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

Ranaivo A Rasolofoson,Brendan Fisher,Anila Jacob,Ari Pappinen,Taylor H Ricketts,Kiersten B Johnson

doi:10.3389/fsufs.2020.00020

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 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.

Highlights

Childhood undernutrition is a global problem, a factor responsible for the death of 3.1 million children under the age of five annually, or roughly 45% of all child deaths (Black et al, 2013)
We used the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) stunting information that is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reference population [United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2013]
Negative selection bias occurs when the counterfactual stunting prevalence for children exposed to forest is smaller than the stunting prevalence for children not exposed to forest

Summary

Introduction

Childhood undernutrition is a global problem, a factor responsible for the death of 3.1 million children under the age of five annually, or roughly 45% of all child deaths (Black et al, 2013). In addition to the high prevalence and detrimental consequences of childhood undernutrition, the fight against it is only growing more difficult as growing human population, volatile food and oil prices, conflicts and governance crises, and the increasing human perturbation of Earth’s natural systems (e.g., climate, land cover) all threaten the food system (Godfray et al, 2010) Given these challenges, it has been suggested that nutritionspecific interventions—those addressing the immediate causes of undernutrition—(e.g., nutrient supplementation, food fortification) need to be complemented by nutrition-sensitive interventions that address the underlying determinants of undernutrition and incorporate specific nutrition goals and actions (e.g., agriculture, social safety nets; Ruel and Alderman, 2013). Investments in development and implementation of nutrition-sensitive interventions have increased in the latest decade (Ruel and Alderman, 2013)

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Conclusion