Contribution of forest foods to dietary intake and their association with household food insecurity: a cross-sectional study in women from rural Cameroon

To determine the contribution of forest foods to dietary intake and estimate their association with household food insecurity. Cross-sectional survey conducted among 279 households. Using a 7 d recall questionnaire, information on household food consumption was collected from women and used to determine the household dietary diversity score, food variety score and forest food consumption score (FFCS). Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) score was determined and Spearman rank correlation was used to establish the relationship between consumption of forest foods and HFIAS score. Women’s dietary intake was estimated from two 24 h recalls. The contribution of forest foods to women’s nutrient intakes was calculated and women’s nutrient intakes were compared with estimated average nutrient requirements. Rural forest-dependent households in twelve villages in eastern and southern Cameroon. Household heads and their non-pregnant, non-lactating spouses. Forty-seven unique forest foods were identified; of these, seventeen were consumed by 98 % of respondents over the course of one week and by 17 % of women during the two 24 h recall periods. Although forest foods contributed approximately half of women’s total daily energy intake, considerably greater contributions were made to vitamin A (93 %), Na (100 %), Fe (85 %), Zn (88 %) and Ca (89 %) intakes. Despite a highly biodiverse pool of foods, most households (83 %) suffered from high food insecurity based on the HFIAS. A significant inverse correlation was observed between the HFIAS score and the FFCS (r2=−0·169, P=0·0006), demonstrating that forest foods play an important role in ensuring food security in these forest-dependent communities. Forest foods are widely consumed by forest-dependent communities. Given their rich nutrient content, they have potential to contribute to food and nutrition security

Safeguarding villagers’ access to foods from timber trees: Insights for policy from an inhabited logging concession in Gabon

This study assessed the abundance of and access to tree species (Ozigo, Dacryodes buettneri; and Abam, Gambeya lacourtiana) that yield edible fruits to villagers and timber to the logging industry in and around a logging concession in Gabon. Participatory mapping combining GPS coordinates and interviews was carried out with 5 female and 5 male collectors in each of two villages within or adjacent to the logging concession. Precommercial and harvestable (>70 cm dbh) Ozigo and Abam trees, as well as their stumps, were also quantified on 20 five ha plots in the 2012 cutting area of the concession and on 21 five ha plots on 10 km transects from each village. Distances to 59 Abam and 75 Ozigo from which fruits were collected ranged from 0.7 to 4.46 Km from the village centres. Most collections were by mixed groups made up of men, women and children (54%) at an average of 1.21 ± 0.09 km; or by men and women (18%) at 2.21 ± 0.15 km; or women and children (14%) at 4.03 ± 0.22 km from the village. Almost 28% of all of the collection trees were inside the logging concession boundaries but outside the village agricultural zone, 43% were inside the village agricultural zone, and 29% were outside the logging concession. Only 33% of Ozigo collection trees had reached commercial size while 75% of Abam trees had. No stumps were found on any sample plots, probably reflecting the ban on felling Ozigo which was in effect at the time; and the relatively low commercial value of Abam. Densities of precommercial Ozigo trees in the cutting area were more than double their densities around the villages (236.0 ± 20.3100 ha−1and 96.6 ± 17.2100 ha−1, respectively), while densities of harvestable Ozigo trees were 7 times higher in the cutting area than around villages (120 ± 20.2100 ha−1and 17.1 ± 3.4100 ha−1respectively). This probably reflects past and current anthropogenic pressures around the villages, including logging and land clearance for agricultural fields. Densities of precommercial Abam were almost four times higher around the village (22.3 ± 5.6 and 6.0 ± 2.9) than on the cutting area. Villagers did not record a decline in availability of or access to these fruits over the past 5 years, suggesting little or no immediate conflict between timber production and access to fruits from these trees

Trees for Food and Timber: are community interests in conflict with those of timber concessions in the Congo Basin?

