Sociological Perspectives On Sustainable Development And Poverty Reduction In Rural Populations

Globally, poverty affects millions of people’s lives each day. Children are hungry, many lack the means to receive an education, and many are needlessly ill. It is a common scene to see an impoverished town surrounded by trash and polluted air. There is a need to debunk the myths surrounding the impoverished and for strategies to be crafted to aid their situations. Sociological Perspectives on Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction in Rural Populations is an authored book that seeks to clarify the understanding of poverty reduction in a substantive way and demonstrate the ways that poverty is multifaceted and why studying poverty reduction matters. The 12 chapters in this volume contribute to existing and new areas of knowledge production in the field of development studies, poverty knowledge production, and gender issues in the contemporary African experience. The book utilizes unique examples drawn purposely from select African countries to define, highlight, raise awareness, and clarify the complexity of rural poverty. Covering topics such as indigenous knowledge, sustainable development, and child poverty, this book provides an indispensable resource for sociology students and professors, policymakers, social development officers, advocates for the impoverished, government officials, researchers, and academicians.

First published in 1999, this volume explores the nature of poverty and interprets it across a range of policy reforms and project interventions in different geographical settings. It is the culmination of a cooperative effort between development academics and professionals from diverse national and disciplinary backgrounds, who came together for two events: 1) The Development Study Association’s Rural Development Study Group Symposium on the theme of the book’s title, hosted by the Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme at the University of Manchester’s Institute for Development Policy and Management. 2) The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Regional Workshop for East and Central Africa on Strategies for Poverty Reduction. The volume is underpinned by the conviction that it is morally and ethically repugnant that over 1.3 billion people live in conditions of endemic hunger and poverty while the wealth of a minority continues to increase exponentially. The authors offer wide ranging analysis of some of the causes of this situation, and of the efforts being made to eliminate or alleviate absolute poverty.

Poverty has long been a developmental challenge in the Global South in general and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular. With a fifth, mainly from the rural areas of the world, living below the poverty datum line, the world has a huge challenge to reduce poverty, worse still to eradicate it from the face of the earth. A target was set through the 2000-2015 United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and subsequently through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to reduce poverty by at least half by the years 2015 and 2030 respectively. In pursuing this goal, livelihoods of poor people though meeting with serious challenges, especially in rural areas, play a major role. This book explores the role played by people-centred Public Works Programmes in the fight against poverty and the development of rural communities in Africa. Whereas a number of countries in Africa have been approaching the issue of poverty through several interventions including Public Works Schemes, it is sad to note that poverty still tops the rankings among numerous economic and social challenges facing the continent. One wonders whether the public works strategy is misguided, misconstrued or mismanaged considering that its main objective is to make the unemployed more employable through the provision of temporary employment and training opportunities. The book concludes that Public Works Programmes, if well managed and people-centred, are one of the best ways to alleviate and even eradicate poverty in rural Africa, as it allows governments to make partnership with people, and facilitates implementation while giving space for economic self-sustenance, growth and development.

This book discusses poverty reduction and inclusive development in China. The relevant research reports included here combine unique perspectives and thorough analysis, and include both comparative and empirical analyses. Although China is the first country to have achieved the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, it still faces enormous problems and challenges in terms of narrowing the income gap, reducing poverty and attaining sustainable development. This book not only provides valuable theoretical material to help readers understand inclusive development and poverty reduction in today’s China, but also offers relevant government authorities a solid theoretical and practical basis for informed decision-making.

The book brings together a series of contributions with a common goal of reflecting the links between economic development and rural development. The scenario is dotted not only with old and new wounds but also with innovative strategies in an attempt to overcome existing delays. The chapters of the book are composed of scenarios full of case studies. The plans to be adopted to help the countries that have lagged behind fueled an intense debate since the obstacles to development, as evidenced by the extensive scientific literature available, now appeared to be the realities present in the socio-economic structures of a large number of villages. Although the data available are still few, it is assumed that the Covid-19 pandemic will make a landscape already full of criticalities even more fragile.

. . . the case studies and subsequent summarizing discussions provide interesting insights on the many interactions of trade, poverty and the environment. . . digestible also for those without an academic background in economics. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture While some argue that trade liberalization has raised incomes and led to environmental protection in developing countries, others claim that it generates neither poverty reduction nor sustainability. The detailed case studies in this book demonstrate that neither interpretation is universally correct, given how much depends on specific policies and institutions that determine on-the-ground outcomes. Drawing on research from six countries around the developing world, the book also presents the unique perspectives of researchers at both the world s largest development organization (The World Bank) and the world s largest conservation organization (World Wildlife Fund) on the debate over trade liberalization and its effects on poverty and the environment. The authors trace international trade rules and events down through national development contexts to investigate on-the-ground outcomes for real people and places. The studies underscore the importance of evaluating trade from a perspective that pays attention to environmental and social vulnerability and understands the linkages between poverty reduction and environmental protection. The lessons drawn provide a critical first step in developing the appropriate response options needed to ensure that trade plays a positive role in promoting truly sustainable development. Academics and students in environmental economics, development economics and agriculture, as well as policymakers and those in development institutions will appreciate this groundbreaking work.

'A valuable contribution to our collective knowledge about governance, poverty and the environment' Frances Seymour, World Resources Institute 'Detailed and realistic documentation of contemporary development and governance relationships and trends' Melissa Leach, Institute of Development Studies There are growing signs that development work by governments, aid agencies and non-government organisations ignores the fact that environmental quality matters to the poor. There are also indications that some environmental work is pushing 'people-out' protection methodologies. Yet recently, an extensive range of project, programme and policy level activities has focused attention on the important links between poverty and the environment, and the benefit of entrenching these links in policy-making processes at all levels. The role that politics plays in all of this is of overriding importance. This volume is the first to address the role of politics in environmental issues that matter to the poor through a series of case studies. It describes experiences at regional, national and local levels in low and middle income countries including China, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Pakistan, Colombia, Peru, India, Saint Lucia and countries in East Africa. Ultimately the book demonstrates how understanding the national and local political context is crucial for addressing poverty-environment issues such as environmental health, access to natural resources for livelihoods and security, and coping with environmental disasters. The editors advocate ways in which political processes can be used to make positive changes - from the perspectives of both poverty reduction and the environment.