Poverty and Environment: A reflection in Lakshman Rao Nagar

The present essay is a synthesis of an assessment undertaken on the relation between poverty and
environment in Lakshman Rao Nagar, a populous slum in Bangalore city, Karnataka. Firstly,

The relation between poverty levels and environmental degradation has been widely debated
inside academic circles. The theoretical linkage between poverty and environmental degradation
has for some time been shroud in ambiguity. Environmental degradation and poverty are closely
interrelated and inseparable, particularly in developing countries. Awareness and concern about
the same have grown around the world over the last few decades. In recent years, economic
researchers have become increasingly aware of the important implications that the state of the
environment has for the success of development effort. (Michael P Todaro, Stephen C Smith,
Economic Development)
It has been asserted that the interaction between poverty and environmental degradation can lead
to a self-perpetuating process in which, as a result of ignorance or economic necessity,
communities may exhaust the resources on which they depend for survival. (Michael P Todaro,
Stephen C Smith, Economic Development)

Poverty breeds frustration, depression, helplessness, crime and struggle to meet immediate
survival needs at the expense of long-term environmental benefits. This struggle for survival has
been the major linkage of the poor to environmental degradation such as deforestation, land
degradation of coastal habitats and poor urban sanitation that led to perpetual poverty. Overall,
there is much controversy surrounding the poverty-environmental degradation nexus. The
predominant school of thought argues that poverty is a major cause of environmental degradation
and if policy makers want to address the environmental issues, then they must first address the
poverty problem. In this study, I try to analyze the major factors associated with poverty that
have a devastating effect on environmental quality in Lakshman Rao Nagar, Bengaluru.
Area of study

Laxman Rao Nagar (L. R. Nagar) slum is part of the Koramangala cluster of slums, which is one
of the biggest slums in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Taking into account the complex nexus between
poverty and environment, I have chosen LR Nagar as my area of study because of its socio
-environmental vulnerability.

The slum is inhabited by a multi-religious and multi-lingual population, consisting of nearly

2,300 families, mostly from impoverished situations and categorized at low-income levels.

The streets are narrow and the sewage water stagnates in open surface drains, which emit an
unpleasant scent. Some houses are made of concrete and others are a sprawl of corrugated iron–
roofed huts. This is due to the fact that the land facilities of the area are not yet fully regularized.
For this reason, most of the population residing in L.R Nagar, has not yet been served by housing
regularization projects, continues to live without urban infrastructure and adequate housing,
being deprived of natural gifts like sunshine and air and vulnerable to numerous precarious
situations and environmental challenges.

During discussions I had with the people there, it was brought to light that most of the men work
as daily wage earners or are involved in small stalls business and many other activities in
unorganized sectors, while women are employed as domestic workers, either cooking, though
using wood, charcoal and other solid fuels, watching over children and other kinds of domestic
work. Unemployment and low income have reduced their standard of living and has also led
many of the unemployed to turn to alcoholism, making the environment of the area.
No group is more vulnerable to environmental harm than children. Air pollution, water pollution
and exposure to toxic substances, together with other types of environmental harm, cause 1.5
million deaths vulnerable children under the age of 5 every year, and contribute to disease,
disability and early mortality throughout their life. At LR Nagar, children are seen everywhere, I
observed that while some children were going or returning from schools, others were engaged in
playing near the garbage dumps, oblivious of the fact that they may get infected with some fatal
disease.

Livestock production, like any economic activity, can be associated with environmental damage.
In L.R Nagar, the livestock generally live in the same quarters with people in that area. Some
families raise small livestock such as chickens, geese and goats. That, combined with the fact
that the local water sources lack cleaning facilities, create an environment for the spread of
contagious diseases.

At a glance, the hygiene conditions are deplorable as many of the houses are located right on the
sides of an open air or sewage drain, civic amenities are far from adequate to meet the poor. Bad
living environment thus deepens poverty. However, seeing the environment as the sole
determinant of poverty does not acknowledge the reasons behind why people live in
environmentally vulnerable areas. The poor are well aware that their lack of power both
underpins and shapes their relationship with the environment; with their low status and
powerlessness limiting their control of, and access to, environmental resources.
Impact of poverty on environment

Impact of poverty on the environment can be examined in manifolds. Poverty is concerned to be

a significant contributor to environmental damage. It has widely been assumed that the poor lack
any choice but to deplete the natural resources that leads to environmental degradation.
Subsequently, environmental degradation further leads to impoverishment of people. Poverty
which is seemingly high in the rural areas not only affects them but spreads across cities as well.
For example, the land degradation due to the river to produce more food in china in the 1960s
and 1970s.

