Does it Matter that we do not Agree on the Definition of Poverty? A Comparison of Four Approaches

While there is world-wide agreement on poverty reduction as an overriding goal of development policy, there is little agreement on the definition of poverty. Four approaches to the definition and measurement of poverty are reviewed in this paper: the monetary, capability, social exclusion and participatory approaches. The theoretical underpinnings of the various measures and problems of operationalizing them are pointed out. It is argued that each is a construction of reality, involving numerous judgements, which are often not transparent. The different methods have different implications for policy, and also, to the extent that they point to different people as being poor, for targeting. Empirical work in Peru and India shows that there is significant lack of overlap between the methods with, for example, nearly half the population identified as in poverty according to monetary poverty but not in capability poverty, and conversely. This confirms similar findings elsewhere. Hence, the definition of poverty does matter for poverty eradication strategies.     

Towards understanding and resolving the conflict related to the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) conservation with participatory management planning

Conflicts often arise in relation to the conservation of protected predator species. If stakeholders are well defined and involved in participatory processes, their views and perceptions can be incorporated and steps can be made towards resolving such conflicts. In this paper, a case from Hungary is presented. In this case, a participatory management planning process was initiated in the Jászság Special Protection Area of European importance (SPA), within the frame of a LIFE+ project focusing on the conservation of the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca). It provided a good opportunity to address a complex conflict situation between nature conservationists, game managers and farmers. We identified structural conflicts such as contradictions between direct agricultural payments and nature conservation goals, conflicts related to different views of the main influencing factors, relational problems between various stakeholders, and even differences in value orientation. The participatory management planning process was successful in clarifying the conflict situation and making productive steps toward a common understanding and resolution. Besides the mutually agreed conservation measures, the establishment of an administrative and financial incentive such as the high nature value area (HNVA) scheme proved to be an especially important factor for mitigating the conflict. It also contributed to a more successful realisation of nature conservation objectives in an area dominated by private land owners. However, continued interaction and cooperation are needed to stabilise this progress. Our paper also shows that stakeholder involvement in conservation management planning can transcend the strategic dimension of participation, and address broader common values besides the interests of land user groups.     

西南地区水贫困测度和空间格局分析以重庆市为例

目的 通过对重庆市的水贫困进行测度和空间格局分析，为解决西南地区水贫困及水资源短缺问题找到了新的途径和思路。方法 文章采用主客观综合赋权法，从资源、设施、能力、使用和环境五方面确定22个指标构建重庆市水贫困测度指标体系，对重庆市水贫困进行测度，并利用GIS软件，依据自然断裂点法，对重庆市的水贫困进行空间格局分析，将其划分为高水贫困区、较高水贫困区、中水贫困区、较低水贫困区、低水贫困区5个差异区域，同时利用GeoDa软件对水贫困测度结果进行空间自相关分析。结果 （1）重庆市水贫困资源系统和使用系统指数等级偏高区域主要分布在渝东北、渝西和主城等经济相对较为发达、人口密集的区县，设施系统和能力系统指数等级偏高区域主要分布在渝东北和渝东南等社会经济水平较低的地区，环境系统指数等级偏高区域主要分布在经济水平相对较高且农业较为发达的地区。（2）重庆市水贫困分布呈两头小中间大的“椭球状”结构，高水贫困区、较低水贫困区、低水贫困区占比较少，较高水贫困区、中水贫困区占比较多。不同的水贫困区存在不同的问题和成因，需根据不同水贫困特征采取不同的解决措施，综合治理重庆市的水贫困问题。（3）重庆市水贫困空间集聚特征明显，低低集聚区主要分布在主城的渝中区、江北区、南岸区、巴南区和沙坪坝区，低值区分布较集中，高值区分布较零散，无高高集聚区。结论 重庆市水贫困空间分布差异明显，不同的水贫困区存在不同的问题和成因，可从以分别对各区域水贫困进行治理。     

Benefit distribution across scales to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) in Vietnam

