Key messages

Food security

• Forests and trees on farms are a source of food and livelihoods for more than 1 billion people.
• An estimated 2.4 billion people rely on woodfuel, including charcoal, for cooking and heating. The use of wood as a source of energy is vital for local economies. It is also essential for many of the world’s poorest people, enabling them to maximize the palatability and nutritional value of foods that require cooking and to sterilize water.
• Wood and non-wood forest products are the basis of many small-scale enterprises. They can be particularly important for livelihoods in areas where agricultural production is vulnerable to drought and other threats.
• Forests adjoining agricultural lands provide pollinator services. Animal-pollinated crops achieve higher fruit set.
• Foods from forests and trees such as leaves, fruits, seeds, nuts, roots, tubers, mushrooms, honey, game meat and insects have been important components of rural diets for millennia. They provide millions of rural households with nutrient-rich dietary supplements.

Livelihoods

• Increasing the rights of local people to access and manage forest resources can go a long way towards improving livelihoods.
• For millions of people living in poverty, forest and tree resources not only provide food, fuel for cooking and heating, medicines, shelter and clothing, they also function as safety nets in crises and emergencies.
• Rattan, bamboo, plant fibres, thatching materials, ethnic foodstuffs and spices, medicinal plants, fruit and seeds are examples of non-wood forest products that local communities use and manage.

Videos

Restoring land and livelihoods with beekeeping in Tanzania In northern Tanzania, recurring drought in recent years has put pressure on communities who make their livelihoods by keeping cattle. A group of Maasai women have turned to producing honey from beehives in the forest to generate additional income. This has enabled them to pay for their children’s education, buy more livestock and is helping to regenerate the forest around their hives [more]

Indigenous Peoples’ food systems This video provides an overview on the common and unique sustainability elements of Indigenous Peoples' food systems. [more]

All food security and livelihoods videos 

Publications

Cultivating a sustainable tomorrow Forest products and data can help build a sustainable future. Find out how with our latest publication, Sustainability by Numbers. [more]

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Expert interviews

Importance of forestry for family farmers in Viet Nam #pubDate($pageItem, $entry) #description($entry) [#print("more")]

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Press releases

Declaration by forest and farm producers drives forward landscape restoration in Africa 3 October 2023 Sokodé, Togo – Forest and farm producer organizations – representing the collective voices of farmers and forest-dependent people – must play a pivotal role in leading efforts to combat land degradation and build climate resilience in Africa, according to a landmark declaration. [more]

We must value the role of forests in the global food system 28 September 2023 With demand for food projected to rise by at least 50% by 2050, forests are going to be key in ensuring there is enough food for everyone, according to Günter Walkner, Chairperson of the Committee on Forestry. [more]

Social forestry is revitalizing Indonesia’s landscapes 29 August 2023 Indonesia’s social forestry programme, which is supported by FAO and UNEP through UNREDD, has turned once barren and unproductive land into thriving forests dotted with agricultural fields. [more]

 
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