FOUR STEPS TO GREATER ENVIRONMENTAL INCOME

THE WEALTH OF NATURE, IN THE FORM OF ENVIRONMENTAL income, is already a key component of rural livelihoods for both the rich and poor. But there is great potential for this component to grow, given the right conditions, and contribute to higher household incomes that lessen poverty. The first condition is an acceptance that better management of ecosystems can increase their productivity—immediately and over the long term. And, since the wealth of nature flows directly from the productivity of ecosystems, better management brings the potential for greater environmental income.

The second condition is that the access to and control of nature shifts so that the rural poor can both see the advantages of good ecosystem management and claim the benefits from it, overcoming the obstacles of disenfranchisement that have kept them economically and politically marginalized.

In this chapter we explore both these conditions—prudent management of ecosystems and governance that empowers the poor to profit from it. We consider the questions: What do we mean by better ecosystem management? What is its potential for poverty reduction? And what governance changes are required to route environmental income to the poor?

In addition, we examine the factors besides governance and eco-friendly practices that support the evolution of environmental income for poverty reduction. These revolve around the need to find successful models to commercialize ecosystem goods and services, coping with such constraints as marketing, transportation, and the need to capture greater value from nature-based enterprises than the poor often do. In addition, we consider the potential for “payment for environmental services” (payments for preserving the functions of ecosystems, such as water supply or carbon storage) to contribute to the portfolio of incomegenerating enterprises based on nature that the poor can tap.

In examining these factors, we put forth four steps to generate greater environmental income for the rural poor.