02 alessandra giuliani-iied-why link biodiversity conservation and povery alleviation

Why link biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation?

Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015Author name

DateAlessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

Alessandra Giuliani, IIEDKigali, 4 November 2015

Adapted from previous presentations by Dilys Roe, IIED and Chris Sandbrook, Cambridge University.

Why link biodiversity

conservation and

poverty alleviation?


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

Biodiversity conservation and

poverty alleviation: two seemingly

distinct objectives

?


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

• 1971 Man and Biosphere programme launched

…. and more recently: • 2000: World Conservation Congress – recommendation that “IUCN

address poverty simultaneously with environmental rehabilitation”;

• 2002: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) target: ‘achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth.’

• 2003: World Parks Congress - “Protected areas should strive to contribute to poverty reduction at the local level, and at the very minimum must not contribute to or exacerbate poverty” (Rec WPC V.29)

• 2010: CBD Cop10 Strategic plan to halt the loss of biodiversity…. thereby ‘contributing to human well-being, and poverty eradication.’

Poverty has long featured in

biodiversity policies:


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

• 2000: MDGs

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a

significant reduction in the rate of loss

• 2015: SDGs:

Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial

ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification,

and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

Likewise biodiversity conservation

has long featured in development

polices:


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015But disputes remain at the

practical and local level

• Poverty and conservation are separate policy realms

Poverty and conservation may be linked but not on my agenda

• Poverty and conservation are positively linked (win-win):

Poverty is a critical constraint to conservation so improving poverty will improve

conservation

Conserving biodiversity helps reduce poverty

• Poverty and conservation are negatively linked (win–lose):

Conservation interventions such as PAs cause or exacerbate poverty

Poverty reduction strategies such as road building drive biodiversity loss

• Poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation are

linked - but there is no generic model


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015A context specific

relationship

• Different patterns of winners and losers

Eg. The costs and risks associated with biodiversity loss are expected

to increase and to fall disproportionately on the poor

• Different outcomes over different time periods

Eg. Some short term improvements in material welfare due to actions

that lead to the loss of biodiversity that is important to the poor may

make these gains temporary and may in fact exacerbate all

constituents of poverty in the long term


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

• Biodiversity: “the variability among living organisms from all

sources…and the ecological complexes of which they are

part: this includes diversity within species, between species

and of ecosystems” (CBD)

• But commonly used interchangeably with “wildlife” or

“nature” and used to refer to abundance rather than

variability.

Different understandings of

“biodiversity” “poverty” and

“poverty reduction”


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015




• Absolute poverty - subsistence below minimal living conditions (eg. living on <$1/day (MDG1))

• Multidimensional poverty: a pronounced deprivation in well being…. To be poor is to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, to be sick and not cared for, to be illiterate and not schooled. But for poor people, living in poverty is more than this. Poor people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events outside their control. They are often treated badly by the institutions of state and society and excluded from voice and power in these institutions’ (World Development Report, 2000)


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015




Poverty reduction or alleviation? Or just improving livelihoods?

• “Poverty reduction” - Reducing the number of poor people, lifting people

beyond a defined poverty line

• “Poverty alleviation” - Alleviating the symptoms of poverty and/or reducing the

severity of poverty without transforming people from ‘poor’ to ‘non-poor’;

• Livelihood improvements – beneficiaries not necessarily limited to those who

are “poor”.

Hard to define? Even harder to measure and draw conclusions! Agrawal and

Redford (1996)


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

• Great ape range states coincide with

some of the poorest countries in the

world - particularly in Africa

• Apes attract a lot of international attention

and therefore constitute a valuable

resource

• But benefits are often not shared at a

level sufficient to generate conservation

incentive

• Conservation often through strictly

enforced protected areas – (potential)

cost to local communities

• Missed opportunity for poverty reduction

a risk of threat to conservation

Why link ape conservation

and poverty alleviation?

Photo © C. Sholler


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

“Linking conservation and poverty alleviation:

The case of Great Apes. An overview of current

policy and practice in Africa”

A review undertaken by Chris Sandbrook

for IIED in 2010 of linkages between great ape

conservation and poverty reduction in Africa.

African great apes and

poverty alleviation


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

Large number of organisations addressing ape

conservation in Africa:

• 8 multi-country organisations/initiatives that are

ape specific

• 15 multi-country organisations/initiatives that

include apes amongst other conservation

concerns

• Anything between 2 and 20

organisations/initiatives in each ape range state

African ape conservation

organisations


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

Many different approaches taken by different organisations at different sites:

• From changing the behaviour/attitudes of communities towards

conservation (education, outreach) to changing the practice of

conservation (CBNRM, community conserved areas)

• From finding alternatives to resources of conservation concern (alternative

protein/energy sources) to generating benefits from resources of concern

(tourism, PES)

• From enforcing conservation priorities to paying for them

Approaches to linking

conservation and poverty at

ape sites


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

Tourism jobs

CBNRM, community conservation

ICDPs

Human health and family planning

Bushmeat alternatives

Firewood alternatives/fuel efficient stoves

Protected area outreach/revenue sharing

Addressing human wildlife conflict

PES

Skills/capacity development

Value chains/market access

Examples of approaches used to link

conservation and poverty at ape

sites:


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015

Experiences from the

organisations working in Rwanda

One of the goals of this meeting: To provide a space for Rwanda based conservation and development organisations to share their experiences in linking conservation (and particularly great apes conservation) and poverty alleviation. Emphasis will be placed on reflecting on what has worked, what hasn’t and why.

• Overview of the approach your organisation uses to link conservation and poverty alleviation/livelihood improvements in Rwanda

• Outcomes – positive and negative – of using this approach

• Supporting and limiting factors that resulted in the positive or negative outcomes

• Key lessons learned from using this approach


Alessandra Giuliani

Kigali, Rwanda

4 November 2015“Rwanda is a country with limited natural resources

but infinite human resources. As a government, we

recognise that poverty reduction and environmental

protection are inseparable and we put our people at

the centre of our development agenda. This approach

has ensured that sustainability sits at the heart of our

development agenda.”

Dr. Vincent Biruta, Minister of Natural ResourcesOctober 2015

(Meeting of the PEI Africa team and the UN Development Programme-

UN Environment Programme (UNDP-UNEP) Poverty-Environment

Facility held last week in Kigali )

Government & Nonprofit

02 alessandra giuliani-iied-why link biodiversity conservation and povery alleviation