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This illustrates the complexity of the relationship between
forests and food security. A change in land use from forest to
agricultural or grazing land will most likely increase net food
production. However, while such land cover change may ensure
short-term food security it is important to consider the long-
term consequences.
Food loss and waste in forest ecosystems
Although forests are one of the key food provisioning
ecosystems, their role and contribution to food security, food
loss and waste is not as obvious, since forest foods are not part
of commercial food production. There are no detailed studies
that have estimated the global or regional quantity or value
of forests’ contribution to food production or food loss and
waste. The challenges with such studies lie with the difficulty
of estimating a monetary value for non-market food items
and quantifying how much food forests produce. The most
significant contribution of forests to food security however may
be the ecosystem services they provide that are vital for other
food-providing ecosystems.
Forest ecosystems’ regulating and supporting services are
fundamental to other food provisioning ecosystems, especially
agro-ecosystems (MA 2005; FAO 2011a). Clean water is a
necessity for all food production. Forests capture, filter, store
and regulate the flow of water across landscapes, ensuring
steady water flows to agricultural production downstream and
clean drinking water for people and livestock (Power 2010).
Further, forests prevent soil erosion and landslides as tree
and plant roots bind soil particles together. Deforestation is
one of the key drivers of the estimated 10 million hectares of
arable land that are degraded each year due to soil erosion
(Kang and Akinnifesi 2000; Pimentel 2006). Trees also play
a vital role in increasing soil productivity by adding nutrients
that are necessary for crop production (Pimentel
et al.
1997;
Kang and Akinnifesi 2000). In addition, trees serve as habitat
for insects and birds that provide pollination and natural pest
control in wild and agricultural food production (Sunderland
et al.
2013).
Forests are one of the richest ecosystems on earth with over 80
per cent of the terrestrial biodiversity (FAO 2012a). Conserving
biodiversity in forests is not only crucial for today’s food
security, but also for future generations. Forests act as a gene
pool containing numerous varieties of crops that are cultivated
today. Coffee, cacao, tea and avocado are all examples of
cultivated food items that can be found in their natural form
in forests (FAO 2011a). Protecting wild food items is crucial
as future events, such as changes in climate or diseases, may
affect the productivity of crops commonly grown today.