Articulating Social and Environmental Policy for Sustainable Development: Practical options in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Articulating social and environmental policy
for sustainable development: Practical options
in Latin America and the Caribbean
Poverty-Environment Initiative

List of Acronyms
About this document:
The joint UNDP-UN Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative aims to support countries
in implementing policies, instruments, plans and budgets that combine sound environ-
mental management with poverty reduction to contribute to sustainable development.
The Initiative also contributes to the enhancement of national and local capacities for
national policies, plans and budgets to be pro-poor, inclusive and gender-responsive
while ensuring environmental sustainability. This document has been commissioned by
the Poverty-Environment Initiative team in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to
provide strategic elements for discussion among the main development stakeholders in
the region.
ADC Andean Development Corporation
CASEN National Socioeconomic Characterization
CCT Conditional Cash Transfers
DFID Department for International Development, UK
ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean
ERR Environmental Remuneration Rate
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations
HDI Human Development Index
GASO Social Cabinet
ILO International Labor Organization
IVACC Climate Impact Vulnerability Index
LAC Latin America and the Caribbean
MAD Ministry of Agrarian Development
MMA Ministry of the Environment
MSD Ministry of Social Development
NFC National Federation of Coffee Growers
PAC Presidential Agency for International Cooperation
PEI Poverty - Environment Initiative
PEP Poverty Environment Partnership
PES Payment for Environmental Services
PHES Payment for Hydro Climatic Environmental Services
QLI Quality of Life Index
SDG Sustainable Development Goals
SIUBEN Standardized System of Beneficiaries (Dominican
Republic)
UNGA United Nations General Assembly
Photo: Chiquimulilla Channel, Guatemala.
Poverty-Environment Initiative.
Credit: UNDP-UN Environment.

Contents Index
Introduction | Page 6
Poverty and the environment in the regional context | Page 9
2.1 The links between poverty and the environment in the context of sustainable
development | Page 9
2.2 The context of Latin America and the Caribbean | Page10
Policy instruments with the potential to generate synergies
between poverty reduction and sustainable management
of the environment | Page 13
3.1 Conditional Cash Transfer programmes | Page13
3.2 Multidimensional poverty measurement | Páge 14
3.3 Payment for Ecosystem Services | Page 15
3.4 Food Security and Nutrition programmes | Page15
The practical application of comprehensive policies | Page17
4.1 Examples in the region | Page17
A. Income transfers as a stimulus to environmental preservation: Bolsa Verde Programme
in Brazil | Page 19
B. A successful public-private partnership: Hands-on Water Programme in Colombia´s
coffee zone | Page 21
C. Vulnerability Index to Climate Impacts for the targeting of social protection
programmes in the Dominican Republic | Page 23
D. Strategic Project for Food Security in Mexico | Page26
4.2 Lessons learnt for advancing integrated policies | Page 28
Challenges and opportunities for poverty reduction and
environmental management in the implementation framework of
2030 Agenda | Page 33
Conclusions | Page. 37
Bibliographic references | Page 39
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
5UNDP-UN Environment | Poverty-Environment Initiative

In September 2015, the global agreement Transforming Our
World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN,
2015) was approved. This agreement constitutes a global
alliance that promotes sustained and inclusive economic
growth, social development and environmental protection.
As a result of the intense involvement of governments, civil
society, the private sector and other development agents,
there is a high degree of commitment from all stakeholders
for the achievement of a life of dignity for all, including future
generations, in harmony with nature.
Recognizing the complexity of the transition to sustainable
development, the new Global Agenda takes into account
a large number of issues that constitute an integral and
indivisible whole reflected in 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) and 169 targets. In particular, environmental
elements and their interconnections with poverty eradication,
social protection and other important aspects of development
provide an important opportunity to promote sustainable
responses to the financial, food, climate and energy crises
that continue to pose fundamental challenges for global
development.
The Latin American and Caribbean region does not escape
these global trends.
The deceleration of growth threatens to jeopardize the most
recent gains in terms of poverty reduction and improved social
protection. Given the high level of inequality in the region, this
means that millions of people risk falling back into the spiral
of poverty. Ecosystem services, biodiversity and productive
1. Introduction
Photo: Fisherman in the Chiquimulilla Channel, Guatemala.
Poverty-Environment Initiative. Credit: UNDP-UN Environment
6 Articulating social and environmental policy for sustainable development: Practical options in Latin America and the Caribbean

soils in Latin America and the Caribbean continue
to deteriorate due to, inter alia, the persistence
of extractive economies using natural resources
over their rate of their renewal, unplanned urban
growth and uncontrolled expansion of the
agricultural frontier. This scenario is compounded
by vulnerability to climate-related threats, with
consequences that challenge the achievements
already made and the viability of development for
present and future generations.
Ensuring environmental sustainability as the
basis of a prosperous future poses a challenge to
humanity, who will have to find alternative ways
to “leave no one behind” without undermining
the natural basis of well-being and livelihoods.
Collective action, coordination at all levels and
long-term policies will be fundamental to:
• Transform the development paradigm,
implementing different paths and alternatives
focused on combining the closure of social
inequality gaps, sustainable environmental
management and economic growth.
• Apply new approaches that ensure the
incorporation of the environmental dimension
in the eradication of poverty through the
recognition of the multiple dimensions of
well-being.
In this context, the objective of this document
is to present example cases of integration and
complementarity between public policies on
social protection and environmental sustainability.
For implementation of the SDGs, it is important
to highlight the existence of models and tools
that can generate simultaneous positive impacts
in poverty reduction, social protection and
environmental sustainability. This document
gives visibility to the possible alternatives among
decision-makers, so that they can be escalated
as policy options for achieving progress in the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Photo: Formalized female recycler. Poverty-Environment Initiative.
Credit: UNDP-UN Environment

