2.3
poverty with faster environmental degradation
Faster economic growth in developing countries can lead to fast
environmental degradation. The general consensus seems to be that poverty is a
major cause of environmental degradation. 《Duraiappa 2169》 For example, in one
of the conclusions of the Bruntland Commission report, which incidentally has
been accepted as the blueprint for environmental conservation, it is explicitly
stated that poverty is a major cause of environmental problems and amelioration
of poverty is a necessary and central condition of any effective program to
deal with environmental concerns.
As is mentioned above, the poor people mainly
rely on the natural resources. Water, soil, forest, animals and so on supported
their living for a thousand years. The vast uses of natural resources degrade
the environment. It has been proved that degradation of soil and vegetative resources
already threatens agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and water quality and
availability in many ‘hot spots’ in the developing world. Soils in about 16% of
agricultural land area in developing countries, and a higher proportion of crop
and dry lands, have degraded moderately or severely since mid-century, mainly
through soil erosion, nutrient depletion and salinization. 《Scherr 480》 Unfortunately,
environmental
degradation will in return fasten poverty. The burden of
the
costs to environmental
degradation falls most heavily on vulnerable groups. The
poor are exposed to
greater environmental risks than the higher income
groups and lack the resources to mitigate those risks. Environmental health influences often have
more severe repercussions on the poor than on the non-poor, because the non-poor are likely
to have more resources to deal with such events, and have better accesses to health and education services
in general. Environmental impacts and natural disasters can also result in a
loss of income or assets that is more detrimental for the livelihoods of the poor than for the non-poor.
It is estimated
that the impact of environmental degradation for the poor relative to the non-poor
is
20 percent higher per 1,000 people, and 4.5 times higher per unit of income, highlighting
the importance of environmental degradation as a barrier to reducing
inequality.《World
Bank 15》
3. A sustainable poverty reduction program
No doubtfully, poverty is a threat to
sustainable development. It is necessary to get more people out poverty if we
are to achieve sustainable development. Oreover, as poverty is seen as an
obstacle to sustainable development, then everything should be done to limit
the damage caused by poor people. It is said that
sustained development requires a comprehensive framework that includes: 1》 good
governance; 2》 sound legal, incentive, and regulatory frameworks that protect
property rights, enforce contracts and stimulate competitive markets, 3》 a
sound financial sector, adequately regulated and supervised with a basis in
internationally accepted accounting and auditing standards; 4》 health,
education and social services that reach the poor, women and girls effectively;
5》 quality infrastructure and public services to promote rural development and
livable cities; and 6》 policies to promote environmental and human
sustainability. 《World Bank 15》 Based on these contents, we think a sustainable
poverty reduction program should pay attention to and take actions on putting
forward to a good and enough governance agenda, regulating and supervising
financial system, improving health, education and social services and making
effective policies.
3.1 Putting forward to a good and enough
governance agenda
Good governance is a necessity for
development and poverty reduction. Various studies suggest that good
governance is a major contributor to development, while people living in ineffective
or venal states suffer from a lack of economic and social development.《World Bank 65》 Moreover, good
governance ensures effective property rights and contract enforcement without
excessively restrictive and arbitrary regulatory structures, and the delivery
of an appropriate mix and quality of public services, with the inclusion of the
poor and women, and without corruption.Since good governance is vital to
poverty reduction and sustainable development, the major tasks of this program
is dealing with how a good government could come into being.
Many
developing countries have a fierce discussion on good governance. They think
governments facing significant challenges of political instability should
recognize the importance of establishing law, order, and stability as
critically important governance conditions for poverty reduction. For example,
democratization 《Ethiopia and Vietnam》, political will 《Malawi》, information on
government activities 《Rwanda and Zambia》, improving social services
《Mauritania》, reforming state-owned enterprises 《Vietnam》, and innovative ideas
about citizen monitoring 《Bolivia》. We think giving these problems with a good
enough governance agenda is necessary. Then several actions should be taken to
lead to a more realistic agenda for good enough governance, such as addressing
the link between the governance and poverty reduction more carefully, situating
good governance historically and developmentally, asking different questions
about change, assessing more carefully who needs to do what, and applying
priorities on a country-by-country basis. 《Grindle 13》