Sustaining the environment to fight poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Review of European Community and International Environmental Law

Volumn 15, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 39-55

  Bass, Steve ^a   Bigg, Tom ^a   Bishop, Josh ^b   Tunstall, Dan ^c  

^a INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT   (United Kingdom)

^b IUCN   (Poland)

^c WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION; PARTNERSHIP APPROACH; POLICY MAKING; POVERTY ALLEVIATION; UNITED NATIONS;

NEW YORK [UNITED STATES]; NORTH AMERICA; UNITED STATES;

EID: 33646831653     PISSN: 09628797     EISSN: 14679388     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9388.2006.00502.x     Document Type: Article

References (59)

1. An earlier version of this article was distributed at the September 2005 United Nations World Summit in New York (available at ). It represents a synthesis of the key messages from analytical work carried out by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), World Resources Institute (WRI), International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the Poverty-Environment Partnership (PEP) membership (see below). This version of the article expands on some of the information and ideas presented and includes ideas and examples not included in the PEP summary report, including proposals for future activities to be led by members of the PEP.
2. The PEP is a network of bilateral aid agencies, multilateral development banks, UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that aims to address key poverty - environment issues within the framework of international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PEP member organizations include bilateral agencies from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the USA; multilateral/UN agencies including African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Commission, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Inter-American Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, International Monetary Fund, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs, UNDP, UN Environment Programme, World Bank, and World Health Organization; and international NGOs including IIED, IUCN, WRI, and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International. For more information, see the website available at .
3. These studies are available separately: Economic study led by IUCN - D.W. Pearce, Investing in Environmental Wealth for Poverty Reduction (UNDP, 2005), available at
4. and assessment/indicators study led by WRI - D. Tunstall (ed.), Assessing the Environment's Role in Poverty Reduction (UNDP, 2005), available at .
5. See also UNDP, Country MDG Report Review (UNDP, June 2005), available at .
6. In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All, Report of the Secretary-General (A/59/2005, March 2005), para. 57.
7. Statement of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board, Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-Being (2005), available at .
8. See D.W. Pearce, n. 3 above.
9. See, especially, World Resources Institute, World Resources Report 2005 - The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty (WRI, 2005).
10. See WWF, Forest Cover in the Tropics Continues to Plummet (WWF, undated), available at .
11. See P. Vedeld et al., Counting on the Environment: Forest Income and the Rural Poor, Environmental Economics Poor Series No 98 (World Bank, 2004), which reviewed 54 separate studies in developing countries. The global average contribution of forests to household income was US$678, or 22%.
12. See H. Cesar, 'Coral Reefs: Their Functions, Threats and Economic Value', in H. Cesar (ed.), Collected Essays on the Economics of Coral Reefs (Kalmar University, 2000)
13. and E. Whittingham, J. Campbell and P. Townsley, Poverty and Reefs Vol. 1: A Global Overview (UK Department for International Development, 2002).
14. A participatory poverty assessment (PPA) collects poor people's views regarding their own analysis of poverty and the survival strategies that they use. The approach has been used in a number of countries, including Tanzania and Uganda, where it has been integrated into the national poverty-reduction strategy process. See K. Brock, An Introduction to Participatory Poverty Assessments (Institute for Development Studies, 2000), available at .
15. Department for International Develpment, Poverty and the Environment: What the Poor Say, Environment Department Issues Paper No 1 (DFID, 2001), 34.
16. K. Hamilton et al., Where is the Wealth of Nations? Measuring Capital for the 21st Century (World Bank, 2005).
17. See S. Bass et al., Reducing Poverty and Sustaining the Environment: The Politics of Local Engagement (Earthscan, 2005).
18. See D.W. Pearce, n. 3 above, at 53.
19. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment - Synthesis Report (Island Press, 2005), at 1.
20. 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index (Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy and CIESIN, Columbia University, 2005).
21. See D.W. Pearce, n. 3 above, at 15.