2. Poverty and the Environment
in the regional context
2.1 The links between poverty
and the environment in
the context of sustainable
development
Development can take different paths and transitions
towards sustainability, process in which public policies
and economic instruments are essential. However, a
scenario in which economic growth prevails, usually
implies negative impacts to the environment and
possible long term collapse in the capacity of the
naturalsystemtoregeneratenecessaryinputs,whether
resources or services. It may also result in an increase
in social inequality by focusing on economic capital
without the necessary attention to the redistribution
of benefits from this growth.
In contrast, sustainable development must be un-
derstood as a process that focuses on the integration
between satisfying human well-being (social dimen-
sion), ensuring economic progress (economic dimen-
sion) and ensuring the maintenance of environmental
goods and services (environmental dimension). In this
sense, the alternative scenario towards a sustainable
agenda is based on integrated public policies and a
development centered on that no person should be
left behind and no environmental service should col-
lapse. Thus, all dimensions of development should
take into account the net maintenance of assets (nat-
ural, social and productive) and the reduction of net
negative effects (emissions of greenhouse gases, de-
forestation rates, poverty levels, among others).
With an accelerated economic growth and increas-
ing pressure on land and natural resources, the envi-
ronment is degrading at a speed never seen before,
which, along with the impacts of climate change, has
severe economic and social repercussions for the poor
(Shah, 2009; PEI, 2011).This is mainly because the poor-
est population is particularly vulnerable to disasters
and environmental degradation due to the concentra-
tion on environmentally fragile areas (Agola et al. 2014,
Dash and Morrow 2007, Masozera et al. 2007). The im-
pact of disasters on people and their livelihoods, pro-
ductive capital, and social and economic infrastructure
are costly in terms of lives and sacrificed economic
growth. Furthermore, disasters push back vulnerable
populations into poverty (Maynard-Ford et al, 2007;
CAF, 2014; Germanwatch, 2015; World Bank, 2014).
Livelihoods, subsistence strategies and food security of
the poorest rural sectors are more dependent on the
health of ecosystems and the services they provide
(Sen 2003; Watmough et al. 2016). Natural resourc-
es such as soils, forests, fisheries, water and minerals
represent the main sources of income, social protec-
tion, employment generation and human capital de-
velopment (in terms of health and education) of rural
families and communities living in poverty. In addition,

environmental risk factors associated with the unsus-
tainable use of the environment and natural resourc-
es, such as water pollution, air pollution in enclosed
spaces due to the use of solid fuels inside households
and exposure to chemicals products or solid waste,
have negative implications on the health of poor peo-
ple, especially women and children.
In this sense, there is consensus on the asymmetry in
between poverty and the environment: poverty can
damage the environment and natural resources nt
due to unsustainable practices. But in addition to this,
environmental degradation, unsustainable manage-
ment of the environment and natural resources, and
climate change are serious obstacles to tackle pover-
ty. Finding answers to overcome these dichotomies is
key to obtain progress in sustainable development.
2.2 The context of Latin
America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean is a complex
region, rich in natural resources, with varied
territories and cultures, great economic
opportunities and a very dynamic population.
However, it still is one of the most socially
unequal regions in the world and one of the most
dependent on its natural capital (UN Environment-
UNU, 2014). Thus, its economies continue to be
strongly based on primary products and natural
resources, accounting for almost 50% of the
region’s exports (ej. soy, coffee, sugar and meat, oil,
coal, copper and other minerals) (UN Environment,
2016).
In recent years, there has been a notable success
in social progress and management of the natural
assets base in the region. The total land area under
protection, between 1980-2015, increased from
8.8% to 23.4% and deforestation fell from 4.45
million hectares per year between 1990-2000 to
2.18 million hectares per year between 2010-2015.
(UN Environment, 2016, FAO, 2015). On the other
hand, significant progress has been made in high
priority social problems; people living below the
poverty line decreased from 43.9% in 2002 to 28%
in 2014, and in the last 15 years’ people living in
slums fell from 29% to 20% (ECLAC, 2016).
In spite of these advances, the production and
consumption patterns in the region continue to
be unsustainable. Given the increase in population
andthedemandforrawmaterialsforconsumption
and exports, data indicates that future growth
in the region is likely to be at the expense of
environmental services (i.e. water supply, climate
regulation, and support for agriculture) and natural
resources (i.e. minerals, marine resources, genetic
resources) (ECLAC, 2016, UN Environment, 2016).
This growth model, coupled with limited
redistributive policies, is reflected in marked
territorial and population inequalities (affecting
indigenous and afro-descendant populations in
particular) regarding access and management
of natural resources and development benefits.
One expression of this inequality is the socio-
environmental conflicts that emerge with
increasing force in the region (Environmental
Justice Atlas, 2016). Examples of these conflicts
are those generated by extensive mining,
logging, and unequal distribution of access to
basic environmental services, such as water or
productive land, which often affect the rural
population, indigenous groups and native people
who tend to be communities mostly dependent
on natural resources for their survival.
Although most of the countries are considered
middle and upper-middle income countries,
Latin America and the Caribbean continues to
be the most unequal region in the world, with a
Gini coefficient of 0.505 (World Bank, 2017). Latin
America alone had 168 million of poor people,
of which 70 million in indigence. This equates to
a poverty rate of 28.2% in 2014 and an indigence

rate of 11.8% (ECLAC, 2015a). In the case of the
Caribbean, national poverty rates range from
17% (Jamaica) to 59% (in the case of Haiti) (World
Bank, 2015). In addition, recent achievements in
poverty reduction are at risk due to the slowdown
in economic growth and restricted fiscal space.
Despite the progress made by the Latin America
and the Caribbean countries, where 72 million
people emerged from poverty and 94 million
entered the middle class in 2003-2013, “between
25 and 30 million people in the region risk falling
back into income poverty”(UNDP, 2016, p.17).
Although this is the most urban region in the
world (with almost 80% of the population living in
cities), poverty has more incidence and intensity in
rural areas. According to the latest data compiled
by ECLAC, in 2013 in Latin America, 23.2% of the
urban population lived in households with a
situation of income poverty, a share that in the
rural population doubled (47.9%). In addition, 7.7%
of the urban population was indigent, compared
to 28.2% of the rural population (ECLAC, 2015b).
This rural population includes groups identified
as particularly vulnerable such as women and
children, ethnic minorities and, in general, those
with limited access to quality social protection
services. As an example, while indigenous peoples
account for around 8% of the region’s population,
they represent approximately 14% of the poor and
17% of those in extreme poverty in Latin America
(World Bank, 2016).
In addition, the rural poor populations depend
almost exclusively on natural resources and
ecosystems for their well-being and subsistence.
However, they have limited access to them and its
benefits including quality land and water. 80% of
thefarmsintheregionbelongtofamilyagriculture,
including more than 60 million people, becoming
the main source of rural employment and food
for internal national consumption (FAO, 2014).
However, since they are small farms with low
productivity and low technology requirements
Photo: Coffee grower. Source: Hands-on Water Programme

