Homogenisation of culture = homogenisation of nature?
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19. Innovations for integrated biodiversity
and food security benefits?
 Marginal lands (in the tropics
480 million ha of land available)
 Diversification of production
systems: tree crops, inter-crops
and maintenance of ecosystem
services (incl. carbon storage)
 Tenure reform
 Conservation agriculture
 Fair and equitable access to
markets especially for small-
holder farmers
 Payments for Environmental
Services?
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20. New approaches for integrating
agriculture and biodiversity?
 “Eco-agriculture” (Scherr and McNeely 2006)
 “Conservation agriculture” (Hobbs et al. 2006)
 “New green revolution” (Time 2010)
 “New agriculture” (UNDP 2011)
 “Agro-ecological approach” (World Bank 2011)
 “Integrated management of biodiversity for food and
agriculture” (FAO 2011)’
 “Protecting biodiversity and ensuring food security are
part of a single agenda” (Godfray 2011: Science)
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21. Guinea.. a success story
 Co-management of Classified Forests for conservation and
livelihoods
 Agricultural intensification and diversification in and around
classified forest areas
 Impacts have included up to threefold increases in local
incomes, and significant expansion of vegetation cover
 Based on good governance and secure tenure
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22. Read more….
 Special issue of
International Forestry
Review on “Forests,
biodiversity and food
security” to be published
in November 2011
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23. t.sunderland@cgiar.org
www.cifor.cgiar.org THINKING beyond the canopy