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There are gaps in research needed to enhance policy intervention for rural households' transitions from traditional biomass to cleaner energy sources. This paper reports on a survey among farmers in western Kenya to assess drivers of cooking energy choices for various key meals; to understand agricultural production factors in cooking energy choices; and to assess energy use homogeneity among varied sub-counties. The study sampled 388 respondents from four heterogeneous rural sub-counties differing in altitude, proximity to public forests, and cultural characteristics. The multinomial logit model analysis showed that significant factors influencing the shift from firewood to LPG for breakfast preparation included access to credit, income, formal employment, and the proportion of adults in the household. Shifting from firewood to crop wastes was significant, influenced by distance covered to collect firewood, and desire for warming houses. The shift from firewood to sticks was influenced by firewood cost, houses owned, and reliance on own farm for woodfuel. Determinants of cooking energy choices for breakfast, lunch and supper were identical. Sticks were seen as an inferior cooking energy source. The adoption of cleaner energy was more associated with breakfast than other meals. Despite the sub-counties' heterogeneity, no substantial differences were observed among them on drivers of cooking energy choices. Study outcomes were consistent with other concepts associated with cooking energy usage, including the transition energy ladder and energy stacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For developing countries, the proportion of households covered by improved water resources is conventionally used to assess the water stress situation. However, in a developing country like India with a high population growth rate, water demand and supply are considerably mismatched. An agro‐based economy with large variations in socio‐economic conditions and changing rainfall patterns across the states imposes greater challenge on water resources. Therefore, there is a need to assess the water situation across the country in a holistic manner. This paper proposes application of the Water Poverty Index as a comprehensive policy tool to assess actual water‐stress situation across 20 major states in India. This index covers important socio‐economic parameters such as access, capacity, use and environment in addition to water resources of each state. The results and findings are expected to be of use to policymakers and implementing agencies. In view of policy formulation, a state performing well on a Water Poverty Index component can act as a benchmark for another state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this commentary, I reflect on the paper "Poverty and Health: Prospective Evidence From the Alameda County Study" by Haan et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 1987;125(6):989-998), which together with supporting work ushered in a surge of epidemiologic interest in the impact of social contexts on health. I discuss why the paper was influential and how the premise of this type of work influenced theories and methods in epidemiology. The paper is placed in the broader context of the nature of evidence in epidemiology and the ultimate purpose of epidemiologic inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the protection of natural resources is managed in Madagascar in order to understand how and why tourism development is part of the strategy to safeguard these resources. Based on a heterodox political economy approach and using documentary analysis as well as exploratory interviews, this paper focuseson the specific case ofRanomafana National Park showing how the environment, economic growth and poverty alleviation strategies are instrumental to a ‘development framework’ that envisions the rural poor population as a problem as well as a solution with respect to resource depletion. The analysis concluded that tourism is far from being an ‘axis of development’ for the Malagasy economy, and, thus, an insufficient alternative to address the destructive practices described in this paper. The case study shows that ecotourism creates few work opportunities for local people and does not absorb the job seekers who rapidly revert to survival techniques and anarchic use of resources, thereby threatening the integrity of the forest and the long-term survival of ecotourism activities. In this context, the place of tourism in general and of ecotourism, in particular, appears to have been highly exaggerated in Madagascar as the direct economic benefits of tourism at the local level remain minimal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines changes in agricultural practices, focusing on developments in meat production. There are a number of interlinked processes and practices that will be examined: the key changes in animal food production, and the impact of very recent developments in animal food production on local, regional and global environments. The current scale of animal farming is intense, and there has been an incredible increase in the populations of farmed animals. The production of animals and animal feed crops has had a significant impact on localised food production systems, and the intensive production of stock is set to become the model for agricultural development in poor countries. Animal based food is seen as a solution to food poverty and helping to eliminate food insecurity. Yet this paper will suggest that the establishment of Western intensive production and the promotion of Western eating habits are more likely to increase social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on a practitioner-grounded metaphor -- the mosaic -- as a means to think the relationship between health and the environment in two policy initiatives, a walking and a conservation group. These were both part of Thames Chase Community Forest, a UK-based nature program to combat ill-health, poverty and social exclusion for those on the fringe of large urban conurbations. Using