The study, published in the journal Food Security, reveals that households in Liberia engaging in forest-based activities-such as collecting timber, hunting bushmeat, or gathering edible plants-experienced an 84 percent reduction in food scarcity. This research was conducted by Daniel C. Miller, associate professor of environmental policy at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, and Festus Amadu, a former Notre Dame postdoctoral researcher now at Florida Gulf Coast University.
"Previous research has shown that forests benefit people, but now we have evidence on a national scale," Miller said. "Forests are a vital source of food security for forest-adjacent households in Liberia, the most forested country in West Africa."
Miller and Amadu analyzed data from a 2019 survey conducted by the Liberian government and the World Bank. Miller, a former senior forestry specialist at the World Bank, assisted in designing the survey, which gathered data from nearly 3,000 households living near forests across all 15 counties in Liberia. The findings indicated that households involved in forest activities reported nearly three fewer months of food insecurity annually.
Food insecurity is a severe issue in many sub-Saharan African countries, including Liberia, where most rural households lack sufficient food to meet their daily calorie needs year-round. Factors contributing to this include extreme weather, political instability, and poor agricultural productivity due to natural resource depletion. Existing research suggests that forests might be more resilient to such stresses, highlighting their importance in reducing food insecurity in countries like Liberia, where forests cover 69 percent of the land.
"Forests do a lot of things for us as human beings, and yet their manifold contributions are not systematically studied and documented," Miller said. "While forests will never substitute for agriculture on any large scale, they can serve as an important food source, particularly in lean times."
Miller noted that the study's methodology-using forest-specific data on a national scale-could be applied to other forest-rich, economically poor countries in West Africa and beyond, to better understand how forests can alleviate food insecurity.
"Forests can and should be considered by national governments in other countries not only for their climate and environmental benefits, but for their potential to support human development and well-being," he said.
The research was supported by the Forests and Livelihoods: Assessment, Research and Engagement (FLARE) network, led by Miller, with funding from Notre Dame Research, the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative, and the Keough School.
Future studies by Miller and Amadu will explore how forest governance, particularly at the community level, affects the benefits that people living near forests can derive. Miller also emphasized the study's significant policy implications for forest management and conservation.
"The benefits that forests create for the citizens of a country are yet another reason why forests are worth managing well and conserving," Miller said. "When you have empirical evidence at the national level, it becomes relevant not only in scholarship but also for the policy realm."
Research Report:Food security effects of forest sector participation in rural Liberia
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