Addressing poverty drives ecological deterioration

Population growth worsens the poverty situation of a country. As the population grows it will need new dwelling space. In general, establishment of new settlement means the encroachment of agricultural land or forested areas. Sometimes people take chances and settle ecologically fragile areas such as newly accreted land in the middle of rivers or in their estuaries. These lands are neither very suitable nor for habitation. They are vulnerable to natural hazards such as floods and cyclones. People also move into forest covered hilly areas. They cut down trees and build houses on hilltops or on their slopes.

Apart from that, there is already an inequitable distribution of income and assets. The poor are living in a poverty trap. Their income is low and they lack productive assets. We know the socio-economic condition of marginal and indigenous peoples of Bangladesh. Political economy mentions, such kind of discrimination or disparity is created by free-market economy where marginal people are powerless. This is called relation between center-periphery relation while center is actively involved to exploit or dominate the people of periphery or make the people more marginal. It is a culture of demographic engineering under the system of political engineering. This makes them vulnerable to different types of crisis. In Bangladesh, 40 million people still live below the poverty line and the number of rural poor has increased.  Subdivision of productive agricultural lands from one generation to another has increased the number of marginal farmers and the rural landless. As population grows, their numbers will also increase. Lacking assets, they will look to nature for their survival. Durning (1999) states that, “poverty drives ecological deterioration when desperate people overexploit their resource base sacrificing their future to salvage the present”.  In resulting, people push into fragile ecosystems. They till marginal lands, destroy forests, overfish and overgraze. The net result − they exceed the carrying capacity of the local environment. Once this happens and unless the trend is reserved, there is a permanent damage to the ecosystem. The deteriorated ecosystem is less productive and has less to offer to the people who are dependent on it.

Thus, the poverty trap only deepens. The urban poor are in no better conditions. They live in slums under unhealthy and unsanitary conditions. Since city life is very expensive to fulfill the basic needs, these poor people are bound to search for a dwelling place at the city slums and those who cannot even afford to live in a slum dwelling are living on streets or pavements, in parks, bus or railway stations or other public infrastructures. Normally, they are experiencing with kutcha, jhupri, non-sanitary latrine, unhygienic garbage disposal, impure water and interrupted electric supply. As they do not have proper sewerage systems and garbage disposal facilities, the wastes generated by their day to day living help pollute their environment.

All these activities either degrade the environment or deplete resources. Agricultural land is lost, forest shrink, landslides destroy hills and the life of marginal people are endangered.

Particularly, social inclusion is impossible without economic development; on the other hand, economic development will not be sustainable without social inclusion. We have to improve the economic condition of rural poor, marginal farmers, urban poor and indigenous peoples. Apart from that, it is the responsibility of the state to create an enabling environment to trim down inequality, deprivation and discrimination in the interest of indigenous communities.  To conclude, it is high time to address hardcore and extreme poverty, landlessness, environmental displacement, desertification and land encroachment in forest for environmental, ecological and climatic security.

The writer is Environmental Analyst & Associate Member of Bangladesh Economic Association

 

Addressing poverty drives ecological deterioration

Population growth worsens the poverty situation of a country. As the population grows it will need new dwelling space. In general, establishment of new settlement means the encroachment of agricultural land or forested areas. Sometimes people take chances and settle ecologically fragile areas such as newly accreted land in the middle of rivers or in their estuaries. These lands are neither very suitable nor for habitation. They are vulnerable to natural hazards such as floods and cyclones. People also move into forest covered hilly areas. They cut down trees and build houses on hilltops or on their slopes. Apart from that, there is already an inequitable distribution of income and assets. The poor are living in a poverty trap. Their income is low and they lack productive assets. We know the socio-economic condition of marginal and indigenous peoples of Bangladesh. Political economy mentions, such kind of discrimination or disparity is created by free-market economy where marginal people are powerless. This is called relation between center-periphery relation while center is actively involved to exploit or dominate the people of periphery or make the people more marginal. It is a culture of demographic engineering under the system of political engineering. This makes them vulnerable to different types of crisis. In Bangladesh, 40 million people still live below the poverty line and the number of rural poor has increased. Subdivision of productive agricultural lands from one generation to another has increased the number of marginal farmers and the rural landless. As population grows, their numbers will also increase. Lacking assets, they will look to nature for their survival. Durning (1999) states that, poverty drives ecological deterioration when desperate people overexploit their resource base sacrificing their future to salvage the present. In resulting, people push into fragile ecosystems. They till marginal lands, destroy forests, overfish and overgraze. The net result they exceed the carrying capacity of the local environment. Once this happens and unless the trend is reserved, there is a permanent damage to the ecosystem. The deteriorated ecosystem is less productive and has less to offer to the people who are dependent on it. Thus, the poverty trap only deepens. The urban poor are in no better conditions. They live in slums under unhealthy and unsanitary conditions. Since city life is very expensive to fulfill the basic needs, these poor people are bound to search for a dwelling place at the city slums and those who cannot even afford to live in a slum dwelling are living on streets or pavements, in parks, bus or railway stations or other public infrastructures. Normally, they are experiencing with kutcha, jhupri, non-sanitary latrine, unhygienic garbage disposal, impure water and interrupted electric supply. As they do not have proper sewerage systems and garbage disposal facilities, the wastes generated by their day to day living help pollute their environment. All these activities either degrade the environment or deplete resources. Agricultural land is lost, forest shrink, landslides destroy hills and the life of marginal people are endangered. Particularly, social inclusion is impossible without economic development; on the other hand, economic development will not be sustainable without social inclusion. We have to improve the economic condition of rural poor, marginal farmers, urban poor and indigenous peoples. Apart from that, it is the responsibility of the state to create an enabling environment to trim down inequality, deprivation and discrimination in the interest of indigenous communities. To conclude, it is high time to address hardcore and extreme poverty, landlessness, environmental displacement, desertification and land encroachment in forest for environmental, ecological and climatic security. The writer is Environmental Analyst Associate Member of Bangladesh Economic Association