Tackling rural poverty, together

Extract

This is an advance draft of a paper that will be published by the World Bank. It raises the critical issue of land and natural resource management in today's development paradigm. We welcome discussion among our donor partners about how best to approach land management issues as we move forward with our rural poverty reduction agenda.

We are please to share with the focal points of the Global Donor Platform an advance draft copy of a study that will be published through the World Bank. Current land use practices in many developing countries are degrading land, water, and forest resources, and undermines the sustainability of both managed and natural ecosystems. Recent studies indicate that land and water degradation may be unintentional and unperceived; it may result from carelessness or from the unavoidable necessities for survival of vulnerable populations. At a time when agriculture is called on to meet the food needs of a growing population and increase the income of many impoverished farmers, what is to be done about our natural resources?

While good land management is important at the field and farm level, this not enough to ensure sustainability. Planning and execution need to extend to the watershed level and beyond (often referred to as the “landscape scale”). This paper focuses on land management issues for the sustainable intensification of food and fiber systems and for the rehabilitation of degraded crop, pasture and forest lands --- examing the science and practice that will contribute to the a sustainable resource base for sustainable agricultural and rural growth.

We welcome a discussion among the platform members on what each is doing for natural resource management. Where are our comparative advantages? Where can we work together on this critical issue?