1. The Impact of Poverty On the
Environment
Beyond Borders
2. What is - Poverty? Education
Freedom
1. Poverty of Economics
2.
3.
Poverty of Education
Poverty of Freedom
Poverty
4. Poverty of Choice
5. Poverty of Rights Choice
6. Poverty of Environment
Rights
3. What IS Poverty?
And, Why Does It Matter to the Environment?
• Poverty Is-
• Poverty refers to the condition of not having • Most countries determine their National
the means to afford basic human needs such Poverty Line (NPL) as the value of a basket of
as clean water, nutrition, health care, basic food and essential non-food items.
education, clothing and shelter. This is also
referred to as Absolute Poverty or • Some governments work with separate
destitution. urban and rural poverty lines, recognising
• Poverty is -the quality or state of being poor that costs are higher in cities. The food
or indigent; a want or scarcity of means of poverty line is the most stringent measure,
subsistence. Any deficiency of elements or reducing the basket to food items only.
resources that are needed or desired, or that • Household surveys analyse consumption as
constitute richness; as, poverty of soil; well as income, recognising that goods may
poverty of options; poverty of education, be exchanged by barter and that many
poverty of society, poverty of freedoms. families grow their own food.
• A certain level of material deprivation below
which an individual suffers physically, • Statistics will include the incidence of
emotionally and socially. households whose income is just above or
below the poverty line. A high incidence
means that a small change in economic
fortune or in redistribution can make a large
impact on poverty figures.
4. Poverty Has No Borders or Country
There are no cultural, racial or geographical limits to poverty. It is –
everywhere...
6. Poverty Hurts, Everywhere
Child Poverty –Western Countries.
-America's Second Harvest the nation's
largest network of food banks, reports
that 43.3 million people turned to the
agencies they serve in 2008, an
increase of over 37 million since 2007.
56% were from families with at least
one worker.
53 million Americans continue to live in
households that do not have an adequate
supply of food. These households contain
adults and children who went hungry at
some point in 2009. Over 65% are single
mother households.
7. Environmental Impact
Environmental degradation and poverty
alleviation are urgent global issues that have a
lot in common, but are often treated
separately.
Poverty and Third World debt has been shown
to result in resource stripping just to survive or
pay off debts.
Some environmentalists from first nations
especially, raise concerns about increasing
populations placing excessive burdens on
world resources as a major source of
environmental problems.
This makes for a worrying situation for third
world development and poverty alleviation.
An environment-only approach risks “blaming
the victims.” While humans are largely
responsible for many problems of the planet
today, not all humans have the same “Choice-
Impact” on the environment.
It is important to consider, for example, that
the consumption of the worlds wealthiest fifth
of humanity is much more than the rest of the
impoverished worlds.
The actual “Victims” of poverty could however,
be considered the ultimate “re-cycyclists”...
8. Recycling Through Poverty
Sustainable Development
"meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.“
We need to recognize the interconnectedness
between human beings and the environment if true
environmental change and social justice are to be
achieved..
The relationship between the rich and poor, and
the impacts on the environment go deep.
Economics is meant to be about efficient
allocation of resources to meet everyone’s needs.
However, international power politics and
ideologies have continued to influence policies in
such a way that decision-making remains
concentrated in the hands of a few.
Thus, the world’s resources are allocated to meet
a few people’s wants, and not everyone’s needs.
Many people have been forced into poverty due to
politics , economics and war.
Issues such as concentrated land rights, industrial
pressure to exploit the environment, destroying
diversity and forced population dispersion.
When considering the theory of sustainable
development, we need to acknowledge that native
populations, though poor, often have a n inherent
knowledge about their environment and can be
sustainers and efficient users of it if only for
survival.
9. Choice, Freedom, Rights
Declaration Of Human Rights -
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 Dec 1948 in Paris. The Declaration
has been translated into 375 languages, making it the most widely translated document in the world. The Declaration arose directly from WWII
and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled. It has 30 articles. (paraphrased )
Article 1- Right to Equality • . Article 18- Freedom of Belief and Religion
Article 2- Freedom from Discrimination Article 19- Freedom of Opinion and Information
Article 3- Right to Life, Liberty and Personal Security Article 20- Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Article 4- Freedom from Slavery Article 21- Right to Participate in Government and Elections
Article 5- Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment Article 22- Right to Social Security
Article 6- Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law Article 23- Right to Desirable Work and to Join Unions
Article 7- Right to Equality before the Law Article 24- Right to Rest and Leisure
Article 8- Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal Article 25- Right to Adequate Living Standards
Article 9- Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile Article 26- Right to Education
Article 10- Right to Fair Public Housing Article 27- Right to Participate in Cultural Life of Community
Article 11- Right to be Considered Innocent Until Proven Guilty Article 28- Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Doc
Article 12- Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family and Correspondence
Article 13- Right to Free Movement in and out of a Country Article 29- Right to Self-Development
Article 14- Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution Article 30- Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the
Article 15- Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It above Rights.
Article 16- Right to Marriage and a Family
Article 17- Right to Own Property
10. RIGHT TO - LIFE
Humanity Earth
Mainstream economists and politicians have long been
criticized for concentrating on economic growth in ways that
ignores humanity and the environmental costs.
Perhaps one of the harshest ironies is how food and farm
products flow from areas of hunger and need, to areas
where money and demand is concentrated. Farm workers,
and women especially, are amongst the worlds most hungry.
For years, rich countries have been migrating some
polluting industries to poor countries, but still producing
primarily for rich countries. This has been possible insofar as
it is cheaper than to pay for costly environmentally clean
technologies that people demand.
Bottom line- we have CREATED poverty....
11. Education, One Small Step for the
World
Educate Eradicate Poverty
• Two major characteristics -social polarization and an
increasing poverty degree - affects in a great measure • The National Commission for
the access of the population to education. (religion,
gender, race etc)
Statistics (AMIGO) revealed an
important negative correlation
• This is the cause for a vicious circle: poverty reducing between the educational level of
dramatically the access to education and the lack of
education is leading to the increase of poverty. certain social categories and the
their level of poverty.
• Youth with low educational levels and unqualified skills
represent one of the social groups with a high risk of
severe poverty.
• As educational participation decreases, the lack of
higher education has a direct contribution to impact of
growing poverty creating generational poverty.
• Lack of basic and professional education creates a major
deficit in both the local economy and family earnings.
Protect the Environment
12. Are There Answers?
1. Support rural farmers with
affordable irrigation technologies YES !
and access to markets.
2. Create Education Opportunities
and Skills training
3. Demand Equal Technology
Standards in All countries
4. Support Development of Mass
Transit systems
5. Demand Standard Human Rights
around the world
6. Help someone near you-
7. Remember, It’s One World and
we are all Inter-connected on
it.....
Ripple Effect