they are highly vulnerable to environmental
degradation and the impacts of variability and
climate change.
Inthisregard,vulnerabilitytodisastersisparticularly
relevant in the region, illustrating additional links
between poverty and the environment. In Latin
America and the Caribbean, it is estimated that
there are 8.4 million people living in a hurricane
trajectoryand29millioninverylowelevationareas
(UN Environment, 2016), which translates into a
high vulnerability to floods. Thus, communities
and infrastructures located in high-risk areas (i.e.
marginal hillside areas in urban and rural Andean
areas,urbancoastalareasintheCaribbean,ruraland
urban floodplains) suffer most of the impact, given
the vulnerability related to their poverty condition
as well as the lack of options for prevention and
mitigation of risks and adaptation to climate
change (i.e. reforestation of erosion zones, river
channeling, crop diversification, urban planning,
access to climate insurance, early warning plans).
Special mention should be made of the Small
Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean,
one of the most threatened regions in the world,
where the threats imply major impacts on people
and GDP, thus, to sustainable development1
.
Therefore, in order to ensure the closure of poverty
and social inequality gaps, the region depends to
a great extent on its natural capital and hence
on the capacity of governments, civil society and
communities to effectively manage an equitable
access and a sustainable use and conservation of
the environmental goods and services.
1. The average estimate of annual tropical cyclone losses in the Caribbean
is significant and it has been estimated that changes in annual intensity
and frequency of hurricanes could result in additional annual losses of $
446 million by 2080, mainly caused by the disruption of business in the
tourism sector.

3.1 Conditional Cash Transfer
Programmes
Social protection is a fundamental mechanism to
contribute to the full realization of social rights of the
population and, therefore, has been recognized as an
essential instrument to accelerate the progress towards
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Currently,
most of the countries in the region are committed
to the establishment of a floor of social protection2
and universal protection systems, as indispensable
mechanisms for social integration and overcoming
inequalities and poverty that contribute to ensuring the
well-being of the entire population (UNDP-ILO, 2012).
Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes are a
widely used social policy tool in the region. These
are cash transfer schemes, which aim to change the
behavior of individuals and households by generating
capacities to overcome poverty. That is, through short-
term effects (basically by increasing income in the
poorest households), CCT seeks to improve human
capital in the long term by establishing conditions to
receive monetary support, which are usually linked to
meeting requirements on education and health. While
there are numerous CCT programmes in the region,
the results and impacts differ according to their level of
evolution and implementation.
3. Policy instruments with the potential
to generate synergies between
poverty reduction and sustainable
management of the environment
Photo: Production of organic yerba mate by beneficiaries of the Tekoporá social program, Paraguay

However, the design and implementation of these
social protection programmes do not usually take into
account the relationships between poverty and the
environment, although they have a great potential
to contribute, among other things, to the sustainable
management of natural resources. For example,
increasing investment capacity in environmentally
sustainable activities, providing incentives to adopt
better natural resources management practices or/
and facilitating transition to green economies (UNDP,
2016).
Inthissense,theseprogrammescouldalsoincorporate
environmental factors, so as to have a direct impact
on the living conditions and well-being of people
and communities, for example: 1) those affecting
livelihoods, 2) environmental factors related to health,
and 3) risks to extreme weather events. The Bolsa
Verde Programme, included in this document, is an
example of how to advance in this integration.
3.2 Multidimensional poverty
measurement
The measurement of monetary poverty, whether by
incomeorconsumption,startsfromtheideathatthere
are certain resources necessary for a person or family
to satisfy their basic needs (Fields, 2001). However, the
notion of poverty has adopted a multidimensional
perspective; largely based on the theory of capacities
that Amartya Sen defines as the opportunities of
people to lead one or another kind of life and achieve
their well-being (Sen, A. 19993
).
From the environmental perspective, there are factors
that are considered obstacles to tackling poverty and
reducing inequalities, contributing to an augmented
vulnerability and marginalization in both urban and
rural areas. These aspects include, but are not limited
to,airandwaterpollutionlevels,lackofaccesstowater,
sanitation, energy and productive resources such as
land, or limited access to information, environmental
Photo: Chiquimulilla channel, Guatemala.
Poverty-Environment Initiative. Credit: UNDP-UN Environment.

justice and participation in public decisions on these
topics.
Therefore, the necessary incorporation of
environmental variables in the measurement of
poverty should refer precisely to:
• Access to and sustainable use of natural resources
(soils, forests, fisheries, water and minerals)
and ecosystem services which are the basis of
livelihoods and sources of income,
• Environmental health as a key element for the
well-being of people (uncontaminated water, air
and soil), and,
• Exposure and vulnerability to climatic events.
In the region, several countries have developed their
own methodologies to identify and measure these
other dimensions of poverty. In multidimensional
poverty measurements, the inclusion of variables
relatedtoaccesstowaterandsanitationservices,orthe
use of firewood or coal in households is common. But
some countries go even further in the incorporation
of this type of factors, as in the case of Chile, which
recently changed its National Socioeconomic
Characterization (CASEN) survey to specifically include
environmentalvariables(suchasairpollution,auditory,
water and visual, garbage on public spaces, etc.). El
Salvador on its side includes a module for exposure to
environmental damages and risks (floods, landslides,
landslides, mudslides or water currents, etc.), and as it
will be seen later, the Dominican Republic developed
a Climate Impact Vulnerability Index.
3.3 Payment for Environmental
Services
Another policy instrument that this document
explores for its potential for integrating environmental
and social objectives is the Payment for Environmental
Services (PES). These are compensations (economic or
in kind) for the sustainable management of natural
resources that generate public benefits such as
water provision, carbon sequestration and protection
of biodiversity and key ecosystems. PES schemes
arise from environmental policies with the aim of
seeking long-term effects to ensure a durable flow of
environmental services and, on this basis, to improve
natural capital (Maldonado et. al., 2016; UNDP-UN
Environment, 2015; Pagiola & Platais, 2007).
There are different PES modalities and legal
frameworks, which derive in private, commercial
and public schemes (CIFOR, 2011). All of them have
in common the fact that they are voluntary and
negotiated agreements. Although potential service
providers are not necessarily small rural producers, in
many cases these are key to contributing to carbon
sequestration, protection of upper water basins or
conservation of forests to ensure water supply. PES
transfer resources to conserve and improve some of
these environmental services, and when it involves
vulnerable populations, can lead to a substantial
improvement in their life quality.
Since the 1990s, PES are an incentive for those who
manage ecosystems and decide on their uses and
conservation. In Latin America and the Caribbean
there is a great diversity of mechanisms of this type
in place, responding to the realities and contexts of
each country, having been adopted mainly with local
payment schemes and focused on the protection of
water basins.
3.4 Food Security and Nutrition
Food Security and Nutrition programmes are aimed at
ensuring that “all people have at all times physical and
economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food
to meet their food needs and food preferences in order
to carry out an active and healthy life“ (World Food
Summit, 1996). Food insecurity particularly affects the
populationlivinginpoverty,andpoliciesthatholistically
intervene in this issue, are not only formulated for the
reduction of hunger, but also for the increase of family
incomethroughtheproductionoffood.They,therefore,
contribute substantively to poverty reduction efforts.

