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This paper is intended to stimulate discussion about the linkages between biodiversity, conservation and poverty reduction. What do we know, what do we not know, and what do we need to know? These ten questions provide a quick—hence simplistic—insight into a complicated and convoluted issue. We would therefore be very interested in your feedback. Are these the right questions? And the right answers? What else should we be asking—and trying to answer—to better understand (and enhance) the biodiversity-poverty relationship? Please send your ideas to
pclg@iied.orgThis study draws on the experience of the AWF and other organisations to assess what effect conservation enterprises can have on the livelihoods of local communities and how effective such initiatives are at poverty reduction. It finds that most of these enterprises cannot by themselves take people out of poverty, but can provide less tangible benefits, such as increased investment in health and education, strengthened community organisations and greater resilience in difficult times.
Global targets to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss significantly by 2010 have not been met, and the rate of biodiversity loss does not appear to be slowing. At the same time, targets to reduce human poverty worldwide are also off track. This dual challenge has led to a search for effective mechanisms and entry points through which conservation and development objectives can be addressed together. This paper discusses why working with local organisations can be an important entry point for conservation and poverty reduction, describes the global experience of BirdLife International in this context, and concludes with a discussion, based on BirdLife's experience, of some of the issues and constraints which need to be taken into account when addressing conservation and poverty reduction through working with local organisations.
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Two “state of knowledge” reviews were commissioned to explore the evidence base for two common assumptions about the link between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction: 1) that the poor depend on biodiversity; and 2) that biodiversity conservation can be a mechanism for poverty reduction. These attempt to tease apart the issues of what type of poverty and what type of biodiversity are being assessed.
This report was prepared as a contribution to a symposium “Linking Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction: What, Why and How".
The purpose of this report is to document current efforts to link great ape conservation and poverty reduction in the African, ape range states. It is intended to provide a quick inventory of which organisations are working in which countries and using which approaches in order to highlight potential areas of collaboration and/or potential sources of experience and lessons learned. It is also intended to highlight other initiatives that are intended to link environmental management with social concerns - poverty reduction, governance, economic development - with a view to encouraging greater linkages between these initiatives and those that are focussed on conservation.
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Conservation and Poverty Reduction - Conservation magazineCan Conservation Cut Poverty? - Nature NewsStudy Pinpoints whether Conservation Can Fight Poverty - Science and Development NetworkPoor Want Biomass, Not Biodiversity, Finds Study - Science and Development NetworkPoor Want Biomass, Not Biodiversity, Finds Study - We Informers