ABSTRACT
Environmental and natural resource degradation can be the result of existing conditions as well as of projects designed to promote economic development. For example, extensive rural poverty and intense population pressure can exert stress on productive natural systems: the degradation of range and pasture lands as a consequence of overgrazing; the loss of productive soil as a consequence of inappropriate agricultural practices and poorly designed irrigation schemes; the loss of productive forests as a consequence of shifting agriculture and fuelwood collection are all examples of such pressures. Urban areas are equally affected as the influx of people from the countryside overtaxes facilities and gives rise to polluted water and air, congestion and increased incidence of disease. To the extent that these problems are the result of inadequate development, some of their solutions may lie in well-planned economic growth. On the other hand, economic growth itself frequently results in environmental and resource degradation.
