The study was conducted in Isangi Territory, located in Tshopo Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It covered the four health zones of Isangi, Yabaondo, Yahisuli, and Yakusu, one of the seven territories that make up Tshopo Province.

This study adopted a descriptive qualitative phenomenological design to explore the lived experiences and subjective perceptions of mothers regarding environmental changes and child nutrition. This approach is wellsuited for understanding the social and ecological dynamics that quantitative data alone cannot fully capture.

The study population consisted exclusively of mothers of children aged 6 - 59 months residing in Isangi Territory. Fathers and other caregivers were not included in the interviews.

A purposive sampling strategy was used to recruit 20 mothers of children aged 6 - 59 months. Participants were selected to ensure variation in children’s age, household size, and marital status. No eligible participant declined to take part in the study.

Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide organized around six thematic domains: feeding practices, perceived changes over time, the role of the forest in household nutrition, environmental observations, perceived effects on children, and household coping strategies.

Interviews were conducted in the local languages (Lingala and Kiswahili) with the assistance of a trained interpreter. Each interview lasted approximately 45 minutes, was audio-recorded with participants’ consent, transcribed verbatim, and anonymized before analysis.

The interview transcripts were analyzed manually using thematic content analysis based on the six predefined themes of the interview guide. The six themes were applied systematically to the transcripts, and representative verbatim quotations were selected to illustrate each subtheme. Data saturation was reached after 16 interviews, after which four additional interviews were conducted to confirm the consistency of the emerging findings.

Oral informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. To ensure confidentiality, participants’ names were replaced with pseudonyms during transcription and analysis. The study protocol received approval from the local ethics committee before implementation.

The interviews revealed substantial heterogeneity in children’s feeding practices across households. While some mothers reported adopting appropriate nutritional practices, such as enriching meals with soybean flour and providing four meals per day, others described far more precarious situations.

“I feed my child four times a day.I add soybean to every meal I prepare for him.” (MM)

In contrast, several mothers reported providing only one meal per day, consisting almost exclusively of pondu (cassava leaves) and chikwangue (cassava bread), with little or no dietary diversity.

“We only eat pondu and chikwangue—just once a day.” (MA)

An intermediate situation was also reported, with some children eating twice daily. Their diets were mainly based on fish but contained very few vegetables.

“He eats twice a day.He mostly eats fish,but hardly any vegetables.” (MB)

More concerningly, some sick children did not receive any special diet and ate the same meals as the rest of the household, often only once a day.

“He does not have a special diet.He eats the same food as the rest of the family—pondu,chikwangue,rice,and beans.Most of the time,he eats only once a day.” (MML)

All respondents agreed that environmental and livelihood conditions had deteriorated compared with the past. However, the perceived nature and magnitude of these changes varied among participants. Some mothers emphasized the growing difficulty in accessing food, contrasting the abundance of previous years with current scarcity.

“In the past,food was easy to find,but today it has become very difficult.” (MAL)

Others attributed these changes to demographic growth and increasing food prices.

“I have seen many changes.The population has increased,obtaining food has become difficult,and food prices are much higher than before.” (MK)

Several respondents used particularly strong expressions to describe forest degradation, referring to the forest as having become “a desert.”

“The forest has become a desert.There used to be trees everywhere,but now they are gone.” (MLK1)

“The forest is no longer as our ancestors left it; there are no more trees.” (MM)

Some participants also highlighted seasonal changes, including the increasing scarcity of forest foods and the drying up of vegetation during the dry season.

“Caterpillars and mushrooms have become rare.During the dry season,the plants dry up.” (MB2)

The forest was unanimously recognized as the primary source of household food. Nevertheless, respondents differed in their perceptions of its accessibility and its current capacity to sustain local livelihoods.

For some mothers, the forest remained indispensable, although reaching it had become increasingly difficult.

“It is because of the forest that we survive.When the forest no longer provides,it becomes difficult to find food.” (ML)

“Mushrooms help us feed our families.We obtain good harvests during the rainy season.” (MY)

Others described the growing inaccessibility of emblematic forest foods such as avocado and safou (Dacryodes edulis).

“Avocados and safou have become very difficult to obtain because the forest is now so far away.” (AE)

Some respondents reported even more severe conditions, explaining that the forest had virtually disappeared and that obtaining food now required several days of travel.

“To find food,we have to travel for three or four days.The forest has become a desert.” (HS)

One participant reported that the household had completely shifted its livelihood from forestbased activities to river fishing due to the disappearance of cultivable forest land.

