Welcome to the second phase of the Nexus Dialogues.

To view a recording of the second Nexus Dialogue please click here.

1) Poverty-Environment Evidence:

What examples can you share of the two-way links between multidimensional poverty and environmental degradation? What groups are affected by poor management of natural resources? How are the livelihoods of women and men living in poverty linked to: ecosystems and biodiversity; sustainable land management; oceans and water; climate change mitigation and adaption, and chemicals?  

2) PEN Mainstreaming:   

How are PEN approaches already being used and integrated into public policy making and investments? How are countries addressing the Poverty-Environment Nexus in different contexts to advance the SDGs? What tools and methodologies are being used to collect and use PEN data; inform national, sectoral and local planning; influence SD financing; and better coordinate PEN work across sectors?

3) PEN Partnerships:  

What partnerships are being used to reduce poverty and ensure more inclusive and environmentally sustainable development pathways? How are governments, civil society, the private sector and international community working together at the local, national, regional and global level? What innovative forms of PEN collaboration can be scaled up and replicated?

1 Jul 2017 - 7 Aug 2017

Comments (53)

Anne Juepner
Anne Juepner Moderator

THANK YOU ALL for another fascinating round of contributions and comments! It is very impressive to see what initiatives are on-going across the world at all levels tackling particular aspects of the PE Nexus - Thank you again for sharing these!

Some key points brought up from last week's discussion are the focus on "onsite solutions" as expressed by Elif, the need to effectively link different actors as highlighted by Deo and to take into account the impact increasing urbanization has on our environment as pointed out by Saripalli.

Please reach out to your colleagues and friends to use this opportunity to contribute to our dialogue for another week - Please note that our discussion has been extended until 8 August.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Nik Sekhran
Nik Sekhran

Dear colleagues,

I am writing to invite your comments and participation for phase 2 of the online Environment Management Group Dialogue on the Poverty-Environment Nexus (PEN).

A series of four Nexus Dialogues, including joint online and in-person discussions, are being held in 2017. These Dialogues are designed to bring UN agencies and partners together to identify synergies and integrated approaches that advance the Sustainable Development Goals. It is only through such coherent and collaborative approaches that our efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda will succeed.

The first Nexus Dialogue was held in Geneva from 26-27 April, and the final Dialogue will be held during the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi in December.

This current online consultation is designed to inform and influence the second Nexus Dialogue, which will take place during the High-Level Political Forum in New York from 13-14 July. On the 13th, technical experts will explore opportunities to strengthen the implementation of the SDGs at the country level by looking at PEN lessons learned and good practices. On the 14th, senior policy makers and practitioners will address explore options for strengthening PEN partnerships and how the UN system can advance this work including through the Environment Management Group (EMG).

This online moderated discussion will allow experts who are not able to attend the Dialogue to contribute and enrich its discussions through a broad range of country experiences. Inputs from this online discussion be presented in New York, as well as during the final Dialogue in Nairobi, and  inform broader efforts to identify practical strategies for integrating PEN approaches across the SDGs.

This online discussion will run from 1-31 July and will focus on the following three linked discussion areas:

1) Poverty-Environment Evidence:

What examples can you share of the two-way links between multidimensional poverty and environmental degradation? What groups are affected by poor management of natural resources? How are the livelihoods of women and men living in poverty linked to: ecosystems and biodiversity; sustainable land management; oceans and water; climate change mitigation and adaption, and chemicals?  

2) PEN Mainstreaming:   

How are PEN approaches already being used and integrated into public policy making and investments? How are countries addressing the Poverty-Environment Nexus in different contexts to advance the SDGs? What tools and methodologies are being used to collect and use PEN data; inform national, sectoral and local planning; influence SD financing; and better coordinate PEN work across sectors?

3) PEN Partnerships:  

What partnerships are being used to reduce poverty and ensure more inclusive and environmentally sustainable development pathways? How are governments, civil society, the private sector and international community working together at the local, national, regional and global level? What innovative forms of PEN collaboration can be scaled up and replicated?

We will spend about ten days on each of these discussion areas.

This consultation will be moderated by Anne Juepner, Director of the UNDP Global Policy Centre in Nairobi and Co-Director of the UNDP-UN Environment Poverty and Environment Initiative, and  Steve Waddell, a global expert on systems thinking, author, and a Principal at Networking Action: Organizing for the 21st Century.

To join the discussion, please add your comments below and please feel free to share this launch message across your networks.

We look forward to your insights and innovation!

Best regards,

Nik Sekhran

Anne Juepner
Anne Juepner Moderator

On behalf of Steve and myself, we very much welcome all participants to the second Dialogue on the Poverty-Environment Nexus to take place at the High-Level Political Forum in New York later on this month. This online moderated discussion will allow experts who are not able to attend the Dialogue in person to contribute and enrich its discussions through a broad range of country experiences. To start our discussion, we would like to invite your inputs around the first question on 'Poverty-Environment Evidence'.

Poverty is often defined by one-dimensional measures such as income. But poverty is multi-dimensional, comprising various aspects that constitute poor people's experience of exclusion and marginalization - such as inadequate living standards; lack of access to clean water, sanitation and sustainable energy; poor health; lack of income and access to productive resources such as land; and disempowerment.

Natural capital including land, forests, fisheries, water and biomass fuels is the principal source of development for many rural families and communities living in poverty: They provide income, social protection and employment. Unsustainable use of natural capital and climate change undermine these socio-economic benefits, as well as the environment itself, and are costing many countries dearly. In Africa, for instance, it is estimated that these costs amount up to 22 percent of total annual GDP.

Unsustainable natural capital use and climate change also affect women and men differently. The majority of rural women (a quarter of the total world population!) depend on natural resources and agriculture for their livelihoods. Their traditional responsibilities as food growers, water and fuel gatherers, and care givers connect them intimately to natural resources and the climate. This does not only make them especially vulnerable to environmental hardships but it also means that they possess the knowledge and skills critical to finding sustainable solutions to environmental problems.

The 2030 Agenda embodies the contributions of environmental and natural resource sustainability to socially inclusive growth, employment and livelihoods for women and men. The poverty-environment-development nexus, implied in the 2030 Agenda, calls for all of us to do things differently in order to see it fully implemented at country level.

Anne Juepner
Anne Juepner Moderator

My colleague, Isabell Kempf (PEI Co-Director, UNE) and I (PEI Co-Director, UNDP)would like to share with you some information regarding our joint United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI).

Who we are:

PEI was launched in 2005 to help countries integrate poverty-environment objectives into their development plans and policies. PEI’s overall aim is to bring about lasting institutional change and catalyze key actors to increase investment in pro-poor environmental and natural resource management.

The PEI works with government partners and other stake holders to raise awareness, influence policy making and strengthen the integration of the poverty-environment nexus into country level plans and budgets. As an inter-agency collaboration, the programme is able to draw on the comparative advantages of both UNDP and UNE. PEI is currently working in 22 countries across four regions, but more than 50 countries have requested the programme's services. Our new poverty-environment mainstreaming programme, entitled Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable Development Goals (2018-2022), focusing on promoting quality investments to simultaneously improve the livelihoods, health and resilience of poor women and men to sustainably manage the environment and address climate change, is currently being developed and will build on PEI achievements. 

How we work:

Capacity building and the use of an integrated approach are at the heart of PEI’s mainstreaming efforts, which are mainly led by ministries of finance and planning in close coordination with sector ministries, such as environment and agriculture. This has resulted in improved integration of poverty-environment, climate and gender priorities as well as increased allocation of resources in development plans and programmes.

Strong government ownership and recognition of the effectiveness of PEI’s integrated approach have catalyzed additional in-country funding for PEI programmes. Thanks to PEI’s resource mobilization at the country level and contributions from UNDP and UNE, every US dollar contributed by PEI donors has generated at least 1 additional US dollar in support of the programme.

What we do in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

PEI is already supporting countries in implementation of the SDGs through the following tools and services:

  • Integrating poverty-environment, climate and gender objectives into national, sub national, sectoral and local development plans and budgets.

  • Establishing policy planning, cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms and fiscal processes that enable effective implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives that increase the resilience of the poor.

  • Undertaking public environmental expenditure reviews (PEER) and climate expenditure and institutional reviews (CPEIR) to provide guidance on expenditure and reallocate funds for poverty-environment objectives.

  • Conducting environmental, economic and social assessments of sector policies and plans to increase support to participatory development planning processes that are based on such integrated assessments.

  • Addressing equity and gender gaps, strengthening advocacy and the effective participation of target groups trough inclusive programming.

  • Formulating indicators, collecting data and conducting analyses to measure change towards pro-poor environmental sustainability in national and sub national monitoring systems tracking the implementation of the SDGs.

  • Mobilizing bilateral and private investment and domestic resources, and providing the tools and methodologies to support the management of private investment in natural resources, to ensure equitable benefit sharing through improved regulatory structures.

  • Collaborating with UN and other partners to conduct trainings on mainstreaming poverty-environment, climate and gender objectives into decision making, including through the Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS) approach.

  • Working in synergy with other programmes such as Green Economy or Sustainable Consumption and Production to support SDG implementation.

  • For more resources you may explore www.unpei.org . The PEI handbook on “Mainstreaming Environment and Climate for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development" is available at http://www.unpei.org/sites/default/files/publications/PEI%20handbook-high%20res.pdf.

 

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

I'm particularly interested in supporting "transformations"...fundamental realignments in thinking and acting that are connected to substantial innovation. The PEN issue requires this for many, and many have also been developing transformational actions that reflect it. I have generally found there are three activities necessary for transformation: (1) experimenting to identify the "invention" in terms of approach that can involve physical technologies but certainly also involves social/structural ones (eg: projects/experiments/labs); (2) building capacity to spread the invention (eg: formal/informal communities of practice); and (3) creating structures to support application of the invention for the period of time necessary for it to become "dominant" (eg: powerful multi-stakeholder networks).

I look forward to hearing more about how people are approaching the PEN challenge!

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

One of my most profound experiences with the nexus issue was when I was engaged in Guatemala, with CARE framing a project around the "root causes of poverty". I chuckled at the framing...in systems thinking there are no "root" causes, but rather a dynamic number of interacting variables and issues. Participants (CARE staff in Guatemala and some they worked with) quickly came to challenge the framing in association with "poverty", and replaced it with supporting potentials/aspirations for happiness and fulfillment. Of course this reframing involves many issues other than poverty. The systems work led to participants identifying and engaging stakeholders in realizing their aspirations. The project activities included getting participants to interview people who they traditionally saw as "adversaries" such as the military and big business people. This led to not just insights about each other beyond initial stereotypes, but in some cases new work relationships around CARE's mission. A learning history is available here.

Anshul Bhamra
Anshul Bhamra

http://devalt.org/images/L2_ProjectPdfs/ClimateResilientFarmer_LEISA.pdf?Oid=166

This is a reflection to Question 1.

Bundelkhand region in India is one of the most economically, socially and environmentally vulnerable regions of the country. One of the reasons is high dependence on rain-fed farming in the region with poor soil quality and very poor water availability. With effects of climate change, it is only getting worse. The region is also the poorest in the living standards as well as decent lifestyle for the people of Bundelkhand. Any adverse effect on land, water availability or an improvement on both plays a key role in the poverty dynamics of the region. 

Read the story shared by the link for more information.

Alfredo Arturo Corredor Becerra
Alfredo Arturo Corredor Becerra

Muy buen día a todos los participantes en estos importantes diálogos, soy Arturo Corredor Becerra he realizado un Master y un Doctorado en la Universidad Europea de Energía y Medio Ambiente con el apoyo financiero de Fondo Verde. Luego del mi trabajo en comunidad y el estudio teórico tengo clara la evidencia de la relación transversal de la Sostenibilidad en el futuro en paz del mundo.

