In 2002, the Conference of Parties set a target to "achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the cur- rent rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty al- leviation and the benefit of all life on Earth". [...] We have failed to meet the 2010 target, and the latest MDG report notes the grave consequences of this for poor people: "The irreparable loss of biodiversity will also hamper efforts to meet other MDGs, especially those related to poverty, hunger and health, by increasing the vulnerability of the poor and reducing their options for development." The CBD has long emphasised the need for integrating [...] DEPENDENCE OF THE POOR ON BIODIVERSITY This review focuses on the question: which groups of the (differentiated) poor depend, in which types of ways, on different elements of biological diversity? [...] The methodology for the review included an examination of the peer-reviewed literature, as published in journals and books, and an examination of websites and portals of major organisations/forums work- ing on biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. [...] It may be too simplistic to say that the majority of the world's biodiversity is in the South which is also where the poorer countries of the world are (Schei 2007; Matiku 2008), and it is certainly not the case that significant biodiversity only oc- curs in areas of poverty.

Biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation are both important societal goals demanding increasing international attention. While they may seem to be unrelated, the international policy frameworks that guide action to address them make an explicit assumption that conserving biodiversity will help to tackle global poverty. Part of the Conservation Science and Practice Series published with the Zoological Society of London, this book explores the validity of that assumption. The book addresses a number of critical questions: Which aspects of biodiversity are of value to the poor? Does the relationship between biodiversity and poverty differ according to particular ecological conditions? How do different conservation interventions vary in their poverty impacts? How do distributional and institutional issues affect the poverty impacts of interventions? How do broader issues such as climate change and the global economic system affect the biodiversity – poverty relationship at different scales? This volume will be of interest to policy-makers, practitioners and researchers concerned with understanding the potential - and limitations - of integrated approaches to biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation.

'This book aims to inspire the conservation community not to regard poverty reduction as someone else's job but to take responsibility for it as part of ecosystem restoration. Though no solutions are perfect,the text and examples given offer encouraging and useful guidance.' Gill Shepherd, poverty and landscapes thematic leader, IUCN Forest Conservation Programme. 'This book could be the catalyst for a real paradigm shift - not just in capital cities and international conference centres, but also on the ground in locations where poor people are struggling to make a living.' Policy Matters (praise for the first edition). High levels of rural poverty in many of the world's ecosystems make it an ethical and practical imperative to find more equitable and realistic ways of achieving conservation. Livelihoods of the rural poor and options for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity are so intimately entwined that they are better addressed through an integrated approach, irrespective of whether the primary motivation is one of development or one of conservation. This highly accessible book, a revised edition of the 2005 book Poverty and Conservation: Landscapes, People and Power, offers a grand overview of the issues and a conceptual framework for addressing poverty reduction in the context of conservation, and conservation in the context of poverty reduction. It will appeal to professionals working in the field as well as to students across the fields of conservation, development and sustainability. It looks at the rationale for addressing the links between conservation and poverty reduction, arguing that such a focus is both ethically essential and a source of opportunities. It alsoreviews experiences in dealing with people and conservation and identifies some key lessons and concepts. The book presents cases studies illustrating various approaches and a discussion of some of the issues that appear when implementing combined conservation and poverty reduction. The book emphasizes the importance of multiple spatial scales and negotiating trade-offs between scales. It also tackles the complex issue of institutional landscapes and the way in which changes at various institutional levels can lead to different and often more positive outcomes. The Final part summarizes some of the main features of the authors' integrated approach and identifies some of the challenges involved in efforts to combine conservation and poverty reduction. Published with IUCN - The World Conservation Union.

First Published in 2008. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Understanding how to sustain the services that ecosystems provide in support of human wellbeing is an active and growing research area. This book provides a state-of-the-art review of current thinking on the links between ecosystem services and poverty alleviation. In part it showcases the key findings of the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme, which has funded over 120 research projects in more than 50 countries since 2010. ESPA’s goal is to ensure that ecosystems are being sustainably managed in a way that contributes to poverty alleviation as well as to inclusive and sustainable growth. As governments across the world map how they will achieve the 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, most of which have poverty alleviation, wellbeing and sustainable environmental management at their heart, ESPA’s findings have never been more timely and relevant. The book synthesises the headline messages and compelling evidence to address the questions at the heart of ecosystems and wellbeing research. The authors, all leading specialists, address the evolving framings and contexts for the work, review the impacts of ongoing drivers of change, present new ways to achieve sustainable wellbeing, equity, diversity, and resilience, and evaluate the potential contributions from conservation projects, payment schemes, and novel governance approaches across scales from local to national and international. The cross-cutting, thematic chapters challenge conventional wisdom in some areas, and validate new methods and approaches for sustainable development in others. The book will provide a rich and important reference source for advanced students, researchers and policy-makers in ecology, environmental studies, ecological economics and sustainable development. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429016295, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

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