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How Urban Forests Reduce Poverty

Urban Forests Reduce PovertyUrban forests take many forms, including parks, gardens, street trees and nature reserves. Around the world, urban forests reduce poverty by conserving the environment, creating economic opportunities and providing sustainable resources to people in need.

Environmental Conservation

As cities become more populated, urban forests help mitigate the negative effects of human activity on the environment. Trees can benefit human health by reducing water and air pollution, providing shade and improving mental health. Trees also conserve energy, absorb water runoff from storms and provide habitats for animals. Urban forests often consist of indigenous trees that can easily survive local climates and only need slight watering. As a result, urban forests are often low-maintenance, self-reinforcing tools that improve quality of life.

Impoverished communities may particularly benefit from urban forests. A 2021 analysis by the conservation nonprofit, American Forests, found that low-income areas tend to have limited green space, which makes them more likely to become urban “heat islands.” Heat islands are the result of minimal shade and widespread heat-absorbing asphalt. The “islands” can get up to 10 degrees warmer than surrounding communities, leaving the people in them at a greater risk of experiencing heat-related illnesses like heat stroke. As global temperatures rise, urban forests reduce poverty by helping people meet their basic needs, which include cool, fresh air and clean drinking water.

Economic Development and Sustainable Resources

Urban forests reduce poverty by creating jobs and helping people launch sustainable businesses. In their beginning stages, urban forests employ people for land restoration and forest planting. Urban forests also require employees for planning and management. Once urban forests fully develop, they offer a range of sustainable resources for both consumption and economic growth.

A study by researchers at Rhodes University found that impoverished groups use and benefit from non-timber forest products more than any other group. When urban forests are located in low-income areas, people can use raw materials from forests to start small businesses and make a living. Firewood from urban forests is particularly useful because people can use it to cook. Without firewood, people may lack the ability to cook, leaving them at an increased risk of food insecurity. In order to maintain a steady supply of wood, city planners must plant urban forests on adequately large plots of land.

The study by Rhodes University found that some communities in South Africa live below the poverty line, in part, because they lack sufficient land for forests. With proper planning and management, urban forests can be a pathway out of poverty for communities around the world.

Current Projects and Progress

Cities everywhere are beginning to acknowledge the value of urban forests. For example, Madrid in Spain is in the process of planting a 75-kilometer-long ring of forest around the entire city to reduce pollution and fight climate change. The United Nations is also working with Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, to help 30 countries across Asia and Africa grow forests. Global efforts to develop more urban forests offer hope of reducing global poverty and environmental degradation. Urban forests are practical, sustainable methods for improving lives and protecting the natural world.

– Cleo Hudson
Photo: Unsplash

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5 Examples of Sustainable Solutions for Indigenous Communities

Sustainable Solutions for Indigenous Communities Indigenous communities are pre-colonial societies that are considered ethnically native to a specific region. Recently, such communities have been developing locally sustainable solutions to their regional issues such as poverty, land erosion, unemployment rates, food insecurity, etc. These solutions tend to be nature-based and promote biodiversity and sustainability. Here are five examples of sustainable solutions for indigenous communities.