Considerando a la Sostenibilidad como un modo de vida, es decir un paradigma cultural que la civilización del siglo XXI debe tomar para tener una oportunidad real de sobrevivir es decir no se trata de un tema enfocado a lo ambiental, sino como los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible lo muestran se trata de un tema transversal que incluye aspectos sociales, económicos, culturales, geográficos y por supuesto ambientales.

Se trata de una visión sistémica, multidimensional, colaborativa, cooperativa en donde países del sur y norte ponemos lo mejor de lo que tenemos buscando el beneficio general basados en el respeto de la dignidad, la equidad y los derechos humanos.

Para Colombia y los países que cuentan con un acervo natural representado en biodiversidad, servicios ecosistémicos y un patrimonio de conocimiento representado en conocimiento ancestral y cultural de los pobladores rurales deben ser valorados de manera integral y asignarles un reconocimiento global, este importante aporte de los países debe ser aceptado y fomentado en lugar de las actividades de tipo extractivo que han llevado a estos países a la pobreza y la dependencia económica.

El país tiene históricamente asignada la explotación de sus recursos naturales como proveedor de materias primas minerales y  son las regiones más pobres las que tienen los mayores indices de probreza y abandono como muchos de los estudios lo demuestran, el modelo extractivo debe ser cambiado.  Dentro del ejercicio que he realizado tube oportunidad de realizar una consulta con expertos del país que cohinciden en la anterior conclusión. 

Si se requieren evidencias con gusto las aportaré.

Un respetuoso saludo,

 

Alfredo Arturo Corredor Becerra 

 

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

Creo que por un lado estás hablando de cambiar lo que yo llamo la "metanarrativa" de nuestra civilización que enfatiza la importancia de la economía, con el resto del mundo a su servicio. Usted escribe específicamente que el patrimonio de conocimiento representado en conocimiento ancestral y cultural de los pobladores rurales debe ser valorado de manera integral y asignarles un reconocimiento global. ¿Puede dar ejemplos de cómo se puede hacer esto ... o mejor, dónde se está haciendo?

Alfredo Arturo Corredor Becerra
Alfredo Arturo Corredor Becerra

Buenos días,  gracias por los comentarios. Efectivamente se trata de considerar a la Sostenibilidad como un paradigma civilizatorio, es  más amplio que el modo de producción realmente es “metanarrativa”  una manera de visionar el futuro de la humanidad a largo plazo, pues no solo se refiere al tema económico sino a una visión multidimensional, sistémica, holística. Se relaciona con  aspectos múltiples de la civilización humana la ética y la equidad, la visión cooperativa y colaborativa del mundo gestionando los recursos existentes considerando no solo en el beneficio de la generación actual sino en lo que dejaremos a las próximas generaciones, por ello se relaciona con el consumo responsable, la producción responsable de ciclo cerrado, el comercio justo, el manejo de los recursos naturales y los demás recursos como el conocimiento ya adquirido por la población de su entorno y que sirve además como medio para salir de la pobreza o mejorar la calidad de vida global.

En muchos de los países de la zona sur del globo terráqueo, existe la biodiversidad y las personas que llevan siglos sintiéndose parte de los ecosistemas que habitan, son poseedores de un conocimiento que no se está valorando y que en lugar de ello se malversa y eso ocurre a través de procesos de desplazamiento a los centros urbanos en busca de oportunidades y mejor calidad de vida.

La concentración de la población en unas pocas ciudades es un fenómeno marcado en Latinoamérica  y es la consecuencia de años de abandono y miseria el desplazamiento a las ciudades en donde su conocimiento no les permite ser competitivos pues su mano de obra no está calificada para mantener un modo de vida digno y los empuja  en trampas de pobreza del que difícilmente saldrán después de generaciones y aumentan la problemática socio económica y ambiental que alimentan ciclos viciosos que forma países insostenibles.

Estos planteamientos se encuentran descritos en un documento que elaboré denominado el

“Modelo Teórico de Bienestar Integral Sostenible para Colombia frente a la crisis global del siglo XXI”  cuya abreviatura es MoTBIS con el propósito de facilitar su recordación.

Dentro del soporte teórico se encuentran diferentes estudios en Colombia,  como los de Germán Márquez (2004, 2005, 2007), permitieron establecer entre otras las siguientes relaciones: Entre la calidad de vida de las poblaciones y el estado funcional de los recursos naturales, la demostración de la existencia  de concentración de la tierra por parte de reducidos grupos de terratenientes (legales o ilegales) como medio para controlar la mano de obra por la fuerza a través de la violencia y la pauperización de las condiciones de vida, que en consecuencia los campesinos se han desplazado a las ciudades o a lugares inaccesibles en las zonas rurales.   Esto ha conducido a que la vulnerabilidad y la pobreza se profundicen pues los desplazados rurales se suman al ejército de marginados de la ciudad y con ello se multiplican los ciclos viciosos de miseria que los empujan a las trampas de pobreza que durarán generaciones para superarlas.  Se identificaron los peligros de la concentración de la población vulnerable en las megalópolis que crecen de manera caótica. La importancia estratégica de la comprobación de la hipótesis radica en que, si el patrimonio natural y humano rural son el epicentro de la situación problema, en la actualidad, también pueden convertirse por decisión del país en el eje principal del plan estratégico frente a la crisis multidimensional del siglo XXI, que le permitirá a Colombia cerrar las brechas socio ecológicas, económicas, geográficas y culturales que posee y poder hacerse Sostenible.

A partir del análisis de ese escenario se propone buscar el Bienestar Integral Sostenible de la población alineando los planes estratégicos con los Objetivos del Milenio, con el plan estratégico global de manejo de biodiversidad de Aichi y la Política Nacional de Gestión de Biodiversidad y Servicios Ecosistémicos de Colombia.

Resultan pues estratégicos, la valoración del recurso humano rural que posee un conocimiento ancestral, y gestionar de manera integral la biodiversidad y los servicios ecosistémicos.  En cuanto al recurso humano su aporte es invaluable para proteger el territorio y recuperar la funcionalidad de los ecosistemas, así como el conocimiento de los campesinos y pescadores para la producción Sostenible de alimentos. Para lograrlo se requiere la estructuración de un mercado laboral rural que promueva la dignidad humana, incentivar la propiedad cooperativa de la tierra, fortalecer la infraestructura de servicios básicos rurales de calidad que les permitan suplir sus necesidades sin necesidad de abandonar sus terruños y garantizarles un uso real de sus derechos civiles contando con la presencia cercana del Estado.

Lo anterior permitirá cerrar las brechas multidimensionales, la reconstrucción del tejido social fracturado por el desplazamiento y la violencia, promover la solidaridad y la viabilidad del país.  Además si cuenta con ecosistemas funcionales permitirá: que el país se adapte de mejor manera al cambio climático, que se mejoren las condiciones de vida de los pobladores rurales generado relaciones sociales más equitativas, la mitigación de la pobreza y la disminución de la vulnerabilidad; para un mayor beneficio no solo del país sino del mundo dentro de la visión holística propuesta por la Sostenibilidad.

Un elemento que resulta trascendental, es que el MoTBIS implica la multiplicación de cadenas de valor que generan bienestar, a través del cambio en las prioridades productivas y la manera de gestionar los recursos. No se requiere aplicar el concepto planteado por la teoría del decrecimiento, se promueve el modelo del Bienestar integral desde la mayor inversión en los recursos más valiosos:  la naturaleza y la dignidad humana, se habla de  restaurar la biodiversidad, os ecosistemas estratégicos para generar más alimento, para garantizar más agua, mayor retención de gases efecto invernadero,  con base en el uso del conocimiento ancestral de la población rural, a través de la mayor inversión en la provisión de servicios básicos de calidad, generar la recuperación del Territorio, y posibilitar la provisión de mayor cantidad y calidad de bienes y servicios ambientales, apoyados en el cierre de las brechas sociales esto trae beneficios para los más vulnerables que trabajan para  mitigar los impactos del cambio climático que requiere el país y el mundo.  

La propuesta es crear gestionar el conocimiento ancestral, las habilidades y  de los pobladores de las regiones rurales y los diferentes ecosistemas apoyados con las herramientas tecnológicas con varios objetivos:

1.      Promover la protección y la recuperación de la biodiversidad para generar restaurar los ecosistemas deteriorados y generar ecosistemas funcionales para tener servicios ecosistémicos de calidad básicos como el agua, la captura de CO2, garantizar la seguridad alimentaria y mitigar los efectos del cambio climático para el consumo local y global para una población en constante crecimiento. 

 

2.      Brindar mejores condiciones de vida de la población rural, con el fin de mantener los ecosistemas que están generando los bienes y los servicios ecosistémicos que el mundo necesita. Como se haría? Una de las iniciativas es apoyar la reconstrucción de los ecosistemas afectados a través del conocimiento rural con programas de restauración, reforestación comunitario  remunerado, y creación de corredores ambientales que permitan la consolidación ecosistémica generando para ellos ingresos por realizar esas tareas con recursos internacionales.

 

3.      Una problemática es que las poblaciones de esas zonas representa los mayores niveles de pobreza multidimensional, porque se plantearía crear unos Nuevos Asentamientos Sostenibles (NAS) en los cuales puedan recibir servicios básicos de calidad como son salud, agua potable, educación en un entorno favorable. Para el caso de Colombia más del 70% de las poblaciones fueron fundadas antes del año 1700 y sus especificaciones técnicas de Sostenibilidad, resiliencia y adaptación al cambio climático son nulos, además de poseer por razones de evolución socio económica una gran dispersión de la población, factor que genera más inconvenientes para poder atender sus necesidades básicas por temas de costos. 

 

4.      Al construir y dotar las NAS  surgen oportunidades de empleo, específicamente para la dotación de servicios de calidad médicos en todas sus especialidades, quienes dispondrán con hospitales Estatales dotados de salas de cirugía para todos los niveles de   atención, laboratorios y centros de diagnóstico e imágenes de alta tecnología, Centros médicos  para atención médica, de urgencias y odontológicas al servicio de toda la comunidad de la zona de influencia del NAS. Igual sucede con los educadores y administradores de los centros de capacitación vocacional, normal, técnica y tecnológica, así como universidad y Centros de investigación e innovación.

 

Existen varias experiencias locales (municipios) que son exitosas pero aún no forman parte de políticas nacionales pues hay muchos intereses creados respecto de quienes son hasta hoy los propietarios de la tierra y los interesados en mantener en vigencia el modelo extractivo.  Son ejemplos de ello diferentes proyectos realizados por el Fondo Acción entre otros que pueden ser consultados en:  http://www.fondoaccion.org/es/multimedia

Sirven de ejemplo a las experiencias positivas les siguientes:

 

·         Proyecto regional de reconversión de la ganadería extensiva por ganadería Sostenible  con sistemas silvo pastoriles que representa menos terrenos dedicados a esta actividad e iniciar actividades alternativas como la restauración de ecosistemas, la producción de alimentos. Existen proyectos realizados exitosamente por  Fondo acción[1] .

 

 Actualmente se desarrolla un programa ampliado hasta el año 2018 cuyos recursos provienen de “financiación adicional del Reino Unido (DECC), que incorpora objetivos de mitigación de cambio climático y reducción de pobreza rural, amplió la cobertura a siete regiones con la inclusión de dos frentes de deforestación activa: (6) el área de bosque seco entre la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta y la Serranía de Perijá; y (7) el área de piedemonte en la Serranía de la Macarena, Meta. En la Región Caribe está presente en:

Guajira: Riohacha, Barrancas, Fonseca, Distracción, San Juan del Cesar, El Molino, Villanueva, Urumita, San Diego. 

