Characterising associations between poverty and ecosystem services

Abstract

Social survey and geographical data, stratified by social-ecological systems, are used to analyse multiple measures of poverty, in-depth information on rural livelihoods and coping strategies for populations in the delta region. The resultant dataset provides extensive information on the ways in which households use ecosystem services to generate well-being. Analysis of the data shows that any reliance on provisioning ecosystem services for farming, aquaculture, fisheries or forest products increases the likelihood of households being above the poverty line. However, high levels of ecosystem service use are associated with high levels of well-being only in those with significant land assets and associated social capital. The data also provide a quantitative baseline understanding that is fundamental to the integrated analysis.