Environment, background document

Workshop on the Impacts of Poverty Maps:
Past Experiences and New Applications, Brussels Workshop, May 21st, 2003

Application Impacts How the impacts can be enhanced
In Cambodia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic the World Bank recently conducted an assessment of the spatial linkages between poverty and environmental issues (i.e., deforestation, fragile soils, indoor air pollution, access to clean water and sanitation, and outdoor air pollution) (20). In Cambodia poverty seems to be highly associated with “brown” issues (contaminated water and indoor and outdoor air pollution), while in Lao PDR both “brown” and “green” (deforestation and soil degradation) environmental problems show a spatial correlation with poverty. This evaluation could be extended to further assess the association between poverty and depleting fisheries resources, pesticide use, etc.
Various proxies needed to be used: e.g., ”steeply sloped areas” data as a proxy for fragile soils and “household level use of wood and charcoal” data as a proxy for indoor air pollution.
WFP in Cambodia plans to assess food insecurity and access to natural/ common resources (e.g., forests and fisheries) (11).   This exploratory work indicates the potential for comparative analyses in accessing the relationship between food insecurity and common resources.
A UNEP and WCMS project provided mapped indicators to help identify threatened forests in South Asia (21). Helped identify priority areas in which to target reforestation interventions. This analysis was strongly influenced by data availability. poverty/forestry linkages were conducted in selected countries and indicators were used where data was available. Different indicators and indicator combinations need to be tested.
A spatial approach is being used to evaluate poverty-environment relationships in Rwanda (22). Information may support transparent policy decisions and facilitate negotiations. Awareness needs to be raised on the untapped potential in environmental applications.
A poverty map is being used in a “habitat” programme aimed at improving the urban environment of poor “barrios” in Mexico, especially for elderly people (5). Helping improve the urban environment in poor barrios in Mexico.  
A Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES) study evaluated whether poverty is higher in ecologically marginal areas of Ethiopia (23). The PAES study showed that poverty incidence is highest in ecologically marginal areas in various villages of Ethiopia. Awareness needs to be built amongst poverty analysts, social scientists, etc. of the potential for using spatial poverty data in numerous applications. While this research relied on poverty indicators, it could have benefited from spatial poverty and ecological data.
EcoCiencia used a poverty map of Ecuador in conjunction with vegetative cover data in its biodiversity monitoring system (1, 7). The combination of poverty and vegetative cover highlights the effect of human migration patterns on changes in vegetative cover. Sustained training needs include providing series of trainings to staff at all levels (technical to senior levels) in institutions with the mandate to collect, manage, and analyse data (e.g., surveys, statistics, environmental departments, NGOs, universities, etc.).