The lack of equity in economic development across the world has caused many people to lead a life of poverty. According to the United Nations, ‘Poverty is not solely an economic issue, but rather a multidimensional phenomenon that encompasses a lack of both income and the basic capabilities to live in dignity.’
In order to work to build a world without poverty, October 17th is observed as International Day for the eradication of Poverty every year. The day was established by the adoption of UN resolution in 1992.
International Day for the eradication of Poverty 2020: Theme
October 17, 2020, marked 27th anniversary of the declaration of International Day for the eradication of Poverty. The day is to be observed with the theme “Acting Together to Achieve Social and Environmental Justice for All”.
The theme aims to highlight the multi-dimensionality of poverty and the fact that social justice cannot be fully realized without aggressively rectifying environmental injustices at the same time. UN has noted that people living in extreme poverty because circumstantial necessity are the first to act within their communities in response to poverty, climate change and environmental challenges. However, their efforts and experiences are often overlooked and they are not recognized as drivers of change especially by international organisations.
Poverty Trends in the world after COVID-19
According to reports, more than 90% of countries have experienced a dip in per capita income because of Covid-19 and the resulting economic crash. More than 115 million newly poor people have been added to the world.
According to the latest “Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report” by the world bank, the Covid-19 pandemic is estimated to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty this year and up to 150 million in total by 2021.
Role of Environment in Poverty
India is a host to the world’s largest number of poor people. The poorest regions in the country are invariably the forested areas in the states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. About 275 million people in India depend on these forests for subsistence. In fact, in the country’s poorest regions, forests provide up to 30% of the people’s total income.
These places suffer from over-exploitation of resources, leading to degradation of ecology. Since most of the poor depend on natural resources, for them, the economy is all about ecology. Degradation of the ecology, thus, leads to poverty.
According to the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, forestry contributes at least $539 billion directly to the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Looking Forward to Address Poverty Alleviation
Poverty alleviation is the basic necessity for inclusive global development. The importance of ecology for effective development of the world can be surmised from the fact that 86 out of 169 Sustainable Development Goals targets directly or indirectly seek to reduce environmental damage or emphasize the critical role of natural resources and ecosystem services.
There are various reasons for environmental degradation that ultimately trigger poverty among the nature-dependent people. In order to work towards poverty eradication, it is important to focus on the ecological aspect of it. There is a need to conserve ecology and ensure access to it to people in order to eradicate poverty in an effective manner.
