Poverty, Development, and Ecological Services

The importance of ecosystem services to human welfare and economic livelihoods in low-income countries is now well recognized. Poor people in developing regions are particularly vulnerable to the deteriorating ecological values resulting from the loss of tropical forests, coral reefs, mangroves, and other ecosystems. Current efforts to reconcile development pressures with maintaining key ecosystem benefits focus on payment for environmental services and other incentives to protect critical ecosystems and habitat in developing countries. But geographical targeting and other means of tackling poverty more directly should be considered also.