At very high policy levels, efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) are considered to be innovative and cost-effective ways to make forest more valuable standing than cut. In response to climate change, international funding to support reductions in emissions needs to balance conservation and development. The Government of Vietnam is currently coordinating the design of a comprehensive benefit-distribution system, with the ambition to convert certified net emissions reductions into REDD+ revenue and distribute it to local partners in a transparent, equitable and cost-effective manner. A pilot scheme is underway in Bac Kan province. With forest cover of 56.6% and a poverty rate of 36.6%, Bac Kan is among the most heavily forested and poorest provinces of Vietnam, making it a potential site for pioneering REDD+ schemes in the country.Research questions were how to incorporate international, national and local stakeholders’ investments into any distribution scheme; and how to sustain and manage an efficient, effective and equitable funding scheme for environmental services, including REDD+ revenues. Multiple data collection and analytical methods (including participatory approaches) were used to answer both research questions. Additionally, for the second question, we employed cost-benefit, opportunity cost and economic analyses.Three key concepts formed the research frame for this paper: (1) benefit-distribution systems; (2) reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus conservation (REDD+); and (3) the broader concept of payments or rewards for ecosystem services; as well as lessons learned from existing, similar schemes.This results shows that an appropriate benefit-sharing system for REDD+ revenues can be developed in such a way that meets international regulations as well as national and sub-national circumstances, particularly for the environmental services’ providers who directly protect forests. Vietnam's payments for forest environmental services’ and integrated conservation schemes (where conservation and rural development are integrated) serve as a base for the development of a REDD+ benefit-distribution system.We discuss ways of bundling such schemes with REDD+ ‘service’ payments and income streams from forestry and agroforestry ‘goods’ to provide short-term food-security/economic return and long-term environmental benefits. This combination is expected to provide sustainable incentives, but further effort is needed in the use of participatory methods and a ‘bottom-up’ approach to provide a strong base for an effective and equitable REDD+ mechanism at landscape level.Experience drawn from Vietnam, in general, and in Bac Kan, in particular, can be replicated and directly contribute to reducing carbon emissions globally.     

Government Spending, Growth and Poverty in Rural India

Using state-level data for 1970–93, a simultaneous equation model was developed to estimate the direct and indirect effects of different types of government expenditure on rural poverty and productivity growth in India. The results show that in order to reduce rural poverty, the Indian government should give highest priority to additional investments in rural roads and agricultural research. These types of investment not only have much larger poverty impacts per rupee spent than any other government investment, but also generate higher productivity growth. Apart from government spending on education, which has the third largest marginal impact on rural poverty and productivity growth, other investments (including irrigation, soil and water conservation, health, and rural and community development) have only modest impacts on growth and poverty per additional rupee spent.     

Tenure security, resource poverty, public programs, and household plot-level conservation investments in the highlands of northern Ethiopia

Land degradation poses a serious problem for the livelihoods of rural producers. Furthermore, there is rarely enough private investment taking place to commensurate the scale of the problem. This article examines the role of tenure insecurity, resource poverty, risk and time preferences, and community‐led land conservation on differentiated patterns of household investment in land conservation in northern Ethiopia. We control for biophysical, household characteristics, market access conditions, and village level factors. Investments in soil bunds and stone terraces are specifically studied so as to capture the link between these various factors and the durability of conservation investments. We introduce the distinction between the determinants of the decision to invest and how much to invest in conservation. Regression results show that publicly led conservation programs seem to significantly stimulate private investment. A host of plot‐level variables and household perceptions of returns on conservation investments, expressed in terms of perceived improvements in land quality and increased crop yields, were found to be critical to the decision to invest and intensify soil conservation. The evidence on the significance of households' attitudes toward risk aversion suggests the important role of risk and the household's risk‐bearing capacity in the decision to intensify conservation measures. At the same time, tenure security indicators and households' resource endowments (resource poverty) had weaker effects in increasing willingness to invest and the level of investment made. The policy implications of these results point to the importance of agricultural research and extension efforts that target technologies which reduce household risk and poverty while enabling sustainable investments in conservation measures by individual households.     

