4.7.3 Relationship between sustainability and poverty (HL only) Notes

While the two concepts may seem unrelated, in reality, sustainability and poverty are deeply intertwined. This is because:

1. Poverty has an evident impact on sustainability.
2. Sustainability can reduce poverty.

How poverty impacts sustainability

There are several ways in which poverty impacts sustainability:

1. Poverty leads to overexploitation of resources.
2. Poverty limits the access to sustainable technologies.
3. Poverty increases a population's vulnerability to climate change.

Overexploitation of resources

People in poverty often rely on natural resources for survival, such as:

1. Deforestation for firewood.
2. Overfishing for food.
3. Unsustainable farming practices.

These practices, often fuelled by poverty, can lead to resource depletion and environmental degradation.

Limited sccess to sustainable technology

Poor communities often lack access to:

1. Clean energy sources.
2. Efficient irrigation systems.
3. Waste management infrastructure.

This reliance on polluting and inefficient technologies exacerbates environmental issues like air and water pollution.

Vulnerability to climate change

Poverty-stricken communities are often the most affected by climate change due to:

1. Limited resources to adapt to extreme weather events
2. Dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods like agriculture.
3. Inadequate infrastructure to withstand natural disasters.

How sustainability can reduce poverty

There are several ways in which a greater focus on sustainability can help reduce poverty:

1. By promoting inclusive economic growth.
2. Improving access to basic services.

Promoting inclusive economic growth

Sustainable development encourages economic growth that benefits everyone, not just a select few. This is because:

1. Most low-income-paying jobs tend to revolve around the extraction and manufacturing of natural capital.
2. Sustainable development helps preserve this natural capital, and hence prevent many from going into poverty by avoiding the depletion of these resources.
3. Additionally, shifting focus towards developing green technologies can also help create jobs, lifting others out of poverty.
4. This way, all of society, including the low-income earners can benefit from economic growth.

Improving access to basic services

Improving the sustainability of an economy can also improve the universal access to essential services, which in turn helps improve the situation of many households in poverty. This is because:

1. Especially in underdeveloped countries, those living in poverty rely on the natural capital of their economy to sustain themselves (rivers, soil...).
2. Improving the sustainability of the economy helps preserve these resources, enriching the productivity of the natural capital.
3. By preserving the access to the natural capital through improving their sustainability, economies also improve the situation of many living in poverty.
4. With an improved quality of life, those in poverty also experience an increase in opportunities, since their human-capital (especially health) also increases.

Challenges in achieving sustainable development within impoverished communities

Despite the several advantages that sustainability brings to impoverished communities, there are several difficulties that often prevent improvements in sustainability from occurring within poverty environments:

1. Balancing short-term needs and long-term goals.
2. Unequal distribution of resources.
3. Political and institutional barriers.

Balancing short-term needs with long-term goals

Poverty often forces people to prioritise immediate survival over long-term sustainability.

Unequal distribution of resources

1. In reality, economic growth does not always benefit everyone equally.
2. Inequality can difficult poverty reduction and sustainability efforts.

Political and institutional barriers

Corruption, weak governance, and lack of political will can impede sustainable development initiatives.