Ontheotherhand,accessandcontroloverproduction
means is the priority cause of food insecurity in
the region. Therefore, many programmes combine
their efforts with research centers and with the
environmental sector to ensure the sustainability of
productive activities as well as the conservation of the
natural resources and ecosystems that sustain them.
In considering all these aspects, these programmes
have the potential to integrate environmental,
economic and social sustainability. As they promote
sustainable livelihoods for the vulnerable rural
population, they also contribute to poverty reduction,
conservation and sustainable management of natural
and genetic resources, complementing the efforts
of social and environmental policies with concrete
investments at community and family level. The case
presented in this paper shows the impact of this
approach in Mexico.
2. The social protection floor promotes universal access to transfers that
ensure sufficient family income, essential social services and decent jobs.
That is, it includes contributory, welfare and universal components.
3. The Human Development Report of the UNDP incorporated a Human
Poverty Index (HPI) in 1996 and introduced the Multidimensional Poverty
Index (UNDP 2010) in 2010, although in Latin America there was already a
tradition of measuring poverty in a multidimensional way with the method
of Unmet Basic Needs (INDEC 1984).

4.1 Examples in the region
This chapter presents some significant examples of current
experiences in the region as a basis for the analysis of
integration, in practice, of options between the environmental
dimension and poverty reduction. These case studies are
intended to illustrate lessons learned from the design of
programmes and the use of innovative policy tools with the
purpose of guiding the design and implementation of public
social protection programmes, as well as other programmes
that do not necessarily relate to social protection but have
impact on human wellbeing.
In sum, these examples include concrete instruments, already
put into practice, that can be replicated to generate positive
impacts and dynamics to ensure the integrated tackle of
environmental sustainability and social protection in order to
reduce poverty in a more efficient and coordinated way. These
instruments include:
• CCT complemented with an additional transfer that
encourages sustainable uses of natural resources, such as
forests (Brazil);
• Payment for environmental services schemes focused on
the population living in poverty (Colombia);
• Poverty measurement systems enriched with new
dimensions of environmental vulnerability, linking
social programmes beneficiaries’ identification systems
to environmental and climate-related considerations
(Dominican Republic);
4. The practical
application of
comprehensive
policies
Photo: Non-formalized recyclers working in a dump, Peru.

• Productive and nutrition and food security pro-
grammes that complement social programmes
by focusing on livelihoods that ensure a sustainable
exit from poverty in rural areas (Mexico).
Bolsa Verde
Programme
Hands-on Water
Alliance
Standardized
System of
Beneficiaries
Census
Food Security
Strategic Project
Country Brazil Colombia Dominican
Republic
Mexico
Entry Dimensions Social Environmental Environmental Social and Environ-
mental
Policy Tool Conditional Cash
Transfers (CCT)
Payments for
Environmental
Services (PES).
Environmental
Retribution Rate
(ERR)
Climate Impact
Vulnerability Index
(IVACC)
Subsidized
Support. Technical
Assistance
Leading
Institution
Ministry of the
Environment
National Federation
of Coffee Growers
Vice Presidency of
the Country
General Secretariat
for Agriculture,
Livestock, Rural
Development,
Fisheries and Food
(SAGARPA)
Beneficiary
Population
76.795 families 11.000 coffee
growing families
48,3% of the
population
298.770 families
Photo: Sale of agricultural products. Credit: PESA

Income transfers as a stimulus to environmental
preservation: Bolsa Verde Programme in Brazil
Input dimension Programme instruments
Social Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT)
Institutions in charge
Coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agrarian Development, the Ministry
of Social Development, the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform, the Chico
Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity and the Secretariat for Patrimony of the Union.
The programme
The Bolsa Verde programme is part
of the“Brazil without Poverty Plan”,
which seeks to promote the social and
productive inclusion of the extremely
poor population, reducing the
percentage of people living below the
poverty line. Bolsa Verde complements
this plan by additionally seeking to:
• Encourage the conservation of
ecosystems, understood as their
management and sustainable use;
• Promote citizenship, improve living
conditions and increase the income
levels of the population living in
extreme poverty while carrying out
activities of conservation of natural
resources in rural areas; and
• Generate environmental, social,
technical and professional
capacities.
A.
Photo: Acai production. Bolsa Verde Programme.
Credit: Paulo de Araújo

to maintain the exit of poverty of families through
environmentally sustainable activities and not trough
extractives actions that deteriorate natural resources.
Therefore, in addition to the payment of the benefit,
the programme encourages the participation of
beneficiaries in training actions and the organization
of producers to market schemes.
For more information
http://www.mma.gov.br/desenvolvimento-rural/bolsa-verde
http://www.unep.org/americalatinacaribe/sites/unep.org.ame-
ricalatinacaribe/files/UNEP_Sustainable%20Development%20
ESP%20WEB.pdf
Photo: Latex extraction from rubber tree. Bolsa Verde Programme.
Credit: Ubirajara Machado
Bolsa Verde is aimed at families living in
extreme poverty, enrolled in the Federal
Register of Social Programmes, which develop
activities for the sustainable use of natural
resources and maintenance of the vegetation
cover in the Sustainable Use Conservation
Units, Agrarian Reform Settlements, territories
occupied by traditional peoples and
communities, or in other rural areas.
The Bolsa Verde Programme is based on
quarterly transfers to the participating families,
for an amount equivalent to approximately 95
USD, for two years (a term that can be renewed
for two more years). To do this, families must
be registered, must be beneficiaries of the
federal Bolsa Familia subsidy programme, and
must know and agree with the environmental
regulations and the different local
management instruments in place. In addition,
this support is conditional on the annual
monitoring of the vegetation cover of the
areas that are part of the programme, which
is carried out through the analysis of satellite
images. A decrease in vegetation cover leads
to the suspension of benefits
Impacts
The programme began in 2011. By March
2016, 76.795 families were beneficiaries of
Bolsa Verde. The programme works with
beneficiary families from 24 states and the
Federal State, covering 69 Conservation Units
and 849 Settlements, as well as riverside
communities of 67 municipalities. Agrarian
Reform Settlements generally have the highest
deforestation rates.
The Programme seeks to promote a change
of vision: From an approach centered on
where who pollutes the environment must
pay, to one that focuses on who protects,
and thereby benefits. In this way, it intends

