Abstract

SIREN, Anders  and  MACHOA, José. Fish, wildlife, and human nutrition in tropical forests: a fat gap?. INCI [online]. 2008, vol.33, n.3, pp.186-193. ISSN 0378-1844.

Conservation biologists often mention human needs for dietary protein as being a main driving force behind unsustainable hunting and fishing that deplete resource bases and threaten biodiversity in tropical forest regions around the world. However, the empirical basis for assuming that the nutritional importance of wild meat and fish in the diets of tropical forest peoples is limited to that of being a protein source is weak. The nutrient content of foodstuffs procured by households in an indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Amazon was calculated and the nutritional status of the people based on anthropometric measurements was assessed. The results suggest that fat is in more scarce supply than protein. Accordingly, it is suggested that the most important role of wildlife and fish in the nutrition of the people in the area is that of being sources of fat, although their role as protein sources also is important

Keywords : Anthropometric Measurements; Dietary Protein; Fat Sources; Nutrient Content.