采用PRA进行哈尼族地区贫困原因分析

采用参与性农村评估 (PRA)中的问题树和排序等方法 ,对云南省绿春县的哈尼族村寨进行贫困原因分析。结果发现造成该地区贫困的主要原因是 :⑴人口剧增 ,造成耕地不足 ;⑵口粮不够 ,造成对土地的过度开垦 ;⑶经济结构单一 ,土地利用不合理 ,导致森林破坏 ;⑷森林破坏 ,导致水源短缺和水土流失严重 ,进一步减少良田面积 ;⑸水资源管理不合理 ,加剧水源的短缺。针对该地区的实际情况 ,建议发展项目应从环境保护和扶贫相结合的方向发展。     

The meanings of forest governance in Esmeraldas,Ecuador

Participatory forestry has become the most accepted way of exploiting timber resources in tropical rain forests. This paper shows the links between participatory forestry, sustainable forest management and the continuing objective of reconciling conservation with commercial development in the province of Esmeraldas, one of the poorest and most rapidly deforested regions of South America. I describe and contextualize the evolving logging programme of a leading Ecuadorian wood-processing group to show that the decentralization of the development process, the recognition of local communities as legal entities in the management of natural resources, and the active involvement of profit-oriented firms in biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation all contribute to the emergence of new alliances between the Ecuadorian government, the logging companies, conservation and human rights organizations, and local Black and indigenous communities. My central argument is that devolution in this context leads to conflictive interpretations of regulation. I end with a discussion of the multi-scalar nature of “forest governance”, and highlight the contribution it makes to our understanding of control, regulation and management in new contexts of privatization and decentralization.     

Factors affecting farmers’ acceptance of conservation measures—A case study from north-eastern Germany

Intensive forms of agriculture have been proven to cause severe environmental effects, such as soil erosion by water and wind, or the pollution of ground and surface water with nutrients and pesticides contributing to the deterioration of natural habitats and the loss in biodiversity. In order to avoid or mitigate these detrimental environmental effects, a number of conservation measures can be undertaken by farmers. However, the adoption of these measures is highly dependent on the assumed benefits and risks attached as well as the personal perception and attitude of the individual farmer.This paper presents the outcome of a survey conducted in north-eastern Germany aimed at analysing farmers’ acceptance of different conservation measures. Eleven farmers, managing more than 80% (about 13,000 ha) of the agricultural land in the chosen case study region were interviewed. Respondents were asked about their personal experiences with different environmental measures and requested to assess these measures, e.g., regarding costs, time and labour demands, attached risks, or effectiveness. They also ranked these factors in terms of importance for decision making on adoption or rejection of a new measure. The findings show that, despite of the general assumption that farmers’ decisions are mostly driven by economic rationality, costs were not the most important factor. Other factors, like associated risks, effectiveness, or time and effort necessary to implement a certain measure were equally or even more important depending on the specific situation.     

Natural Areas, the whole countryside approach and sustainable agriculture

Natural Areas are biogeographical zones which reflect the geological foundation, the natural systems and processes, and the wildlife in different parts of England, and provide a framework for setting objectives for nature conservation. This paper argues, with particular reference to agro-ecosystems, that there is a need for an integrated, whole countryside approach to Natural Areas based on the principles of ‘strong’ sustainable development. In practice, this means the delineation of conservation objectives for the whole of each Natural Area and the application of policy instruments designed to address the causes of environmental loss and deterioration. The latter requires, it is argued, a structural analysis of generic environmental issues. A generic issues approach is required in order to avoid the pitfalls of environmental ‘symptom management’ (environmental managerialism), an approach which dominates current environmental and agri-environmental policy. Necessary as such discrete action programmes and measures may be as short-term ‘fire-fighting’ responses to immediate threats, environmental managerialism as a policy framework epitomises a non-holistic and ‘disintegrated’ approach to nature conservation. The paper goes on to discuss the configuration of agri-environmental policy that will be required to address generic agricultural impacts on biodiversity and the constraints and opportunities for its implementation that are likely to arise within the context of further CAP reform and the forthcoming round of WTO negotiations.     

A social networks approach for strengthening participation in technology innovation: lessons learnt from the Mount Elgon region of Kenya and Uganda

Participatory approaches to agricultural technology development have not yet fully lived up to their promise to incorporate farmer knowledge. This paper introduces a social networks approach (SNA) to improve participatory research processes for co-innovation. Drawing upon findings from a collaborative project developing conservation agricultural production systems for smallholders in western Kenya and eastern Uganda, the paper explores farmer support networks to improve participation in technological innovation and development. Key research themes include: identifying farmers’ agricultural production networks; the local articulation of agricultural production networks and mindsets; using networks to facilitate meaningful participation in technology development; and disadvantages and advantages of using a social network approach. The introduction of SNA improved participatory research by building external and internal legitimacy for determining who participates, discouraging participatory attrition, and providing a meaningful forum for participation of all stakeholders. As a result, the introduction of SNA is demonstrated to show strong promise for improving processes of participatory technology development in agriculture.     