multiple research methods, the paper questions the simple, literal, equal-but-separate notions of the two pre-set policy parameters to show how the solidarity that mattered could not be fixed in advance. It was a mosaic-in-the-making, that came to life along the way, within the shifting ground of patterned regularities, people and happenings that often escape the net of rapid approaches to ethnographic policy research. Such reflections might usefully offer fresh soundings for policy-makers to contemplate, not merely a blueprint to be followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are three main arguments why developed countries should consider managing without growth: 1) continued economic growth worldwide is not an option owing to environmental and resource constraints, and so developed countries should leave room for growth in developing countries where the benefits of growth are evident; 2) in developed countries growth has become uneconomic in the sense that it detracts more from well-being than it adds; and 3) economic growth in developed countries is neither necessary nor sufficient for meeting specific policy objectives such as full employment, no poverty and protection of the environment. This paper explores various growth scenarios for Canada over the medium range to 2020 using LOWGROW, a dynamic simulation model. After describing LOWGROW, a scenario is presented that shows conditions under which the rate of unemployment in Canada could be reduced to historically low levels, poverty eliminated and greenhouse gas emissions reduced to comply with Canada''s commitment under the Kyoto Protocol, without relying on economic growth. This is not to say that zero growth should itself become a policy objective. Rather that the dependence on and defence of economic growth should not be an obstacle to fulfilling more specific welfare enhancing objectives of full employment, eliminating poverty, and protecting the environment. The paper concludes with some policy implications for managing without growth followed by an annex which provides a technical description of LOWGROW. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Wami Rivers basin is an important area due to its diversified use which benefits a multi-diversity of stakeholders. While large scale irrigated sugar production is the main issue of concern upstream, there are other equally important socio-economic activities which include biodiversity and environmental conservation, domestic water supply, livestock water needs, and fishing. A large water supply project has just been completed downstream of the Wami River to provide water for the Chalinze township and surrounding villages. Other important undertakings include irrigated rice farming in Dakawa area, livestock keeping activities, and the establishment of the Sadani National Park (SANAPA) and the Wami-Mbiki Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The Wami River basin forms significant parts of both the Wami-Mbiki WMA and the SANAPA wildlife conservation areas. Regardless of its importance, the basin is increasingly being degraded through deforestation for agricultural expansion, timber, and more important charcoal making. The basin is also being polluted through disposal of excess molasses from the sugar industry, and use of poisonous substances and herbs in fishing. The worsening environmental condition in the basin has become a health threat to both people in the surrounding villages and wildlife. To a large extent, such changes are intensifying poverty levels among the local population. These changes are raising concerns about the long-term environmental sustainability and health implications of the current water use competition and conflicts in the basin. The purpose of this paper is to examine the main water resource use conflicts and how they affect environmental sustainability in the long-run. It also intends to establish linkages between wildlife management, pastoralism, agricultural activities and how such linkages influence poverty alleviation efforts in the basin. An attempt has been made to examine the environmental and health implications of human activities in the basin in relation to poverty indicators, people’s lifestyle, and integrated water resource use in the Wami River basin. In the process of examining linkages and sources of conflicts, key strategies to harmonize the interests of various stakeholders and ensure integrated and sustainable use of the Wami River waters will be identified. As a conclusion to paper, issues related to population pressure, pollution, wildlife, pastoralism and many others will be discussed with the view of harmonizing the needs of various stakeholders and minimizing their effect on the river ecosystem. The discussion shows how poverty levels are linked to resources over-exploitation, hence limiting sustainability in the basin. Under the current poverty levels in almost all villages surrounding the Wami River basin, there is no alternative ways or technology to replace non-sustainable resource exploitation. Many villages depend on charcoal burning and selling as a survival strategy and source of income. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes the poverty - environment relation as observed in the rural communities living next to the tourist development called Bahías de Huatulco, located to the south of Oaxaca, in the poorest zone in Southeastern Mexico. The information presented was gathered throughout five years of work of various institutions; the methodology applied was that of participative rural research and continuous improvement techniques, that allowed the conformation of work groups in which family and community members of San Isidro Chacalapa, Santa María Xadani, Petatengo and Playa Grande were involved. In the paper, variables that are affected by the poverty - environment relation are defined, and some indicators that serve to identify such relation in the work zone are described. In rural communities, the preservation of natural resources is strongly determined by conditioning factors and family behavior. In production activities, family organization for work and rural people's attitude towards change and innovation have a negative impact on the quality and quantity of the natural resources available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a special issue featuring a set of papers on institutional arrangements for reconciling rural poverty reduction with renewable natural resources conservation in the low-income tropics. Collectively, these Papers make four core points. First, synergies do not naturally emerge just because rural poverty reduction and renewable natural resources conservation are each appealing goals with common drivers and some intrinsic interlinkage. Second, it matters less which rules a community or country adopts than how well they monitor and enforce the rules they set. Third, flexibility and adaptability in design are critical to establishing cooperative partnerships that can advance both conservation and development goals. Fourth, multiscalar approaches are commonly desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor air pollution, due to household solid fuel use, is responsible for a significant burden of disease in developing countries. Fuel choice is often associated with household income. However, many other socio-economic and environmental factors also influence the choice of fuel and the resultant indoor air pollution exposure. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of poverty on indoor air pollution in Pakistan through fuel choice. Furthermore, a multinomial logit model has been used to predict the determinants of fuel choice. The results indicate that although poverty makes a significant contribution, other factors such as household location and area, household size, low level of human capital, asset ownership structure and access to basic utilities are the important correlates of fuel choice. Knowledge relating to the proximate determinants for fuel choice is crucial to inform policy and can play a pivotal role in designing sustainable intervention strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to indoor air pollution in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Present study is designed to analyze relationship between poverty and health. It has been rightly said that poverty is a mother of all social evils. Poverty is a major social problem of Pakistan. It has adverse effects on health. For the study of this problem a survey method was used to collect data. A questionnaire was administrative in 35 villages of Taluka Manjhand. The related literature is carefully reviewed and incorporated in this paper. Results and conclusions are drawn from primary data which are presented in frequency and percentage based tables and diagrams are used to make data more understandable. On the basis of conclusion some suggestions are forwarded to improve the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of an activity being carried out in Rua da Palha community, located in the state of Sergipe, Brazil. This community is basically remnants of Quilombolas (group of people) engaged in fishing activities as a form of subsistence way of living over some generations. By snow ball technic, focusing on the local reality as the main object, 25 families were selected for interview considering: the socioeconomic relationships involved in fishing, the governmental supports to their necessities, their link to the environment and to how the same have survived over the last decades. Result demonstrated that the community is still living in a state of privation and poverty that makes many members to move out by the preference to live in the state capital or other cities. However, in order to minimize the negative influence, life improvement was observed in their living conditions, especially after the State and Federal Government supports against death occurrence of crabs and shellfish in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores some of the many possible interactions and common areas between the so-called environmentalism of the poor, understood as an environmental current arising from the lower strata and present in diverse space-time contexts of the relationship between society and nature, or as a specific type of socio-environmental conflict and the studies of social exclusion, with a long tradition in social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 'deprivation amplification' hypothesis suggests that residents of deprived neighbourhoods have universally poorer access to high-quality food environments, which in turn contributes to the development of spatial inequalities in diet and diet-related chronic disease. This paper presents results from a study that quantified access to grocery stores selling fresh fruit and vegetables in four environmental settings in Scotland, UK.Methods: Spatial accessibility, as measured by network travel times, to 457 grocery stores located in 205 neighbourhoods in four environmental settings (island, rural, small town and urban) in Scotland was calculated using Geographical Information Systems. The distribution of accessibility by neighbourhood deprivation in each of these four settings was investigated.Results: Overall, the most deprived neighbourhoods had the best access to grocery stores and grocery stores selling fresh produce. Stratified analysis by environmental setting suggests that the least deprived compared with the most deprived urban neighbourhoods have greater accessibility to grocery stores than their counterparts in island, rural and small town locations. Access to fresh produce is better in more deprived compared with less deprived urban and small town neighbourhoods, but poorest in the most affluent island communities with mixed results for rural settings.Conclusions: The results presented here suggest that the assumption of a universal 'deprivation amplification' hypothesis in studies of the neighbourhood food environment may be misguided. Associations between neighbourhood deprivation and grocery store accessibility vary by environmental setting. Theories and policies aimed at understanding and rectifying spatial inequalities in the distribution of