Poverty and environmental damage feed each other.
The poverty and environment trap
Low income
Families have no savings and no other choice of fuel or land.
Overuse of resources
Trees cut for firewood, soil farmed until it is exhausted, fish caught before they breed.
Less to live on
Poorer soil, fewer fish, more floods: lower harvests and incomes.
Back to poverty
Even lower income, so the pressure on nature grows.
The points to remember
- Write it like this: "Poor households depend on natural resources and cannot afford alternatives, so they overuse them."
- Link it to common pool resources: no one can be excluded, so they are overused.
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Poverty also stops people investing in the future.
Poverty also blocks economic sustainability
Low human capital
Children leave school to work: fewer skills for the future.
No finance
No savings or loans for cleaner tools or better seeds.
Debt
Borrowing to survive, at high interest, leaves less for tomorrow.
The points to remember
- Environmental and economic sustainability: mention both.
- The answer is a cycle: show the arrow back to poverty.
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Paper 1 asked this in May 2024, as part (a) for 10 marks.
Explain how poverty may have a negative impact on sustainability.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.
The poverty and environment trap
Low income
Families have no savings and no other choice of fuel or land.
Overuse of resources
Trees cut for firewood, soil farmed until it is exhausted, fish caught before they breed.
Less to live on
Poorer soil, fewer fish, more floods: lower harvests and incomes.
Back to poverty
Even lower income, so the pressure on nature grows.
How the 10 marks are given
| Marks | What your answer needs |
|---|---|
| 9–10 | Theory fully explained, terms used correctly all the way through, the diagram included and fully explained |
| 7–8 | Theory explained, terms mostly right, the diagram included and explained |
| 5–6 | Theory partly explained, some terms, the diagram included |
| 1–4 | Theory only described or stated; few relevant terms |