Social involvement in environmental governance: The relevance of quality assurance processes in forest planning

Socio-environmental policy issues are characterized by inherent scientific uncertainty, ignorance and frequently by social discrepancies. Lack of recognition of the complexity and uncertainty of environmental issues has given rise to problems that have cast doubt on the adequacy of the science for policy model and traditionally employed evidence-based policy, thus leading to a crisis in science. In this context, there is a need for quality assurance procedures to assess policies and measures resulting from decision-making in environmental governance issues.Involving quality assurance in decision-making processes recognizes the different types of uncertainty related to an issue and the limits of problem-solving analysis. This approach requires participatory methodological frameworks in which stakeholders analyze the robustness of the assessment process used as well as the validity of assessment results. The approach considers governance as being a relative term depending on the historical, social, economic, political, environmental and cultural context in which it is developed.A participatory methodology is applied to an assessment of forest track alternatives on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands). In this study, a social sensitivity analysis explores the social validity of this assessment through the concept of quality understood as ‘fitness for use’. Such a methodology facilitates processes of dialogue and consensus needed in decision-making in conflictive situations. As a result this methodology should serve as a reference for other places with similar situations.     

贫困陷阱与贫困循环研究——以贵州麻山地区代化镇为例

自1999年实施西部大开发以来,国家重视西部贫困地区的经济发展,但部分地区仍然发展缓慢或者返贫现象突出。该文以贵州省"十二五"期间经济和社会发展状况为背景,着重从贵州麻山地区产业结构单一、收入水平低下、劳动力外流、基础设施不完善、经济发展后劲不足等方面分析了贵州麻山地区近几年经济社会发展情况,提出了贫困陷阱,并研究了导致该地区陷入贫困循环陷阱的原因。文章以发展经济学家纳克斯的"贫困恶性循环"、纳尔逊的"低水平均衡陷阱"、缪尔达尔的"循环积累因果理论"为基础,探讨分析了麻山地区存在的4因素贫困循环链,即环境要素制约型贫困陷阱、物质资本因素制约型贫困陷阱、基础设施因素制约型贫困陷阱和人口因素制约型贫困陷阱。文章通过实地调查,结合现有理论基础,提出错综交织的循环链扣是麻山地区难以摆脱贫困的根源。最后,总结了摆脱困境的5条政策性建议。     

Pathways for impact: scientists' different perspectives on agricultural innovation

This paper takes the viewpoint of a social scientist and looks at agricultural scientists' pathways for science impact. Awareness of these pathways is increasingly becoming part and parcel of the professionalism of the agricultural scientist, now that the pressure is on to mobilize smallholders and their productive resources for (global) food security and for reducing persistent rural poverty. Significant new thinking about pathways is emerging and it is useful to present some of this, even if it is not cut-and-dried. This new thinking focuses on innovation, not as the end-of-pipe outcome of development and transfer (or ‘delivery’) of results of research to ‘ultimate users’, but as a process of technical and institutional change at farm and higher system levels that impacts on productivity, sustainability and poverty reduction.

This paper will review technology supply push; farmer-driven innovation; market-propelled or induced innovation based on the agricultural treadmill; participatory technology development; and innovation systems. The pathways reviewed all have their merits; the paper will assess them from the perspective of improving smallholder productivity and livelihoods.

This paper concludes that many agricultural scientists have not developed their thinking about how the fruits of their work can help make the world a better place. This is a flaw in their professionalism. Curriculum development, training, promotion criteria, standards used in refereeing journal articles and research funding could benefit from taking on board understanding of pathways of science-for-impact.     

Learning from Doing Participatory Rural Research: Lessons from the Peak District National Park

Understanding the socio‐economic and environmental implications of rural change requires the active participation of many research disciplines and stakeholders. However, it remains unclear how to best integrate participatory and biophysical research to provide information useful to land managers and policy makers. This paper presents findings of a RELU scoping study that has formulated and applied a research framework based on stakeholder participation and adaptive learning to model rural change in the Peak District National Park in the north of England. The paper describes a learning process that integrates different types of knowledge to produce future scenarios that describe possible economic and environmental changes due to a national review of burning practices on heather moorland and blanket bogs. We stress the need for using social network analysis to structure stakeholder engagement and outline how a range of participatory approaches can facilitate more inclusive environmental planning and policy development.     