A successful public-private partnership: Hands-on
Water Programme in Colombia´s coffee zone
Input Dimension Programme instruments
Environmental and Economic PES, Environmental Remuneration Rate (ERR)
Executed from 2014 by the National Federation of Coffee Growers, result of a public-private
partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Agency for International
Cooperation, Nescafé, Nestlé and Nespresso, and University of Wageningen and the National Center
for Coffee Research.
The programme
“The Hands-on Water Programme aims
to enable and improve the systems for
intersectoral cooperation, sustainable
coffee cultivation, environmental
protection and decision making
that contribute to the challenges of
water imbalance for the coffee sector
and its chain of value, establishing
environmental, social and productive
conditions to reduce poverty and
promote peaceful coexistence and
sustainable development in rural areas
of Colombia.“
The coffee zone of Colombia alternates periods of shortage and excess of water, that produce
damages by drought, floods and landslides. These imbalances affect efforts to reduce poverty and
advance in sustainable development, due to the effects of these changes on agricultural productivity
and social vulnerability of small producers, with impacts on the coffee supply and therefore, the
income of coffee growers and households and coffee parcels. This situation increases the vulnerability
of the coffee regions and the supply chain of coffee from the producer to the consumer. That is why
the Hands-On Water programme aims to generate alternatives that contribute to the sustainability,
competitiveness and well-being of Colombian coffee farmers, through the creation of capacities
for integrated water management. With this objetive, poverty is reduced by improving social,
environmental and productive conditions by promoting self-sufficiency in the coffee region through
better use of natural resources and the promotion of stability of ecosystems, soil and water basins.
B.
Photo: Coffee grower in the Department of Caldas.
Credit: UN Environment.

Impacts
It is directed to more than 11,000 coffee families in 25 micro-basins of the departments of Antioquia,
Caldas, Cauca, Nariño and Valle del Cauca, through the departmental committees and extensionists
of the National Federation of Cofee Growers. This ensures the training of coffee growers, the
promotion of appropriate technologies´transfer for the adequate use of water and the management
of contamination in the coffee farms, while applying bioengineering and reforestation techniques
to stabilize the ecosystems of micro-water basins and ensure environmental services. This reduces
the risks that coffee farmers face to variability and climate change, improving incomes to secure
livelihoods and build social and environmental resilience. In addition, it has a larger scale impact by
conserving water basins and protecting water supply.
Integration with other policies
In order to contribute to the welfare of farmers who do not have a social protection system, a
collaboration between the Colombian Government, Nespresso / Nestle (through its Farmer Future
programme) and the NGO Fairtrade International is improving access to retirement rates among
the members of the coffee cooperatives. At the moment, there are more than 1,500 coffee growers
who benefit from the initiative. In addition, it has served as an example for other cooperatives
to implement similar measures and multiply the number of coffee farmers who are quoted for
retirement.
Cross-cutting effects
The main components of the programme are
focused on ensuring integrated management
of water basins. It also has several social
components to ensure participation, improve
well-being, create learning networks and ensure
the integration of gender and childhood variables
within the programme. It also has a network
platform between government, business and civil
institutions.
The innovation of this programme, besides
building around water and water basin as
elements of integration of social, economic and
environmental dimensions, is based on a public-
private alliance. Specifically, public policies of
the Hands-on Water Programme is combined
with economic instruments for the protection
of ecosystem services (PES and ERR), while
development of private actions of the Farmer
Future programme along with the retirement
fund, improve the quality of life of coffee growers.
For more information: http://www.manosalagua.com
Objectives of the
Hands-on Water Programme
Biodiversity conservation
The wellbeing of coffee growers and other
agricultural producers (sustainability,
competitiveness, income)
Reduce water pollution and strengthen
resilience in the agricultural sector with
respect to the hydrological imbalance
and climate variability
Generate new hydroclimatic
information (HES)
Contribute to public environmental
institutions complying with
established regulations about PES

Vulnerability Index to Climate Impacts for
the targeting of social protection programmes
in the Dominican Republic
Social Conditional Cash Transfer, Climate Impact Vulnerability
Index (IVACC)
Vice-Presidency of the Republic, Standardized System of Beneficiaries (SIUBEN) and Social Cabinet
(GASO)
The programme
Social policies in the Dominican Republic
are articulated around a single beneficiary
system that uses the Quality of Life Index as
a criterion for selecting the beneficiaries that
become part of the different social protection
programmes. The Quality of Life Index criterion
has been supplemented by the Climate Impacts
Vulnerability Index (IVACC), which calculates
the probability of a home being impacted by
hurricanes, storms and floods, as well as the
vulnerability, related to certain socioeconomic
and physical characteristics of the home. IVACC
is applied to the database of the Standardized
System of Beneficiaries (SIUBEN) to: a) identify
the population that has high risk of facing
environmental risks; b) focus interventions at
the territorial and population level, prioritizing
poor households located in high-risk areas; c)
design public policies to generate resilience to
the effects of hydro-meteorological shocks. One
of the most outstanding achievement was to
permanently incorporate the climate vulnerability
variable into the census methodology and
tools managed by the SIUBEN, which is used
as the basis for designing and targeting social
protection programmes
C.
Photo: Floods of Lake Enriquillo, Dominican Republic.
Photo: Nursery created thanks to the revolving fund for adaptation to
the climatic change of the affected population in Lake Enriquillo.

This is particularly relevant in the Dominican Republic, which, as a SIDS, has been increasingly
impacted in recent years by climate events, mainly storms and hurricanes followed by periods of
drought. In 2007, for example, the storms Olga and Noel struck the Dominican Republic affecting
more than 70% of the country’s population directly or indirectly; 90% of the 75,000 direct victims (loss
of housing, livelihoods, etc.) were below the poverty line in the provinces with the lowest Human
Development Index.
Impacts
This cross between the ICV and the IVACC allows the different authorities to know in a more precise
and detailed way, the exposure to climatic risks and the vulnerability of the living conditions of the
families in poverty condition. This allows focusing on actions and public investment which prioritize
the most vulnerable areas and households, optimizing resources and preventing the loss of social
investment with a multidimensional approach to risk. It is, therefore, a good practice of integrating
environmental vulnerability into social protection policies aimed at reducing poverty. In addition, the
incorporation of the index into the single beneficiary registry has allowed the latter to be used as an
instrument to evacuate populations to risks, as occurred when Tropical Storm Erica stroke in 2015.
Due to the Index´s interoperability with civil protection institutions, it serves as a strategic input and
planning mechanism for the development of mitigation and response plans for extreme climatic
events such as storms or floods, climate change adaptation plans and territorial ordering.
Housing Characeristics
• Wall
• Roof
• River
• Stream or glen
• Averange household
income
Closeness to a Focus
of Danger
Income
Dimensions and Variables of the Vulnerability to Climate Hazards Index
Source: SIUBEN, Vice Presidency Oficicce, Dominican Republic