Cesar: Valledupar, Bosconía, Agustín Codazzi, San Diego, La Jagua de Ibirico, El Paso, Chiriguaná   Becerril, La Paz.  

Atlántico: Súan, Campo de la Cruz, San Estanislao.

Dentro del MOTBIS se recomienda entre otros programas:

 

·         Proyecto de reconversión de empresas dedicadas a la producción de cultivos industriales extensivos como la Palma Africana por cultivos de alimentos que aporten a la construcción de la soberanía alimentaria del país, ingresar a los programas de restauración reemplazando estos cultivos por bosques secos Tropicales  para recuperar los suelos y sus condiciones de calidad de los suelos, así como la biodiversidad y los servicios ecosistémicos. Especialmente dadas las condiciones de pérdida de mercado global ante la entrada en vigencia de sistemas alternativos de generación de energía, la caída de los precios internacionales y los resultados del impacto del cambio climático, entre otras razones.

 

[1] El proyecto “Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Sustainable Cattle Ranching in Colombia”, aprobado por el Banco Mundial y el Global Environment Facility GEF en 2010, apunta a la reconversión de la actividad ganadera mediante la incorporación de un enfoque de conservación y uso sostenible de la biodiversidad. En 2010 el Fondo Acción se vincula como socio y cofinanciador de esta iniciativa piloto, en alianza con FEDEGAN - Fondo Nacional del Ganado, The Nature Conservancy y CIPAV. En 2014 el proyecto recibe una significativa inyección financiera adicional aportada por el gobierno del Reino Unido (Department of Energy and Climate Change DECC), que amplía sus objetivos y cobertura geográfica. http://www.fondoaccion.org/es/multimedia

Tina Cornely
Tina Cornely

I would like to answer section 3) PEN Partnerships:  

What partnerships are being used to reduce poverty and ensure more inclusive and environmentally sustainable development pathways? The partnership most effective for me is impoverished highschools, public libraries, and/or teaching institutes (monasteries in countries Tibet, Nepal and India). In some cases where access to specific region is restricted (ie Borneo) I partner with groups like the World WildLife Fund via their community outreach projects. My target partners are educational institutions that are impoverished and resource lacking. My poverty reduction strategy empowers self sufficiency via a platform I authored titled 9 Steps to Eradicate Poverty (which is available in different languages and dialects). It is a How To/DYI book on how to address your basic needs (water purification/harvesting, hygiene/natural soaps, dry compost toilets, alternative medicine, family planning via the cycle bead system (including Zika mitigation/vector control), harness solar energy, build a non electrical refrigerator, and recycle trash to earn a living. In addition to this I provide teachers and librarians with links (including Bloom Library) to free instruction manuals, textbooks, etc. that can be downloaded and printed on site. This system has been very successful and enables locals to expand their libraries and teaching materials at their pace and tailored to their particular needs (in their language/dialect). How are governments, civil society, the private sector and international community working together at the local, national, regional and global level? Our work is based on public/private partnerships. Our formula is to target and get buy in from highschools (usually located in remote and impoverished areas). In turn the teachers we've trained present our model at yearly a yearly teachers' conference which facilitates further buy-in and eventually reaches Educational Dept. Heads. They in turn see the benefit and roll out this model country wide. What innovative forms of PEN collaboration can be scaled up and replicated? Our trickle up project was implemented in Honduras. Now family planning (which was not taught before) coupled with Zika mitigation is becoming a part of their nation wide curriculum.  Our next step is to scale up our trickle up project by presenting our PEN project at the 3 different Latin American Conferences on Education where the Dept. Heads from the Caribbean, Central and South America attend. 

If we can get Latin American Heads of Education to be able to update, prepare, print & distribute their own text books and in their own language (including dialects), Latin America can become a springboard for other developing countries who are struggling with their lack of educational resources. The beauty of this model is it promotes buy-in, sustainability and replicability in the shortest time frame possible.

Ashwini Sathnur
Ashwini Sathnur

1) Poverty-Environment Evidence:

What examples can you share of the two-way links between multidimensional poverty and environmental degradation? What groups are affected by poor management of natural resources? How are the livelihoods of women and men living in poverty linked to: ecosystems and biodiversity; sustainable land management; oceans and water; climate change mitigation and adaption, and chemicals?  

Changes in planetary conditions on Earth with respect to the sun due to solar flares lead to climatic changes.

Climate Change in the current decade has led to a variety of changes in the atmosphere, in water, on land and so on. These changes affect the neurological functioning of human brain. It could lead to disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease etc. The current technology usage in life-long neurological disorders is Neural Networks.

But it is found that climate change modifies the functioning of the nuclei in the neuron in the human brain. This brings about changes in the motion/ movement of nuclei. The size of the neuron is in dimensions of nano.  Such changes in each and every neuron, would lead to the change in the movement/ or distortion in the human brain as a whole. This is apparent when all the neurons – millions in count are aggregated into one unit – which is the human brain.

Hence this leads to the malfunctioning of the human brain caused due to it’s distortion.

 

2) PEN Mainstreaming:   

How are PEN approaches already being used and integrated into public policy making and investments? How are countries addressing the Poverty-Environment Nexus in different contexts to advance the SDGs? What tools and methodologies are being used to collect and use PEN data; inform national, sectoral and local planning; influence SD financing; and better coordinate PEN work across sectors?

Since the problem deals with nano dimensions, quantum mechanics comes into the picture.

Thus quantum mechanics concept is embedded with the neural systems.

Quantum mechanics dealing with neural systems comes under the umbrella of the subject Quantum Neural Networks.

The solution to the problem is a Quantum Neural Network Learning / Response Generation Mobile Application. It is created to enable the disabled person suffering from Parkinson’s / Alzheimer’s disease. And help that disabled person to understand the stimulus that he/she is looking at by his/her visual system. Once the stimulus is fetched from the disabled person – via his visual system [which he is looking at], it is processed in the biological neural network processing system within the mobile application.

And an output object is created which can be defined as a response to the stimulus. From the mobile application, this response is displayed to the disabled person. And then this response action is carried out by the disabled person.

Also a Quantum Neural Network Learning tutorial is played in an Animation format in the mobile application which explains the disabled person – about the disability, Neural Networks, Quantum Mechanics and Neural Networks, and the usage manual of the mobile application.

This leads to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and Inclusive Development. Hence the policies of Inclusive Development and Economic and Social Development applies to the areas addressing the concept of Poverty-Environment Evidence.

 

3) PEN Partnerships:  

What partnerships are being used to reduce poverty and ensure more inclusive and environmentally sustainable development pathways? How are governments, civil society, the private sector and international community working together at the local, national, regional and global level? What innovative forms of PEN collaboration can be scaled up and replicated?

Partnerships of international Capacity Building division and the public sector, private sector, educational institutions, research organizations, aerospace organizations, school curriculum establishment etc. leads to the creation of projects aiming to achieve the goals of Poverty-Environment Evidence.

Gale Mohammed-Oxley, OP
Gale Mohammed-Oxley, OP

I am happy to join this discussion as most of my experiences has a nexus approach to solving problems and decision making in finding the solution to the common good. Having grown up in Trinidad and Tobago with its multi cultural and multi ethnic population I believe solving many of the world's problems can find solutions in a nexus approach. My question here is: Are people permitted to use this approach?

Values Education at all levels can lay the foundation to sustainable development in the later years. A simple task of respecting another person's space (be it sacred or otherwise) can help draw peaceful solutions when they arise. Then we can see the source is the training of teachers. But what are teachers to teach? Who develops the curriculum, when we are told to prepare persons for the workplace.

Economics drive solutions and until we can shape economies to be flexible and fluid in safe passage there will always be the need for review and concern for the poor, the vulnerable and the victims. One victim group are the Warao Nation of First People in Trinidad. 

The two-way link between multidimensional poverty and environmental degradation can be seen in the desecration and distruction of their sacred ground of the San Fernando Hill (known as Sacred Mountain to the Warao First Peoples). The demand for Argillite aggregate for construction led  to the expansion of mining to the point where a hill point remained. The poor management on the part of the government and their agencies (in this case the San Fernando Regional Corporation) have permitted the mining of this mountain to the extent of depleting it as a natural resource.

Over the years from 1890s to 1977 there was mining of the hill without some form of sustainable land management system. The erosion of the hill included authorised excavation up to 2014 to an established area however, this was violated and only provoked a letter from the government.

The establishment of state agencies to manage the Hill which is now a park excluded the Warao Nation. Thus the call now for their rights to sovereignty of the Hill and a stop to any and all further mining. 

Dr.Amb.Asabe Shehu Yar'Adua
Dr.Amb.Asabe Shehu Yar'Adua

(Section 3) PEN Partnerships: 

What Partnerships are being used to reduce poverty and ensure more inclusive and environmentally sustainable development pathways?

Poverty is indeed multidimensional. The inter-linkage between environment and poverty can hardly be over emphasized. The more visible environmental problems are mostly associated with regenerative resources, which are in constant danger of exhaustion from excessive use particularly in the developing countries.

 Depletion of many environmental resources can indeed make some categories of people destitute even when an economy is growing. So there is an intimate relationship between environmental degradation and accentuation of destitution. Poor women and children are particularly victims of environmental degradation although they are not necessarily the polluters. They are mostly forced to face an adverse environment with significant implications for their deprivation. They also suffer from malnutrition and ill health with further impact on income erosion.

Therefore, common and mutually interlinked issues of poverty eradication and environmental protection are the major concerns of many Developing and Developed countries. However, the institutional incapacity to eradicate poverty in environmentally degraded regions particularly in Developing and Under-Developing countries is yet to be fully understood

The issue of poverty in Developed, Developing, and Under Developing Countries has been in the front burner globally for a long time. A lot of efforts have been made to address poverty by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International bodies like UN, ECOSOC, UNESCO. etc.

These International bodies have tried to reduce poverty in the war-torn counties like Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Sudan, Libya etc. The partnership mostly effective for me is impoverished Children, Youths and Women (mostly war victims) in the affected Countries in the world. I partner with groups like DPINGO, UNDISR, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNODC, UNFCCC, UNAIDS and Observers to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

My target partners are women, Children, Youths, and the aged (elderly). My strategy to reduce poverty is to empower Women and Youths by creating vocational Centers for them to acquire skills that will make them to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. Also, I provide scholarship scheme to positively impact more on Youths, who are in dire need of education such as Indigent Students, who are financially constraints.

I am fully determined to enhance the livelihood of the people in the Rural Areas by the provision of viable goods and materials to the grassroot and to bring back hope to the down-trodden.

How are governments, civil society, the private sector and international community working together at the local, national, regional and global level?

 Governments, Non-Governmental Organizations, Civil Societies, Private Bodies and International Communities should work in synergy to improve the welfare of people especially the less-privileged by donating generously to homes of the abandoned Children and old people’s homes. Government should create an enabling environment for jobs creation for the teeming unemployed Youths.

UNDP, on the other hand, helps countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable human development by assisting them to build up their capacity to design and carry out development programmes in the fields of poverty eradication, employment creation and sustainable livelihoods, the empowerment of women and the protection and regeneration of the environment.

In all these efforts of UNDP, poverty eradication gets the top-most priority. Besides UN Secretariats and other subsidiaries, commissions organize conferences, workshops, help different parties to come together for global treaties and conventions in favour of environmental protection and Human Development. UNDP’s role in financing important initiatives for strengthening bio-diversity deserves to be especially appreciated.

A number of NGOs too have been taken onboard by the UN to push the poverty reduction and environmental protection agendas across the globe. Even corporations have been drawn into ECOSOC by the UN to sensitize those international companies to play pro-poor and pro-environmental role while doing their businesses.

Other multilateral agencies like Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Bank, and bilateral and regional agencies like UK Department for International Development (DFID) and European Community (EC) are also playing pro-active role towards pro-poor, pro-environment development interventions through both government and non-government organizations.

