Reducing Poverty And Sustaining The Environment: The Politics Of Local Engagement

by Bass, Stephen; Reid, Hannah; Satterthwaite, David; Steele, Paul

• ISBN13: 9781844071159
• ISBN10: 1844071154
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-30
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

The first book to examine the role of politics in environmental issues that matter to the poor and to advocate progressive ways forward Edited by a powerful team of internationally respected environment and development researchers and practitioners Presents a wealth of case study material from China, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Peru, East and South Africa and the Caribbean covering both terrestrial and aquatic resources and environments There are growing concerns and recognition that some development work by governments, aid agencies and NGOs ignores poor people's dependence on environmental quality. There are also signs that some environmental work is pushing 'anti-people' protection methodologies. This volume is the first to address the role of politics in environmental issues that matter to the poor and to examine the important links between poverty and environment. The book demonstrates how working within the national and local political context is crucial for addressing poverty-environment issues, such as environmental health, access to key natural resources for livelihoods, security and coping with environmental disasters. The editors advocate ways in which stakeholders can progress beyond bemoaning the "lack of political will", and show how political processes can be used to change things for the better -- from both poverty reduction and environmental perspectives.

Table of Contents

List of Tables, Diagrams and Boxes	p. xi
List of Photographs	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xv
About the Authors and Editors	p. xvii
Acronyms and Abbreviations	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. 1
The focus of this book: The dynamics of political change on poor people's environment	p. 1
The case studies: Political change in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean	p. 2
The changing political context	p. 6
Mapping power relationships: Political influences at four levels	p. 7
Closing the gap between the poor and those who seek to support them	p. 9
What do we mean by poverty?	p. 11
The implications of expanded poverty definitions for the environment and politics	p. 12
How political change can support pro-poor environmental outcomes	p. 15
Creating Space for Civil Society in an Impoverished Environment in Pakistan	p. 20
From early innovations in Bangladesh...	p. 20
...to facing huge challenges in one of the poorest parts of Pakistan	p. 21
AKRSP's approach: 'Social organization' tackles poverty and natural resource degradation	p. 24
Improving governance: AKRSP as a complement to government, not a substitute	p. 29
Strengthening civil society through interactions	p. 30
Maturing institutions get to grips with environmental issues and influence policy	p. 31
Revisiting some assumptions about poverty and the environment	p. 34
Influencing national policy on rural development: The importance of leadership	p. 37
Conclusions	p. 41
The Bioplan: Decreasing Poverty in Manizales, Colombia, through Shared Environmental Management	p. 44
Introduction	p. 44
Background	p. 45
The context: Urban and rural poverty in Colombia and Manizales	p. 46
Summary of environmental policies in Manizales	p. 49
The Bioplan in action	p. 58
Experiences	p. 60
Conclusions	p. 70
Environment-Poverty Linkages: Managing Natural Resources in China	p. 73
Introduction	p. 73
Research	p. 74
Improving environment-poverty projects	p. 83
Participatory assessments	p. 91
Poverty reduction, environment and participation	p. 94
The Evolving Roles of Environmental Management Institutions in East Africa: From Conservation to Poverty Reduction	p. 100
Introduction	p. 100
Background and context	p. 103
Some reflections on governance in the context of the East African Community	p. 105
Current trends in governance	p. 107
Regional environmental governance processes	p. 112
National environmental governance in the context of poverty eradication	p. 116
Looking to the future	p. 125
Stories on the Environment and Conflict from Northern Nigeria	p. 131
Introduction	p. 131
The Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands	p. 133
Through the eyes of a farmer and cattle herder	p. 137
Bringing the stories together	p. 147
Conclusion and recommendations	p. 149
The Sea is our Garden: Coastal Resource Management and Local Governance in the Caribbean	p. 152
Introduction	p. 152
A small island and its internal politics	p. 153
The case study: Context and stakeholders	p. 159
Promoting sustainable coastal livelihoods	p. 163
Lessons learned: Local governance and institutional arrangements for coastal conservation and management	p. 173
Conclusions	p. 177
'Working for Water' in a Democratic South Africa	p. 180
Introduction	p. 180
What is 'Working for Water'?	p. 181
Why 'Working for Water'?	p. 182
The political environment: Time for action	p. 185
Is everything rosy?	p. 190
Outcomes	p. 192
Conclusions	p. 193
People, Perspectives and Reality: Usangu Myths and Other Stories, Tanzania	p. 197
Introduction	p. 197
Prologue: The stage is set, the actors announced	p. 198
The players reveal their agendas; international, national and local stages are revealed	p. 201
A circle of blame in Usangu benefits a collusion of interests	p. 205
Misleading answers in a climate of self-interest	p. 208
Finale	p. 220
Lessons learned	p. 221
Community-designed, built and managed Toilet Blocks in Indian Cities	p. 223
Introduction	p. 223
The inadequacies in providing sanitation	p. 224
The politics of sanitation	p. 226
What people wanted and what they could do themselves	p. 229
The community toilet programme in Pune	p. 234
New opportunities for community toilets in Mumbai	p. 236
Innovations in community toilets	p. 238
Why did the alliance take on community toilet blocks?	p. 242
The art of gentle negotiation	p. 243
Community toilets add to the poor's repertoire	p. 245
Conclusions	p. 251
Concertacion (Reaching Agreement) and Planning for Sustainable Development in Ilo, Peru	p. 255
Introduction	p. 255
The birth of the experience	p. 256
The achievements, 1980-2003	p. 258
The coordinating agency and stages in the process	p. 264
Tangible results	p. 270
The current situation	p. 272
Factors that favour the process of reaching agreement	p. 276
Limitations of the experience	p. 278
Conclusions	p. 279
Conclusions	p. 280
Context: The political underpinnings of poverty and environmental degradation	p. 280
The impacts of politics on poverty and the environment	p. 284
How political changes have achieved pro-poor environmental outcomes	p. 293
Conclusions: How donors must change the way they do business	p. 308
Index	p. 311
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