Ant eggs for dinner: celebrating trees and food security on the International Day of Forests

21 March 2025, Yokohama

ITTO celebrates the value of forests and trees for food security on this year's International Day of Forests. Photos: Alfredo Ruzol / FAO (IDF thumbnail)

For Kongpool Boonyoung, the community forest near his home in Thailand’s mountainous north is like an emergency food bank, an insurance policy in case of hard times.

“If something like COVID-19 happens again, we could survive in the forest for a while,” Boonyoung says. “If I had to live in Bangkok or another big city, it would be difficult to make a living without money. Here, even if I don’t have money, I have plenty of ways to find food.”

All over the world, forests are providing valuable—even life-saving—benefits to people at every scale from the local to the global, a fact elevated and celebrated every year on 21 March, the International Day of Forests.

This year, “forests and foods” is the theme for the UN-designated day, drawing attention to the crucial role of forests in providing food security, including in ITTO member countries across tropical Africa, Asia and Latin America.

March 21 is the International Day of Forests. This year's theme is “forests and foods”, drawing attention to the crucial role of forests in providing food security. Photo: FAO

More than five billion people worldwide rely on forests and non-timber forest products for food, medicine, and economic wellbeing. Trees and forests supply a variety of nutritious resources, including nuts, fruits, seeds, roots, tubers, leaves, mushrooms, honey, wild meat, and insects—key components of diverse and healthy diets.

That is in addition to providing fuel, protecting soil fertility and water resources, capturing and storing the carbon driving climate change, providing habitat for biodiversity including vital pollinators, and shielding us from hazards ranging from floods and droughts to zoonotic diseases.

Mr Kongpool Boonyoung leads the Ban Thung Paem community forest in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. Photo: Alfredo Ruzol

These benefits are particularly important for forest-dependent local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

In the remote Mae Sariang District of Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province, members of the Ban Thung Paem community forest bolster their diets by harvesting forest resources, including the eggs of forest-dwelling red ants.

Using a bag or a bucket attached to a long stick, villagers dislodge and catch the ants’ nests built high in the trees and lower them to the ground. Dousing a nest in flour prompts the ants to abandon the eggs and scatter into the forest, where they can regroup and start again.

“This way we don’t kill the queen,” Boomyoung explains.

Ant eggs are harvested from the tree canopy. In northern Thailand, this is a popular protein source in which they use for salad or soups. Photo: Alfredo Ruzol

The 60-year-old says his family likes to eat ant eggs, which have been a staple of diets in northern Thailand for generations, in a salad with lemongrass and chilli, or as a protein-rich ingredient in a soup. Other villagers gather them to sell, diversifying their sources of income. However, the community is careful not to overexploit the resource.

If there were too many people, it would be overwhelming, because the area is limited,” Boomyoung says. “So when it is the right season, we come here only occasionally.”

Ban Thung Paem community forest is one of the hundreds in Mae Hong Son and neighbouring Tak Provinces targeted by an ITTO project to counter forest loss and land degradation near Thailand’s border with Myanmar, where conflict and displacement have put pressure on local resources.

The project is just one of dozens currently ongoing across the tropics and one of nearly 1,300 projects over the years as part of the Organization’s mission to support sustainable forest management and trade in legal and sustainable timber and wood products.

ITTO's project on mangrove restoration in Fiji provided alternative livelihoods and income to local communities, which aided them to ensure that household subsistence is available. Photo: Aporosa Ramulo Livani/Ministry of Forestry of Fiji

By supporting local livelihoods and economies, ITTO’s project and policy activities make a significant contribution to the food security of rural communities, including by making them more resilient to the impacts of climate change, amongst other challenges.

For example, an ITTO project in Fiji is supporting local communities to tackle the overexploitation of resources by establishing demonstration sites for rehabilitating and sustainably managing mangrove forests and wetlands. Restoring those ecosystems will help to protect coastal communities from disasters as well as empower local fisheries.

In Indonesia, another ITTO project has empowered communities to sustainably use non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as honey, candlenut, and bamboo, including by strengthening local businesses, to conserve protected tropical forests in Lombok.

“These and many other initiatives by ITTO and its partners show how involving local communities in forest management can bring a multitude of benefits, including enhancing both food security and conservation, creating a win-win situation for both people and the planet,” ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru said.

ITTO Technical Series #50: 'Not only timber’ presents innovative and sustainable business development involving non-timber forest products (NTFPs) that respects the essential attributes of tropical forests. It examines the case for multiple-use management for timber and non-timber products in the tropics, presents an overview of well-established non-timber forest products, showcases case studies of promising non-timber forest products and suggests sustainable harvesting potential of promising NTFPs.

Related SDGs

It highlights how community forests provide sustainable livelihoods through the harvesting of non-timber forest products, helping to reduce poverty. The resilience offered by forest resources, especially in times of crisis, supports vulnerable communities by providing alternative income sources and reducing dependency on external systems, contributing to poverty alleviation and enhancing overall community resilience.
Forests provide essential food resources that support food security in rural communities. It also emphasizes the role of forests in building resilience to economic and environmental shocks, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and reducing hunger through the sustainable use of forest products. These actions align with SDG targets focused on ensuring access to nutritious food, increasing food production resilience, and supporting small-scale food producers.

It emphasizes the importance of sustainable forest management in protecting ecosystems and biodiversity. The community forests in Thailand and other regions help conserve vital habitats, support biodiversity, and prevent land degradation. The sustainable use of non-timber forest products also contributes to protecting, restoring, and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, aligning with SDG Target 15.2. Additionally, these initiatives help combat deforestation, land degradation, and promote sustainable practices, all key aspects of SDG 15.