neighbourhood exposures for poor diet need to be context specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is based on an on-going 3-year study in the wetland communities of Kampala. The study uses participatory methods and aims to contribute to (i) the development of low-income wetland communities, (ii) to prepare these communities to become less dependent on wetlands without receding into poverty, and (iii) the better management of the wetlands. The communities in direct dependence and intimate interaction with Nakivubo wetlands are mainly poor, live and work under hazardous conditions, and their activities pose a threat to the ecological function of the wetlands. Yet these wetlands are important for filtering the city’s waste and storm water before it flows into Lake Victoria’s Murchison Bay, which is Kampala’s source of piped water. Government approaches to the problem of wetland encroachment have largely failed because they are confrontational, and are not consistent or participatory. The study has in the first year conducted a series of activities including stakeholder analysis, resource analysis, livelihood analysis, a questionnaire survey and action planning. Preliminary data show that wetland dependency is very high among the poor nearby communities. They practice cultivation, brick-making and harvesting of wetland vegetation. However, these activities are under threat because wetland resources are dwindling due to increasing population and over-use. Livelihoods are threatened not only by the decreasing productivity of the wetland, but also by the ever-present government threat to evict wetland encroachers to restore its ecology. The study therefore works with communities to prepare for less dependence on wetlands so that they do not suddenly recede into worse poverty if they are evicted. They formulate strategies to enhance alternative livelihood, and for management of the wetland. Action plans have been formulated to address the situation through a newly created association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The creation of the Energy Community of South Eastern Europe in 2005 committed countries in South Eastern Europe to liberalize their energy markets in accordance to EU regulations. The Government of Montenegro is thus in the process of reforming its energy sector, which includes an electricity tariff reform. This paper analyzes the environmental and social impacts of an increase in residential electricity tariffs contemplated – which is expected to range anywhere from 40 to over 100% increase. As this analysis shows, such a significant price rise will impose a heavy burden on the poor households and it may adversely affect the environment. In an ex ante investigation of the welfare impact of this price increase on households in Montenegro, we show that the anticipated price increase will result in a very significant increase in households'' energy expenditures. A simulation of alternative policy measures analyzes the impact of different tariff levels and structures, focusing on the poor and vulnerable households. Higher electricity prices could also significantly increase the proportion of households using fuelwood for space heating. Thus the level of fuelwood consumption should be carefully monitored under the electricity tariff reforms and the Government of Montenegro should combine the tariff reforms with a carefully evaluated set of policy measures to mitigate the effect of the electricity price increase on the poor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Both, poverty reduction and preservation of biodiversity are high on the global agenda on sustainable development. The relationships between poverty, biodiversity of agro-ecosystems and agricultural development are complex and poorly understood. In this paper, we present an integrated framework for analysis of agricultural development and natural resource management options at agro-ecosystem level, using Pujiang county, in Zhejiang province, China as a case study area to perform the analysis. A regional linear programming (LP) model is applied, maximizing regional economic surplus, given production and labour market conditions in Pujiang. We use the model to examine the consequences for a set of regional poverty and biodiversity indicators, of four so-called poverty reduction strategies, i.e., (i) intensification of production, (ii) diversification towards livestock production, (iii) land expansion, and (iv) an exit from agriculture. The analysis indicates that diversification is the most promising poverty reduction strategy, but requires efficient use of animal manure in cropping systems to avoid environmental problems. Improved nutrient management in cropping systems is effective in reducing the regional nitrogen surplus, but less effective in increasing per capita income. The exit strategy is effective in reducing poverty and achieving biodiversity goals, but may have important social consequences that are not addressed in this study. Further reduction in rural poverty is hampered by labour constraints during the harvesting period in high value crops such as vegetables and fruits, which calls for research and development in the field of agricultural mechanization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: In this paper, we draw upon models from ecology and New Institutional Economics to examine the various mechanisms through which globalization can lead to loss in resilience of ecosystems and thus increase the vulnerability of poor people who depend on it. To illustrate ecological dynamics, we examine a semi-arid savanna ecosystem that is characterized by nonlinearities and multiple steady states. We discuss how traditional knowledge and institutions affect resource use patterns and resilience of such an ecosystem in the absence of trade. Then we examine the effects of trade liberalization and international technology transfers on institutional and ecological dynamics, and consequently, on poverty. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most parts of the world are facing escalating difficulties in meeting the growing demand for freshwater, while at the same time they are confronted by a deteriorating supply of this precious resource. Decisions and attitudes concerning human development, institutional frameworks, water and wastewater infrastructure, and other technological issues--given economic and social constraints and environmental and social imperatives--present challenges with no simple answers. The water issue involves much more than just irrigation, hydropower, the environment, water supply, and sanitation. Besides science and engineering, it encompasses political, social, environmental, economic, and institutional dimensions. Therefore, more of a focus is needed on the multidisciplinary and integrated nature of the water sector, and freshwater should be considered in closer connection to these many dimensions for more effective policymaking. In order to do so, comparative, cross-sectoral work is essential. Coping with these interdisciplinary issues and the accompanying uncertainty and complexity presents methodological challenges. This paper discusses major freshwater-related challenges such as availability and vulnerability, water quality and groundwater impacts on various scales, extremes, and shared water resource issues. Also, driving forces such as economic underdevelopment, poverty, low human development, food insecurity, unbalanced globalization, and others are analyzed. Some of the important tools of integrated and sustainable policies are discussed, and recommendations are made from the perspective of recent international agreements, with a focus on opportunities as well as the many shortcomings and barriers involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National sustainable development strategies (NSDSs) play a vital role in pursuing sustainable development (SD) at the country level. These strategies help in clarifying priorities and in focusing efforts to more effectively address relevant SD issues. Since its establishment in 1992, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development has urged its members to formulate and implement their respective NSDS. The Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 (1997) provided a more aggressive push to this advocacy by setting 2002 as the deadline for the formulation of NSDS while the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (2002) targeted 2005 as the year by which all countries should have started implementing such strategies. Many countries have heeded this call, albeit the strategies have taken a variety of forms: some took the route of formulating National Agenda 21s (as in the Philippine case), while others built on existing national environmental action plans, poverty strategies, sustainability plans, so-called green plans, policy statements, or legal frameworks. The UN/DESA crafted some guidelines for NSDS formulation but, and rightly so, countries are given freedom of choice as to the scope, substance and form best suited to their own unique circumstances. As varied as the formats of these strategies turned out, so too were the processes that were adopted in their formulation. All these elements could reflect varying degrees of understanding and differing perspectives about the nature of sustainable development and how the concept could be made operational. Consequently, such an understanding could ultimately define a country's success in mainstreaming and achieving sustainable development. In this connection, it would be worthwhile examining how an NSDS has actually played out its role in the national pursuit of sustainable development. Are there creative insights, lessons or guidelines that can be drawn from practical, countrywide experience in NSDS formulation and implementation? What are the emerging challenges and problematic areas in using an NSDS as an instrument for integrating sustainable development in mainstream decision-making? Are there nascent considerations that could be useful in developing design parameters for NSDS? This paper explores the foregoing questions in the Philippine context, given its decade-long experience in implementing its NSDS, the Philippine Agenda 21 (PA 21). In so doing, it hopes to distill potentially valuable perspectives that can inform UNCSD and country-level efforts at crafting, refining and mainstreaming national strategies for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late 1960s, Harold Brookfield and Doreen Hart were ‘startled’ by the order of magnitude differences in incomes from village cash cropping in different parts of Papua New Guinea (PNG). This paper traces these differences, back into a pre-colonial past and forward to the present and concludes, as Brookfield did in the 1960s, that severe environmental constraints, rather than market forces, are the primary cause of the pattern of spatial inequalities observable in PNG. Brookfield noted the existence of an ‘acute dilemma’ in 1960s development funding: should funds be invested where the returns will be highest, or where the need is greatest. This dilemma is as acute today as it was then. However, in the meantime, people from poor places are moving to better-off places, seeking access to markets for their produce and health and education services for their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper is a summary and update, where feasible, of the United Nations first-ever report on The State of Asian Cities 2010/11. With 42% of its population in cities in 2010, Asia is urbanising rapidly; its cities are highly productive and generate an estimated 80% of the region’s GDP. Despite the sustained economic growth of Asian economies in the recent decades, urban poverty, inequality, slums, poor urban environmental quality and liveablity, worsening disaster risks and effects of climate change pose major development challenges. While decentralization has helped widen the scope of urban governance, greater attention is needed to enhancing transparency and accountability in decision-making, planning and governance of smaller cities and towns, infrastructure investments, and city-to-city learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]