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II. Incorporating nutrition concerns into forestry projects
Define individual roles
Obtain background information
Define nutritional objectives
Decide on forestry and nutrition activities
Use nutrition indicators to monitor and evaluate projects
The first section of this manual described the theoretical links between forestry and nutrition. It will now address a series of questions such as: how can foresters incorporate nutrition into forestry projects; how do foresters link their knowledge of trees with the nutritional well-being of villagers?
The following guidelines provide an approach to incorporating nutrition into forestry projects when nutritional well-being is an overall project goal. They correspond to five steps: define roles; obtain background information; define specific objectives; decide on activities; and monitor and evaluate the project. The steps are not arranged in a sequence, they need to be adjusted to suit individual circumstances. For example, often the goals and objectives of the project will need to be determined prior to defining roles as they relate to nutrition objectives. Several steps, information collection for example, may have to be repeated as the project evolves. Finally it must be noted that the steps cannot be followed individually. That is, they must be completed keeping in mind the other elements of the process. Objectives may need to be reexamined given time and personnel limitations. The worksheets should be used to help tailor the approach.
An essential element of this methodology is the active participation of community members in all aspects of the project. By increasing the attention that is paid to local needs and uses of trees and forests in all forestry projects (not just community forestry projects), forestry can have a positive influence on nutritional well-being.
Define individual roles
If there are no nutritionists involved, who will be responsible for the nutrition part of the project? If a nutritionist is involved, at what stage and level will she/he be included? Worksheet A contains a list of some of the questions that may help clarify individual roles in the project.
Obtain background information
Identify resources and collect data
Review basic information
Obtaining background information is an ongoing process. Team members must identify resources, including local people, sources of existing information, and methods for obtaining additional information. Then, together with the community, the team reviews basic information and/or collects additional information about the physical and socioeconomic characteristics, nutrition/food security concerns, and the use of forests and trees in the project area. Appendices 2 and 3 contain a list of sources and detailed background questions.
Identify resources and collect data
Rapid rural appraisal in northeast Thailand
rapid appraisal techniques, Somnasang et al.
examined the use of natural food resources in northeast
Thailand. Specifically, the researchers were interested
in the sources of foods; kinds of foods; quantities and
availability; factors influencing quantity and source;
methods of acquisition; preparation and cooking methods;
roles of taste, attitudes and beliefs; and methods of
preparation. The information was used to evaluate effects
of changes in farming patterns on nutrition. The primary
techniques for gathering information were semi-structured
interviewing, direct observation, and photography. The
methods were fast, comprehensive and ideal for planning a
more detailed study. Using a set of guidelines for the
interviews, researchers visited eight villages in three
provinces once during each of the different seasons in
1984-1985. In total 15 days were devoted to the field
portion of the study (Somnasang et al. 1988).
Many individuals are potential sources of information. Interviews provide valuable insights into who has access to resources and how local people define poor diet. Possible key informants are health officials, project staff, extension workers, NGO workers (including religious organizations), teachers, leaders, and local nutritionists. In regard to nutrition, it is especially important to interview women's groups as women are generally in charge of feeding and caring for the family. Often, these groups can supply information about food, medicine and health in the community. Moreover, they will be able to suggest nutrition objectives and indicators that are of local concern. Project managers and planners may also want to visit a limited number of carefully selected men and women farmers of different strata and the landless to discuss issues of crops, income, and uses of trees and their products. Once the nutritionally vulnerable have been defined, they, themselves, may be able to provide critical information about their situation, its causes, and how they would like to see the problems addressed.
In addition to interviews, visual inspection can be extremely helpful. Direct observation and photographs of routine activities in the forests (or involving trees) will provide some information about who uses the land and for what purposes. Photographs of children may provide an indication of acute nutrition problems.
Other possible resources are printed materials. A literature search of the area describing class/caste distinctions, and resource uses in terms of tenure and access, can contain information about nutrition and forest use. The search should be done across different fields of thought, among them history, political science, economics, anthropology, and ethnobotany. The search will help to determine those groups that may be nutritionally vulnerable, those who benefit from activities aimed at particular resources, and possibly, the uses of trees and forests. Health studies (including those on traditional health practices) and records of malnutrition and infection will give a picture of the nutrition problems in the area. Nutritional surveys and studies of the causes of malnutrition in an area provide additional information about the nutrition situation in the project area. Appendix 2 lists some sources of information and Table 1 in Section I lists different types of information used in determining nutritional well-being.
