Rhythm of the rivers : an ecosystem approach to child nutrition and health on the Amazon frontier

This research investigated the application of an ecosystem approach to the problem of child nutrition and health in the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon. Poor health and widespread poverty in frontier communities has long been recognized as a significant issue. The annual flooding and extensive inundation of large areas of the floodplain challenges every aspect of human settlement. The overall goal of the thesis was to determine if, and to what extent, child nutrition and health is affected by seasonal ecosystem dynamics. The research investigated the interactions across three seasons- the dry season, the start of the rains, and the wet season. Based on the results of this study, the scarce resources of the government and communities can be more appropriately focused on those groups most in need, during their season of greatest need. Intervention strategies for food security will now concentrate efforts for the indigenous population during the height of floods, the period of greatest stress for these children; whereas efforts for mestizo children in the uplands and floodplain will be targeted during the onset of the rains. In contrast, health intervention will be most effective in the dry season in all populations, as this was when the incidence of diarrhoeal infections was highest, and water quality the poorest