My research in the Himalayan region, where high population density means farmland is very scarce, investigated how people used their forests as a food source.Īn “edible forest” is one in which people have planted trees and crops that can produce food in the forest, as well as harvesting what naturally grows. Credit: Jagannath Adhikari, Author provided Food in the forest Mushrooms, as well as honey, roots and other edible plants are harvested by locals as an important food source. More than 820 million people suffer from hunger, and about 2 billion people face moderate food insecurity – meaning they do not always know when their next meal will come.Īfter a decade of slow decline, climate change is driving this number up again, particularly in Africa and Asia, where competition over land for both farming and forest conservation is acute.īut villagers in the Himalayas are turning to a traditional practice that can slow land clearing and feed people: growing and collecting food from the forests. Cutting down forests to plant edible crops feeds some of the world’s hungriest people. However, like many climate change problems, the solution is complicated. Reducing emissions from deforestation and farming is an urgent global priority if we want to control climate change.
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