0.54 0.62
0.59 0.67
Cabrera
Vulnerabilidad 0.73
Nagua
Río San Juan El Factor
0.47 - 0.55
0.55 - 0.69
0.35 - 0.46
0.30 - 0.54
0.56 - 0.59
0.70 - 0.87
0.60 - 0.65
For more information: : http://www.siuben.gob.do/
http://www.unep.org/americalatinacaribe/sites/unep.org.americalatinacaribe/files/UNEP_Sustainable%20Develop-
ment%20ENG%20WEB.pdf
Zones by vulnerability level - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
MUNICIPALITY OF MARIA TRINIDAD SANCHEZ MUNICIPALITY OF MARA TRINIDAD SANCHEZ
RIVER SEA OF MARIA TRINIDAD SANCHEZ
1. National IVACC
2. IVACC at the level of the municipality 3. IVACC at neighborhood level
4. High risk areas 5. Vulnerables Household
Jefa: Altagracia Martinez
½ Km a 1Km del río
1 niño (de 5 a 9 años)
1 adolescente
(14 años)
Cónyugue
Techo de Concreto
Pared de block
IVAAC: 0.524
Jefe: Juan Pérez
½ Km del río
3 niños (de 0 a 4 años)
Cónyugue
Techo de Zinc
Pared de yagua
IVAAC: 0.853
Jefe: María Gómez
½ Km del río
2 niños (de 0 a 4 años)
1 adulto mayor
Techo de Zinc
Pared de concreto
IVAAC: 0.757
Examples of Use

Strategic Project for Food Security in Mexico
Social Subsidized support, technical assistance
(agrarian extension)
Instituciones a cargo
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food
The programme
The programme: The Strategic Project for
Food Security began to be implemented in
Mexico in 2002 with the technical support
of FAO in response to the severe poverty
situation in communities of high and very high
marginalization. One of its main causes of this
poverty situation was the low productivity
of small farming. In the year 2015, PESA was
institutionalized as part of the Integral Rural
Development Programme of Mexico. The
objective of the programme is to increase
agricultural, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries
production, innovate production systems,
develop local markets, and promote job creation
to achieve food security and increase the
income of rural families categorized as high and
very high marginalization (as defined by the
National Population Council). Since 2009, the
programme has incorporated components for
the use and sustainable use of water resources,
soil and vegetation cover. In relation to the
participating families, the emphasis is on them
as main generators of their development, from
a situation of food insecurity and precarious
conditions of life, to a situation in which food
production and its income increase as a base to
improve their food and nutritional security and
quality of life in general. To this end, it focuses on
the development of four factors: i) nutrition, ii)
financial skills, iii) sustainable agriculture, and iv)
associativity.
D.
Photo: Maize, Strategic Project for Food Security. Mexico.
Credit: FAO.

Since 2005, Rural Development Agencies (RDAs) have been established as key local promoters of the
implementation of the Programme´s methodology. These are established as a differentiated form
of technical assistance providers, ensuring close accompaniment to the communities to achieve
sustainability of results. In most of the cases, the beneficiaries of the SPFS become integrated in the
local decision-making bodies, such as the Municipal Councils for Sustainable Rural Development.
The programme has a strong environmental component and gives subsidiary support to the
rural population to improve the environmental sustainability of their territories. Specifically, 1,200
projects have been supported for the development of works in topics such as: 1) conservation
and reclamation of land, 2) collection, conduction, storage and infiltration of rainwater, and 3)
regeneration, improvement and rational use of vegetation cover.
Impacts
In 2015, the Programme supported 298,770 families in 8,711 localities of 845 municipalities of 24
states, with the support of 343 Rural Development Agencies. Currently (2016), coverage has reached
the national level, being present in the32 entities of the country with investments around 170 million
USD. It is noteworthy that PESA funding has been increasing since 2007, when the Congress of the
Union assigned, for the first time, resources from the Federal Expenditure Budget, making it part of
the public policy of rural development
Since 2015, the Programme has been incorporated into the Integral Rural Development Programme
as part of the Conservation and Sustainable Soil and Water Usage component. The programme
contributes to the National Crusade Against Hunger, which aims to guarantee food and nutrition
security to populations living in extreme poverty. The Crusade is a national and multi-year strategy
that coordinates several instances of government with the private sector.
Photo: Producer of the PESA program.
Crédit: PESA
For more information: http://www.pesamexico.org
http://www.unep.org/americalatinacaribe/sites/unep.org.americalatinacaribe/files/UNEP_Sustainable%20Develop-
ment%20ENG%20WEB.pdf

4.2 Lessons learnt for advancing
integrated policies
LThe analyzed examples show the potential of four
concrete policy instruments used in the region to
link poverty reduction and environmental protection:
conditional cash transfers (CCT), payment for
environmental services (PES), improved Information
on household vulnerability with impact in social
protection programs, and food and nutrition security
programmes with a component of environmental and
economic sustainability.
• CCT programmes can be complemented
to support better management of the
environment and sustainable exit from
poverty.
In the Latin American and Caribbean region, social
protection programmes, and in particular CCTs, have
undoubtedly been one of the most widespread
initiatives for poverty reduction. However, only a
few of them take explicit account of environmental
sustainability (UNDP-UN Environment, 2015). There is
a great potential of CCT in relation to its contribution
to environmental improvements.
The Bolsa Verde case shows that additional incentives
can be given not only by investing in human
capital (that is, through traditional CCT), but also by
preventing behaviors that generate environmental
degradation. This can lay the foundations for the
promotion of a sustainable exit from poverty based on
livelihoods that do not increase pressure on the often-
scarce natural resources on which these vulnerable
populations depend on.
Beyond CCTs, there is also a broader spectrum of social
protection schemes that could make environmental
contributions. For example, by taking advantage
of public work programmes or by the generation
of jobs in crisis to carry out “green” activities such
as maintenance of roads and protected natural
areas, landscaping of public areas or post-disaster
reconstruction and cleanup.
• Countries in the region can adopt social
protection policies that generate resilience to
disasters and climate change.
The case study of the Dominican Republic is
an example of this. This case demonstrates that
constructing and collecting an index of environmental
vulnerability at the family level is key to support the
articulation of social protection policies with initiatives
related to climate change adaption and disaster risk
management. This was achieved by adjusting the
social protection programs´ beneficiaries selection
criteria, including not only socio-economic indicators,
but also environmental ones. In the case of the
Dominican Republic, there is an emphasis on the
inclusion of vulnerability and exposure to floods, while
other countries with similar schemes put the emphasis
on other variables, such as environmental quality.
This is the case of Chile, its national socieconomic
survey (CASEN) which guides its social policy, includes
environmental quality indicators, such as data directly
related to people’s health (i.e. exposure to air, water,
noise and visual pollution, presence of garbage in
public roads and outbreak of plagues).
Considering the level inequality and vulnerability
to climate variability and change in the region, it is
necessary to consider climate risks and environmental
degradation as systemic social risk factors that must
be incorporated into the social protection coverage
(Calvo, 2014, Le Vuolo, 2014). In the case of a disaster,
instrumentssuchasCCTsandsubsidiesseemtobethe
most appropriate mechanisms to give an immediate
response to short-term and local needs in order to
prevent households falling in extreme poverty. A
recent study (UNDP, 2015) shows that CCTs can play