 The International Institutions like International Monetary Funds (IMF) should assist in providing grants and invest heavily in Energy sector that will invigorate the industrialization in those countries. This of course, will pave way for Economy recovery and reduction of poverty level.

What innovative forms of PEN collaboration can be scaled up and replicated?

 Community initiatives are thought to be the best options for regenerating community resources to both eradicate poverty and help sustain environment. However, such initiatives may not be forthcoming in a country where vested interest groups too often vitiate governance.

Therefore, Communities’ initiative programmes should be replicated in other communities of the Developed, Developing and Under-Developing Countries so as to sustain Poverty reduction and guarantee self –reliant and self-sufficient in the shortest possible time.

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and experience. I am wondering what you see as major actions to improve the poverty (particularly women & children) - environment nexus. Is it doing more of the same (eg: women's empowerment programs)? Should some current activity be stopped? Should something new be done?

You mention issues with vested interests. Can you give a particular example? And is there an example where they have been successfully managed?

Gary Shapiro
Gary Shapiro

Statistics Without Borders provides completely free statistical and data help to non-profit organizations. We can provide assistance to the Poverty-Environmental Initiative  in "Formulating indicators, collecting data and conducting analyses to measure change..." as discussed by Anne Juepner above. We can assist in evaluating the effectiveness of the programs done by Bridging Humanity and other organizations. We work on anyything involving the analysis or collection of data. We have a membership of well over 2,000 statisticians. Please respond to this comment, or email me directly at [email protected] if you would like to discuss how Statistics Without Borders might be able to provide free assistance to your organization. You can view our website at www.community.amstat.org/statisticswithoutborders/home

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

Statistics provide a valuable way to communicate change. What are the current challenges and limitations with statistics and data-gathering systems that inhibit their power to communicate?

Michael Stanley-Jones
Michael Stanley-Jones

How does better evidence lead governments to strengthen policies for the marginalized and the poor, as well as for the environment?

At the day-long Environment Management Group Nexus Dialogue Series’ second dialogue on “Enabling new partnerships- implementing the Sustainable Development Goals at the poverty-environment nexus at country level”, held on Thursday, 13 July, during the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, in New York, I addressed this question in a presentation that examined the 2016 UN Environment Gender Global Environment Outlook, and 2015 report, The Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.

The latter work, a joint product of a partnership between UN Women, UNDP–UN Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative and The World Bank, has already helped recast the Government of Malawi’s national agricultural policy (2016), to make it more sensitive to women farmers, while also giving greater attention to sustaining natural resources upon which the poor depend for a large share of their subsistence.

In a new report, Accelerating Sustainable Development in Africa, published last month by Poverty-Environment Initiative Africa, the authors found that “inspired by integrated evidence, Malawi’s new national agricultural policy (2016) has a strong focus on women’s empowerment and sustainable agriculture.” That policy states, “Closing the gender gap and addressing the socio-economic barriers faced by women and the youth has the potential to boost annual agricultural GDP [Gross Domestic Product].”

These objectives will be achieved, the authors say, “by promoting women’s access to, ownership of and control over productive and financial resources and enhanced opportunities for entrepreneurship and participation in agriculture value addition.”

Rarely has economic research translated so quickly and directly into a new national policy.

The key message from the Malawi experience is that, when an individual sector – in this case, agriculture - understands how the unsustainable use of the environment has a negative impact on its own sector targets and broader social equality and economic goals, the motivation to adopt an integrated approach to environmental, social and economic development can be high and its uptake accelerated.

See Accelerating Sustainable Development in Africa: Country lessons from applying integrated approaches on www.unpei.org

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Stanley-Jones
Michael Stanley-Jones

In the recent Nexus dialogue on poverty and environment, I highlighted one of the five pathways recommended in Accelerating Sustainable Development in Africa, the new report by Poverty-Environment Initiative Africa.  Pathway 1: Better evidence, and the experiences of the application of integrated evidence to policymaking for sustainable development in Burkino Faso, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania covered in the report, show how credible, sector-specific evidence linking the three dimensions of sustainable development with sector goals and targets can be particularly effective in overcoming barriers and challenges to government action.

The case of Malawi's new national agricultural policy (2016) illustrates three ways of weaving research into policymaking for speedy impact. First, generate the evidence through the machinery of government. This can be done through partnerships with government agencies and local research institutes. Their involvement helps create ownership of the products of the research.

Second, ensure the research is interdisciplinary, and engages with target audiences, in particular government officials and marginalized groups. The Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda (2015), the joint research report of UN Women, UNDP-UN Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative and the World Bank, was accompanied by extensive outreach to policymakers at national level.

Third, disseminate the results strategically, through media, private sector and civil society, and community organizations. This further builds a constituency for the findings and recommendations of the research.

UN Environment, one of the four partners, has an advocacy role among UN institutions, one that commits us to close another kinds of gap -- the one between Science and Policy. The Cost of the Gender Gap illustrates how by connecting economic analysis with discrete policy recommendations, researchers can  give government policymakers clear information on where to find solutions, in this case to increasing the productivity of women-led farms.

Increasing women-led farms productivity requires interventions to enable women to employ more male labour power. Without addressing this constraint, other interventions, such as increasing women's access to improved seed stock, would have only relatively marginal impact. Policy needs to focus first on the critical factors.

See The Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda (2015) at www.unpei.org

Gary Shapiro
Gary Shapiro

One of the disciplines needed in the research is statistics. Statistics Without Borders would be happy to form partnerships with appropriate government agencies and local research institutes. Note that we have members worldwide, including many of the countries that you mention. See my message above for more information on Statistics Without Borders, and email me ([email protected]) so we can discuss ways that Statistics Without  Borders can help.

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

Michael is providing a marvellous example of how to strengthen change approaches grounded in a theory of change that new "knowledge" and "awareness" can be a big force in connecting poverty and environmental issues. He illustrates, however, that on their own, these are not enough. They must be integrated into an impact strategy -- it's not just producing a recipe book, but it's about situating the development of the recipes amongst the users so they understand them and they're relevant; and that it's necessary to build support for the change amongst the broader public for it to advance.

While such knowledge-based strategies can be successful where there is an openness to new knowledge and awareness, is this always the case? If there is simply a powerful stakeholder group that ignores the knowledge, what do you do?

Anne Juepner
Anne Juepner Moderator

A big THANK YOU to all who have shared their insights and experiences in this dialogue thus far! While the first part of our discussion focused on generating the necessary Poverty-Environment Evidence, let us now look into more detail at bringing the Poverty-Environment Nexus into the mainstream of policy action.

We also realize that implementing PEN in praxis cannot happen without various stakeholders coming together in proactive partnerships - the above testimonies from Tina, Ashwani, Gale, Asabe and Michael are clearly illustrating this.

So, please feel free to also share with us examples of effective PEN Partnerships that you have encountered or helped forge in your work!

I am particularly  interested in better understanding how we can successfully engage the Private Sector in this context.

We look forward to hearing from you what innovative forms of PEN collaboration can be scaled up and replicated!

Thamsanqa Robert Ncube
Thamsanqa Robert Ncube

UNESCO aims to improve access to quality education on sustainable development at all levels and in  all social contexts, to transform society by reorienting education and help people develop knowledge, skills, values and behaviors needed for sustainable development. It is about including sustainable development issues such as climate change and biodiversity into teaching and learning, individuals are encouraged to be responsible actors who resolve challenges, respect cultural diversity and contribute to creating a more sustainable world.

Pilar Roman
Pilar Roman

Dear all, I would like to join the discussion and share experience on private sector partnership.

The Initiative Poverty-Environment in Peru is working in the waste management sector, specifically with recyclers. Currently, 7,000,000 tons of solid waste are generated in the country, half of which ends up in unplanned areas, impacting public and environmental health. It is estimated that 75% of these residues are re-usable.

Approximately in Peru, 100,000 people rely on recycling as their income source, either formally (5%) or informal (95%). Recyclers are an economically and socially marginalized group, in part due to the lack of awareness of the value of their work to society. The profile of the group of recyclers is 66% of women, of whom 70% are between 30 and 59 years old, 46% are street recyclers, 49% spend between 21 and 40 hours a week, 20% are illiterate and 19% live below the poverty line. Most women recognize that their link to recycling is due to economic needs, and street recycling is their main source of income. (female formalized recycler presents her life experience at the national forum last June)

The work of these women is key in the reduction of waste in dumps, streets, canals and streams of water thus allowing recyclable waste to enter the production chain again and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and avoid spending on natural resources, such as energy, water and raw materials. Similarly, this activity reduces municipal waste transportation costs and extends the life of landfills. But, above all, these women contribute to the generation of a culture of environmental care in the population.

The project has worked synergistically with other sectors, both at national and subnational level, such as the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Women, the Ministry of Labor, and municipalities, fostering a gradual formalization of recyclers, strengthening their capacities for their insertion in the competitive recycling market and generating quality jobs, empowering women, at the level of self-esteem and economic, and generating conditions to ensure greater participation in decision-making about their livelihoods.

Currently, the Ministry of Environment is designing a pilot model to maximize the benefits of the recycled material value chain, interconnecting all stakeholders of the recycling sector: Bringing recyclers closer to companies that use solid waste as raw material or use products that contain a proportion of recycled material in their composition. 

Generating a more efficient and fairer nework for recycled material, reducing intermediaries, positioning recyclers as key players in this value chain, and thus fostering the formalization and association of this sector. 

 

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

Thanks so much for this great example of what I think of as "ecosystems services" that can address poverty. Is this the way you'd think of it? Are there any other examples of such services to support a healthy environment that can be seen as also addressing poverty?

Thamsanqa Robert Ncube
Thamsanqa Robert Ncube

Did you know that, Higher education is rapidly expanding, diversifying, and attracting more students than ever before. At the same time only 1per cent of the poorest are spending more than four year's in higher education, compared to 20 per cent of the richest. According to a recent analysis by IIEP and UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report. This edition of the IIEP Letter explores what is needed to enable higher education to fully play its control new role in the Sustainable Development Agenda.

Thamsanqa Robert Ncube
Thamsanqa Robert Ncube

Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions represents not only the greatest global challenge but also an indispensible requirement for sustainable development. The quest for mutually supportive transformative policies in this context is essential poverty eradication ensures a basic standard of living for all and facilitates efforts aimed at preventing environmental degradation and protecting the global environmental commons. Many countries today are exploring pro - poor social policies with incentives to promote to promote sustainability. Fighting poverty and building the resilience of people living in poverty to economic, social and environmental shocks are key tasks on the road to sustainable.

Sven Wunder
Sven Wunder

Here a bit from our work, spanning from the poe-env evidence to upscaling to the policy level, with focus on forests in developing countries: 

1)    Poverty - Environment Evidence

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has challenged conventional wisdom about the role of forests in rural household economies through its Poverty and Environment Network (PEN) global study.  At the core of this study, which was launched in 2004, is the tropics-wide collection of uniform socio-economic and environmental data collected from a broad sample of around 8,000 households in 24 countries.  Data collection includes a careful recording of all forest and environmental uses to quantify the overall importance of environmental income to rural livelihoods in developing countries.

Highlights from the global study include: 

·      Livelihoods:  Income from natural forests and other natural areas accounted for 28% of total household income, nearly as much as crops.

·      Gender:  Both women and men collect forest products predominantly for subsistence. On a global level, women collect about the same amount of unprocessed forest products as men do, while men are responsible for more processed products.

·      Safety nets:  When households had to respond to crises such as crop failures, job losses or illnesses, only 8% extracted more from forests as a prime coping strategy. More frequently-utilized strategies involved finding other employment, selling assets, reducing consumption, and seeking help from others.