“We now depend on the river.There is no longer any forest here for cultivation.” (MAL)

Despite these differences, respondents consistently agreed that the rainy season remains the most productive period for obtaining forest foods.

“Forest foods—caterpillars and mushrooms—are abundant during the rainy season.” (MEB)

Participants reported remarkably consistent observations regarding environmental degradation, although some differences reflected their place of residence and level of exposure to deforestation.

Nearly all respondents described a progressive disappearance of trees and increasing distances to reach the remaining forest.

“There are no more trees nearby; we have to travel far to find them.” (MY)

“The forest has moved farther away because people keep cutting down trees indiscriminately.” (MA)

Some respondents linked deforestation to local climatic disturbances, including stronger winds capable of damaging houses.

“We are facing difficulties because of climate change.Strong winds are destroying our houses.” (ME)

Others again described the current landscape using the metaphor of a desert.

“The forest has become a desert.We have to follow it farther and farther away.” (MP)

Several participants further emphasized that not only had the forest retreated, but wildlife had almost disappeared and primary forest had largely vanished.

“Wild animals have become extremely difficult to find.The forests are now very far away,and only the forest edges remain.” (MC)

Finally, one respondent perceived that deforestation had altered the seasonal calendar itself.

“Forest exploitation has changed the seasons.We used to eat fish during the dry season,but this year we did not catch any.” (MM)

Participants described perceived health and nutritional problems among children in their communities, including reported cases of severe acute malnutrition and kwashiorkor. Because the study did not include anthropometric or clinical assessment of children, these accounts are presented as caregiver reported experiences rather than study-confirmed diagnoses.

Some mothers described signs they associated with malnutrition, including changes in hair color and swelling of the feet.

“His hair became discolored,and his feet were swollen.” (ML)

One mother reported that a health professional had told her that her child had kwashiorkor and linked the child’s weight loss to inadequate food intake. This remains a participant reported account of a clinical diagnosis rather than a diagnosis established by the present study.

“The doctors told us that my child had developed kwashiorkor.He lost a lot of weight because he was not eating well.” (MBY)

An interesting contrast emerged between mothers’ efforts to improve their children’s diets—such as providing Nido^®milk and soybean—and the limited effectiveness of these interventions due to financial constraints and the inability to sustain them.

“I used to give him Nido milk regularly,but he still does not eat well.” (MY2)

Even more concerning, some sick children received no specific nutritional management and continued to eat the same meals as other household members, often only once per day.

“He does not receive a special diet because he is sick.He eats the same food as the rest of us,usually only once a day.” (MM)

One mother summarized the collective concern shared by many participants:

“Our children are suffering from kwashiorkor.” (MS)

Overall, participants perceived that declining forest resources were associated with reduced household dietary diversity and increased nutritional vulnerability among children. These perceptions should be interpreted in light of the qualitative design and the absence of direct anthropometric or clinical assessment.

Participants described a wide range of coping strategies in response to declining forest resources, reflecting remarkable resilience and ingenuity. These strategies varied in terms of their duration (short-term versus long-term), perceived effectiveness, and level of constraint.

Some households adopted spatial adaptation strategies, travelling much longer distances—sometimes requiring three to four days—to access remaining forest resources.

“We always go deep into the forest.It now takes three to four days of travel to find enough food.” (ML)

Others reported that access to some forests had become restricted because they were privately owned.

“Some forests are privately owned,and we need permission to enter them.The others are about three to four kilometers away.” (MM)

Many respondents described dietary substitution strategies, including greater reliance on soybean, fishing, and vegetable gardening.

“I add soybean to every meal I prepare.” (MM)

“We go fishing,and we also maintain a vegetable garden.” (MAL)

A more drastic coping mechanism involved the continued use of slash and burn agriculture, despite widespread awareness of its environmental consequences.

“We burn the forest because we have to.It is the only way for us to survive.” (ME)

One innovative strategy reported by participants was the development of aquatic farming, adopted in response to the disappearance of fertile agricultural land.

“We have started cultivating crops in aquatic environments.” (MML)

Several respondents also sought external support, requesting medicines and fishing equipment from local authorities.

“We ask the authorities to provide medicines and fishing equipment,especially fishing nets.” (MK)

Finally, some participants proposed long-term structural solutions centered on forest restoration.

“We need to plant more trees so that they can restore moisture and help produce food.” (MA)

“We should stop cutting trees indiscriminately and start planting new ones so that our forests can become as they once were.” (MC)

Overall, these findings suggest that although households have developed diverse coping mechanisms to mitigate the effects of deforestation on food security, most of these strategies remain insufficient to ensure sustainable livelihoods without broader environmental conservation and socioeconomic support measures.

