Connecting Global Priorities Biodiversity and Human Health

some parts of the world. For example, da Costa
et al. (2013) describe how wild foods increase
in prominence in the diet as stores of staple
carbohydrate crops decline (maize, rice and cassava)
in Timor-Leste. This was regarded as one of the
primary food coping strategies for approximately
two months of the year. More detailed results are
reported by de Merode et al. (2004) for seasonal
uses of crops and wild foods in northeastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo. They found
that during the four-month hungry season the
consumption of own agricultural produce declined
by 46%, while the use of wild foods increased
markedly, 475% for fish, 200% for wild plants
and 75% for bushmeat. The value of wild foods
traded in the market also increased during the lean
season, a 365% increase in fish, 233% increase for
wild plants and 155% increase for bushmeat trade.
The storing of wild foods has been observed for
both plant-and animal-based foods.⁴
Wild species often contain essential nutrients, but
information on the composition and consumption
of these foods is limited and fragmented
(Burlingame et al. 2009) or of poor quality
(McBurney et al. 2004). It is therefore difficult to
evaluate the contribution of underutilized wild
foods to dietary adequacy. Knowledge on the
compositional data of these foods is essential in
order to promote, market and expand the use of
underutilized wild foods, for example, in nutritionrelated
projects, programmes and policies in the
agricultural and environmental sectors. While
forest foods cannot be a panacea for global issues
related to food security and nutrition, in some
specific geographic contexts, they can play a
significant role as shown in Box 4.
Box 4: Indigenous fruit trees: the African baobab
Forests and their non-timber forest products (NTFPs), either through direct or indirect provisioning for
human nutrition, can contribute to food security, particularly in developing countries. The potential
of indigenous food, is mostly derived from wild and underutilized cultivated species, has largely
remained untapped due to scant information on the nutritive and economic value of these foods.
For example, combining dierent indigenous fruit tree species in agroforestry systems based on the
seasonal calendar of fruit availability could result in a year-round supply of key nutrients (Vinceti
et al. 2013; amnadass et al. 2013; Kehlenbeck et al. 2013a, b; amnadass et al. 2011). A study by
Kehlenbeck et al. (2013a) in sub-Saharan Africa shows that consuming 40–100 g of berries from
Grewia tenax (Forrsk.) Fiori could supply almost 100% of the daily iron requirements for a child
under 8 years of age. In addition to micronutrients, the high sugar content of fruits such as tamarind
(Tamarindus indica L) and baobab (Adansonia digitata L) make them important sources of energy. The
fruits of Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H.. Lam, and the seeds of Irvingia gabonensis (Aubrey-Lecomte ex
ORorke) Baill., Sclerocarya cara Sond. and Ricinodendron rautanenii Schinz have a higher fat content
than peanuts (Vinceti et al. 2013; ohnson et al. 2013).
The occurrence and distribution of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata) in drier habitats of Africa,
commonly found in savanna, scrubland and semi-desert, has great potential to support communities
in more vulnerable dryland ecosystems and in the face of climate variability. The baobab is a
majestic tree in the landscape but it is not only its physical presence that exhibits diversity within
⁴ For example, Shackleton et al. (1998) reported that the majority of households in rural northeast South Africa
dried one or more wild vegetable species and between 20% and 50% dried wild fruits for use in the off season.
The role of traditional knowledge associated with wild foods is also important in helping communities cope
with lean periods as well as supporting the conservation of wild foods (Sujarwo et al. 2014; Pardo-de-Santayana
and Macia 2015).
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