When defining the resources that will be tapped for useful information, the planners always need to consider the personnel, time and resource availability. For example, photographic or video equipment may not be reasonable options because they are too expensive or unavailable. Additionally, the level of expertise of collectors and the amount of time and energy the project may want to spend training on techniques of collection need to be considered and determined.
Consideration must also be given to the kinds of information that will really be needed. It is tempting to try to access every available, potential information source, but this often isn't helpful. The only information that needs to be collected is that which can and will be used. Some information may be extremely important. For example, the information that is gathered before a project begins can provide baseline information for monitoring, evaluation and indicating project efficacy.
Finally, the data analysis resources that are available must also be a factor when deciding what information to collect. While it is nice to plan for collection of all relevant data, it is not always feasible or desireable.
After the information needs and the optimal data sources have both been determined, collection can begin. What are the particular problems in the community and who are the vulnerable groups? What criteria are used for determining nutritional vulnerability? For example, are the nutritionally vulnerable those households that face seasonal food insecurity, or are they children under five? Community input is especially important, as the community's assessment of the project, based on their own needs, should be the basis for the foresters' assessment of the sustainability of the project's initiatives. Local people's information needs can be included as part of project information needs. Information must flow in both directions between the community and the project planners.
Information must be gathered on the uses of trees and forests that are directly or indirectly related to nutrition in the community. Who eats what foods from the forest, and what are the foods' nutrient content? Are there seasonal variations in diet and food supply? It is also essential to determine who eats what snack foods; what products are sold, what foods purchased. Appendix 3 lists questions to facilitate information collection.
Review basic information
Once all of the information is collected it must be reviewed. The information that is obtained will be helpful in determining project objectives and activities. For example, if blindness from vitamin A deficiency was found to be a local problem, project objectives might be to reduce the incidence of vitamin A deficiency by supplying selected perennials to the community. Certain perennials are good sources of carotene,6 and might be supplied to the nurseries in a school planting programme. Changes in the incidence of blindness may be difficult to monitor in the short-term. However, forestry project planners can monitor the food sources rich in carotene that are available to those family members and groups prone to this deficiency.
6 The body converts carotene into Vitamin A. There are several different carotenes; one of these, beta carotene, is the most important source of vitamin A in African diets (Latham 1979).
Information gathering may be important but information needs will change. Information obtained after a project has begun may be more valuable than, or at least complementary to, background data.7 Information on local forest/tree use and nutrition problems can be used to make modifications or additions to project objectives and/or activities. Moreover, a nutritionist can be consulted at any time throughout the project in order to provide further information.
7 Possible advantages of data gathered "in progress" include:
1. The team can perhaps have more confidence in data that they have gathered themselves.
2. Background data may be outdated.
3. Team-gathered data can serve as a cross-check of the reliability of background data.
Define nutritional objectives
After collecting background information, the nutritional objective(s) must be set forth clearly.8 The objectives may be both short- and long-term. Among possible nutritional objectives are the following. The objectives may be to improve the availability, through forest sources, of nutrients not available from non-forest sources, or to supply nutrients to combat a specific deficiency. Reducing seasonal food shortages could also be a nutritional objective. Nurseries or plantations could supply trees that offer food or fodder in the interval between annual crop harvests or during the dry season. Another objective might be to mitigate the possible negative effects of the project on the availability of a particular nutrient by compensating for reduced access to forest resources. The objectives could be to increase available food or household income, to expand women's available time for child care and food preparation or to improve environmental or living conditions.
8 A distinction must be made between project goals and project objectives. Defined here, a project goal is an overall category of improvement such as nutrition. A project objective is a specific improvement such as increased availability of carotene-rich foods within the goal of increased nutritional well-being.
The specific nutritional objectives of a forestry project will depend on overall project goals, the time frame of the project and what the community wants. It is very important that individuals in the community help determine the objectives. Nutritionists can be of assistance by offering a perspective on what the nutrition problems are and what causes them (or could alleviate them).
