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Project properties |
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| Title | Nutrition Sensitive Landscapes |
| Group | Farming Systems Ecology |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Jeroen Groot
Stéphanie Alvarez |
| Examiner(s) | Pablo Tittonell |
| Contact info | jeroen.groot@wur.nl
stephanie.alvarez@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2014/11/01 |
| End date | 2019/09/01 |
| Description | Nutrition-sensitive landscape (NSL) does not imply that the environment can produce all nutrients required for adequate human nutrition; it does, however, mean a focus on building diversity into the landscape and food system to provide multiple sources of nutrients as well as other ecosystem services that are critical for environmental and population resilience. NSL goes beyond traditional “no harm” approaches toward one that is system-based and landscape-based. The NSL method offers proactive management towards more sustainable diets for vulnerable populations. Communities, policymakers, and program managers depend on thorough and sound research to make informed decisions related to landscape management. Social and natural science research will link to local knowledge and values to address four sets of central research questions that will aid policymakers and stakeholders in their decision-making.
Objectives The main objective is to diagnose the current status, and to explore options for improvement, of the nutrition provided by landscapes and its relation to agricultural production, natural resource management and interactions with markets. Procedures • Collect on-farm and/or landscape data in a case study region in Zambia, Kenya or Vietnam • Perform surveys and interviews with experts and policy makers • Process data into a GIS database and perform spatial analyses • Statistical analysis and/or modeling (FarmDESIGN, FuzzyDANCES, or LandscapeIMAGES) |
| Used skills | • Preparation of a detailed proposal
• Learning how to work with models and/or GIS-based tools • Conducting field, farm and/or landscape observations • Interpretation and analysis of (spatial) data • Writing an MSc thesis (and preferably a manuscript for a journal) in English |
| Requirements | |