Environmental Degradation and Poverty Nexus: A Literature Summary

Abstract

Environmental degradation and poverty are considered to be caused by population growth.  The purpose of this paper was to analyze the downward spiral hypothesis in the context of environmental degradation, and poverty. The danger of the Downward Spiral Hypothesis is that it may often lead to policies that either reduce poverty at the expense of the environment or protect the environment at the expense of poor people. In this paper I attempt to analyze the relationship between poverty and the degradation of the natural environmental resources.

Keywords: Degradation, Environment, Deforestation, Poverty, Population