Resource information
Poverty, environment, social
development, and gender are important cross-cutting themes
of the World Bank and government investment programs,
especially within the Sustainable Development Network (SDN).
For developing sectoral strategies and programs, economic,
environment and social assessments are undertaken, however,
these are usually done separately, and most often gender
issues are not included. This is a missed opportunity,
because joint assessments can map the links between gender,
environment, and poverty and help identify approaches that
can accelerate the positive synergy and better
social/gender, environment, and poverty outcomes; otherwise,
the existing negative relationships may slow the development
process, and can even lead to unintended results. A joint
analysis will also reduce cost of project preparation. This
study was undertaken to analyze the links between gender,
environment, and poverty; identify approaches; and provide
practical suggestions for fostering positive synergies for
better outcomes. The analytical framework for this study
draws on the World Bank's three pillars of sustainable
development: social inclusion, economic growth and
environmental sustainability, and from political ecology
literature, which highlights how decision-making processes,
power relationships, and social conditions influence
environmental policies and development outcomes. The
following four propositions derived from political ecology
literature guide the analysis: i) socioeconomic
marginalization and natural resource degradation are
mutually reinforcing processes; ii) protected area
conservation and external control of natural resources can
disrupt household and community production and social
organization; iii) competing environmental interests shape
environmental change; and iv) collective action and
resilience can help mitigate negative impacts. The study is
based on in-depth analysis of two sub-Saharan African
countries Ethiopia and Ghana. The research methodology was
qualitative, and included a series of interrelated analyses:
a political ecology literature review, country-specific
reviews of literature and data sets, good-practice project
case studies in both countries, and participatory appraisals
of grassroots perceptions of gender-poverty-environment
links. Study sites were selected to include the major agro
ecological zones and rural livelihood systems in each
country. National and sub regional participatory forums were
conducted to 'ground truth' the findings and
elicit policy and project recommendations. A seven-week
online discussion explored the broader applicability of the
framework and study findings.