One of the most striking findings of this study is the unanimous perception among participants that forests constitute the primary source of household food. As one mother expressed:

Our findings regarding the universal perception of forests as a vital infrastructure echo previous evidence by [7]. This perception is consistent with the findings of Powell, Ickowitz, McMullin, Jamnadass, Pinedo Vasquez, and Sunderland, who emphasized that forests and wild biodiversity provide nutritionally valuable foods including fruits, vegetables, bushmeat, fish, and edible insects that substantially enhance the diversity and nutritional quality of diets among populations living in forested landscapes ([3]).

The dependence on forests observed in Isangi is not unique. [9], in a multicountry study conducted across 24 tropical countries, reported that more than half of rural households collect forest foods for household consumption. Among the most forest dependent households, these foods contributed approximately 14.8% of the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables and the recommended intake of meat and fish, highlighting the fundamental role of forests in supporting food and nutrition security.

The present study demonstrates a substantial decline in children’s dietary diversity, characterized by the progressive disappearance of bushmeat, edible caterpillars, mushrooms, and wild fruits. These findings are consistent with those reported by [3], who showed that children living in communities surrounded by forests have significantly more diverse diets and consume greater quantities of fruits and vegetables than those living in less forested areas ([7]).

Their largescale study, involving approximately 93,000 children across 21 African countries, identified a statistically significant association between tree cover and dietary diversity.

Our qualitative findings complement this quantitative evidence by documenting how mothers experience and interpret these environmental changes. When one respondent stated.

“In the past,food was easy to find,but today it has become very difficult,”

she was expressing not only increasing food scarcity but also the disruption of intergenerational food systems and traditional ecological knowledge.

Similarly, [5], in rural Malawi, observed that children living in highly deforested areas had substantially less access to wild foods than children residing near intact forests, reinforcing the broader relevance of our findings.

One of the most important contributions of recent literature has been the establishment of a causal relationship between forest ecosystems and child nutrition. [8], in a landmark study published in Science Advances, analyzed data from approximately 43,000 households across 27 low and middle income countries and demonstrated that children’s exposure to forested environments increased dietary diversity by at least 25% compared with children living in non-forested settings.

The authors concluded that forest conservation may be as effective as certain nutrition sensitive agricultural interventions in improving children’s diets in developing countries.

In the present study, mothers perceived declining forest resources as contributing to reduced dietary diversity and greater nutritional vulnerability. However, because dietary diversity scores, anthropometric measurements, biomarkers, and objective forest cover data were not collected, the study cannot determine the magnitude, temporality, or causal pathway of these relationships.

“Our children are suffering from kwashiorkor.”

These observations are particularly alarming given the already poor nutritional situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the 2023 National Nutrition Survey, 2.6% of children aged 6 - 59 months suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), while 8.2% experience global acute malnutrition (GAM), with considerable regional disparities across provinces.

Our findings also underscore the important role of seasonality in shaping household food security. Several respondents emphasized that the rainy season is the most productive period for obtaining forest foods, whereas the dry season exacerbates food shortages. As one mother explained:

“During the dry season,the plants dry up.”

Similarly, one participant stated:

“Forest exploitation has changed the seasons.We used to eat fish during the dry season,but this year we did not catch any.”

This quotation should be retained as a participant’s perception; it should not be interpreted as an objective demonstration that deforestation changed the seasonal climate. Similar qualitative research has documented perceived links between environmental change and rural livelihoods, although the mechanisms require objective environmental assessment.

Participants described a wide range of coping strategies, including travelling longer distances to reach forest resources, dietary substitution through soybean consumption, fishing and vegetable gardening, slash and burn agriculture, aquatic farming, and requests for assistance from public authorities. Although these strategies demonstrate remarkable resilience and ingenuity, respondents generally perceived them as temporary and insufficient to address the long-term consequences of forest degradation.

[8] argued that forests contribute most substantially to child nutrition among disadvantaged communities, but that the nutritional benefits of forest ecosystems are maximized when communities also have access to markets, transportation infrastructure, and education. This observation is particularly relevant to Isangi Territory, where access to basic infrastructure remains limited.

The repeated requests made by participants for medicines and fishing equipment illustrate the need for stronger institutional support to enhance local adaptive capacity.

One particularly innovative finding was the emergence of aquatic farming as an adaptive response to the loss of fertile agricultural land.

“We have started cultivating crops in aquatic environments.”

Although this practice reflects considerable local innovation, its long-term sustainability and potential ecological consequences warrant further investigation.