In 1970s and 1980s - years of environmental crisis, there were few trees remaining in Niger. Wind-blown sands razed farmers' young crops and they often had to plant crops three times to succeed. Since the middle of the 1980s in the most densely populated parts of Niger farmers have begun to protect and manage young trees and bushes regenerating on their cultivated fields. This is natural farmer-managed forest regeneration. Some trees fix nitrogen...

The world regions are sharply divided in terms of their capacity to use science in promoting agricultural productivity in order to achieve food security and reduce poverty and hunger. For every US$100 of agricultural output, developed countries spend US$2.16 on public agricultural research and development (R&D), whereas developing countries spend only US$0.55 (IFPRI, 2008). Total agricultural R&D spending in developing countries increased ...

The impacts of reduced food availability, higher food prices and thus lower access to food by many people have been dramatic. It is estimated that in 2008 at least 110 million people have been driven into poverty and 44 million more became undernourished (World Bank, 2008). Over 120 million more people became impoverished in the past 2–3 years.

The current world food crisis is the result of the combined effects of competition for cropland from the growth in biofuels, low cereal stocks, high oil prices, speculation in food markets and extreme weather events. The crisis has resulted in a several-fold increase in several central commodity prices, driven 110 million people into poverty and added 44 million more to the already undernourished. Information on the role and constraints of t...

There are huge regional differences in the above trends. Globally, poverty rates have fallen from 52% in 1981 to 42% in 1990 and to 26% in 2005. In Sub-Saharan Africa, however, the poverty rate remained constant at around 50%. This region also comprises the majority of countries making the least progress in reducing child malnutrition. The poverty rate in East Asia fell from nearly 80% in 1980 to under 20% by 2005. East Asia, notably China,...

Sustainability in the Latin American and Caribbean countries may be affected by climate change impacts. Costs associated with climate change can intensify budget constraints as countries attempt to reduce poverty and work towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Food security will be affected because of a decline in the productivity of staple grains, natural disasters and drought may reduce the time available for children’s education. It...

Drylands, the arid regions of the World between temperate regions and deserts, are subjects to long seasons with very little precipitation and drought spells sometimes lasting over several years. The most densely populated dryland regions are in developing countries, and the economies in this zone are vulnerable to issues like drought.

Disasters and natural hazards represents one strong aspect of vulnerability for the exposed and poor of the World. With climate change, the frequency of certain natural hazards are expected to increase. This map presents an output from an analysis investigating hazard exposure and historical vulnerability for selected natural hazards, together with population distribution and economy. Specifically, this map provides information on what natural ha...

In the world today, some 2.6 billion people live on less than USD 2 per day, and out of those - three quarters of them in rural areas. The number of poor is decreasing in the World though, and most rapidly in Asia, while Sub-Saharan Africa remains the main area of concern. The goal, of the International community, is to half extreme poverty by 2015 - as specified in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

From the start, the income in the project sites have increased continously through the community management of the wetland areas. In addition, activities such as micro-credit support to reduce the depenency on the wetlands have created other income sources, such as farming and small businesses.

To provide alternative livelihoods for poor households, the MACH project has set up a micro-credit scheme to support other enterprises, such as poultry or livestock or skills development. In 2005, there were 4000 households taking advantage of the scheme, and exhibiting significant increases in income, while reducing the dependency on fisheries.

Bangladesh, case study sites locator map

Guatemala, a country of 13 million inhabitants in Central America with some 30% of the population living in poverty. Despite economic growth, many social problems remain in Guatemala - one of the 10 poorest countries in Latin America. The distribution of income is highly unequal and there are vast differences in poverty and livelihoods between urban and rural areas, as presented in this figure. The classes in this figure represent: the 'extreme p...

The supply of safe drinking water and the provision of sanitation are management issues that raise concerns about inequitable service provision, particularly in developing countries. Although several successful initiatives have been launched to supply safe drinking water to urban populations, efforts still fall short of the required targets for sustainable development. In developing countries water delivery systems are plagued by leakages, illega...

A majority of the population in sub-Saharan African lives in rural areas, where income and employment depend almost entirely on rain-fed agriculture. This population is today at high risk. Sub-Saharan Africa already has a highly variable and unpredictable climate and is acutely vulnerable to floods and droughts. A third of the people in the region live in drought-prone areas, and floods are a recurrent threat in several countries. With climate ch...

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