Ecosystem Services and Food Security: Economic Perspectives on Environmental Sustainability

By Robert B. Richardson. 2010

116 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Food security in developing countries depends in part on the sustainable use of natural resources. Food security is usually examined through three dimensions, namely the availability, access, and utilization of food. Ecosystems directly and indirectly support each of these dimensions through the provision of critical ecosystem services that facilitate agricultural production, create income-generating opportunities, and provide energy for cooking. However, in some cases, household uses of natural resources undermine particular elements of food security, hindering national poverty reduction strategies and threatening the sustainability of critical ecosystem functions. I examine the role of ecosystem services in rural food security through the lens of its three dimensions, and highlight the tensions that stem from household-level interactions and uses. In some cases, uses of resources and services that support the access and utilization dimensions may undermine the ecosystem functions that support food availability. The conclusions underscore the importance for the integration of ecosystem services into food security plans and poverty reduction strategies in developing countries.

Subfields: Economics and Econometrics, Global and Planetary Change, Nutrition and Dietetics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9615f56e7630aec379848d72c0e690a40fb66ab0

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Economics and Econometrics

1. C. Shackleton
2. Mallika Sardeshpande

In Global and Planetary Change

1. Mallika Sardeshpande
2. C. Shackleton
3. I. Kelman
4. F. Paumgarten

In Nutrition and Dietetics

1. C. Shackleton
2. Mallika Sardeshpande

Citations in the corpus

• Wild Edible Fruits: A Systematic Review of an Under-Researched Multifunctional NTFP (Non-Timber Forest Product) (2019, background): “Access to NTFPs is an important determinant of NTFP use, and their contribution to the household economy and food security [13,62].”
• Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: Integrating Local and External Knowledge (2012, background): “They underpin much past and a good proportion of existing livelihood activity (off-shore financing is an example of current non-ecosystem livelihood in Caribbean SIDS) and are essential to achieving long-term sustainable livelihoods in the future [31,32].”