·      Forest clearing:  Households with medium to high asset holdings and higher market orientation were more likely to clear forest than the poorest and market-isolated households.

·      Tenure:  State forests generated more income than private or community forests. Not surprisingly, higher enforcement in state-owned forests was found to have negative associations with smallholder forest income, as was limiting user rights to formal users.

In the last couple of years, we have together with FAO, the World Bank and others developed a sourcebook and a forestry questionnaire where information gathering on these issues can be upscaled to the national level. A first pilot has happened in Turkey, while others are forthcoming.   

For full articles and more information about the project, visit CIFOR’s Poverty and Environment Network website: www.cifor.org/pen 

 

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

Thanks for pointing to this valuable resource, Sven. Can you point to a couple of actions that may have arisen from the data? I see you have created a partnership in data-gathering...do the actions typically require multi-stakeholder partnerships or are there any other qualities that can be found associated with actions?

Gary Shapiro
Gary Shapiro

Can you use any help in analyzing the data you have collected through your Poverty and Environment Network global study? If so, Statistics Without Borders can provide such help. Please email me at [email protected] and see my earlier message for more information about Statistics Without  Borders.

Michael Stanley-Jones
Michael Stanley-Jones

This contribution was submitted by Ambrose Mugisha, United Nations Development Programme International Technical Advisor with the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 

Tanzania experience: Environment Management Group Dialogue on Poverty-Environment Nexus

Introduction

The paramount importance and contribution of environment and natural resources to local livelihoods and national economic growth in Tanzania cannot be overemphasised. Over 70% of people still live in rural areas and 80% of people depend on agriculture and natural resources for their daily needs[[i]], a clear case of natural capital and assets continuously facilitating poverty reduction, livelihood improvement and national economic growth. Yet, environmental degradation and natural resources depletion seems to continue to happen. For example, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP 2015[[ii]]) estimated deforestation rates ranging from 130,000 to 500,000 ha per annum. Moreover, as Tanzania aspires to attain the middle income country status, increasing economic growth to enhance economic transformation and human development, as contained in her National Five Year Development Plan 2016/17–2020/21, It is most likely that there will be increased reliance on the environment and natural resources which might in turn exacerbate environmental degradation and ultimately poverty conditions of the rural poor who depend largely on the environmental resources if not managed well.

1) Poverty-Environment Evidence:

Through Poverty-Environment Initiative supported nature-based community livelihood improvement enterprises, there has been considerable evidence generated to the effect that at local level, where local populations directly depend on access and use of environment and natural resources, nature-based resources play an important role in ensuring social, economic and environmental resilience. This was revealed by a Costs Benefits Analysis study of the joint United Nations Development Programme–United Nations Environment Programme Poverty-Environment Initiative supported livelihoods improvement interventions in six districts in Tanzania.

The costs benefits analysis study report concludes that of the livelihood interventions being promoted, aquaculture has the highest Net Present Value of Tanzanian Shilling (TSh) 7.9 billion (fish cage and fish ponds) followed by apiculture at TSh 1.26 billion. The report further shows that the livelihood interventions have diverse socio-economic and environmental impacts such as reduced incidents of illegal fishing due to introduction of fish ponds and cages; and reduced deforestation emanating from households use of biogas as source of energy for cooking and lighting. The costs benefits analysis also shows that livelihood interventions on fish farming and beekeeping had a positive impact on women’s economic empowerment and ability to provide for the household. Previously, these were male dominated activities that women could not engage in; but this has changed; indicating a beginning change of mind set and practices towards more equal access to economic opportunities

Moreover, a study report by UN Environment (2015)[[iii]] on forests ecosystems services towards green growth, highlighted that sustainable management of natural environmental resources contribute immensely to poverty reduction, livelihoods sustenance and economic growth (Gross Domestic Product). It is on this basis that the National Five Year Development Plan II estimates that sustainable utilization of natural resources (forest, water and marine resources, etc.) will contribute 10% of Gross Domestic Product by 2020/21 and 20% by 2025/6.

The report further highlights that environmental degradation will contribute to huge economic and social loses to Tanzania. The report estimates that deforestation will lead to present value of net losses of TSh 273 billion (approximately US$ 121.7 million) over a period of 2013–2033 to the Tanzania economy.

These figures and evidence strengthens the advocacy efforts to galvanise the need to mainstream poverty-environment linkage objectives and the role of natural capital in national development planning and budgeting processes for poverty reduction and economic growth.

2) Poverty-Environment Nexus Mainstreaming:

Experience in Tanzania has demonstrated that integrating poverty-environment linkage objectives and environmental and natural resources sustainability into national and sub-national policies and plans enhance community economic, social and environmental resilience through innovative approaches such as climate smart and inclusive development approaches as aspired by the Sustainable Development Goals philosophy of Leaving no one behind. This is reflected in different approaches and national development frameworks and processes that aim at harnessing natural capital investment for poverty reduction, livelihoods improvement and human development.

For example, the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 puts emphasis on use of natural capital / natural resources for poverty reduction. The Tanzania National Five Year Development Plan II 2016/17–2020/21 places greater emphasis and sets clear targets on the sustainable natural resources management, environment and climate change (National Five Year Development Plan II; pp 58-59) including plans to introduce an Environmental Sustainability Index as part the Monitoring and Evaluation plan for economic development projects. The Sustainable Development Goals are considered as an integral part of the Local Economic Development approaches of the National Five Year Development Plan II to foster an all-inclusive development approach to ensure micro-level poverty reduction, jobs creations and human development based on use of locally available natural resources through promotion of nature-based enterprises and Value Chain Analysis for natural resources.

As part of the Sustainable Development Goals localization, Ministry of Finance and Planning (through the Poverty Eradication Division, Planning Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics) is focussing on integrating appropriate and relevant Sustainable Development Goal indicators within the comprehensive Poverty Monitoring Master Plan and the National Monitoring and Evaluation Systems for monitoring the implementation of the poverty status Local Economic Development component of the National Five Year Development Plan II and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Poverty Monitoring Master Plan and National Monitoring and Evaluation Systems also include monitoring of performance of sectoral and sub-national level policies and plans in addressing poverty issues in a multi-dimensional manner. The cardinal attention is to mainstream Sustainable Development Goals in the implementation system of Five Year National Development Plan 2016/17–2020/21; ensuring that Sustainable Development Goals indicators and targets are aligned to monitoring indicators in the national MES and poverty monitoring systems.

Based on the assessment so far, only 102 indicators of 282 indicators of the National Five Year Development Plan II (36 %) correspond with the Sustainable Development Goals indicators either fully or partially; meaning that there still is work to be done to attain 100 % alignment between National Five Year Development Plan II and the indicators. This will be achieved through and on-going support to the National Bureau of Statistics to develop a Sustainable Development Goals Data Roadmap to monitor the Goals and to establish an Sustainable Development Goals data Visualisation open portal / Dashboard. The idea behind the Sustainable Development Goals open data visualisation portal is to enable a multitude of stakeholders and actors including private sector, civil society researchers, academicians etc. to contribute to Sustainable Development Goals mainstreaming into national and sub-national plans and programmes are implemented and monitored in an integrated manner. This will require strengthening the data ecosystems underpinned by reliable disaggregated data and a stronger focus on ending exclusion as a key to attaining data revolution and the “leaving no one behind” aspiration of the Agenda 2030.

The 2030 Agenda and environmental sustainability efforts in the country are being fostered by Government attention to improving the policy environment by reviewing and updating relevant policies. Examples of policies reviewed include National Environment Policy, National Fisheries Policy, and in process to update National Forestry Policy to ensure compliance to environmental standards and environmental sustainability requirements; principally putting Sustainable Development Goal 1 on Poverty at the centre of inter-sectoral co-ordination for enhancing human development agenda of the FYDP II. This was exemplified in the recent national and subnational consultations for compiling the Sustainable Development Goals Baseline Report as part of the process for Poverty Monitoring Master Plan and National Monitoring and Evaluation Systems formulation that will ultimately benchmark national Sustainable Development Goals monitoring and reporting.

A cardinal principle for integrating Sustainable Development Goals and poverty-environment linkage objectives in the development planning, budgeting and implementation processes is pro-active, evidence-based engagement in these processes. Further, to highlight to decision-makers how ensuring effective and sustainable use of natural resources through a coherent policy framework supports the achievement of key national development objectives – which will accelerate Tanzania’s progress to middle income country status by 2025.

3) Poverty-Environment Nexus Partnerships and Financing for Development:

The Development Partners Group on Environment in Tanzania has been an important forum for sharing and advocating poverty-environment linkage objectives in the national policy dialogue processes. The Development Partners Group on Environment provided considerable input to the National Environment Policy review process and engagement with the Vice President Office Department of Environment (DoE) on a number of environment management related issues including the formulation of the Environment Management Strategic Plan for the Department of Environment under the Vice President Office.

Financing for pro-poor development remains a critical agenda and is core to Poverty-Environment Initiative advocacy for inclusive growth and Sustainable Development Goals localisation in Tanzania. Based on the new National Five Year Development Plan II that provides a strong focus on local level economic development, government has emphasised increasing the national development budget. For example, the development budget has been increasing over the last two financial years after onset of the National Five Year Development Plan II 2016/17–2020/21. It increased from 26% to 32% in FY 2016/17; and to 38% in the 2017/18 to stimulate local economic development and poverty reduction through sustainable use of natural resources.

In the financial year 2016/17, government substantially increased it’s budgetary allocation to environmental management compared to the previous two years. Out of the total vote for the Vice President Office budget of US$ 3,656,560 (TSh 8 billion) for 2016/17, a total of US$ 2,056,815 (TSh 4.5 billion), 56.25%, is earmarked for environmental management programme as compared to US$ 548,484 (TSh 1.2 billion) in 2015/16 and US$ 159,974 (TSh 350 million) in 2014/15 (see figure on next page).[[iv] and [v]] [ref. Public Expenditure Estimates Development Vote, Part A -Vol. IV). In the same spirit, government has operationalized the National Environment Trust Fund as one of the funding options for implementation of the national FYDP II. The Poverty-Environment Initiative will continue to vigorously work to influence substantial allocation of the National Environment Trust Fund and others funds to the implementation of the Local Economic Development component of the National Five Year Development Plan II that focusses on local community level poverty reduction and livelihoods improvement.

 

[i] URT (2009): How Tanzania’s Natural Resources contribute to Poverty Reduction? An analysis of MKUKUTA outcomes (2005-2009) related to forest and wildlife resources as a contribution to the MKUKUTA review. Tanzania Natural Resource Forum with TRAFFIC; Policy Brief 10.09 December 2009. http://www.policyforum-tz.org/files/Mkukutabrief.pdf

[ii] UNEP (2015): Forest Ecosystems in the Transition to a Green Economy and the Role of REDD+ in the United Republic of Tanzania.

http://theredddesk.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdf/tanzania_report.pdf

[iii] UNEP (2015): Forest Ecosystems in the Transition to a Green Economy and the Role of REDD+ in the United Republic of Tanzania

http://theredddesk.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdf/tanzania_report.pdf

[iv] Source: Public Expenditure Estimates Development Vote (Part A -Vol. IV)

[v] Full citation: The United Republic of Tanzania Public Expenditure Estimates Development Vote, Part A -Vol. IV) for the year 1st July, 2016 to 30th June, 2017, as submitted to the National Assembly.

 

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

At the out set let me thank you for inviting me to contribute on

‘The Nexus Dialogue’,which are taking place during the

High-Level Political Forum in New York from 13-14 July.

 Poverty-Environment Nexus (PEN).

  1. Poverty-Environment Evidence:What examples can you share of the two-way links between multidimensional poverty and environmental degradation?

