ABSTRACT
A number of factors, such as rapid population growth, unequal distribution of productive assets and natural calamities in the form of drought, floods, desertification and land erosion activate environmental strains and clearly aggravate poverty. Conversely, poverty alleviating programmes and policies in the form of direct intervention measures need to build on a positive interaction with the natural resource base. It is gradually being recognized that a lasting impact on poverty cannot be expected in the absence of a sustainable resource base for the poor.
