Vulnerability & Dependency

The poor have unique concerns relating to the environment and are disproportionately vulnerable to adverse environmental conditions.

Across the globe, the livelihoods of the rural poor are based on a complex dependency with the natural environment. While this relationship is multi-faceted and not easily described, one of the most pressing issues facing the rural poor is the inability to insulate themselves from fluctuations in the delivery of ecosystems goods and services. Droughts, crop failures, deforestation, climate change, and other forms of environmental disruption all disproportionately harm the poor because they lack the resources to cope with the challenges these events create or adapt to these situations as they arise.

For many of the 1.2 billion people living below $1 a day, nature is a daily lifeline -- an asset for those with few other material resources. Harvests from forests, fisheries, and farm fields are a primary source of income for the poor, and a fall-back when other sources of employment fail. The value of ecosystems to impoverished households takes many forms. Some fish for their own consumption, use shrubs for livestock fodder, or sell products collected from forests. People living near coastal reefs may collect shellfish, seaweed, or lobster. These activities are particularly important for the poor. Occasionally, they may lift people out of poverty. However it is much more common that they support the poor, acting as a safety net to prevent a decline into more severe poverty. Poverty reduction strategies must take this relationship into account if they are to be truly successful.