Ans-Over last 40 years i had built cement plants,steel plants,marine works,

marine off shore works,and designed and constructed Water works,Irrigation

works across India,Nepal.Some Refinery and waste water disposal works in

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.I had taught students at Ethiopia.

Civilization needs modifications to suit the needs of people.The word

Engineering has come in to place after finding a practice useful for many.

Many communities relay on land,but look for water as a source for

ripening the produce.Water as source is needed for livelihood,

and then the shelter.

The produce needs to be sold.That shall generate income.

Then comes education,and living standards.

The cycle is set in.

But in the process we find things which have emerged new and

which were never contemplated.

That is land degradation,salt penetration,sea fish and fresh water fish not

living together.

Then we find it smells with fish.

Fisheries areas shall be relocated.

The fodder from produce,out of crop is either for cattle or to be disposed.

Innovation and motivations are needed.High water use for Rice

[its use in many populated areas are of concern due to the Methane

[CH4]emissions.

My novels speak of my experiences,the list is below.

2) PEN Mainstreaming: How are PEN approaches already being used and

integrated into public policy making and investments?

Ans-We contemplate based on set international standards to grow more

plants Generate more oxygen.Use good cooling towers for power plants.

Use Chimneys up to 100 meter height or above near hill to send the fumes.

We use electro- static- precipitation units for settling dust.

But they do not work.

Some youth leaders take money for non compliance.

The near by at Cell towers using high energy makes the humans to get effected[read my 2025 novel-it is free] by a sort of Radiation or the Thermal Energy.

The new laws needs to be made to make the globe a place for living,taking the thermal and solar radiation in to account.

The governments needs to be motivated that changing environments are 

Produceing new microbes,which are a health hazard,and new medicines to be invented.

Mosquito are the main carriers for many new generation diseases.

3] PEN Partnerships: What partnerships are being used to reduce poverty

and ensure more inclusive and environmentally sustainable development pathways?

Ans-Keeping health as a concern,and going for Smart cities,and

having smart transport systems,the Governments are trying to overcome the

needs of growing population.This also is the need to meet the growing urbanization.

Keeping communication channels from many sources,hour and day,discussing in

many platforms trying to attend productivity,livelihood,employment,regenerate

education to be effective addressable to modern day with content on society and

the laws of nature.

-

Optimistically my novels contain the real experiences on environment,

Engineering,climate,melting of ice,construction near seas and oceans

[1]https://www.scribd.com/document/329201844/2025-Diamond-Treasure-Islands

[2]https://www.scribd.com/doc/291090713/Nani-Novel

[3]https://www.scribd.com/doc/284539534/9202020

These are free-fiction,novels.They are based on Engineering,life and lives of many

In the societies.

Q-What innovative forms of PEN collaboration can be scaled up and replicated?

Address society,find living systems.Protect them while giving livelihood.

The life of yester years need not be replicated as modern systems changes.

Have moderators to help you.

 

 

Deo Dubey
Deo Dubey

First of all I would like to thank you for involving me in The Nexus Dialogue. I would like to share my experience. The issues related to health including of sexual and reproductive system, HIV and AIDS including comprehensive abortion care directly affects human mortality and morbidity but on the other hand its adverse effects to the poverty and environment can easily be observed.

This is well known fact that people living in rural and difficult to reach areas expend more time and money in getting health care facilities and sanitation in open cause poverty and environment pollution. Government of India has initiated National Rural Health Mission and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan to address these issues. These initiatives achieved the set objectives significantly. But with a view to make it more comprehensive and sustainable, social inclusion with decentralization of accountability is highly needed. The small social organization like village panchayats, local community groups should come forward to take the initiative.  

Working population is generally called human resource of the country. With the development of urban areas more and more urban slums are being developed on the outskirts the city. Due to expensive health facilities in the private hospitals, proper sanitation facility and comparatively fast growing slum population it will be quite difficult to balance the equation. Development of small town clusters with proper connectivity to nearby rural areas require to initiate.    

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

Several Laws needs to be made by the countries.[1]Protecting-LGBT [Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual and Transexual] Rights.

[2]Making it madetory for all Individual pumpsets for Irrigation,to have 100% susidized Solar power[with storage batteries].

[3]Making drip irrigation a system for crop growth,thus saving water for human consumption.[My guide line paper to FAO -not published by them-is enclosed].

[4]Enhancing modern rainwater Gauges,and measurement of rain and ground water,and thus increasing storage capacities.

[5]Treating and using waste waters from cities/industries.Avoiding salt water intrusion at Easteries[confluence of river and sea or bay]

Michael Stanley-Jones
Michael Stanley-Jones

This contribution is submitted on behalf of Moa Westman, Regional Advisor, Poverty-Environment Initiative Africa

The joint UNDP‒UN Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative and UN Women have in Eastern and Southern Africa had a substantive technical and financial partnership both at the regional and country level since 2014.

The partnership has included collaboration around capacity building for policy makers on the links between gender-environment and sustainable development and policy relevant research on the gender-environment nexus with a focus on agriculture, energy and climate.

For example, a groundbreaking study had been produced together with the World Bank, The Cost the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda, in 2015. The study is now being replicated in Rwanda and Ethiopia but also taken forward in the three original countries to also look more in depth on the link to climate resilient and gender responsive approaches.

The partnership has through these work streams contributed to bridging data gaps on the links between gender equality and environmental sustainability in key natural resource sectors. It is also contributing to important policy changes, for example, Malawi’s new National Agriculture Policy adopted in 2016 includes a focus on gender equality, women’s empowerment and climate resilience with a view to close to gender gaps in the sector.

Elif Yasemin Azaz
Elif Yasemin Azaz

Hello all,

I thank the moderators for inviting me to this discussion. All the 3 topics include key terms and both questions and answers of the key terms in them.

Regarding Poverty - Environment Evidence (1), examples could be seen mostly in the Middle, South Africa and the developing countries. All of the living organisms are affected by poor management of all natural resources. I think we are in an age that no separation should be made when expressing and highlighting the bad effects of poor management on the environment. It is imporatnt to keep in mind that all of the living organisms are affected badly, not just humans, animals or so.

The link between poverty, the livelihoods of women and men and the natural environment is very, very critical. At this stage, it is important to mention that the link between poverty and the livelihoods of not just women and men but also all the living organisms has very weak qualifications.

Also there are differences in the causes of poverty of different regions. For example, in the Middle and South Africa, striking causes of of poverty are lack of employement and good amangement of natural resources. The developing countries difference in the same regard is that they suffer from inattention to natural environment by government and some of their citizens.

Regarding PEN Mainstreaming (2) and PEN Partnerships (3), in my opinion, the key tool is DESIGN! Because, it enables sustainable, effective and onsite solutions as well as highlighting the identity and character of the site. The discussions that I have contributed so far have been about organization and financing of poverty eradication.

I think poverty eradication efforts' preferential focus must be on onsite solutions. Beacuse, it is about improving the quality of life of people living in poverty and the quality of environmental conditions of poor regions and countries. To achieve this, DESIGNING should be adopted as principle. Very unique and great examples of using participatory design processes as a tool for rural development are Atölye Muğla BİR (http://www.atolyemuglabir.org/, the website is available in Turkish) and Architecture For All (http://colabradio.mit.edu/urban-memory-in-turkey-transforming-idle-faci…).

To sum up, Atölye Muğla BİR (Studio Muğla ONE) has 13 different projects for the province's 13 districts that has the districts' identities, physical and environmental conditions as their primary focus. The aim is to improve the physical and environmental conditions, thus incomes of the local people. The projects are on progress and have very colorful and fun contents. For example, this week's project is about highlighting the famous scholars or artists that lived or were born in this province by using designing tools.

I was in Milas, Muğla last week for the 2nd project of this series. The project is about improving the environmental conditions for the livestock sector. Livestock is one of the primary source of income of local people. We, the participants of the project, designed systems for great cattles, calves and for their needs such as feeding, drinking water, sheltering, maternity. The studio is an initiative of Muğla Metropolitan Municipality in collaboration with Urban Strategy (a company that has design as its focus for urban and rural problems and development). So local officials are directly involved in the project, too. We have designed systems for ideas that already have been in progress by local officials. Finally, we will propose our designs to the mayor. On the other hand, you can review Architecture For All's work from my blogpost.

In conclusion, I think UN needs more and more concete tools and methods for poverty eradication. Thus far, it looks like that the progress has been productive in terms of organisation and financing but the onsite environment that suffers from poverty problem must be resilienced as soon as possible.

 

Thank you.

 

Carmen Ghanim
Carmen Ghanim

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

First, I have not enough words to thank and express gratitude for UNESCO, which recently- at 07 July, 2017- took under protection an area of Romanian Forest.

I SO MUCH HOPE THAT VERY SOON UNITED NATION WILL MAKE THE DECISION TO TAKE UNDER ITS ADMINISTRATION AND PROTECTION ALL THE WORLD FORESTS- because it seems that there is not any other solution.

I have a very painful message: PEOPLE, CITIZENS OF THE PLANET, OUR FORESTS ARE BEING DESTROIED, BY FIRE AND BY US. WE HAVE THE VERY, VERY DUTY FOR THE PLANET AND FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF HUMANS TO JUMP AND DO ANYTHING TO STOP THIS FROM CONTINUING. IF WE DO NOT DO IT, NOBODY WILL DO IT FOR US- and it is vital that we understand and take immediate and urgent action. THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME LEFT!

Michael Stanley-Jones
Michael Stanley-Jones

The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for an integrated view of environmental, social and economic development, including effective governance and coordination mechanisms across policies and government institutions.  Prior the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, Poverty-Environment Initiative, the joint programme of UNDP and UN Enviornment, spoke most often about its programmatic approach  as a way of delivering on the Millennium Development Goals. At the Nexus Dialogue on Poverty and Environment, I reflected on how the Millennium Development Goals were not integrated, but sat mainly in silos, leaving the connectivity between environmental sustainability and the other goals obscure. Poverty-Environment Initiative, in applying a programmatic approach, helped transcend that obscurity, and is now recognized as a "precursor" of the Sustainable Development Goals.

So what is the programmatic approach that contributes to integration of multiple development goals? In a discussion on the Programmatic Approach for Poverty-Environment Mainstreaming, found in the Mainstreaming Environment and Climate for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development: A Handbook to Strengthen Planning and Budgeting Processes (UNDP and UN Environment, 2015), three blocks of tasks are outlined:  Finding the Entry Points and Making the Case, Mainstreaming in National Planning and Budgeting Processes, and Mainstreaming into Sectoral and Subnational Planning and Budgeting, Monitoring and Private Investment.  

A point my colleague Alex Forbes made about these clusters of tasks is that they are both step-wise and iterative, meaning you start mainstreaming at the first cluster, then proceed to the next, and continue, without stopping. The approach is not so much following a flow chart, but gaining capacity eventually to do everything at once. All three are necessary to successful implementation of the poverty-environment nexus and its goals of environmental sustainability and poverty elimination. 

For access to the Mainstreaming Handbook, visit www.unpei.org

Michael Stanley-Jones
Michael Stanley-Jones

 

Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable Development Goals

In January 2018, a new 5-year global programme, 'Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable Development Goals', will be launched as the successor to the Poverty-Environment Initiative.

The overall objective of the new global programme is to promote coherent policies and increased investments in poverty eradication which improve environmental sustainability and address climate change.