Photo: Production of nopal for self-consumption.
Credit: PESA

an important role for the most vulnerable populations
in post-disaster contexts, with specific examples in
countries such as Ecuador, Mexico, Chile and the
Dominican Republic.
These examples show the way to move from reactive
policies (based on responding to the consequences)
to the formulation of proactive public policies, aimed
at preventing the causes. In this way, programmes
can be designed to move from emergency response
to planning to anticipate risks and threats in order to
reduce vulnerability and increase resilience.
It is for this reason that CCT programmes should
incorporate the identification of beneficiaries based
on criteria of environmental vulnerability and climate
change.
• Environmental policy instruments such as
PES can improve the quality of life of the
rural population while involving it in the
protection of key environmental services.
PES are environmental policy tools that can be
efficient when dealing with the protection of
environmental services beyond owner ‘control, such
as water. Colombia’s experience shows how payments
in kind to small producers located in strategic zones of
hydrological basins improve water supply along with
the living and productive conditions of these families.
ThisisaninnovativePESscheme,sincePESprogrammes
in general do not include direct poverty reduction
objectivesandthereforehassignificantlimitationsinthis
respect (Pagiola & Platais, 2007). The case of Colombia
shows how poor rural population often inhabit the
upper water basins, key areas for further adequate
provision of water services. The application of PES in
these areas could represent significant increases in their
incomes as well as an incentive to maintain sustainable
livelihoods. The involvement of these populations
should be deliberately considered in the design of the
mechanisms in order to facilitate their access and avoid
imposing high transaction costs.
It is a fact that PES in general requires service
providers to have formal land tenure which can lead
to unequal resource allocations and exclusion of
families that are not formally owners or are part of
traditional communal property systems. In some
cases, collateral effects have been reported in this
direction and there is undoubtedly a large space to
improve complementarity between PES and poverty
reduction (Barkin, D. 2011). Special efforts are needed
to ensure that the poor have access to the new
opportunities created by PES schemes. In this sense,
a collective contracting system has been created in
Costa Rica, a tool through which, smallholder groups
can be integrated into the PES programme (Pagiola
and Platais, 2007). There are also carbon sequestration
projects that, instead of focusing on individual owners,
target specific regions reducing certification costs.
Other criteria that may favor the inclusion of the rural
poor include the establishment of a maximum farm
size or targeting activities in regions with high poverty
rates (Grieg-Gran et al., 2005).
• The linkages of social protection systems
with food security and sustainable
agriculture are key to creating opportunities
for sustainable exit from poverty.
Linkages between social protection systems and
food security and agriculture, on the one hand, and
risk prevention and management programmes, on
the other, are essential to create opportunities for
a sustainable exit from poverty. Two issues are key
here: 1) sustainable livelihoods that generate stable
incomes; and 2) social and economic resilience to
climate and environmental risks, but also to changes
in markets. Food Security and Nutrition programmes
that target populations living in poverty precisely
support the generation of sustainable productive
opportunities as well as enhance the community
capacities for association, organization, and
negotiation. In this sense, they are a key complement

to social protection policies. The Food Security Special
Programme of Mexico is also an example of how, in the
pursuit of sustainability, investment regarding access
to key environmental resources such as water and
productive soils are incorporated. Sometimes these
programmes go even further at the environmental
level by including measures to increase plant cover
and biodiversity on the farm.
Additionally, there are other instruments normally
linked to the agrarian and food security agenda
that must necessarily be integrated with social
and environmental objectives. These include: 1)
instruments for protecting assets such as agricultural
and climate insurances, 2) programmes that promote
access to soft loans or the creation of social and
investment funds to strengthen innovation and
capitalization, 3) participation in contributory social
protection programmes, 4) early warning, disaster
prevention and response plans. All of them can be
explored and promoted in a complementary way
to accelerate integration and coordination of public
policies in order to build sustainable outlets of poverty
that do not generate natural capital losses and ensure
ecosystem services.
In this sense, there are methodological approaches,
such as the sustainable livelihoods framework (DFID,
1999), theWater-Energy-Food Nexus (FAO, 2014) or the
adaptive social protection approach (Ziegler, 2016),
with proved impact in other countries in the region, as
well as in Africa and Asia. These could be promoted as
a practical way of reducing poverty and strengthening
integration between the social, environmental and
economic dimensions, by supporting a transition
from food security and agricultural production to
disaster prevention and adaptation to climate change,
ensuring a sustainable use of environmental services
and promoting a social and economic empowerment
of the populations living in poverty.

Photo: Low-income farmers visiting an agro-ecological production model farm.

5. Challenges and opportunities
for poverty reduction and
environmental management in
the implementation framework
of 2030 Agenda
There are models and tools that
can generate simultaneous
positive impacts in terms
of poverty reduction, social
protection and environmental
sustainability
The examples presented show there are instruments
currently being implemented that use this integrated
approach to generate greater inter-institutional
coordination and positive synergies among different
sectors,institutionsandadministrativelevels.Although
insufficiently explored in the region so far, these
models can help countries to address the challenges
of linking poverty, environment, and climate change
to the scale of the poorest and most vulnerable groups
(such as populations living in upper river basins,
slopes, shantytowns, coastal zones and riverbanks)
(World Bank, 2014). In addition, there are many
other policy instruments that can promote a more
holistic vision and development, such as ecosystem-
based adaptation to climate change, integrated risk
management or the sustainable livelihoods approach
that could be further expanded.
The Agenda 2030 has a very broad scope that promotes the transition towards economic, social
and environmental sustainability. Its “no one left behind” and poverty eradication by 2030
emphasisimpliesuniversalityintacklingcommonchallengestosocialinclusion,environmental
management and economic progress. This opens up challenges and opportunities for the
region related to the integration of social protection and poverty reduction with environmental
policies to ensure the implementation of the SDGs.

