Bouncing Back : Forests, Trees, and Resilient Households

This paper examines some of the concepts
surrounding the idea that forests and trees can contribute
to making households more resilient to food insecurity. The
paper begins with a discussion of the widely accepted
definitions of food security, and the implications for our
understanding of the role of forests and trees in
contributing to food security. Authors discuss the origins
of the idea of resilience, adaptability, and transformation
as responses to food insecurity, and the conditions that
increase the capacity of households to become resilient. The
second part of the paper looks at some of the empirical
evidence about the role of forests and trees as household
safety nets, and examines some of the issues around the
reliance on non-timber forest products (particularly
wood-fuel) to produce income. The paper closes with a
discussion of evolving perspectives about landscape
approaches, how these can contribute to building household
resilience to food insecurity, and some of the policies that
can support this goal.