The Environments of the Poor

– New Perspectives on
Development Programs
Presentation at the 13th Poverty and Environment
Partnership Meeting
9-11 June 2008, Manila

For further inquiries:

Dr. Armin Bauer, Senior Economist
Regional and Sustainable Development Department,
Asian Development Bank: abauer@adb.org

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 Poverty and the Environment, Environmental
Poverty and the Environments of the Poor –
What Way to Take?
different reasons for being poor
the dryland poor

the upland poor

the flood-affected
affects
wetland poor

the situation of the poor

the poor (defined as
live in where
those living with less

people
the coastal poor
spatial areas the environment
than $1/$2 a day)

the slum poor

does not
The (Natural) Environment
affect

Climate Environmental Environmental other poor

Change Sustainability Poverty
Mitigation
Adaptation

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 Poverty and the Environment –
From which Perspective do we
look?
• Nature
• People / Poor People
The
• Infrastructure and Institutions environments
of the poor

• They affect differently on socio-

economic and poverty situation in
an area
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 “Environmental” Poverty – Concept and Methodology
the environmental poor the other poor

creates harms creates new poor people

God natural environment man
marginal land (natural environment causes poverty) the dryland poor,

the flood-affected
country

harms harms by limiting makes existing poor people poorer wetland poor,
man natural environment man
marginal income livelihood (natural environment causes poverty)
the upland poor,

creates harms stimulates rural people leaving the area the coastal poor
man human environment man
(rural human life causes migration)

migration to the cities

other (material) poor

3.) already poor and new poorer made (more) miserable

1.) already poor made poorer
increases misery of poor people

2.) not poor made poor

(natural/social environment does
not cause poverty)

creates harms by damaging mental creates new poor people

man human environment man
(through health (stress) (human environment causes poverty)
reduces livelihood
congestion/traffic,
housing) (extra step)

makes existing poor people poorer

city

(human environment causes poverty) the slum poor

increases misery of poor people

by damaging (natural environment does not
harms harms cause poverty)
man natural environment man physical health
(through pollution of (illness)
air and water) creates new poor people
reduces livelihood (natural environment causes poverty)
(extra step)
makes existing poor people poorer
(natural environment causes poverty)

most in this
not everyone in this column 4
environment is poor. The effect however nature of harm caused
column are not everybody in this column is poor
(natural and human) is larger on the poor than by environment
poor
on the non-poor
 A Geographical Approach to
Poverty Reduction
• Income poverty, social poverty, environmental
poverty, the disaster-prone poor
• Pro-poor growth potential area (the non-
environmental poor)
• The environments of the rural poor
– The dry-land poor Affecting
– The upland poor the income of
– The coastal poor the rural poor
– The flood affected wetland poor
• The environments of the urban poor
– The slum poor Affecting poor
people’s health
in urban areas 5
 Poverty is Changing
in Asia and Pacific
Poverty in Asia and Pacific
2005 2020
million people number percent percent number percent percent
population 3,470.0 100% 100% 4,053.3 100% 100%
rural 2,218.7 64% 100% 2,238.9 55% 100%
urban 1,251.3 36% 100% 1,814.4 45% 100%
extreme poor ($1) 692.6 100% 20% 428.4 100% 11%
rural 515.0 74% 23% 275.0 64% 12%
urban 177.6 26% 14% 153.4 36% 8%
vulnerable poor ($2) 1,987.8 100% 57% 1,632.8 100% 40%
rural 1,626.9 82% 73% 1,211.1 74% 54%
urban 360.9 18% 29% 421.7 26% 23%
Sources:Population data are from the 2007 World Demographics Data of the UN Population Division. Poverty data are
from the ADB statistical database system, the World Bank PovCalNet, Ravallion/Chen 2007, World Bank Poverty
Reduction Strategy Program (PRSP) Reports, the ADB Key Indicators, and ADB calculations.

Shift:
•From extreme poverty ($1: 20% ->11%) to vulnerability ($2: 57% -> 40%)
•extreme poverty remains mainly rural
•More urban vulnerable poor
•From everywhere to specific geographical areas 6
 Where do the poor live – now… and in 2020:
The Spatial Distribution of Poverty
Spatial Distribution of the Poor and Vulnerable Poor 2005 and 2020
(million people, perce nt of poor)

environmental poor/vulnerable as % of total poor/vulnerable

2,500 90%
84.8% Environmental
80%
poverty as
2,000
70.3% 70% slum poor percent of total
61.5%60% flood-af fected poverty is
1,500
52.7%
w etland poor
coastal poor
increasing from
50%

upland poor
53% (2005) to
1,000
40% 70% (2020) of
dryland poor
30% the extreme
20%
other poor
poor ($1).
500 environmental poor as

10%
percent of total poor
Slum poverty,
dryland poverty
0 0%
and coastal
moderate poor = 1996

(vulnerable/modertate
2020 (very poor = 442
2005 (very poor = 692

million people = 57%

million people = 11%
million people = 20%

poor = 1632 million

2005 (vulnerable /

people = 62% of
of population)

poverty show
of population)

of population)

population)
2020

largest increase

very poor ($1) vulnerable / moderate poorm($2)

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Aggravators of Environmental Poverty:

Climate Change, Disasters, and

Globalization
• Asia is the most disaster prone region in the world
(natural, technological, conflict); disasters affect the poor
most
• Globalization: food and energy prices affect the poor and
create instabilities
• Environmental poverty dimensions of fragile states
• Climate change affects poorer countries and poorer
regions more, and poor in the poorer countries most
– Global warming increases dryland and coastal poverty,
– Melting glaciers deepen flood related ands upland poverty,
– Increasing incidences of disasters result in more poverty and
environmental refugees

