Many poor people in developing countries live in ecologically vulnerable environments. This affects both their livelihoods and their safety. As their farm lands erode, deserts advance and forests disappear, they are finding it increasingly difficult to ensure a sufficient and sustainable income. As increasing numbers of people are forced to live in precarious locations such as steep hills, slums and unstable coastal areas continues to rise, natural hazards such as earthquakes and hurricanes are increasingly likely to cost lives.

Poverty accelerates environmental destruction, as survival often requires an overexploitation of natural surroundings. Relatively infertile land is quickly depleted and prone to erosion. The quest for survival leads to levels of hunting, fishing, grazing, and wood-gathering that surpass the environment’s carrying capacity. It is difficult to escape from this downward spiral, in which poverty and environmental destruction reinforce each other.

Office
http://policy.islamic-relief.com

Citation
Islamic Relief Policy & Research. (2009). Islamic Relief Environment Policy. Islamic Relief Worldwide, Birmingham, [Online] Available http://policy.islamic-relief.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Environmental-Policy.pdf