POVERTYENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS IN AGRICULTURE.docx

POVERTYENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS IN AGRICULTURE.docx

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POVERTYENVIRONMENTINTERACTIONSINAGRICULTURE

POVERTY-ENVIRONMENTINTERACTIONSINAGRICULTURE:

KEYFACTORSAND

POLICYIMPLICATIONS

SaraJ.Scherr*

PaperpreparedfortheUnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme（UNDP）andtheEuropeanCommission（EC）expertworkshoponPovertyandtheEnvironment,Brussels,Belgium,January20-21,1999

RevisedMarch1999

*VisitingFellow,AgriculturalandResourceEconomicsDepartment,

2200SymonsHall,UniversityofMaryland,CollegePark,Maryland20742USA;Tel:

（301）405-8360or（703）758-2548;Fax:

（301）314-9091;E-mail:

SJScherr@,Sscherr@arec.umd.edu.

POVERTY-ENVIRONMENTINTERACTIONSINAGRICULTURE:

KEYFACTORSANDPOLICYIMPLICATIONS

ExecutiveSummary

Asenvironmentalconcernsandpoliticalmobilizationtoaddressthemhaveriseninrecentdecades,ruralpovertyisincreasinglyseenasbothamajorcauseandresultofdegradedsoils,vegetation,waterandnaturalhabitats.Observershaveconceptualizedthelinkbetweenruralpovertyandenvironmentasa"downward"spiralassociatedwithpopulationgrowthandinadequateresourcesforresourcemanagement,orastheresultofeconomicmarginalizationofthepoorleadingtotheirmigrationtoevermoreenvironmentally-fragilelands.Thissimplisticmodelhassometimesledtopolicieswhichreducepovertyattheexpenseofenvironment,orreducedegradationattheexpenseofpoorpeople.

Recentmicro-scaleempiricalresearchhaschallengedthismodel.Studieshavefoundastrikingdegreeofheterogeneityintheexperienceoftheruralpoorinrelationtoenvironmentalmanagement,thesuccessoftheiradaptationstoenvironmentalchange,andtheefficacyofdifferentpoliciesininfluencingoutcomes.A"rurallivelihoods"perspectiveandananalyticalframeworkemphasizinghouseholdandcommunityadaptationprocesseshavehelpedtomakesenseofthisvariation.

Researchershaveidentifiedeightkeyfactorswhichappeartoconditionpoverty-environmentinteractionsandoutcomesinrelationtoagriculture:

*Thecharacteristicsofthenaturalresourcebaseandfarmingsystemsofthepoor;

*Farmers'awarenessandassessmentoftheimportanceofenvironmentaldegradation;

*Availabilityofsustainableproductiontechnologiesandtheirsuitabilityforthepoor;

*Farmers'capacitytomobilizeinvestmentresourcesthroughownassetsandnetworks;

*Economicincentivesforconservationmanagementorinvestment;

*Securityoftenureandrightsofaccesstoresourcesbythepoor;

*Institutionalcapacitywithincommunitiestosupportadaptiveresponsebythepoor;

*Degreeofpoliticalinclusionoftheruralpoorindecisionsaffectingresourcepolicies.

Macroeconomicandsectoralpoliciesinfluencepoverty-environmentinteractionsbyshiftingthesefactors;thusmacropolicytypicallyhasdiverseimpactsondifferentgroupsofpoorpeople,theenvironmentstheyuse,andtheirscopeforpositiveadaptation.

Byunderstandingthesefactors,itispossibletodesignpoliciesandprogramsthatjointlyaddressruralpovertyandenvironmentobjectives.Promisingstrategies,whichcanbeadaptedtoavarietyoflocalconditionslinkingpovertyandenvironment,include:

1）Co-investinon-farmnaturalresourceassetsofthepoor;

2）Employthepoorinprojectstoimprovetheagriculturalresourcebase;

3）Developandpromoteagriculturaltechnologieswithenvironmentalbenefits;

4）Promotelow-riskperennialproductioninpoorandmarginalfarmingareas;

5）Compensatethepoorforconservingormanagingresourcesofvaluetoothers;

6）Facilitateaccessofthepoortonaturalresourcesessentialforfarmlivelihoods.

Toundertakethesestrategiessuccessfullywillrequirechangeinruraldevelopmentinstitutionstointegrateperspectivesofpoorfarmersandtheenvironment.

1.INTRODUCTION

Agricultureaccountsformostlanduseinthedevelopingcountries,andassuchisprobablythesinglemostpowerfulinfluenceonenvironmentalquality.Characteristicsofagriculturalproductionsystems,suchaslocationinthelandscape,typeandtimingofcultivation,agrochemicalinputuse,fieldburningandfallowuse,andlivestockpractices,affectmanyenvironmentalvariables,particularlywaterqualityandflow,soilqualityandmovement,naturalvegetativecoverandbiodiversity,atlocal,regionalandinternationalscales.Atthesametime,agricultureremainstheprincipallivelihoodofpoorpeopleindevelopingcountries,andparticularlytheruralpoor,andisthemajor"engine"ofeconomicgrowthinamajorityofdevelopingcountries（Malik1998）.Projectionsofruralpopulationgrowth,agriculturalexpansionandintensification,andpovertyinthenextfewdecadessuggestapotentiallyseriousconflictbetweenenvironmentalqualityandpovertyreductioninagriculturalregions（Pinstrup-Andersen,Pandya-Lorch,Rosegrant1997;Scherr1997）.

