Ecosystem Services and Food Security: Economic Perspectives on Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

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.

Food security and sustainability: can one exist without the other?

“…In 1998, in a policy forum on global food supply, it was noted that 'humanity's success in feeding itself should be judged by i) the proportion of people whose access to basic nutritional requirements is secure, and ii) the extent to which global food production is sustainable' (9) . Such a linkage between food security and sustainability has also been discussed by other authors in the intervening years (11,12) .…”

“…During this same time period the notion of sustainability was increasingly applied formally by international organizations to food security (9)(10)(11)(12) . It is not clear why there was such a time lag in this recognition since commentators such as Paul Ehrlich, Lester Brown and concerned scientists had been warning of these issues for far longer (13,14) .…”

Resource Demand Growth and Sustainability Due to Increased World Consumption

“…This demand on resources is likely to result in constraints on future growth, as a further increase in consumption would be difficult to accomplish; thus, we expect to see slower economic growth for the near future outlook. While the use of new technologies to increase and improve the distribution efficiency of food production [22] and security [36] and to improve water treatment [24] seems to be potentially possible, the increase in demand on energy resources, on the other hand, is harder to accommodate. A slowdown seems to be a more likely outcome than the continued growth as current indicators, e.g., states' debt and stock markets, are suggesting.…”

GFG - "Greening" global food governance

“…The need to green food security is not a new idea (Berry et al, 2015;Daily et al, 1998;Richardson, 2010), and while the necessity of greening food security policy has been widely acknowledged, few efforts have been made to integrate environmental sustainability objectives into food security policies. Building on theories of reflexive governance for sustainability transition, I have shown how the CFS represents a governance arrangement with the potential to meaningfully green food security policy, however caution is also needed.…”