Forests and trees as grocery stores

Tree-based foods are important from a nutritional perspective, yet they only make up a small portion of the overall food consumption. Tree-based systems lead to environmental benefits and improve the economic viability of farming, while forests provide access to nutrient rich fruits and vegetables, habitats for insects, wild meat and fish as well as indirect benefits through ecosystem services that they provide to agriculture. Trees and forests play a critical role in filling nutritional gaps in diets while providing indirect benefits in the form of ecosystem services.

Highlights

Research & knowledge

Videos

What can you cook from parkia seeds and baobab leaves? Scientists from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) are looking into how people use forest foods in five sites in Africa — in Burkina Faso, Zambia, Uganda, Ethiopia and Cameroon. Their findings are not only uncovering some delicious recipes, but deepening our understanding of the connections between landscapes, food security and nutrition

Bushmeat is the meat of wild animals used by humans for food. This video tackles the concept of bushmeat and the challenges it poses for sustainability of wildlife and sustainability of livelihoods