Peer-reviewed article
Benefits of biodiverse marine resources to child nutrition in differing developmental contexts in Hispaniola
Gheda Temsah, Kiersten Johnson, Thea Evans, Diane K. Adams ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether children living near coral reefs and biodiverse marine ecosystems in Haiti and the Dominican Republic have better nutrition outcomes. The researchers found that coastal children in Haiti had less severe stunting, but coastal children in the Dominican Republic actually had more stunting and less dietary diversity. Surprisingly, the diversity or health of coral reefs themselves was not directly linked to better child nutrition, suggesting that infrastructure and market access matter more than proximity to marine resources alone.
Key points
- Coastal children in Haiti showed reduced likelihood of severe stunting compared to non-coastal children
- Coastal children in the Dominican Republic had increased stunting and reduced dietary diversity
- No association was found between coral reef diversity and degradation status with better childhood nutrition outcomes
- Differences between countries were likely due to variations in developed infrastructure and market access
- The study highlights the complexity of interactions between natural ecosystem health and human health outcomes
Limitations
The study used cross-sectional data from the Demographic Health Survey and does not establish causation or track children over time. It cannot determine whether proximity to marine resources directly improves nutrition or whether other factors like infrastructure, income, or food distribution systems are the primary drivers of the observed differences.
Abstract
There is an urgent need for an improved empirical understanding of the relationship among biodiverse marine resources, human health and development outcomes. Coral reefs are often at this intersection for developing nations in the tropics-an ecosystem targeted for biodiversity conservation and one that provides sustenance and livelihoods for many coastal communities. To explore these relationships, we use the comparative development contexts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. We combine child nutrition data from the Demographic Health Survey with coastal proximity and coral reef habitat diversity, and condition to empirically test human benefits of marine natural resources in differing development contexts. Our results indicate that coastal children have a reduced likelihood of severe stunting in Haiti but have increased likelihoods of stunting and reduced dietary diversity in the Dominican Republic. These contrasting results are likely due to the differential in developed infrastructure and market access. Our analyses did not demonstrate an association between more diverse and less degraded coral reefs and better childhood nutrition. The results highlight the complexities of modelling interactions between the health of humans and natural systems, and indicate the next steps needed to support integrated development programming.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
Childhood stunting and poor dietary diversity in coastal communities of Haiti and Dominican Republic
- Intervention
- Access to biodiverse marine resources and coral reef ecosystems through coastal proximity
- Population
- Children in coastal versus non-coastal areas of Haiti and Dominican Republic
Key finding
Coastal children in Haiti had reduced likelihood of severe stunting