Much of the Congo Basin is managed for timber from dozens of species. More than 60% also produce non-timber products, including foods. For five multiple use tree species in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Gabon (Entandrophragma cylindricum, Baillonella toxisperma, Erythrophleum suaveloens, Dacryodes buettneri and Gambeya lacourtiana), we studied gathering and consumption by communities, edible caterpillars hosted, the densities of trees around villages and in concessions and the impacts of timber harvesting . We also studied the consumption of forest foods and the nutritional values of fruits and seeds of various tree species. Villagers walked up to six km during day trips to collect fruits or caterpillars, gathering from concessions if the village was within or near it. When foods were gathered from trees smaller than the cutting diameter (which varied by country and species), there was no conflict with timber harvesting. However, the volume of edible caterpillars hosted increased with diameter and harvestable trees were the most productive. Caterpillars, tree fruits and seeds provide fats, vitamins and minerals that complement agricultural foods. Densities of B. toxisperma, valued for its edible oil, were higher around villages than in concessions. The proportion of commercial trees harvested for timber varied from less than 3% to more than 50%, depending on the species. Different species had different geneflow distances, meaning viable regeneration could be expected with residual adults at different maximum distances. E. cylindricum had more effective dispersal than E. suaveolens. The production of timber and nontimber products can be sustained from the same concessions, for different stakeholders, with appropriate practices and arrangements

Addressing constraints in promoting wild edible plants’ utilization in household nutrition: case of the Congo Basin forest area

It is worth raising the question, why are wild edible plants (WEPs) which are rich in diverse nutrients and widely abundant underutilized despite the increasing rate of undernourishment in poor regions? One reason is that their culinary uses are not quantified and standardized in nutrition surveys, and therefore, they are not properly included in household diet intensification and diversification across regions and cultures. Active steps are needed to bridge this gap. This paper outlines the constraints to including WEPs in nutritional surveys as the lack of standard ways of food identification of diverse WEPs, lack of specific food categorization and therefore difficult dissemination across regions and cultures. As a way forward, a functional categorization of 11 subgroups for WEPs is introduced and discussed. In labeling these sub-food groups, the paper advocates that more WEPs food items and culinary uses should be enlisted during household nutrition surveys. Food researchers could then capitalize these enlisted species and disseminate them to promote diverse food use of WEPs in other regions where they exist but are not utilized as food

UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Bars to jars: bamboo value chains in Cameroon Bars to Jars: Bamboo Value Chains in Cameroon

Abstract Bamboo is a well know and versatile material, which is a common sight across Cameroon's diverse ecosystems, from dry to humid tropical and Afromontane forests. Its numerous uses range from storage jars to decorating restaurant-bars, beehives to knives, fences, fodder, and fuel. Responding to the paucity of data on species and uses, the value chain for bamboo in Cameroon was analyzed. Based on 171 interviews and field observations, two African indigenous species (alpine Yushania alpina and savannah Oxytenanthera abyssinica) and exotic (Bambusa vulgaris spp.) bamboos were identified as most utilized. They were tracked from major production zones to final consumers. The ecological, socio-economic, institutional, and governance contexts and impacts are described and analyzed. Issues for research, conservation, and development are highlighted. These include the ambiguous regulatory status, the relationship between tenure and management, threats and conservation of African species and options to increase the sustainable livelihoods for stakeholders dependent upon bamboo

Institutional aspects of artisanal mining in forest landscapes, western Congo Basin

This contribution examines the multiple impacts of artisanal mining in the high-biodiversity forest of the Congo Basin’s Sangha Tri-National Landscape (TNS), and proposes measures for improving livelihoods in the area. It was concluded from a literature review, interviews and site visits that: diamonds and gold are an important but highly variable income source for at least 5% of the area’s population; environmental impacts are temporary and limited, mainly caused by mining inside the parks; overlaps between artisanal small-scale mining (ASM), large-scale mining (LSM), timber concessions, and national and trans-boundary protected areas have intensified competition for land resources; and despite the existence of legal frameworks, ASM is largely informal. Cross-boundary agreements concerning the TNS do not address mining, albeit a regional approach of mining policies is recommendable to reinforce beneficial outcomes for the landscape and the area’s population

Institutional aspects of artisanal mining in forest landscapes, western Congo Basin

This contribution examines the multiple impacts of artisanal mining in the high-biodiversity forest of the Congo Basin’s Sangha Tri-National Landscape (TNS), and proposes measures for improving livelihoods in the area. It was concluded from a literature review, interviews and site visits that: diamonds and gold are an important but highly variable income source for at least 5% of the area’s population; environmental impacts are temporary and limited, mainly caused by mining inside the parks; overlaps between artisanal small-scale mining (ASM), large-scale mining (LSM), timber concessions, and national and trans-boundary protected areas have intensified competition for land resources; and despite the existence of legal frameworks, ASM is largely informal. Cross-boundary agreements concerning the TNS do not address mining, albeit a regional approach of mining policies is recommendable to reinforce beneficial outcomes for the landscape and the area’s population