Forest Conservation: A Potential Nutrition-Sensitive Intervention in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

Childhood undernutrition yearly kills 3.1 million children worldwide. For those who survive early life undernutrition, it can cause motor and cognitive development problems that translate into poor educational performance and limited work productivity later in life. It has been suggested that nutrition-specific interventions (e.g., micronutrient supplementation) that directly address the immediate determinants of undernutrition (e.g., nutrient intake) need to be complemented by nutrition-sensitive interventions that more broadly address the underlying determinants of undernutrition (e.g., food insecurity). Here, we argue that forest conservation represents a potentially important but overlooked nutrition-sensitive intervention. Forests can address a number of underlying determinants of undernutrition, including the supply of forest food products, income, habitat for pollinators, women's time allocation, diarrheal disease, and dietary diversity. We examine the effects of forests on stunting-a debilitating outcome of undernutrition-using a database of household surveys and environmental variables across 25 low-and middle-income countries. Our result indicates that exposure to forest significantly reduces child stunting (at least 7.11% points average reduction). The average magnitude of the reduction is at least near the median of the impacts of other known nutrition interventions. Forest conservation interventions typically cover large areas and are often implemented where people are vulnerable, and thus could be used to reach a large number of the world's undernourished communities that may have difficult access Rasolofoson et al. Forest Conservation: Potentially Nutrition-Sensitive to traditional nutrition programs. Forest conservation is therefore a potentially effective nutrition-sensitive intervention. Efforts are needed to integrate specific nutrition goals and actions into forest conservation interventions in order to unleash their potential to deliver nutritional benefits.

What are the links between tree‐based farming and dietary quality for rural households? A review of emerging evidence in low‐ and middle‐income countries

“…The authors acknowledge this is probably due to self‐selection, with more highly educated households seeking advice from extension services. This parallels findings in other studies that evaluate agriculture and nutrition projects, where education is shown to enhance the efficacy of various nutrition‐sensitive interventions (Rasolofoson et al, 2020). With tree‐based farming, education and wealth are key assets that can motivate farmers to make the initial long‐term investment and the ability to manage the time‐lag between planting and harvest.…”

Finding food in the hunger season: A mixed methods approach to understanding wild plant foods in relation to food security and dietary diversity in southeastern Madagascar

“…However, though buffer zones and "zones of utilization" within and around PAs have become increasingly common, many fortress-style PAs still forbid the collection of wild plants from within their boundaries. Despite evidence that reduced access to wild foods can negatively affect FSN, specifically micronutrient consumption (Johnson et al, 2013;Powell et al, 2015;Galway et al, 2018;Rasolofoson et al, 2020), the impact of PAs on food security, and human wellbeing in general, remains under-examined in the literature (Pullin et al, 2013;Jouzi et al, 2020). Of the studies focusing on wild food access in these spaces, most has focused on wildlife (e.g., Golden et al, 2011;Mavah et al, 2018).…”

Is stunting in children under five associated with the state of vegetation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Secondary analysis of Demographic Health Survey data and the satellite-derived leaf area index

“…The association between forest cover/vegetation and childhood stunting has previously been observed in a few other studies that use different vegetation proxies (most often, the NDVI). Using data from 25 low- and middle-income countries, Rasolofoson et al [ 38 ] have demonstrated that exposure to forests significantly reduces child stunting (by around 7%). Sununtnasuk [ 39 ] also showed the NDVI statistically reducing the probability of stunting in Nepal.…”