Forest rehabilitation in northeast Thailand
a multidisciplinary, diversified forest rehabilitation
project in northeast Thailand, conceived more as an
integrated rural development project with forestry as the
core activity than as a single sector project, project
activities of planting trees, woodlots, hedgerows, and
shelter-belts were predicted to have beneficial impacts
on women's activities, soil fertility, agricultural
production and employment. These impacts contribute to
the nutritional well-being of individuals (see Figure 1).
Agricultural production was expected to increase due to
nitrogen-fixing leguminous tree planting and the
labour-intensive project provided 200 people with
employment each day (Thompson 1984; see also FAO, Forestland
for the People).
If a forestry project has already been started or is being implemented, a nutrition objective can be added. The additional objective might be monitoring of the project to avoid project-related injury to the nutrition situation.
Decide on forestry and nutrition activities
The next step is to select the forestry activities that can be implemented to reach the nutritional objectives. There are many forestry activities that relate to nutrition. They include managing natural and man-made forests for locally needed food products; supporting activities that maximize the benefits that reach the poor; and increasing the diversity of project outputs in order to minimize risk and maximize nutrition benefits.
Individuals from the community, leaders, health workers, and teachers should be consulted. Activities related to nutrition will necessarily vary by project. Community members, project planners and nutritionists need to select project activities based on the objectives and available resources.
Choosing the appropriate activities
In choosing the best activities for achieving the nutrition goals and objectives of the project, there are several important things to keep in mind:
1 Involve the community in linking activities to objectives:
2 Assess the potential for unforeseen project effects:
3 Design activities to fit within the social context:
The remainder of this section (see also Appendix 3) contains ideas for forestry activities that relate to nutrition and are directed specifically at food supply, income generation, the environment and women's time.
If a project objective is to increase the availability of non-purchased food supply, project activities may relate to food production, food gathering, food aid or food storage. Projects can involve the production of, or increasing access to mushrooms, honey, nuts, leaves, fruit, roots and wild animals obtained from the forest. Border and boundary plantings that contain fruits or berries, or tree plantings in homegardens, could be project activities. Forestry activities can provide direct nutritional assistance if they focus on the selection of edible species that produce during slack periods and that are compatible with local diets. In addition, building materials from the forest can be used to build crop storage containers and thus contribute to more uniform food supplies over the year.
Forestry projects can improve diets indirectly if they provide fodder and livestock medicines. These improvements may increase milk and meat supplies, as well as contribute to animal power for increased agricultural production. The introduction of food preservation techniques such as smoke drying and fermenting might also be beneficial to the community. Production of firewood may increase the amount of food prepared and consumed or reduce the incidence of infections resulting from food contaminated due to improper cooking. Forestry activities should strive to meet local food needs, and defend meeting those needs even when there are competing uses of the forest, such as production of timber for foreign exchange or industrial consumption, or use of forests for tourism.
Forestry activities that contribute to food supply might focus on particularly vulnerable groups in the community.
Swaziland, Ogle and Grivetti found that wild fruits are
primarily consumed as snacks while working or walking.
Moreover, children often snack on wild fruits and these
fruits appear to provide the majority of ascorbic acid
(vitamin C) during the winter months. (Ogle and Grivetti
An important short-term indirect nutrition benefit of forestry activities is through improved income opportunities. Consequently, the objective of a forestry project might be to increase nutritional well-being through income generation. The sale of fruits, mushrooms, medicines, fuel wood and other forest materials provides income to women and others who are resource poor. One survey found that more than 50% of the villagers in a Philippine community earned income from timber and rattan sales (Siebert and Belsky 1985). Small-scale wood furniture industries have also provided income for families in many countries including Egypt (Mead 1982).
However, improvement of income earning opportunities for the rural poor requires careful examination of local circumstances. Forestry projects geared to improving nutrition through increasing cash incomes can also result in deterioration of nutritional well-being. This can happen if the most vulnerable or dependent lose access to the forest, if food prices increase, if villagers become exposed to market fluctuations, or if required labour time increases (FAO 1989b). Furthermore, the development of forest crops may increase the dependency on food from outside the region. Combined with unreliable transportation systems less stable local food supplies may result. This in turn may increase food and housing prices, affecting the poorest (and possibly most nutritionally vulnerable) people in the community. Although no consistent results about cash cropping and nutrition exist, several studies show that without careful project planning, cash cropping (including forest crops) can have negative effects on nutritional status (von Braun and Kennedy 1986).