22. L. Ghanime and L. Lee, Environmental Sustainability in 100 Millennium Development Goal Country Reports (UNDP Energy and Environment Group, June 2005), at 9.
23. Ibid.
24. L. Gangadharan and R. Valenzuela, 'Interrelationships between Income, Health and the Environment: Extending the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis', 36:3 Ecological Economics (2001), 513.
25. L. Gangadharan and R. Valenzuela, 'Interrelationships between Income, Health and the Environment: Extending the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis', 36:3 Ecological Economics (2001), 513.
26. G. Hutton and L. Haller, Evaluation of the Costs and Benefits of Water and Sanitation Improvements at the Global Level (WHO/SDE/WSH/o4.04, 2004).
27. J. Sachs, Macroeconomics and Health: Investing in Health for Development (World Health Organization, 2001).
28. R. Martin-Hurtado, Costing the 7th Millennium Development Goal: Ensure Environmental Sustainability (World Bank Environment Department, 2002).
29. E. Lutz, S. Pagiola and C. Reiche, 'The Costs and Benefits of Soil Conservation: The Farmer's Viewpoint', 9:2 World Bank Research Observer (1994), 273.
30. See International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2004 (IEA, 2004), at 36. The estimates are for extending access to electricity to an additional 500 million people, over and above those expected to have electricity with ongoing programmes.
31. See D.W. Pearce, n. 3 above, at 15.
32. This is based on an aggregate cost of US$28 billion per year and a coverage of 500-700 million people.
33. Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme, Household Energy Use in Developing Countries: A Multi-Country Study (World Bank, 2003), at 18.
34. B. Larson and S. Rosen, Household Benefits of Indoor Air Pollution Control in Developing Countries, paper presented to USAID/ WHO Global Technical Consultation on the Health Impacts of Indoor Air Pollution and Household Energy in Developing Countries (Washington DC, 2000).
35. See D.W. Pearce, n. 3 above.
36. M. Parry et al., 'Millions at Risk: Defining Critical Climate Change Threats and Targets', 11 Global Environmental Change (2001), 181.
37. P. Winters, et al., 'Economic and Welfare Impacts of Climate Change on Developing countries', 12:1 Environmental and Resource Economics (1998), 1-24.
38. J. Abramovitz, Unnatural Disasters, Worldwatch Paper 158 (Worldwatch Institute, 2001).
39. D. Anderson, The Economics of Afforestation: A Case Study in Africa (John Hopkins University Press, 1987).
40. See D.W. Pearce, n. 3 above, at 13.
41. See J. Barnes, 'The Economic Returns to Wildlife Management in Southern Africa', in D.W. Pearce, C. Pearce and C. Palmer (eds), Valuing the Environment in Developing Countries: Case Studies (Edward Elgar, 2002), 274
42. and D.W. Pearce, 'The Economics of African Wildlife Utilization', in D.W. Pearce (ed.), Economics and Environment: Essays in Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development (Edward Elgar, 1999), 210.
43. In India, 63,000 forest protection committees (under joint forest management) co-manage with the government 14 million hectares; see S. Saigal, H. Arora and S.S. Rizvi, The New Foresters: The Role of Private Enterprise in the Indian Forestry Sector (IIED, 2002). In Nepal, 13,500 forest user groups are in management control of 1.1 million hectares that were handed over by the government
44. see J. Carter and J. Gronow, Recent Experience in Collaborative Forest Management, CIFOR Occasional Paper No 43 (Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia, 2005).
45. World Summit Outcome (UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES60/1, 24 October 2005), at para. 22(a), available at .
46. 'UN Panel Urges Doubling of Aid to Cut Poverty', New York Times (17 January 2005), available at .
47. Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: Ownership, Harmonization, Alignment, Results (OECD, 2 March 2005), available at .
48. For more information, see the website available at .
49. The PEP dialogue event programme can be found on the website available at .
50. The webcast of the dialogue may be found on the website available at .
51. For the summary report of the dialogue, see C. Spence, 'Summary of the "Environment for the MDGs" High-Level Events. 14 September 2005', 114:1 Environment for the MDGs Bulletin (19 September 2005), available at .
52. Hilary Benn (UK Secretary of State for International Development), PEP Policy Dialogue (14 September 2005).
53. Jane Weru (Pamoja Trust Nairobi), PEP Policy Dialogue (14 September 2005).
54. Adil Najam (Associate Professor of International Negotiation and Diplomacy Tufts University), PEP Policy Dialogue (14 September 2005).
55. Jeffrey Sachs (Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals), PEP Policy Dialogue (14 September 2005).
56. Ian Johnson (World Bank Vice-President for Sustainable Development), PEP Policy Dialogue (14 September 2005).
57. Achim Steiner (IUCN Director-General), PEP Policy Dialogue (14 September 2005).
58. See World Economic Forum, What is the Role of Business in Advancing Economic Development and Social Progress? (World Economic Forum, 2003), available at .
59. Hilary Benn, n. 46 above.