Examining the Links between Poverty and Land Degradation: From Blaming the Poor toward Recognising the Rights of the Poor

Abstract

This chapter examines the links between poverty and land degradation, with a special focus on marginal dryland areas, particularly in Africa. Traditional views on the links between poverty and the environment, or the ‘poverty-environment nexus’, locate the causes of desertification and land degradation in human activity, driven in particular by poverty that leads to the overexploitation of the land. Poor people are often blamed for unsustainable land use practices, leaving the land vulnerable to degradation and desertification. Poverty is seen as a key cause of land degradation. Poverty is also recognised as a consequence of land degradation. As land becomes increasingly degraded, the poor may be forced to extract even more from the land, leading to what has become know as a vicious cycle or downward spiral of poverty and land degradation. The spectre of this downward spiral of poverty and land degradation has long informed policy making.