Indeed,assumptionsabouttherelationshipsbetweenpoverty,agricultureandenvironmentaldegradationhavedrivenmajorpolicyinitiativesinboththeagricultureandenvironmentsectorsduringthelastcentury.Yettheseassumptionsareoftennotempiricallysupportedandthereiscontinueddebateamongacademics,developmentpractitioners,andadvocatesforthepoorandfortheenvironment,aboutdirectionsandnatureofcausalityandappropriatepolicyresponse.

Theobjectiveofthispaperistohighlightkeyelementsofthisdebate,assesscurrentevidenceandexperience,anddrawfromthisimplicationsfordesignofagriculture-andrelatedpolicieswhichcanreducetheimpactsofresourcedegradationonpoverty,reducetheimpactsofpovertyonresourcedegradation,andcontributejointlytopovertyreductionandenvironmentalrehabilitation.Thefollowingsectiondefinespovertyandenvironmentissuesrelatedtoagriculture.Thethirdsectiondescribesdifferentaspectsoftheirrelationship,andpresentsaframeworkforassessingchangeprocessesandpolicyaction.Thefourthsectiondiscusseseightfactorswhichexplainwhy,undersomecircumstances,negativepoverty-environmentlinkagesoccurandinotherstheyareavoidedorpositiveadaptationsaremade.Basedonthisevidence,thefifthsectionsuggestsanumberofpolicystrategieswhichcouldjointlyaddresspovertyandenvironmentobjectivesintheagriculturesector.Thefinalsectiondiscussesremaininggapsinourknowledgeaboutthepoverty-agriculture-environmentnexusandgeneralchallengesthatdeserveparticularattentionasthenewcenturybegins.

2.AGRICULTURE,THEPOORANDENVIRONMENTALDEGRADATION

EnvironmentalIssuesRelatedtoAgricultureandtothePoor

Discussioninthispaperisconfinedtoenvironmentalissuesassociatedwithagriculture.Concernsrelatemainlytothesustainabilityoftheresourcebaseforagriculturalproduction（e.g.,soilquality,accesstoirrigationwater）,theprotectionofbiodiversityandrelatedhabitats,andenvironmentalservicesofresourcesinfluencedsignificantlybyagriculturallanduse（e.g.,watershedfunction,carbonsequestration）.

Theseconcernsarenottrivial.Degradationofsoilandvegetativeresourcesalreadythreatensagriculturalproductivity,biodiversityandwaterqualityandavailabilityinmany"hotspots"inthedevelopingworld（ScherrandYadav1995）.Soilsinapproximately16percentofdevelopingcountrylandarea,andahigherproportionofcroplandanddrylands,havedegradedmoderatelyorseverelysincemid-century,mainlythroughsoilerosion,nutrientdepletionandsalinization（Scherr1999）.Atleast28countrieswithatotalpopulationexceeding300millionpeoplefacewaterstresstoday,anddemandisgrowingrapidlyevenaswatercontaminationduetoagricultureandruraldomesticusesincreases（Pinstrup,Pandy-LorchandRosegrant1997）.Declinesinagrobiodiversityincreasediseaseandpestproblems（Thrupp,1998）.Agriculturalexpansionandintensificationistheleadingcauseofspecieslossanddepletionofnaturalvegetation,includingbamboos,palms,andgrassesharvestedforhumananddomesticanimaluse.

Thepoorareimplicatedinonlyapartofthisdegradationanditsconsequences.Wealthierfarmers,agriculturalinvestors,andmultinationalcorporationstypicallycontrolmuchmoretotallandareathanthepoor,andhaveplayedaprominentroleinlarge-scaleclearingofnaturalvegetation,over-useofagro-chemicals,large-scaledegradationofgrazinglands,over-exploitationofsoilsforexportproduction.However,thepoordoplayanimportantroleinunsustainableagriculturalintensification,expansionoffarmingintomarginallands,andover-exploitationofvegetation.Theconsequencesofdegradationforthepooralsotendtobemoreserious,becausetheylackassetstocushiontheeffects.

WhoarethePoor?

"Poverty"isaconceptwhichindicatesabsoluteorrelativewelfaredeprivation.Itmaybedefinedintermsofprivateconsumptionalone,orextendedtoincludeaccesstocommonpropertyresourcesandstate-providedcommodities,personalassetsorwealth,andevensubjectiveassessmentsof"dignity"and"autonomy"（Baulch1996）.

IFAD（1992）identifiedfivetypesofruralpovertywhichhavedifferentlinkswithagricultureandtheenvironment.Materialdeprivationandalienationcause"interstitialpoverty",orpocketsofpovertysurroundedbypowerandaffluence."Peripheralpoverty"issimilar,butfoundinisolated,marginalareas."Overcrowdingpoverty"ismaterialdeprivationarisingfrompopulationpressureandlimitsonresources.Vulnerabilitytonaturalcalamities,labordisplacementandinsecurityproduces"traumaticorsporadicpoverty",whichcanbetransitory.Isolation,alienation,technologicaldeprivation,dependenceandlackofassetsaresignsof"endemicpoverty."

ReardonandVosti’s（1997）typologyofpovertyisexplicitlylinkedtoenvironment.Theyexamin