Policy that works for biodiversity and poverty reduction: The ANDES community initiative component of the scoping study on biodiversity governance in Peru

MONTENEGRO DE WIT I.; MONTEBAN M; VALDEZ I; GUTIERREZ F; OBLITAS V

2003-01-05/2004-11-30

1-11

Social

Des.Socioecon.y Serv.-Org.y Adm.del Desarro

Poverty definitions based on income alone suffer grave limitations. Not only do prices of essential goods and services vary among national regions rendering a single poverty line nonsensical, but, more significantly, a preoccupation with income alone leaves out a broad range of deprivations and their interconnections. At Association ANDES where we have supported local communities in the management and sustainable development of biodiverse resources since 1996 we appreciate the central role of biodiversity in local livelihoods and recognize that the best source of information regarding the complex range of interconnected components of poverty that afflict local peoples is the local peoples themselves. Accordingly, if efforts are to be made to assess poverty among Peru´s rural poor and develop effective poverty alleviation strategies, the knowledge of local communities regarding their unique socioeconomic contexts and associated deprivations --precisely what conventional conceptions of poverty have tended to leave out--, should be incorporated into new definitions and measurements of poverty. This study was underpinned and driven by the belief that the poor know best how to help themselves.