The new global programme will help countries

  • strengthen and implement more coherent policies, plans, regulations and investments to support poverty-environment objectives;
  • promote quality investments that engender environmental sustainability, climate resilience and livelihoods, contributing to poverty elimination;
  • employ innovative approaches and tools adopted by regional and global institutions in support of poverty-environment nexus for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The new global programme will further seek to

  • ensure policy and budget coherence in participating countries;
  • deliver a stronger poverty, gender and rights-based focus on the role of environment and natural resources for women, migrant, local communities and other marginalized or at-risk groups;
  • strengthen the inclusion and data collection of well-defined poverty-environment relevant indicators in national and sub-national plans and sectoral strategies;
  • support institutional and individual capacity building, share lessons learned and promote South-South exchange of experience.
Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

I think you'll find of great interest this initiative being developed with the leadership of Johan Schot, a leader in the "transitions" field: http://www.johanschot.com/transformative-innovation/ I think his ideas about the need for building on innovation policy 2.0 with innovation policy 3.0 as very useful. It emphasizes the value of shifting policy development frameworks to experimentation and societal learning.

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

Thank You,Mr.Steve Waddell,for taking me and guiding me to the "Policy 3.0 of Innovation" by Mr. Johanschot and the reasearch Group.Yes the objective is to aid Policy makers and to educate and better the living of the society.I do really appreciate such efforts.We may need some more regional group to have same thinking.

Romulo Paes de Sousa
Romulo Paes de Sousa

I would like to post some information about the incoming work of Rio+ Centre on climate change and poverty. Pease, note:

Methodological Guide for Designing an Adaptive Cash Transfer (ACT)

Channeling Climate Finance into Cash Transfer Systems to Build Resilience

Social protection policies and their instruments (such as cash transfers) have historically had only social and economic dimensions, not taking environmental or climate related aspects into consideration. Yet as climate change is increasingly impacting the most vulnerable communities, especially in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, there is a need to rethink and redesign such programs. FAO’s 2016 State of Food and Agriculture also acknowledges that social protection programs will need to play “an important role” in managing climate risks and reducing vulnerability. Connecting the dots between climate resilience and social protection is a first step in preventing millions of individuals from falling through the cracks of development, particularly in a changing climate.

The UNDP World Centre for Sustainable Development (RIO+ Centre) is currently working to support integrating climate finance and cash transfer systems, and has recently produced a methodological guide for channeling climate finance into cash transfer systems to build resilience. As a follow-up to the RIO+ Centre’s publication on Social Protection for Sustainable Development, this methodological guide aims to provide sustainable development practitioners and stakeholders with information on the process and tools used to design an Adaptive Cash Transfer (ACT) to foster the resilience of the vulnerable to climate shocks.

What is an ACT?

Adaptive Cash Transfers (ACT) go beyond the scope and features of traditional cash transfer (CT) systems by integrating environmental criteria, conditions, and indicators into CTs, along with the usual social and economic indicators. ACTs also work to blend climate finance, adaptation funds in particular, into existing CTs or to-be designed ACTs, in order to protect poor households from climate shocks before they occur (through predictable transfers, building community assets, and other programs that help them cope) and by scaling up via their social safety net programs to respond to extreme events (droughts, floods, etc.) when they hit.

Why an ACT?

CTs have traditionally been socially-oriented, even though many times the recipients of these transfers often depend on natural resources for their survival and are put back when natural disasters and climatic shocks hit. As such, there is much potential for cash transfers to work to build adaptive capacity and strengthen resilience in vulnerable communities. Since environmental management, climate change adaptation, and resilience are inextricably connected, ACTs can bolster local resilience and prevent more from falling back into poverty. By channeling climate finance through CTs, ACTs intend to get climate finance to who it really needs to get to.

Moreover, blending climate finance into CTs and using these new socio-economic and environmental indicators can address some of the institutional and structural challenges associated with climate finance, such as monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating. More socio-economic indicators derived from CT eligibility qualifications and beneficiary registries, as well as data from different sources and government divisions will provide the necessary information that is currently lacking in efforts to monitor, report, and verify (MRV) climate finance, and in determining the effectiveness and impact of climate finance (i.e. M&E plans and impact assessments).

ACTs also aid in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and prevent silo-based and fragmented implementation of the goals by linking sectors and programs that are related to social protection, climate change, sustainable natural resource management and disaster risk reduction.

The RIO+ Centre’s Methodological Guide for Designing an Adaptive Cash Transfer (ACT) is addressed to professionals working in social protection, climate change and disaster risk reduction who are interested in applying a re-orientation process towards channeling climate finance into cash transfer systems to build resilience against social, economic and environmental shocks. It will be released and shared with UNDP in mid-August.

ganlin ye
ganlin ye

Nik Sekhran 先生,主持人,各位群友,大家好!记得今年4月份我曾经在两个专题做了发言,因为于我今天的发言有关,所以提及。

一个专题是:‘用多建“小便厕所”的方法,开始“厕所革命”,消除贫困’。在其中介绍了:“新式厕所网”由“新小便厕所”和“新大小便厕所”组成;由于“新大小便厕所”在处理大便的全过程尚不成熟;而“新小便厕所”它有易建、易管、建设快、也便于多建、节资、节地、节水、节电且环保、尿液综合利用和便民的优点;它还有“免水冲小便器”,(女性)站立小便导流器(简称导流器),提取尿激酶等最新的科技成果的支持,所以从小便的收集、存储到后期的综合利用的一整套技术都已经成熟,适合立即应用。文中还介绍了两种“新小便厕所”的成功实例。总之,“新小便厕所”将解决外出人们中80%以上的、最急的如厕(小便)问题;其它20%以下的又不是很急的如厕(大便)问题暂时在原来的“大小便厕所”解决,逐步改造成“新大小便厕所”。最后我建议,在贫困地区,现在就着手大规模地建设“小便厕所”,以最小的代价取得最大的成果。

另一个专题是:关于女性用“站立小便导流器(Standing Urine Guider) 或简称“导流器 (Urine Guider)”站起来小便的意义、好处和挑战及解决办法。

本文,我在此基础上以局部的“公厕网“作了具体的阐述,欢迎批评指正和指导。

请看附件,有图。谢谢!

在贫困地区从建“新小便厕所”着手的具体办法

叶甘霖(Ye,Ganlin)

摘要

21世纪的“厕所革命”是以“卫生、便民和可持续发展”为主导思想,以建设“新式厕所网”为目标,从多建“新小便厕所”为切入点的厕所建设的新路。

回想19世纪的厕所革命,对广大的贫困地区有害无益:它使贫困地区自己无力建“水冲厕所”,极少的脏厕以及随处是厕所使贫困地区的环境卫生越来越差、疾病和瘟疫使之更加贫困。为此我们要坚决打破“差厕所”引起的“恶性循环”。现在,我们只要从建“新小便厕所”开始建设新一代的“新式厕所网”就能够以最小的代价、最短的时间、解决频次最多、又最急的小便难题,完成80%以上的厕所建设任务,然后腾出手来集中解决既困难又少量的大便问题,更高效。

关键词(只为表达我的文章用)

小便池,小便器 Urinal(U); 新小便池 New Urinal(NU),免水冲小便器,无水小便器Water Free Urinal(WFU); 大便池,大便器,坐便器,蹲便器 Toilet(T);新大便池 New Toilet(NT); 小便厕所 Urinal Room(UR); 新小便厕所 New Urinal Room (NUR),小型的小便厕所 Urinal Unit(UU); 大小便厕所 Toilet Room(TR); 新大小便厕所 New Toilet Room(NTR); 新式厕所网 New Toilet Network(NTN), 新式公厕网 New Public Toilet Network。

 

正 文

一,“新式厕所网”简介

“新式厕所网”是由 ‘新小便厕所’和‘新大小便厕所’按照‘统筹规划、因地制宜’的原则而组成的合理配置的厕所系统。

现在以其局部——公厕为例,说明建设它的步骤:

  • ,从规划开始——统筹规划,因地制宜

1,首先在该地区的地图上标出原有的厕所的位置。这些原有的厕所应该都是“大小便厕所”,其数量少,距离远,卫生差,一直承担着一大片地区的大量的小便和少量的大便的任务。现在,在新式公厕网里其任务变了,“大小便厕所”的重点是承担大便的任务,只承担很少量的小便任务;所以其数量少,距离远的特点与“大便次数少(每天一次)且又不特别急的”需求特点勉强相适应,可暂时留用。

 

2,然后按照当时、当地、人员状况及远景规划,根据人们大便平均一天一次及其忍耐规律来规划“新大小便厕所”的设置位置,距离约500米-1000米或更多。如图“新式公厕网的示意图”。特别要注意的是,有些地方虽需要设“新大小便厕所”,但是由于别的原因而不能设厕所时,可以在此设一个“新小便厕所”,而把这个“大小便厕所”改到附近(比如背街小巷)设置。

3,根据人们小便平均一天六次及其很急的规律来规划,在两“新大小便厕所”的中间插入一些“新小便厕所”,有的人多的地方小便厕所里可以设置多到几十个“新小便池”;有的地方可以设置只有一个“新小便池”的“小便处”,机动灵活。

4,还可以规划一些备用的“小便处”以备急用。

(二),生产和安置“新小便厕所”及配套设施

开始建设了!但“新大小便厕所”在经费、卫生、除臭和粪便的无害化处理方面还有待提高。所以它的建设速度会比较慢些。我们不能因为这个解决不特急的、小概率的大便的厕所难建而拖住解决80%以上的、特急的“小便的厕所”的建设,况且“新小便厕所”的条件已经成熟了。更重要的是大批的 “新小便厕所”建设以后,“新大小便厕所”的工作量将大减,厕位将要减少,规模也将缩小,建厕所的难度也就大大的降低了。因此,我们有理由,从建“新小便厕所”这个捷径开始。

1,“新小便厕所”特别是“小便处”可以在工厂机械化生产,在经费上建一个“大小便厕所“的经费可以建几个、十几个甚至几十个“大小便厕所”,另外在卫生、除臭和尿液综合利用上都很成熟,不用特别批占地,运到就能用,拉走不留痕迹,一人可以巡管几个厕所,维护成本很低。所以在安置时,很快就能把规划中的“新小便厕所”都摆好,而且还可以把规划中的、暂时还来不及建的“新大小便厕所”,先用“小便处”顶上,解决最急的小便问题,等“新大小便厕所”建好了再把该“小便处”换下来。以下是几个“新小便厕所“的例子。

 

2,同时,在工厂里机械化生产“站立小便导流器”,供女士、男士、跨性别的需要者使用。现在世界上已经有很多种导流器,在此我收集了一些:

 

各国的导流器

3,还有,办尿液综合利用的工厂,比如提取尿激酶、绒毛膜促性腺激素、磷;发电或做肥料等。可喜的是,其办厂的门槛都很低。

(三),然后就可以安心研究、开发和安置“新大小便厕所”;同时开展对原有的“大小便厕所”的改造工作。以下是一些可供参考的实例。

女厕所里也有小便池(图,请看附件全文)

二,新、旧公厕网的进一步对比

以前说过了“新式厕所网”的很多优点,说明它可完全达到21世纪“厕所革命”的主导思想的水平,这里不再重复。下图着重分析其便利居民和有助于“新大小便厕所”建设的特性。

图中上面部分是原有的厕所网,它由单一的“大小便厕所”组成。设两厕所之间的距离为1000米;在某个厕所两边500米内的居民或商户的大小便都在这里解决,最远的住户A每天要去大便一次和小便6次,来回共要走7000米;

图中下面部分是“新式公厕网”。假设在原有的厕所中间增加了5个小便厕所,最远的住户A每天要去“新大小便厕所”大便一次,来回1000米;去最近的“小便厕所”小便6次,来回1200米,总共2200米;比7000米减少了4800米其它所有的住户,都比A减少的更多。(图,请看附件全文)

我们还可以看到:“小便厕所”多了,环境状况将大大地改善:

第一,随地小便的恶习将得以纠正;

第二,大多数人就近上了“小便厕所”,因而上“大小便厕所”的用户将大大减少,因此“大小便厕所”的厕位和规模都可以减少,因而建设“大小便厕所”的难度也将大大降低,维护也更容易,这都有利于创新“大小便厕所”;

