Poverty and environment links: An illustration from Africa

The impact of environmental change on the incidence of poverty through the changes in the livelihood options is expected to be significant. The resilience and condition of environment and ecosystems to deliver services within vulnerable regions is quite often crucial for ensuring livelihood security for the poor. However, understanding the links between poverty and environment (P&E) is a hard task. Even harder is to think about how to capture the links in the format of indicators. But this is the main objective of this paper. More specifically, the paper explores the implications of a new methodology for examining the links between different constituents of well-being (in which poverty is understood as an unacceptable deprivation of multidimensional well-being) and ecosystem services. The proposed methodology is based on the use of econometrics and adjustment factors. Focusing on the particular environmental problems presented in Africa, the paper delves into the links between livelihoods and capabilities, providing an encompassing framework for suggesting solutions for poverty reduction in this continent. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.