Cooking up the futureEnvironmental and dietary change in Lao

households

POVILL Conference, Vientiane

October 10, 2008

Topics

1. A nutrition lens on health-environment

2. Who influences Lao diets ?

3. What is in the cooking pot of the poor ?

4. Environmental induced dietary change

5. Questions

6. Recommendations

Linking health and environment through a nutrition lens

Agriculture

Health

Nutrition

Socio-economic

development

Environment

Education

Who influences Lao diets?

Various stakeholders with different interests

Villagers

State

Int. dev.Partners/

researchers

Private Sector

What is in the cooking pot of the poor ?

StaplesInsects

Vegetables

FruitsMeat, fish/OAA

Oil, lard

Staples

Other roots and tubers

0.9

Cassava0.7

Maize0.5>

Glutinous rice6.4

Non-glutinous

rice 1.3

>

Staple consumption is sufficient. Calories alone are not sufficient for adequate nutrient intake.

Source: Data from CFSVA of the World Food Program (2006)

Wild fish

3.6

Pond fish0.6

>OAA

1.9

Beef1.0

Wildlife0.8

Pork1.0

Poultry0.9

Wild fish, OAA and wildlife are as, if not more, important than domestic meat and pond fish

>

Source: Data from CFSVA of the World Food Program (2006)

Wild and domestic meat, fish/OAA

Vegetables and fruits

Fruits1.7

Green leafy vegetables

4.7

Vegetables3.9

Shoots, mushrooms

3.3

>

High diversity, many nutrient rich wild food species

Source: Data from CFSVA of the World Food Program (2006)

Oil, lard

Oil/lard2.0

Low fat intake impedes bioavailability of fat soluble vitamins

Source: Data from CFSVA of the World Food Program (2006)

Environmental change

Environmental induced dietary change

Question 1: “can we substitute ?”

“million chicken scenario”

Zoonoic diseases and human health

Associated production cost

Time economy of poor households

Gender dimension

Nutritional values

208,503 tons fish/OAA

Question 2: “to which extent will negative dietary change increase vulnerability to

diseases ?”

Frequent Diseases

Insufficient nutrient intake

Question 3: “Can we reduce stunting ?”

41.2 %40.7 %

1993FAO 2000

MICS II2006

MICS III

28%

2020

47.3%

?NCHS Reference Population

Question 4: “Why did poverty reduction not improve nutrition as anticipated ? ”

Economic growth / NR extraction

Reduction of malnutrition

and vulnerability to

diseases

Increasedincomes?

Recommendations

• Foster links between environment, health and nutrition in the policy dialogue

• Develop robust “substitution scenarios” for loss of wild foods• Strengthen health services to support decrease in malnutrition

and vulnerability to diseases (e.g. nutrition education and micro-nutrient supplementation)

• Align investment schemes with impact on food resources• Invest economic revenues into natural resource management

for viable populations of wild food resources to arrest negative dietary change