To what extent have the links between ecosystem services and human well-being been researched in Africa, Asia, and Latin America?

Most studies to date assume that there are multiple relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being, but there are few studies that quantify these relationships. Our objectives were: (1) to investigate the trends and understudied areas within ecosystem services and well-being research; and (2) within these general trends, to analyze to what extent the linkages between ecosystem services and well-being presented in empirical research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America were part of a tested hypothesis, and to assess which conceptual frameworks were used in understanding this interface. The results of this study highlighted that most publications assumed that ecosystem services and well-being were interlinked but did not analyze their relationship as part of the hypothesis to test. While different frameworks on well-being were adopted by empirical research, only one out of the 29 post-Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) conceptual frameworks that illustrate the linkages between ecosystem services and well-being was documented, and most case studies adopted the MEA. Finally, trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services and disaggregated well-being were understudied. Considering these knowledge gaps in future studies will help empirical ecosystem services research to simultaneously contribute to improved well-being and environmental sustainability when applied at multiple policy or institutional levels. (Résumé d'auteur

Farm-Level Agricultural Biodiversity in the Peruvian Andes Is Associated with Greater Odds of Women Achieving a Minimally Diverse and Micronutrient Adequate Diet

Abstract Background The extent to and mechanisms by which agricultural biodiversity may influence diet diversity and quality among women are not well understood. Objectives We aimed to 1) determine the association of farm-level agricultural biodiversity with diet diversity and quality among women of reproductive age in Peru and 2) determine the extent to which farm market orientation mediates or moderates this association. Methods We surveyed 600 households with the use of stratified random sampling across 3 study landscapes in the Peruvian Andes with diverse agroecological and market conditions. Diet diversity and quality among women were assessed by using quantitative 24-h dietary recalls with repeat recalls among 100 randomly selected women. We calculated a 10-food group diet diversity score (DDS), the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) indicator, probability of adequacy (PA) of 9 micronutrients by using a measurement-error model approach, and mean PA (MPA; mean of PAs for all nutrients). Agricultural biodiversity was defined as a count of crop species cultivated by the household during the 2016–2017 agricultural season. Results In regression analyses adjusting for sociodemographic and agricultural characteristics, farm-level agricultural biodiversity was associated with a higher DDS (incidence rate ratio from Poisson regression: 1.03; P 60%: OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.35). Farm market orientation did not consistently moderate these associations, and in path analyses we observed no consistent evidence of mediation of these associations by farm market orientation. Conclusions Farm-level agricultural biodiversity was associated with moderately more diverse and more micronutrient-adequate diets among Peruvian women. This association was consistent across farms with varying levels of market orientation, although agricultural biodiversity likely contributed to diets principally through subsistence consumption

The mother – child nexus. Knowledge and valuation of wild food plants in Wayanad, Western Ghats, India

This study focuses on the mother-child nexus (or process of enculturation) with respect to knowledge and valuation of wild food plants in a context where accelerated processes of modernization and acculturation are leading to the erosion of knowledge and cultural values associated with wild food plant use, in Wayanad, Western Ghats, India. Wild food plants in this biodiversity hotspot form an important part of local diets and are used as famine foods and medicines. In general, the collection and consumption of these foods are increasingly stigmatized as symbols of poverty and 'tribalness' (equivalent to 'backwardness'). The study, which falls within the discipline of ethnobotany, involves three socio-cultural groups – the Paniya and Kuruma tribes and non-tribals. Further, it examines the impact in the enculturation process of an unusual educational programme sponsored by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation that is oriented towards creating awareness among children of cultural identity and local biological resources – the study compares children having participated in the programme with those who have not, with their mothers. The process of enculturation is assessed by comparing wild food plant knowledge and values between mothers and their children, and by examining events where knowledge transmission occurs, including collection and consumption. For that, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis tools were used, and methods included semi-structured interviews, photo identification and informal interviews of key informants. Results ratify that women are the knowledge holders and are the primary means of knowledge transmission to their children. Nevertheless, fewer children are collecting wild food plants with mothers and learning about them, apparently because of children's lack of time. On the other hand, older people acknowledge that a "change in taste" is occurring among younger generations. In general, there is a simultaneous transmission from mothers to children of contrasting values pertaining to wild food plants: that they are 'good food' but also that they are symbols of low status and poverty, leading to feelings of shame and inferiority. Finally, the study concludes that the educational programme, through a "learning by doing" approach counteracts social stigma and encourages learning among children of all ages and socio-cultural groups, particularly stimulating non-tribal children to learn from tribals

The Biodiversity of Food and Agriculture (Agrobiodiversity) in the Anthropocene: Research Advances and a Conceptual Framework

Multiple knowledge systems are crucial to understand human-environment interactions of the biodiversity of agriculture and food systems (agrobiodiversity). This article synthesizes these knowledge systems to formulate the novel Agrobiodiversity Knowledge Framework comprised of four themes: (1) ecology and evolution; (2) governance; (3) food, nutrition, and health; and (4) global environmental and socioeconomic changes. Resulting characterization of these knowledge themes, joined with cross-theme integration, demonstrate advances of agrobiodiversity research, management, and policy amid the accelerated global environmental and socioeconomic transformations of the Anthropocene. Framework results guide the presentation of new data from the Agrobiodiversity, Food, and Nutrition project (AFN) in Peru. These results integrate an emphasis on factors of global change, including climate change. The combination of the new knowledge framework and project results is utilized to point toward future directions for research, policy, and management. The Agrobiodiversity Knowledge Framework is essential to address the transformative planetary challenges of the Anthropocene that include sustainable development with nutritional security, biodiversity conservation, social justice, climate change, and nutrient pollution. Strengthening the focus on and analysis of the complex human-environment interactions of biodiversity in agriculture and food is vital as a nexus of science, scholarship, management, and policy in the era of Earth systems dominated by human activity

El manejo de plantas silvestres alimenticias en escenarios de deforestación, ilustrado por una comunidad mestiza de la Amazonía Peruana

Las plantas silvestres alimenticias son un componente esencial de la dieta de la población rural en distintas partes del mundo, teniendo un rol importante en su seguridad alimentaria y diversidad nutricional. Dada la alarmante disminución de los bosques, la colecta de estas especies ocurre cada vez más en ecosistemas antropogénicos, donde las comunidades activamente las manejan para asegurar su disponibilidad y acceso. Este es ciertamente el caso de Ucayali, que es una de las regiones de la Amazonía Peruana con mayores tasas de deforestación, donde las poblaciones locales están en una constante adaptación frente a la pérdida de biodiversidad. Esta presentación analiza los resultados de un estudio realizado en una comunidad mestiza de Ucayali, cuya área boscosa ha disminuido considerablemente en las últimas décadas. Se desarrollaron grupos focales para documentar las características principales, colecta y formas de manejo de las plantas silvestres alimenticias, así como los roles de género asociados. De un total de treinta especies documentadas, el 70% se colecta de la chacra (campo agrícola), el 57% del monte (bosque) y el 43% de la huerta. Contrario a lo documentado por otros estudios, más del 40% de las plantas son colectadas exclusivamente por hombres. De un total de veinte especies manejadas, 90% han sido trasplantadas ex situ, 35% son desmalezadas, 20% fertilizadas, mientras que tres especies son regadas, otras tres son podadas y una es protegida. La división de las prácticas de manejo refleja la división de género de los espacios productivos del hogar. El estudio concluye que los procesos de manejo y domesticación de recursos genéticos son muy importantes para la seguridad alimentaria de familias rurales y conservación de recursos clave frente a escenarios de deforestación y pérdida de biodiversidad