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 Policy Implications (1)
- A Geographical Approach to Poverty and
the Environment
• Geographical focus
– While total number of poor will decline, incidence of poverty in
dryland areas will increase, and slum poverty will worsen
– The need for location specific strategies beyond national
averages
– Interactive map
• Solutions to environmental poverty are often beyond
environmental investments:
– Small rural town development in and migration to PPG areas
– Social protection for those remaining in rural environmental
poverty areas: the elderly, the women, the children
• Why infrastructure investment will become even more
important
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 Policy Implications (2)
- The Environments of the Rural Poor

• Climate change will increase the size of areas with

inhospitable environments; the very poor will become
more miserable and there will be even more vulnerable
poor (as % of population in that area)
• Dryland, coastal, upland, flood-affected wetland poverty
• Addressing dryland poverty is most important (24% of $1
poor and 41% of $2 poor in 2005; 27%/29% in 2020)
– Shift in agricultural produce (the example of good and bad
biofuels - jethropa)
– Migration and urban development
• The need to build up social protection systems for the
vulnerable in rural areas

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 Policy Implications (3)
- The Environments of the Slum Poor

• With urbanization and continued unbalanced

growth slum poverty is increasing
• The incidence of slum poverty will increase from
12% of all very poor ($1) in 2005 to 25% in 2020
• Slum poverty is less related to water and
sanitation and more to
– Congestion (traffic in slums, urban planning),
– Housing / shelter, and
– weakening social fabric

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Policy Implications (4)
- How to deal with climate change
under an environmental poverty
approach
• Environment is more than climate change, and
climate change is more than energy efficiency
• Do not protect only the earth, also ensure decent
human – the priority of poverty reduction
– Energy of the poor is not electricity but cooking and
heating
– Transportation of the poor is local not long-distance
mass transport
– A fresh look on agriculture and natural resources
development: the need to focus more on soil and water

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 Policy Implications (5)
- Strategic Alignment +
• Does the climate change debate hijack the poverty agenda?
– The predominance of energy vs. water and soil
– The predominance of clean air and urban traffic, but not for the poor
• The need for better linking poverty and environmental indicators and targets
– unlike most of the other MDG targets, MDG 7 goal is neither quantitative nor time-
bound; there is need to develop proper indicators and quantifiable targets for MDG 7
– climate change related environmental poverty issues in MDG 7 shall also be included
– PEP statement on this to be sent to UNDP;
– bring the environmental poverty agenda into the mid term MDG meeting (Oct 08 in New
York)
• Monitoring from the poor’s perspective: poverty impact assessment and
environmental effects chains
• The renewed focus on the environment shall not be on the costs of poverty
reduction
• Moving away from a household/people targeting approach to a geographical
approach on poverty can bring the environmental and poverty agenda together
• Geographical targeting and project classification (TI-G)

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 Policy Implications (6)
- MDG 7 links +
• MDG 7 – current targets: water, biodiversity, electricity, slum, planning
– Principle of sustainable development in poverty strategies
– Reduce biodiversity loss significantly by 2010
– Halve by 2015 proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
– Have achieved a significant improvement by 2020 in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

• Suggestion for the new MDG 7 (for discussion)

– Revert the increase in rural environmental poverty among the total poor by addressing dryland, upland, coastal, and flood
affected wetland poverty
• Provide – by 2020 – sustainable alternative employment and income opportunities for 60% of the poor and vulnerable poor in
dryland areas
• Halve the income dependency of the upland poor on forestry and biodiversity by 2020
• Ensure that by 2020 the coastal poor households derive at least 50% of their income from income sources outside of fishery
• Ensure better flood protection by increasing investments by 30%
• Double access to safe water for at least 60% of the rural poor

– Revert the trend of increasing slum poverty as percent of total urban poor
• Address urban poor’s traffic needs
• reduce air pollution in slums
• Achieve proper housing and shelter fort at least 60% of the slum poor in 2020
• Halve by 2015 proportion of urban and rural people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
• Ensure that by 2020 at least 70% of the slum poor have access to basic sanitation

– Climate change
• Double by 2020 access of the poor to environmental friendly cooking energy
• Ensure that by 2020 at least 20% of the rural poor and vulnerable are covered under formal social protection schemes including
health and agricultural risk insurances
• Increase by 2020 funding for climate change related programs that directly address poverty reduction to at least 30% of total
environment related budgets

– Ensure that by 2020 all investments at project and program level are backed by ex-ante impact assessments showing the
linkages and impact chains between poverty and the environment, participatory discussed and transparently exposed
through websites 14
 References

• Joint study of the ADB’s Poverty Unit and the Environmental

Division: The Environments of Poverty. A Geographical Approach to
Poverty Reduction in Asia and the Pacific
• Environment at ADB’s Poverty Website:
http://www.adb.org/poverty/environmental-sustainability.asp
• ADB’s Environmental Website: http://www.adb.org/Environment/default.asp
• Tracking MDG 7: A Future within Reach 2008 (ADB-ESCAP-UNDP
partnership for the MDGs in Asia and Pacific):
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/MDG-Future-Reach-2008/default.asp
• Millennium Project, Ecosystem Development …
• Poverty mapping, poverty and environmental impact assessment
tools

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