UPCOMING UN FORUM HIGHLIGHTS VITAL CONTRIBUTION OF FORESTS TO FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

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From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 10 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400
Subject: UPCOMING UN FORUM HIGHLIGHTS VITAL CONTRIBUTION OF FORESTS TO
FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

UPCOMING UN FORUM HIGHLIGHTS VITAL CONTRIBUTION OF FORESTS TO FOOD
SECURITY AND NUTRITIONNew York, May 10 2013 4:00PMThe crops, animals
and trees found in forests can play a crucial role in improving food
security and nutrition around the world, according to the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is hosting a
gathering on the issue in Rome next week.

Forests cover nearly a third of the globe and provide an invaluable
variety of social, economic and environmental benefits. Around 1.6
billion people – including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures –
depend on forests for their livelihood.

Forests are also the source of three-fourths of freshwater, help to
regulate the impact of storms and floods and store carbon from the
atmosphere. Also, more than three billion people depend on forests for
wood for cooking and heating.

The<"http://www.fao.org/forestry/food-security/en/"> International
Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition, to be held at
FAO headquarters from 13 to 15 May, will bring together policy-makers,
scientists, the private sector, UN agencies, non-governmental
organizations, and community and farmers' groups, as well as
indigenous representatives to raise awareness and understanding about
the many ways forests contribute to food security, especially in
developing countries.

"If you talk to the general public about forests, they think about
building houses and furniture and maybe recreation. But they don't
primarily think about food," said Eva Muller, Director of FAO's Forest
Economics, Policy and Products Division.

"So one of the main reasons for organizing this conference is to draw
attention to the contribution that forests can actually provide to
food security and nutrition," she stated in an interview with the UN
News Centre ahead of the Rome meeting.

Ms. Muller pointed out that forests contribute to food security in a
variety of ways. They are a source of 'forest foods', which include
things such as fruits, leaves, seeds and mushrooms, as well as wild
animals and insects.

"These usually are not the main staple of people's diets but they are
a very important supplement to diets because they are very nutritious
and add minerals and vitamins. Also, the insects and wild animals
provide the main source of protein for many people who live in and
around forests."

Forests and trees also provide income and in many rural areas, they
are the basis of small businesses, Ms. Muller noted. Very often, women
collect products from the forests – mainly non-wood products – and
sell them in the markets to generate crucial additional income which
they use to provide food for their families, pay school fees and
clothe their children.

"But forests also contribute in a more indirect ways to food security
and nutrition. And that is through the environmental services they
provide," she stated. Forests help mitigate climate change by storing
carbon, regulate water flows, and sometimes provide protection against
the effects of storms. Forests are also home to bees which are
pollinators for agricultural crops, she added.

The first day of the conference will feature the launch of the book
<i>Edible Insects: future prospects for feed and food security</i>,
which address the multi-faceted role that insects can play in
nutrition and supporting livelihoods in both developing and developed
countries.

Insects, Ms. Muller pointed out, are extremely nutritious. "They're
rich in protein, they're rich in fat, and they're also rich in
vitamins and minerals." While edible insects may not be all the rage
right now, FAO believes there is growing interest in them and that
they can help address the food security needs of a growing global
population.

"If we think about edible insects, there's a huge potential that has
essentially not been tapped yet because currently, two billion people
in the world eat insects but most of these are just collected and
there's very little experience in insect farming, for example, which
is something that could be explored in view of a growing population."

The agency has been working on edible insects for a number of years
and has established a database of edible insects that are reported to
be used in various countries. It decided that the time was right to
compile all of the information into one major publication.

"We have realized that there is really a huge potential there that
hasn't been very well explored," said Ms. Muller, who said she
believes the publication will be "groundbreaking."

In addition to highlighting the ways in which trees and forests
contribute to food security and nutrition, next week's meeting will
explore policy options and innovative approaches for increasing that
contribution and identify key challenges and bottlenecks hindering it.

Among those expected to address the opening of the conference on
Monday is FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva; David Nabarro,
Special Representative of the Secretary General for Food Security and
Nutrition; Mirna Cunningham, outgoing Chair of the UN Permanent Forum
on Indigenous People; and Braulio De Souza Dias, Executive Secretary
of the Convention on Biological Diversity.May 10 2013 4:00PM
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