naturaleza: riqueza de los pobres la importancia de los recursos naturales en la erradicación de la pobreza

This 2005 report by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) examines the critical link between environmental degradation and rural poverty. It argues that neoliberal economic models, characterized by privatization and industrial exploitation of natural resources, exacerbate poverty by stripping local communities of their self-determination and access to essential resources. The document presents various case studies from the Global South and North to demonstrate that poverty eradication is possible when communities maintain control over their natural assets through sustainable, community-led management and the recognition of environmental rights.

• There is a direct correlation between environmental degradation and rural poverty, as approximately 70% of the world's poor live in rural areas and depend on their local environment for daily survival.
• Neoliberal economic globalization is identified as a primary driver of environmental destruction and poverty, utilizing a 'trickle-down' myth that fails to deliver wealth to the poor while benefiting transnational corporations and elites.
• Industrial-scale monocultures, such as soy, oil palm, and pulpwood, are the greatest threats to forests, which 100 million people rely on for survival elements like food, medicine, and income.
• Industrial fishing and the conversion of mangroves into shrimp farms for export threaten the livelihoods of small-scale coastal fishers, particularly in West Africa and Asia.
• The report criticizes International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank and IMF for imposing structural adjustment programs and financing mega-projects, such as the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos, which displace populations and destroy local livelihoods.
• Agribusiness-oriented agriculture and the 'Green Revolution' have failed to eradicate hunger and instead led to farmer indebtedness, loss of land, and decreased genetic biodiversity.
• Genetically modified (GM) crops are viewed as a corporate strategy to open new markets rather than a tool to fight hunger, with evidence of farmer suicides in India due to debt from GM cotton.
• Women are disproportionately affected by poverty and climate change because they perform the majority of unpaid economic activities and depend more heavily on natural resources for family sustenance.
• Community-led initiatives, such as participatory mapping in Sarawak and the cultivation of medicinal plants in El Salvador and Paraguay, prove that local control of resources can alleviate poverty.
• The report calls for the unconditional cancellation of the external debt of poor countries and the recognition of an 'ecological debt' owed by the industrial North to the South.

APA

Doherty, A., Baltodano, J., de Clerck, P., Bruil, J., Ginting, L., Hall, R., Lopez, J., Lovera, S., Pearce, C., Raman, M., Sofa, F., & Sullivan, D. (2005). naturaleza: riqueza de los pobres la importancia de los recursos naturales en la erradicación de la pobreza. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foei-poverty-all-esp-lr.pdf

Chicago

Doherty, Ann, Javier Baltodano, Paul de Clerck, Janneke Bruil, Longgena Ginting, Ronnie Hall, Juan Lopez, et al. naturaleza: riqueza de los pobres la importancia de los recursos naturales en la erradicación de la pobreza. Friends of the Earth International, 2005. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foei-poverty-all-esp-lr.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{doherty2005naturaleza, author = {Doherty, Ann and Baltodano, Javier and de Clerck, Paul and Bruil, Janneke and Ginting, Longgena and Hall, Ronnie and Lopez, Juan and Lovera, Simone and Pearce, Catherine and Raman, Meena and Sofa, Farah and Sullivan, Damian}, title = {{naturaleza: riqueza de los pobres la importancia de los recursos naturales en la erradicación de la pobreza}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2005}, month = jul, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foei-poverty-all-esp-lr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }