This is the home page for the Natural Capital and Poverty Reduction project. This project is a collaboration of six researchers.

From left to right in the photo above, we are:

Charles Jumbe (University of Malawi)
Disk Sserunkuuma (Makerere University, Uganda)
Pam Jagger (Indiana University)
Monica Fisher (Oregon State University)
Arild Angelsen (CIFOR and Norwegian University of Life Sciences)
Gerald Shively (Purdue University)

The project is funded by USAID as part of the AMA BASIS CRSP.

The project began in November 2007 and will run through August 2011. A brief overview of the project is provided below. For more information, contact Gerald Shively at shivelyg@purdue.edu

Problem & Objective

In many countries poor households turn to resource extraction to generate income, manage risk and secure livelihoods. However, this strategy can sometimes prevent them from participating fruitfully in other activities and escaping their poverty. This project will document the ways in which natural capital serves as informal insurance and a safety net against income variability and transitory shocks. It will also examine household dependence on natural resources, and how this varies with wealth, gender and market conditions. Finally, it will look at whether income from natural resources can serve as a sustainable pathway out of poverty by helping households accumulate physical, financial and human capital.

Research Context

Income from resource extraction accounts for up to 45% of total income for rural households in some countries. The importance of resource extraction is amplified in the presence of risk, which will likely increase as climate change threatens productivity, especially in marginal agricultural areas.

Policy Relevance

Improved information about how households use natural resources and their role in income generation and risk management will help governments and donor agencies generate natural resource management policies and strategies that will not disadvantage the poor. In addition, researchers will look at the long term sustainability of resource extraction, and look to inform policies in directions that improve both economic and environmental outcomes. The project will work to highlight ways to ensure that a larger share of resource rents go to local people, and articulate ways to enhance poverty alleviation without increasing environmental degradation.

Return to Shively's homepage.