Environment and Poverty Times #5: Pro-poor growth issue

Publisher: GRID-Arendal, Publication date: May 2008 , Published in series: Environment Times
This issue of Environment & Poverty Times was released at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in Yokohama, Japan in May 2008. The paper features a collection of short articles, maps, graphics and other illustrations that focuses on the complex links between environment and poverty reduction. The articles describe how natural resources can contribute to economic growth that also benefits the poor. With the right mixture of entrepreneurship, investments and enabling policies at the national and international levels we can create economic opportunities for people to move beyond subsistence levels. Environment and Poverty Times is a series of publications in newspaper format, presenting current issues related to development and environment.

See the Environment and Poverty Times #5: Pro-poor growth issue web-site for full details.

Catches in the Mauritania Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 1950-2002

Marine fisheries represent a significant, but finite, natural resource for coastal countries. The majority of the catches in some of the areas of the coast are not primarily by the coastal countries, [..]
Catches in the Mauritania Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 1950-2002

Electrification and traditional fuels in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) consists of 15 countries, with 233 million inhabitants. Apart from Mauritius and the countries around South Africa in the Southern African Customs [..]
Electrification and traditional fuels in Sub-Saharan Africa

Fiji, topographic map

The Republic of Fiji is a small island country in the South Pacific Ocean. The country has a population of 850 000 people spread out over an archipelago of islands. The largest ones, Viti Levu and [..]
Fiji, topographic map

Financial flows for developing countries

With increased globalization and a smaller world, money flows more easily and the flows have increased. Where aid once represented a majority of the funds from high income countries to developing [..]
Financial flows for developing countries

Forest vs. Agriculture – the case of the Mabira forest reserve, Uganda

The Mabira forest reserve, on the shores of Lake Victoria hosts valuable wildlife, serves as a timber resource, provides ecosystem services for the water balance and the rainforests represents a [..]
Forest vs. Agriculture – the case of the Mabira forest reserve, Uganda

Forests working for the global climate - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD)

Carbon trading of credits from avoided deforestation could yield billions of dollars for tropical countries, according to an analysis by Rhett A.Butler, founder and editor from mongabay.com, a leading [..]
Forests working for the global climate - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD)

Government revenues from diamond exports in Sierra Leone

The government of Sierra Leone saw a total of USD 5.2 million (2004) in revenues from diamond related activities. This comes in the form of mining, dealer and export license fees and from export [..]
Government revenues from diamond exports in Sierra Leone

Human vulnerability and food insecurity – rainfall and economy in Sub-Saharan Africa

For Sub-Saharan Africa, patterns in economic growth follow precipitation patterns closely. As rainfall has decreased over the last 30 years, so has the financial development. Rainfed agriculture [..]
Human vulnerability and food insecurity – rainfall and economy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Money talks for turtles - conservation and economy

Marine turtles have been used for eggs, meat, shell, oil, leather or other products for 7000 years. Modern times have introduced another way for society to profit from these species - to generate [..]
Money talks for turtles - conservation and economy

Natural resource - solar power (potential)

More than two billion people cannot access affordable energy services today. They depend on inefficient locally collected and often unprocessed biomass-based fuels, such as crop residues, wood, and [..]
Natural resource - solar power (potential)

Natural resource - water (freshwater run-off)

Freshwater – a natural resource which has been adopted as a human right by the UN in 2002: 'the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient; affordable; physically accessible; safe and [..]
Natural resource - water (freshwater run-off)

Natural resources - agricultural potential

Soils underpin the production of a wide range of agricultural and industrial goods and services. Soil productivity is essential to agricultural activities - for food security, cash income and [..]
Natural resources - agricultural potential

Natural resources - marine resources

Primary ocean productivity, as measured in grammes of carbon per square meter, from remote sensing imagery outlines the areas with rich marine life. These areas are characterised by an abundance of [..]
Natural resources - marine resources

Natural resources - minerals

In more than hundred countries around the world, miners dig minerals and metals out of the ground, satisfying a slowly but continuously increasing demand from industrial production, agriculture, [..]
Natural resources - minerals

Natural resources for pro-poor economic growth

To alleviate rural poverty, one way is to sustainably use the natural resources available to the people and the communities. By supporting and expanding fisheries, small-scale mining, forestry, [..]
Natural resources for pro-poor economic growth

Natural resources path to poverty reduction - diagramme

The rural poor of the World, and the poor countries that they live in, do not have much in monetary wealth - but natural resources represents a possible source of income. With the right support, on [..]
Natural resources path to poverty reduction - diagramme

Projected agriculture in 2080 due to climate change

With our climate changes, we have to adapt our ways to a new environment – in most cases warmer and possibly wetter and drier. Projections on the climate in the future provide some guidance for us, [..]
Projected agriculture in 2080 due to climate change

Reforestation, town of Galma and surroundings, Niger 1975 and 2003

In 1970s and 1980s - years of environmental crisis, there were few trees remaining in Niger. Wind-blown sands razed farmers' young crops and they often had to plant crops three times to succeed. Since [..]
Reforestation, town of Galma and surroundings, Niger 1975 and 2003

The development potential - available land per capita, in land use class

The amount of land area available per capita provides a rough measure on the current carrying capacity for food security and for the development of additional agricultural products for export – such [..]
The development potential - available land per capita, in land use class

The economy of legal wildlife trade

The trade in wild species can contribute significantly to rural incomes, and the effect upon local economies can be substantial. The high value of wildlife products and derivatives can also provide [..]
The economy of legal wildlife trade

The importance of small forestry enterprises in developing countries

It is estimated that exported timber only represents 5 per cent of the wood cut in tropical forests. 10 per cent is timber used locally and the majority - 85 per cent- of wood is for fuel. While [..]
The importance of small forestry enterprises in developing countries

Trade in illegal wood products and corruption

Where government officials are keen to keep an eye shut for a share of the profits, the more the forests suffer. About 5 billion USD per year is estimated to be lost due to uncollected taxes and [..]
Trade in illegal wood products and corruption

World map of forest distribution (Natural resources - forests)

Approximately 240 million of the world's poor that live in forested areas of developing countries depend on forests for their livelihoods. Forest and its products provide cash income, jobs, and [..]
World map of forest distribution (Natural resources - forests)

World poverty distribution

Three-quarters of all poor people still live in rural areas. They are heavily reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods: soil, water, forests and fisheries underpin commercial and subsistence [..]
World poverty distribution