第三,“大小便厕所”中进入大便器里的小便量将大大减少(常只伴随有一次的小便量),于是对粪便处理起来就方便多了。这一点也有助于大便器的创新;

综上所述,我们能够以最小的代价、最短的时间、解决频次最多、又最急的小便难题,很快就完成了80%以上的“21世纪的公厕革命任务”。腾出手来集中解决既困难又少量的大便问题,会容易得多,加快 “厕所革命”的进程。

其实,无论是后发展的贫困地区还是先发展地区,现在都可以先把“小便厕所”建起来:先发展地区接下来的工作是要补差、改造水厕为旱厕,麻烦更多;幸亏贫困地区没有经过19世纪的厕所革命,现在直接建“新式公厕网”,又快又好,不走弯路,后来居上。

 

三,建“新式厕所网”是全球性的“厕所革命”

需要全球的国际社会的共识和相互支持,协同工作、分工合作;

在一个国家或地区,政府要制定支持和推动“厕所革命”的相关政策,有利于企业各界协同工作;

要组织专家和管理者进行“新式厕所网”的规划;

然后,企业要生产洁具、厕所、导流器和综合利用尿液的工作;

特别重要的是,虽然“女性能站起来小便”是这次“厕所革命”的重要前提,但是绝大多女性并不知道她能站起来、也不知道如何站起来和不好意思站起来。所以,从国际社会到各国政府、企业和民间组织,特别是妇女组织都要紧密配合进行有组织的、形式多样的宣传和支持工作,大力宣传女性站起来对女性的好处、女性向自立志强又前进了一大步、是女性对社会进步的一大贡献;我们要充分认识到:“新式厕所得益最大的是女性,得益最早的是先行女士和男士”一开始女性来上厕所站立小便的人比较少是必然的,只要齐努力状况很快就会改变:比如:在厕所放置免费或低价的导流器;各种媒体开展宣传工作;开展报告会、讲座、沙龙;树立先进典型,建立先行女士榜;民间组织可组织志愿者活动,在厕所现场教过路的、想小便的女士现学现会站立小便。这些工作都将是有效的。

女性站起来的工作坊和报告会

以下是在中国开展这些工作的照片。

助女性站起来的志愿者

更多的请看:

“厕所革命”要从源头做起

http://user.qzone.qq.com/369121565/blog/1476023399

女性方便新观念的相册

https://user.qzone.qq.com/369121565/4

谢谢!

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

叶甘霖

感谢您与我们分享新厕所。 在改变工作中,挑战深层次假设的重要性是一个很好的例子,如妇女必须坐下来排尿。 以及如何通过错误的假设抑制新技术。

Yakhya A. DIAGNE
Yakhya A. DIAGNE

In Mali, rural people in agriculture sector seems to be more poor and most negatively impacted by environmental degradation and climate change: 

The recent estimate of poverty level in Mali demonstrates that 47, 2% of Malians are poor, and 53, 1 % of poorest live in rural areas (EMOP, 2016). Data also show that 70% of the population is rural and is involved in Agriculture sector (farming, fisheries, forestry and livestock activities). 80% of labor force works in agriculture which is an economic activity as well as a livelihood occupation. Dominated by family farming, Agriculture, has both economic and social functions and employs 49.80% of men and 50.02% of women.

However, like lot of countries, Agriculture in Mali faces environmental degradation. climate change, land degradation, biodiversity lost, drought, water scarcity and unsustainable use of forest products  which both impact negatively the agriculture productivity, resulting to a quasi-permanent food insecurity.  For instance, 59.5% of Malians lives on degraded lands (UNDP, 2014). This context, in addition to unsustainable cultivation practices and natural disasters such as floods or locust invasion explains why efforts made to implement agricultural policies are not s delivering as expected.  Yet, the current the Agriculture Policy has integrated environment and climate change issues as well as gender dimension (PDA, 2013-2023), but environmental preservation and sustainable management of natural resources in agriculture sector is still weak. One reason that explains this situation is that the Agriculture Investments Program which is the implementing tool of the Agriculture Development Policy does not sufficiently reflect environmental issues in actions, activities and indicators defined (Evaluation Environnementale Stratégique de la Politique de Développement Agricole,  2016). This is an important weakness in the planning process since implementing tool are still design in a traditional way ( more social and economic perspective)

However, it is important to notice that with PEI support[1], environment dimension was integrated into the national poverty reduction strategy in 2011. This experience resulted to a Green Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy for the period 2012-2017, in which  rural development, including agriculture was identified as one of the most important sector (CSRP 2012-2017). Moreover,lessons learnt from PEI support since the green poverty reduction strategy paper informed the main development planning document that succeed to it. Indeed, the current National Development Plan (CREDD 2016- 2018 reflects the integration of poverty and environment linkages, as well as climate change and gender dimension. One of the CREDD 2016-2017 objective is “To promote a green economy through sustainable natural resource management and [climate change adaptation]. It [is] also [to] ensure the integration of environmental dimension into policies, plans and programs of [all economic sectors], including agriculture of course. (CREDD, 2016-2018).  The CREDD internalizes the SDG’s. During the process of SDG’s domestication PEI provided technical support to integrate those directly related to P-E (SDG 12 to 15) into the CREDD. 

[1] Development of guidelines to green poverty and environment strategy; development of P-E indicators for PRSP, Environmental Economic study in 2009, training and capacity buildings on PE mainstreaming into  development planning  policy and budgeting ; etc.

 

Yakhya A. DIAGNE
Yakhya A. DIAGNE

Partnership: The central role of local government and local communities

Municipalities and local communities are aware of the links between the degradation of their immediate environment and their level of poverty. They are aware that they must change their current trend of consumption and production toward sustainable patterns. To do so, they need support to develop capacities and expertise close to their context. That’s the reason why partnership with municipalities is very important in P-E approach. It has the advantage to mainstream[1] environment and climate change into planning and budgeting processes up to the ground level. It also generates a domino effect on a large scale because of the proximity of municipalities and local communities one to another. Supporting the National Environment and Sustainable Development Agency, PEI –Mali provided since 2014 technical support to around 20 municipalities. This work with municipalities and local communities results to several local development plans that have integrated environment and climate change issues. In addition, each local plan takes into account climate change dimension during their budgeting process.

We learnt that once they have required capacities through training on  (i) climate change issues, (ii) tools and guidelines for CC integration in development planning and budgeting processes, (iv)technical support on resource mobilization, etc.), municipalities reflect environmental preservation and climate change adaptation in their development vision.  

I think, this experience with municipalities will help to domesticate SDG’s at local level and boost PEN into local decision-making processes  and in all new local development plans that have to be aligned to SDG’s. Decentralization is thus an opportunity to advance PEN and localize SDG’s implementation in the heart of local development.

 

[1] Climate proofing tool is used by municipalities. This tool is currently promoted by the National Environment and Sustainable Development Agency in Mali to mainstream environment and climate change into local development plans.

Nadja Wolfe
Nadja Wolfe

Hello. I'm at the World Youth Alliance, a global coalition of young people dedicated to the promotion of human dignity. We have about 170,000 individual members around the globe. While our work is more in capacity building/education, I wanted to share some things from our experience on items 1 & 3.

#1—

Each year, World Youth Alliance hosts a global conference and regional conferences on issues of global importance. The last two, on Migration and Development (2017) and Population & Environment (2016) have both provided opportunities for discussion of the connection between the environment and poverty/development. I’d like to share a few key points that they raised.

First, several members, especially from our Asia Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean regions, raised the issue of migration due to environmental causes. They pointed out that natural disasters cause a significant amount of migration. These disasters are most difficult for the poor and vulnerable. Not only do they have fewer resources to manage temporary displacement, but also will be more affected by loss of natural resources when they return. This is true in a less immediately obvious but no less problematic way with poor management of natural resources.

Another strong focus for our youth members was on responsible stewardship grounded in human dignity. They reinforced the view that human beings are our greatest resource and the center of concerns for development, and said that our intrinsic value should lead us to use our freedom wisely, including in terms of the environment. As they put it in a declaration adopted in 2016, “The world is a source of beauty and sustenance. We depend on the planet for most of our fundamental needs, which include access to clean water and sanitation, nutrition, basic health care, housing, and education, and we must ensure that everyone can meet these needs while preserving our environment for future generations. We affirm the need for greater intergenerational solidarity in the effort towards the preservation of our shared home.

“Recognizing that irresponsible actions can lead to environmental degradation, we must foster responsible stewardship in every society. Each human being is called to recognize his or her personal responsibility, which springs from the intrinsic value and inherent dignity of each human person. Responsible stewardship is the personal commitment to care for both earth and neighbor. We affirm that responsible stewardship begins in the family and extends to both local and global communities.”

Discussions also took place on the environmental impact and long term effects of conflict as well as the need to ensure access to all forms of capital, including natural resources, for all, and the importance of solidarity between all people.

#3—

Most of WYA’s work in this is education-based, and we strongly believe that ensuring access to education, when paired with meeting basic needs and providing opportunity, equips people, families, and communities to be leaders in responsible resource management and poverty eradication. We have developed two supplementary programs, one for our members which provides education on dignity, solidarity, freedom, culture, and law, to empower young people to participate in decision-making processes about their communities and nations. We also just launched a children’s curriculum focused on human dignity. The Human Dignity Curriculum teaches children about their innate value (their dignity), and that of their peers, and that their dignity means they can be excellent. This promotes personal knowledge and development, respect themselves and others, and long-term goal-oriented thinking. We are partnering with both individual schools and national educational departments to implement this program.

While these programs may seem somewhat removed from the typical PEN discussions, we believe they are in fact deeply needed to achieve goals its goals. When children and youth understand that every human being has value, and that they are capable of using their unique capacities for good, their perspective on global issues changes. First, they come to understand that it’s important to prioritize long-term good over short-term fixes. Environmental advocates have often struggled against attitudes that treat the climate change as an issue that’s always further down the road. Young people who are taught that excellence requires choosing what’s good, and sustainably good, rather than what provides immediate satisfaction, can apply this lesson in terms of sustainability. Secondly, children and youth who understand that every human being has inherent value realize that they have an obligation to respect their fellow human beings. For children, this may mean standing up to bullies; for young people, it may well mean challenging systems that limit the access of the poor to resources, and ensuring that the needs of all people and the planet are considered in local, regional, and national decisions.

WYA has great faith in young people to take the lead in this, and our work often involves equipping them to do it. However, as a global organization, we have realized that it is important to keep as many decisions as local as possible. Every year, delegates to our global and regional conferences find both common cause and different needs. Rather than focus on scaling up a particular method, we would propose creating conditions of access to all forms of capital. This would include basic needs, natural resources, and education, but also cultural capital, and institutions without corruption to ensure that everyone has access on an equal basis to these resources. This will facilitate public-private and governmental-nongovernmental partnerships through both enabling people to participate and having functional systems of governance, which must include opportunities for public comment and consultation and responsive government.

Steve Waddell
Steve Waddell Moderator

Thanks for this, Nadja. You are doing important transformation work. One aspect is your focus in my words on "changing the narrative" -- that is, rather than a siloed, linear, mechanistic view of the world, you're emphasizing seeing it as an inter-connected system of relationships, issues and work...it makes me again think of the problems of the traditional narrative associated with "poverty" as being an "economic" issue. Really what you're talking about is the opportunity for people to meaningfully work towards their greatest aspirations and highest potential, and that is much more than economic. I always think that the "poverty" frame is itself problematic...what if we used a "happiness" or "highest potential" frame that is focused on a positive rather than a problem? Your work is helping people "see" and "understand" the world and issues differently...which is critical to innovation.

It is great to see you translating this into capacity-building programs, rather than simply let it remain at the philosophical level.