As climate change makes climate stressors and shocks more common, protecting nutrition from the effects of drought is critical in the developing world. Many localized case studies have documented how forests and other natural areas provide ecosystem services that contribute to communities’ resilience during drought and agricultural failure. However, no studies have yet examined the role that forests play in improving nutrition during times of precipitation shortfall at large spatial scales and across multiple countries. This study would fill this gap by combining remotely sensed data on rainfall and land cover with global nutrition data to measure the benefit that forests and other natural areas provide to people during times of climate stress. This analysis would facilitate mapping where people are most dependent on local forest foods as a safety net against agricultural failure and demonstrate where to target conservation efforts to maximize human benefit.
