Home / Publications / People & Ecosystems / World Resources 2005 -- The Wealth of the Poor: Managing ecosystems to fight poverty

Four steps to greater environmental income for the rural poor

  1. Manage Ecosystems Better for Higher Productivity
    Improve the stewardship of ecosystems by adopting an ecosystem approach to management—recognizing the complexity of ecosystems and living within their limits. Good stewardship brings higher productivity, which is the foundation of a sustainable income stream.

  2. Get the Governance Right to Insure Access to Environmental Income
    Confer legally recognized resource rights (such as individual or communal title, or binding co-management agreements). Where possible, decentralize ecosystem management to the local level (community-based natural resource management), while providing for regional or national coordination of local management plans. Empower the poor through access to information, participation, and justice. Create local institutions that represent their interests and accommodate their special needs.

  3. Commercialize Ecosystem Goods and Services to Turn Resource Rights and Good Stewardship Into Income
    Improve the marketing and transport of nature-based goods produced by the poor. Make credit available for ecosystem-based enterprises. Capture greater value from the commodity chain. Partner with the private sector. Take care to keep successful commercial activities sustainable.

  4. Tap New Sources of Environmental Income Such as “Payments for Environmental Services”
    Make the newly developing market of payments for environmental services more pro-poor by expanding the array of eligible activities and payment schemes. Look upon ecosystem income as a portfolio of many different income sources. Diversify this portfolio to reduce risk and enhance the bottom line.