The Effect Of Poverty On The Environment: The Sierra Leone Experience

The linkage between poverty and the environment has attracted considerable attention in modern research. The World Development Report on poverty (World Bank, 1990) recognizes that poverty is an important determinant and effect of environmental degradation. The environment provides basic necessities such as water, fuel, food material and other resources useful for man’s survival. A review of government working documents show that poverty links have not been clearly established and emphasized. Policy makers and analysts have separately addressed poverty and environmental degradation nevertheless the two concepts reinforce one another. The thrust of the current research work is focused on enriching our understanding of how poor people depend on, interact with and utilize their local environment for survival and how degraded environment may subsequently lead to the exacerbation of poverty .