Poverty and Environment

Despite the linkage of poverty and environmental concerns at the level of macro policy and locally there is no consensus that the interests of the poor and of the environment are mutually compatible. Ambivalence about this relationship exists amongst those whose prime concern is environmental as well as amongst those most concerned with poverty eradication. Without international agreement on a global framework for the implementation of social policies, similar to the global conventions that have been developed on a number of key environmental issues, it is difficult to see how this ambivalence can be resolved.