Testing the Various Pathways Linking Forest Cover to Dietary Diversity in Tropical Landscapes

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cg.contributor.affiliationVictoria University of Wellingtonen
cg.contributor.affiliationPennsylvania State Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationWageningen University & Researchen
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of British Columbiaen
cg.contributor.crpForests, Trees and Agroforestry
cg.contributor.crpWheat
cg.contributor.crpMaize
cg.coverage.countryBangladesh
cg.coverage.countryBurkina Faso
cg.coverage.countryCameroon
cg.coverage.countryEthiopia
cg.coverage.countryIndonesia
cg.coverage.countryNicaragua
cg.coverage.countryZambia
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2BD
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2BF
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2CM
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ET
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ID
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2NI
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ZM
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Asia
cg.coverage.regionSouth-eastern Asia
cg.coverage.regionWestern Africa
cg.coverage.regionMiddle Africa
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.coverage.regionCentral America
cg.creator.identifierGroot, J.C.J.: 0000-0001-6516-5170en
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00097en
cg.issn2571-581Xen
cg.journalFrontiers in Sustainable Food Systemsen
cg.subject.ciforFOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITIONen
cg.volume3en
dc.contributor.authorBaudron, Frédéricen
dc.contributor.authorTomscha, S.A.en
dc.contributor.authorPowell, B.en
dc.contributor.authorGroot, Jeroen C.J.en
dc.contributor.authorGergel, Sarah E.en
dc.contributor.authorSunderland, T.C.H.en
dc.date.accessioned2021-03-08T08:40:44Zen
dc.date.available2021-03-08T08:40:44Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/112590
dc.titleTesting the Various Pathways Linking Forest Cover to Dietary Diversity in Tropical Landscapesen
dcterms.abstractA diverse diet is important to address micronutrient deficiencies and other forms of malnutrition, one of the greatest challenges of today’s food systems. In tropical countries, several studies have found a positive association between forest cover and dietary diversity, although the actual mechanisms of this has yet to be identified and quantified. Three complementary pathways may link forests to diets: a direct pathway (e.g., consumption of forest food), an income pathway (income from forest products used to purchase food from markets), and an agroecological pathway (forests and trees sustaining farm production). We used piece-wise structural equation modelling to test and quantify the relative contribution of these three pathways for households in seven tropical landscapes in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Zambia. We used survey data from 1,783 households and determined forest cover within a 2 km radius of each household. The quality of household diets was assessed through four indicators: household dietary diversity and consumption of fruits, vegetables and meat, based on a 24-hour recall. We found evidence of a direct pathway in four landscapes (Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Zambia), an income pathway in none of the landscapes considered, and an agroecological pathway in three landscapes (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Indonesia). We also found evidence of improved crop and livestock production with greater forest cover in five landscapes (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Indonesia). Conversely, we found negative associations between forest cover and crop and livestock production in three landscapes (Cameroon, Indonesia, and Zambia). In addition, we found evidence of forest cover being negatively related to at least one indicator of diet quality in three landscapes (Indonesia, Nicaragua and Zambia), and to integration to the cash economy in three landscapes (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Nicaragua). This is one of the first studies to quantify the different mechanisms linking forest cover and diet. Our work illuminates the fact that these mechanisms can vary significantly from one site to another, calling for site-specific interventions. Our results also suggest the positive contributions of forests to rural livelihoods cannot be generalized and should not be idealized.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.available2019-11-08en
dcterms.bibliographicCitationBaudron, F., Tomscha, S.A., Powell, B., Groot, J.C.J., Gergel, S.E., Sunderland, T.C.H. 2019. Testing the Various Pathways Linking Forest Cover to Dietary Diversity in Tropical Landscapes. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 3 : 97. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00097en
dcterms.issued2019-11-08en
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherFrontiers Mediaen
dcterms.subjectdieten
dcterms.subjectnutritionen
dcterms.subjectfoodsen
dcterms.subjectlandscapeen
dcterms.subjectlivelihoodsen
dcterms.subjecthorticultureen
dcterms.subjectecologyen
dcterms.subjectfood scienceen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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