Earning income from Zambian forests
remains the most important contributing factor in
undernutrition. In Zambia many poor households spend
7080% of their income on food. Small-scale forest-based
enterprises provide opportunities to these households.
Charcoal making, furniture production, honey collection,
food vending and beverage production are common.
Moreover, individuals, particularly women, earn money
marketing caterpillars, mushrooms, fruits and honey.
Generally income controlled by women is used to a greater
extent to feed the family (than is income controlled by
men). Thus, it is important to understand women's access
to credit, markets and business as well as their time and
labour availability. In Zambia, the Ministry of
Cooperatives and Marketing, Small Industries Development
Organization, and non-governmental organizations (ea.
Village Industry Services) help provide such information
The possible negative effects of a project should be anticipated so that planning adjustments can be made. An estimate must be made of the effect of the project on food availability. If the project is going to reduce food availability, it should yield enough income for people to replace the lost food. Moreover, food must be available in the markets. It is also particularly important to note who in the community is most vulnerable to the negative effects of the project and target beneficial activities to those individuals.
There are three categories of forestry activities related to the environmental aspects of nutritional well-being. First, environmental protection activities help stabilize food and fodder production. Second, activities aimed at watershed protection can improve the water supply and lessen the transmission of water-borne disease. Third, forestry products can be used to build housing.
In the long-term, specific activities aimed at improving environmental conditions are crucial to improved nutrition. Sustainable agricultural production often involves forest-related inputs, especially in hilly, overworked, or otherwise erosion-prone areas. For instance, grasses, shrubs, or trees may be essential for contour planting, wind barriers, or provision of leaf manure.
Moringa oleifera as a water coagulant
from the northern Sudan cultivate the multipurpose tree, Moringa
oleifera, from the single-genus Moringaceae family of
shrubs and trees, as a water coagulant Women not only use
the leaves in sauces, they also treat the turbid Nile
river water with them. Depending on the raw water
quality, 30 to 200 mg of seeds per litre of water
clarifies turbid water to tap-water within two hours.
Reduction of bacteria by 98-99% accompanies the
elimination of the turbidity. New water purifying
projects employing this tree have been started in
Indonesia (Jahn et al. 1986).
Molluscicides from the Cameroon forests
cultivated and indigenous plants in Cameroon contain
molluscicidal phytochemicals. The most common active
ingredients in the plants, saponasides and saponins,
degrade rapidly and, unlike man-made pesticides, lose
their toxicity within days. As a potential control of
schistosomiasis the plant extract could be added directly
to the water or combined with soap for washing clothes.
Selected trees and shrubs with molluscicidal properties
include Acacia nilotica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Croton
macrostachyus, Dichrostachys glomerata, Jatropha
gossypiifolia, J. curcas, and Phytolacca
dodecandra (Thomas and Tobias 1987).
Addressing problems of water supply and water quality, through watershed protection, can be an important aspect of forestry projects. Projects might supply water wells as part of tree nursery activities, watershed protection, erosion control measures and water harvesting. The management of molluscicides derived from tree products can contribute to safer water supplies. Thus, through reduction in the rate of infection from Schistosomiasis, the incidence of malnutrition may be reduced. Moreover, natural coagulants from trees may be used to clean water.
Forestry projects can also increase the supply of raw materials for housing. Enhancements in housing with such things as out houses can contribute significantly to a decrease in infection and thus an increase in nutritional well-being.
Activities that attempt to increase women's available time, by introducing labour-saving technologies leave more time available for food processing and preparation, food production, child care, leisure and, if appropriate, income-earning activities. Projects that increase the availability of water, fodder or fuel supplies may reduce the amount of time women spend collecting those items. Of course, the selection of activities needs to correspond to women's priorities and the constraints of the household food production system.
Women do not always benefit from income-earning activities. These activities may lead to a shift in responsibility over production and the returns of production. In some cases women work while men control the income. Moreover, women's available time for food production, preparation and processing may be reduced. Consequently, care must be taken in the planning process to avoid negative effects on women's time resulting from project activities.
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