5 Examples of Sustainable Solutions for Indigenous Communities

  1. Association de Gestion Intégrée des Ressources – Al Hoceima, Morocco
    A group of indigenous people noticed the need for sustainable reform in the fishing methods in their community. The method of dynamite fishing threatened the fish stock and the poaching of osprey nests caused a decrease in the local population. Since then, the community decided to practice legal fishing techniques that do not harm the environment. This switch to sustainable fishing techniques led to a 20 to 30 percent increase in marine resource abundance. It also led to the employment of some 3,000 artisanal fishermen and the complete removal of copper sulfate and dynamite fishing. It also reduced poverty for around 30 percent of the fishermen employed.
  2. TRY Oyster Women’s Association – Banjul, Gambia
    This association achieved many sustainable goals including women’s empowerment, environmental preservation and green trade practices. Around 500 women from 15 different villages practice the trade of oyster harvesting, which they started after learning about environmentally responsible resource management. These women were also educated on microfinance possibilities and received training in small-scale enterprise development. The association also worked with the government to implement policies that positively impact the oyster trade.
  3. The Alliance of the Indigenous Peoples of the Highlands in the Heart of Borneo – Malaysia-Indonesia
    This alliance is a trans-border cultural bond that brings together three indigenous communities to preserve culture and biodiversity. The alliance attempts to reap benefits for the local communities who live on the island of Borneo by preserving the environment. The alliance employs a native manner of producing rice by the traditional wet-rice farming system, which was developed over centuries. It also works towards sustainable development through community-based ecotourism, agroforestry and organic farming, communication and information technology.
  4. FITEMA, Association of Manambolo Natives – Manambolo Valley, Madagascar
    This association successfully improved the conditions of food security within the local Betsileo community by reintroducing an indigenous land-use system in the 7,500-hectare Manambolo Valley. The purpose of the reintroduction is to help protect the environment, including the forests and the wetlands surrounding this region. This would improve food security conditions for 200,000 locals of five neighboring districts.
  5. Reserva y Ecolodge – Kapawi, Ecuadorian Amazon
    Founded in 1995, this organization was initiated by the Achuar community to create an ecotourism business that benefits the local communities and the local businesses as well. It produces sustainable energy, employs sustainable forestry and contributes to biodiversity conservation. The organization makes use of traditional and modern governance systems to make sure that the enterprise remains for the benefit of the surrounding locals.

– Nergis Sefer
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Environmental Conservation in Kenya Benefits Development

Environmental Conservation in Kenya
Since Kenya gained independence in 1963, the country has prioritized the protection of its land alongside the development of its people. The focus on environmental conservation in Kenya benefits agriculture, alleviates poverty and promotes sustainable development.

Kenya is rich in biodiversity, containing deserts, savannas, wetlands, coral reefs and over 1 million hectares of closed-canopy indigenous forests. The country has nearly 35,000 known species of plants, animals and microorganisms.

Historically, Kenya has been active in international climate conventions. In 2010, with the adoption of a new constitution, the Kenyan government made environmental conservation a civil obligation. The 2010 constitution takes an ecological perspective to sustainable development, advocating for conservation in the interest of both the earth and humanity.

The Need for Environmental Conservation in Kenya

Environmental management and rehabilitation strategies are essential in Kenya, as 70% of the country’s workers are employed in agriculture. In addition to this, ecotourism makes up nearly 20% of the country’s GDP.

Despite Kenya’s economic reliance on environmental health, 80% of the country’s land is arid or semi-arid. Only a small percentage of land is suitable for growing crops, and even these fertile areas are fragile. With poor agricultural management, the topsoil is easily washed away.

Kenya’s poorest are the most likely to live in arid regions. Poverty cyclically increases with the scarcity of productive soil, clean water, effective sanitation and market opportunities. Without these critical resources, the poor are unable to improve their livelihoods.

Environmental conservation in Kenya is key to its development. While enforcing conservation is challenging due to population pressures, raising public awareness of environmental issues could also raise support for such measures.

As smallholder farmers seek arable land, they encroach on Kenya’s indigenous forests. Because of Kenya’s richness in non-timber forest products such as medicinal plants, essential oils and beeswax, the destruction of its forests harms both its wildlife and its economy. Conserving the forests is pivotal to protecting both Kenya’s resources and its 50 endangered species.

The beautiful mangrove forests and coral reefs that line Kenya’s Indian Ocean border are also a substantial form of revenue for the country, providing both ecotourism destinations and ecosystem services.

Communities Work Together for Sustainable Conservation

To further promote the ecological perspective of Kenya’s government, the Nature Conservancy and the Northern Rangelands Trust have collaborated to develop community conservancies in the northern semi-arid grasslands. These conservancies cover three million hectares, within which over 200,000 people from 17 different ethnic tribes reside. They strive to help Kenyan communities engage in environmental conservation.

The conservancies protect communal land for livestock and wildlife, teach grazing management techniques and provide opportunities for alternative income sources such as tourist lodges and campsites. The Northern Rangelands Trust also helps connect pastoralists to their markets, helping them access fair prices for their sustainably raised livestock.

Environmental conservation in Kenya greatly benefits its economic and social development. Sustainable development can help Kenya achieve the Kenya Vision for 2030, transforming the country into a clean, secure, middle-income nation.

– Larkin Smith

Photo: Flickr