Social isolation and its relationship to multidimensional poverty

While the multidimensionality of poverty is well-recognised, one dimension of poverty which has been often overlooked is weak social connectedness. This paper draws on conceptual, participatory and measurement literatures to show that social connectedness appears to be an important missing ingredient of multidimensional poverty analyses, with social isolation being a feature which exacerbates the condition of poor persons. To provide contextual detail as to its impact on persons in marginalized communities, we present qualitative primary data from South Africa and Mozambique and review pertinent studies of the First Nations of Canada and among persons with disability. A policy challenge for social isolation is that it is often seen as stemming from an individuals’ capacity rather than resulting from the broader social context. The closing section outlines areas for policy.     

湿地公园建设中的湿地保护与恢复措施

从湿地公园定义及效益分析入手,分析了湿地公园建设中的保护及恢复措施。保护措施主要是通过隐蔽条件建设、生境岛营造、繁殖巢构建、建设生态廊道、野外投食以及建设生态围栏和警示牌等,达到保护湿地生物的目的;恢复措施主要包括基质恢复、植被恢复、水环境恢复以及岸坡恢复等。湿地保护与恢复措施的实施可为我国湿地公园建设与管理提供技术支撑。     

Empowering residents and improving governance in low income communities through urban greening

This paper describes the objectives, process and outcomes of three urban greening projects and how they contributed to sustainable development. The first two were conducted in low-income communities in Bangkok, Thailand, and in Badulla, Matale and Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. The lessons from these two projects were then incorporated in a post-tsunami project in Moratuwa and Matara, Sri Lanka. In addition to achieving urban greening objectives, the projects developed and validated a conceptual framework of sustainable community development (the Four-Directional Framework) using participatory action research. This framework facilitated rapid community learning and development objectives such as urban greening and consequential poverty reduction, empowerment of women, and improvements to the environment. Urban greening, incorporating urban agriculture, was an effective tool to improve the relationship between local authorities and the residents of marginalized and low-income communities and build a foundation for continuing sustainable development initiatives and city-to-city learning.     

Economics of Soil Conservation: The Upper Mahaweli Watershed of Sir Lanka

This paper estimates the benefits and costs of soil conservation in the Upper Mahaweli Watershed of Sir Lanka. The costs of soil erosion control include the implementation costs of control measures, while the benefits are reductions in the costs of soil erosion. In contrast to many studies in developed countries, the on‐site benefit of soil erosion control in Sri Lanka is estimated to be greater than the off‐site benefit While a social benefit‐cost analysis demonstrates that it is socially desirable to implement conservation measures, the private financial analyses indicate that it is feasible for individual farmers to adopt the conservation measures. Despite private economic feasibility, programs addressing farmers' reluctance to adopt soil conservation measures may be preferable to public intervention in soil conservation activities when the on‐site benefits are greater than the off‐site benefits.     

Public participation and local environmental planning: Testing factors influencing decision quality and implementation in four case studies from Germany

Public and stakeholder participation in environmental planning is often assumed to enhance effectiveness through improving the environmental quality of decisions and enhancing implementation. We draw on the literature on participatory environmental governance in order to derive key participation-related factors that are hypothesized to impact on decision quality and implementation. We then outline four cases of decision-making processes in local environmental planning in Germany, representing a variety of forms of public participation, and what we suggest can be seen as four different pathways to ‘success’ in participatory planning. The case studies, recounted on the basis of stakeholder interviews and secondary research, are subjected to a cross-case analysis in order to examine the influence of participation in each case. We consider how key participation-related factors played out across the cases, and assess both decision quality and implementation against counterfactual non-participatory, or less-participatory, scenarios. In moving beyond accounts of ‘what happened’, and considering how participation changed the order of things relative to ‘what would have happened’ under different scenarios, the research highlights how very different pathways may lead to ‘success’ in participatory environmental planning from the viewpoint of process organizers and planners sympathetic to environmental issues. We conclude that, given the significance of context and surprises, planners and process organizers must be open to different pathways to the successful conclusion of participatory planning processes.