Moreover, poverty and overpopulation are the largest factors responsible for environmental
degradation. Several factors contribute to the complex relationship between poverty and
environmental degradation. One of such factors is environmental entitlements and stress
(unescap.org). They are the combined outcomes of the environmental sources such as ownership,
production, socio-economic group and their ability to make effective use out of those. These
factors are responsible for mediating environmental damages.
Moreover, entitlement failure results in poverty and consequently worsening the environment.
Preserving natural resources whilst combating poverty together can be challenging. I could
observe a similar situation in LR Nagar. People there are in no position to afford proper drainage
systems, hence, the waste materials from their houses are disposed into the nearest riverbanks
leading to water pollution.

Furthermore, another factor contributing to poverty and environment is lack of capital. With
limited savings, people living in poverty cannot invest in environmentally friendly products. This
in turn hinders the sustainability model of preserving the environment. There was a survey done
in LR Nagar that investigated the use of sanitary pads amongst the female population. Due to
advertisements and awareness, many women are using sanitary pads. Sanitary pads are
essentially non degradable that makes it equal to a plastic waste. When they were asked if they
would resort to environmentally friendly products such as menstrual cups, the majority of them
refused to do so. Hence, people living below the poverty line do not have the option to think
about the environment because environmental quality assumes the title of a luxury good for
them.

Nevertheless, people of LR Nagar have waste management systems as they have bins that carry
dry and wet waste separately. However, the people of LR Nagar are largely unaware of the
information as to why such a disposing mechanism is needed. Due to this reason, segregated bins
remain largely dysfunctional. Such actions further cause hindrance to the environment because
the wastes from the households are being dumped anywhere convenient. Thus, garbage being
disposed of along the sidewalks, rivers and so on, further causes inconvenience to the
environment.
There were few of the positive impacts that could be generated. Firstly, the energy consumption
by the poor people is relatively lower than the rich. This is so because the poor households
cannot afford their individual means of transportation which makes them travel in public
transportation, hence reducing their emission of greenhouses gases. Not all households have
modern technologies such as air conditioner, cooking items like microwaves and so on which
reduces their use of energy sources and overall, they emit relatively less greenhouse gases. In LR
Nagar, I could hardly find any houses that own such modern technological appliances. Hence,
it’s safe to assume that carbon footprints are relatively low.

Overall, the impacts of poverty on the environment have more negatives than the positives. This
gap can be reduced by the community and state together. It can be done so by educating poor
households on the importance of protecting the environment. Workshops can be initiated by
school, colleges, civic society to provide detailed information on the same. The government can
intervene by providing environment friendly products for cheaper prices. Such initiatives could
overall be hugely significant in contributing to the protection of the environment.

Measures forward

Preserving the integrity of the local environment, protecting and managing resources in line with
sustainability criteria, and preventing hazardous environmental changes are key prerequisites for
poverty reduction. Poor people suffer most acutely from local environmental problems such as
water pollution or soil degradation which put their health and life-support systems at risk.
Environmental protection, therefore, directly contributes to poverty reduction, and maintaining
the natural environment can help reduce vulnerability at the same time.

Moreover, improving governance to create more enabling policies for addressing the poverty-
environment concerns of the poor, with particular attention to the needs of women and children
is required. Also, enhancing the assets of the poor to expand sustainable livelihood and to reduce
their vulnerability to environmental hazards and natural resource-related conflict alongside
promotion of sound environmental management need to be taken care of.

By using decentralized energy systems to deliver renewable energy to clinics, schools and
businesses and improving conditions in urban slums and overcoming energy poverty are
important measures that can be taken forward. Water and sanitation infrastructure, waste disposal
services, modern energy supply and transportation systems are also vital to combat urban
poverty. They help to protect the local environment and reduce the pressure on adjacent
ecosystems. Integrated development plans for urban slums are therefore essential, not only to
combat poverty but also to prevent further environmental damage.

This essay set out to articulate ways to understand the interlinkage between poverty and
environment. Taking the case study of Lakshman Rao Nagar into account, attempt has been
made to map out the key relationships between poverty and its impact on environmental
degradation. The vulnerability to environmental disasters that the poor are exposed to, and their
limited ability to cope with such shocks throws light on their helplessness and frangibility. Also,
the fact that the poor masses are directly and heavily dependent on natural resources and
ecosystem services for their subsistence explicitly underlines the need for environmental
protection. Thus, the overall negative impacts of poverty on the environment outweigh the
positives like lower energy consumption and relatively smaller carbon footprint.

The deterioration of environmental quality is not inevitable, nor is it an unavoidable sacrifice on

the altar of economic growth. On the contrary, better environmental management is key to
poverty reduction. Thus, effective solutions in this regard must be guided by a nuanced
understanding of the specifics of this nexus between environment and poverty. While we all
share a sense of urgency in combating environmental degradation, this paper looks ahead with
some degree of hope and optimism for future development and betterment. In that spirit, I
identified a large set of measures to reduce poverty and thereby enhance environmental quality.

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