Impoverishment, Population, and Environmental Degradation: The Case for Equity

Abstract

The discussion above sought to clarify some of the key aspects of the relationships among impoverishment, population, and environmental degradation, and to pose a conceptual framework for addressing the issue. At various times, impoverishment has been identified: as a root cause of environmental degradation; as a proximate cause; and as a contributing factor, merely reinforcing the linkage between environmental degradation and poverty often caused by wealth and greed. Despite an abundance of recent literature on the topic, it is not clear how environmental degradation and impoverishment are linked. What is apparent is that the relationship amongst these elements is complex, multidimensional, conditional and, at present, indeterminate. Although much of the evidence linking impoverishment and environmental degradation is anecdotal, it appears that the key issue is one of equity. Considerations of international equity, national equity, and intergenerational equity, must form the cornerstone of any strategy to confront the joint issues of environmental degradation and impoverishment.Promoting equity as a key principle or strategy, however, does not reduce the complexity of the issue; equity has an economic dimension, a political dimension, and a social dimension; numerous case-studies can be found to illustrate these dimensions, and a few are noted in our above discussion. This framework is also tied to the goal of sustainable livelihood security, which recognizes that security has both political and environmental components. Despite the complexity of these issues, it is still possible to develop general recommendations to be used as a guide to the design of intervention strategies by agencies providing development assistance. Accordingly, five such recommendations are noted last above.The conceptual framework developed in this paper sought to extend the work on the impoverishment, population, and environment, issue begun by Leonard (1989), Holmberg (1991), and others. It is clear, however, that much more study of these complex interrelationships is needed before the linkages amongst them are well identified and understood. In addition, it is not enough to accept the importance of equity as a key principle of sustainable livelihood security; development agencies must be willing to act on this principle, and to design intervention strategies which aim at reducing and eliminating the inequities which are a major cause of environmental degradation.