The coordination of public
policies must generate two-way
synergies
The 2030 Agenda requires integrated public
policies to promote the coherence of development
interventions.. This can be done both trough social
policies that incorporate environmental criteria
and environmental policies that integrate poverty
reduction objectives. For example, simple measures
to support agricultural production and environmental
protection can contribute to improving the quality of
life of the poorest population. Thus, programmes for
access and efficient use of water contribute to the
reduction of rural poverty and the improvement of
food security, as in the case of Colombia.
This implies a new institutional architecture that
allows not only a greater articulation and integration
of public policies between multiple sectors
(horizontal coherence) and between different levels of
government (vertical coherence), but also maximizing
synergies in a more systematic way. It is necessary to
implement approaches that facilitate the efficiency of
programmes so that at the fiscal level, public policies
have a better return per monetary unit invested.
Policy coherence to ensure
the integration of the
environmental dimension and
poverty reduction
Particular attention should be also paid to trade-offs
and negative effects of the different environmental,
productive and social programmes. This implies,
setting effective monitoring systems and the active
participation of the actors involved in these processes
to facilitate community ownership. For example,
CCT beneficiaries should be prevented from using
resources obtained to exploit natural resources that
are being protected by other public investments
as part of conservations schemes. To this end, these
instruments must be flexible enough to adjust and
early respond to potential conflicts over land tenure
and rights to access resources (Pagiola, 2014).
In many cases, the conflicts and perverse effects
between programmes arise due to the setting of
goals and objectives based on sectorial criteria that
do not take into account the geographical context.
This, together with the current situation in which
there are diverse but limited funding sources, makes
specially relevant to ensure greater efficiency of
public investment by improving synergies between
programmes and identifying joint implementation
roadmaps .
Governance, transparency and
structural institutional changes
The 2030 Agenda implies new models of governance,
which must include transparent public policies with
greater public participation. This is to ensure that no
one is left behind and that changes in economic and
social structures respond to the needs of universal
socialprotectionandenvironmentalsustainability.This
implies strengthening and building of new capacities
in institutions, as well as introducing structures in the
public finance sector, including the development of
fiscal models and instruments to boost technological
and social innovations.
Therefore, the integration between poverty and
the environment means more than planning and
designing new initiatives and programmes together.
In practice, for this to happen, structural changes are
also necessary, including:
• a combination of top-down government
leadership with bottom-up social participation;

• technological innovations that respond to
demands at different scales of action and allow
true cultural changes;
• areorientationofexistinginstitutionalframeworks
and platforms to respond to the needs of different
levels of decision-making;
• specific monitoring and evaluation tools and
systems to enable better decision-making and
adjustments to actions on the fly to ensure their
relevance;
• a more flexible and inclusive budget system
allowing joint operational planning;
• a long-term planning and vision based on
alleviating the structural causes of problems,
complementing short-term actions that respond
to immediate shortage of the population and/or
crisis situations.
The generation of new metrics
and monitoring and evaluation
tools to incorporate an
integrated vision
In addition, the linkages between poverty and the
environment are specific to the socio-economic and
environmental contexts of the different territories
and households. Moreover, they are changing and
therefore the priorities, strategies and actions to
tackle them must be flexible and adapted in time and
location. This is related to the need to generate new
metrics to monitor and evaluate the multidimensional
reality of well-being, vulnerability and poverty.
Environmental vulnerability, both in the sense of loss
of livelihoods, degradation of the natural resource
Photo: Bolsa Verde

base and limited access to environmental services, as
well as exposure to disaster risk, affects the chances
of communities to escape poverty. However, these
issues have not been very prominently included in the
welfare and social progress measuring systems to date.
In the current context, this must be considered and
incorporated into the different poverty measurement
and social protection systems to improve their
targeting, prioritization, scope and impact.
A challenge for public action monitoring frameworks
is that they should include temporal and spatial
perspectives:
• Temporal, since it is in the long term that
environmental processes and impacts can
be assessed and measured (i.e. protection of
river basins to conserve water regulation or
soil conservation services involve reforestation
actions on slopes and restoration of degraded
soils, with effects obtained after several decades).
• Spatial, because the links between poverty and
environment are specific to the territorial context,
since they are a manifestation of the geographical
location and the economic, social and cultural
characteristics of the individuals, households and
communities.
Photo: Illegal dump, Peru.

Sustainable development should be understood as
a process that focuses on the integration between
satisfying human well-being (social dimension),
ensuring economic progress (economic dimension)
and ensuring the maintenance of environmental goods
and services that support the development of people
(environmental dimension). This implies the need to
deepen the analysis of alternative models that allow
the formulation of integrated policies. The examples
presented in this paper show that there are already
policies and tools that can generate simultaneous
positiveimpactsinpovertyreductionandenvironmental
sustainability, and provide a series of indications for the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda:
• Social protection programmes must respond with
actions that are framed within a context of chronic
poverty reduction, maintaining the options for
exiting poverty in a sustainable way. At the same
time, they must incorporate actions to preserve the
natural resource base, on which the population and
production depend.
• Social protection must be articulated with other
public policies and be a key transformative and
redistributive tool to achieve the welfare of all, to
protect the most excluded groups and to support
a structural transition towards more sustainable
economic and development models. It is therefore
important to integrate social protection with other
public policies and to include the environmental
6. Conclusions
Foto:

dimension in them, making them more
coordinated and efficient. Multidimensional
poverty measurement is an important tool, which
can serve as a basis for defining these more
integrated policies.
• Environmental conservation, and sustainable
natural resource management initiatives, should
include a pro-poor component to ensure that
marginalized and vulnerable populations benefit
from environmental management and an
equitable access to natural resources.
• Progress towards sustainable development will
depend to a large extent on the efforts done by
Governments to integrate the goals of reducing
inequalities and protecting the environment
into development planning processes and
public investment allocations. This requires
taking into account the multidimensionality of
the development challenges (i.e. temporal and
spatial scales, decision and action levels, impacts,
among others) and the multiple actors involve
and partnerships needed in the development
processes.
As it has been seen in the experiences involving rural
livelihoods and food systems, there is ample potential
to simultaneously address food security and poverty
reduction while limiting impacts on ecosystems.
This implies a combination of social, economic and
environmental challenges, in which support for the
resilience of the most vulnerable communities must
be accompanied with the strengthening of the rural
economy and improved productive capacities.
Innovative approaches and methods that can be
useful at the local level to facilitate the integration
of adaptation to climate change, risk management
and social protection systems should be further
developed based on a range of tools and instruments,
from the small scale of Conditional Cash Transfers
to large public investments in infrastructure. These
approaches provide a coherent scheme to consider
the multidimensional characteristics of the poverty-
environment nexus, both through preventive and
proactive strategies.

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Articulating Social and Environmental Policy for Sustainable Development: Practical options in Latin America and the Caribbean

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