EU Development Policy - Protecting the Environment to Reduce Poverty
Seventy per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas where their daily lives depend on access to natural resources and to the environmental services that nature provides.
Freshwater, soil fertility, clear air, fisheries, plants and forests provide the very basis of human well-being. Seventy per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas where their daily lives depend on access to natural resources and to the environmental services that nature provides.
Climate change impacts first and foremost on the poorest and most vulnerable communities but healthy ecosystems can improve resilience.By investing in the maintenance of ecosystem services, supporting new livelihood opportunities in natural resource management, and promoting good environmental governance, conservation activities can help contribute towards long term poverty reduction and sustainable development.
However, policy makers often fail to consider the real value of biodiversity and ecosystems in economic and development plans leading to unforeseen social and environmental costs.
CONTACTS
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Sally Nicholson
Manager, Development Policy & Finance
WWF European Policy Office
+32 2 740 09 37
WWF's work on Development
More on Development Policies
Latest News & Publications
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Total to keep out of Virunga World Heritage Site
French oil giant Total has affirmed that it will not explore for oil within of Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo.
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WWF presses Total for protection of World Heritage Sites
WWF is calling for assurances from Total that it will keep out of DRC’s Virunga National Park and other World Heritage Sites.