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 Lebanon
has witnessed changes in dietary habits over the years.
Its traditional diet is fading in favour of a less
diverse westernized diet. At the same time, rural
ecosystems are deteriorating chiefly because of urban
encroachment, water pollution and land abandonment.
These combined factors are contributing to the worrying
increase in new and different health challenges facing
the rural poor such as micro-nutrient deficiency and
under-nutrition and a steep rise in non-communicable
diseases , a reflection of the emerging “nutrition
transition”. These health issues may be further
aggravated by the recent rise in global food prices and
the overall global financial crisis which is affecting
food quality, food quantity and health.
This
project proposes to build on the findings of the
first phase
project titled “Wild
Edible Plants:
Promoting Dietary Diversity in
Poor Communities in Lebanon" to
further analyze the relationship between health and the
environment through an in depth analysis of the
benefits, viability and risks of rural ecosystems to
support healthy people.
It will
contribute to the improvement of health and wellbeing
through the systematic exploration of the social,
economic, cultural, and environmental ecosystem
determinants.
The
project will also map the food environment in terms of
local production and import of foods in order to
identify the elements contributing to the increase of
ill-health and their risk factors in the target
communities.
The project combines research and intervention as well
as capacity development to provide the basis for
informed public policy change which is based on
understanding and acting upon the importance of healthy
local ecosystems in maintaining and promoting the health
of individuals and communities in the context of a
changing global food security environment.
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