Forests are Still Essential in Fighting World Hunger, Maybe More Than Ever

It's no secret that despite abundant supplies in developed worlds, a worrying number of people are still starving in the modern age. This problem may only grow worse as net populations rise and agricultural production sinks. Now, new research has shown that even deforestation could make things worse, as forests have proven themselves to be more important to global food security than previously thought.

That's according to the most comprehensive scientific analysis to date on the relationships between forests, food, and nutrition. The results were presented today at the United Nations (UN) Forum on Forests.

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 coordinated by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), on behalf of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).

"This report reminds us of the vital role of forests in building food security," Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said in a statement. "It makes a convincing case for multi-functional and integrated landscape approaches and calls for community level engagement to re-imagine forestry and agriculture systems."

A Fall of Farming?

First, it should be pointed out that experts have long been convinced that there is plenty of food in the world to go around. If there was a will and means to evenly distribute global food wealth, no one anywhere in the world would ever go hungry. Unfortunately, that is near impossible from a logistics standpoint, and soon may even take a turn for the worse.

That's because factors like salted soil, global pollinator declines, and even climate change are all severely impacting agriculture, potentially leading to a sharp decline for staple crops like wheat and soy in the future. (Scroll to read on...)

A past study has found that those two leading crops, alongside palm oil, maize and sugars - make up a whopping 80 percent of the world's diet and food trade. What's worse, because many developing worlds are heavily dependent on imported foods, shortages on a local scale could have far-reaching consequences.

"Overall, in the last two decades there has been an increase in the number of trade-dependent countries that reach sufficiency through their reliance on trade," study author Paolo D'Odorico explained in a statement. "Those countries may become more vulnerable in periods of food shortage."

The new UN report argues that as these potential problems press in, many countries could turn to forests for help - more so than ever before.

Forest Favors

"Forest foods often provide a safety net during periods of food shortages," explained Bhaskar Vira, chair of the Global Forest Expert Panel on Forests and Food Security, which compiled the report. "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." (Scroll to read on...)

The report adds how new efforts are underway in Africa to see similar strategies implemented. For instance, some poor farmers are being introduced to a global effort to produce the seeds of the Allanblackia crop, which yield an edible oil with potential for the global food market. It has been estimated that in the future a stable and sustainable Allanblackia oil business could be worth hundreds-of-millions of dollars (USD) in annual income for struggling villages and towns.

The report precedes the UN finalization of the Sustainable Development Goals, designed to address, among other global challenges, poverty and hunger.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

- follow Brian on Twitter @BS_ButNoBS