Poverty eradication, sustainable economic growth and environmental sustainability are the key pillars of development plans in most African countries. There is consensus that natural resources, especially those of land, soil, water, forest, plant and animal diversity, vegetation, renewable energy sources, climate change and ecosystems services are fundamental for improving livelihoods and achieving sustainable development in Africa.
This is especially so if emerging market opportunities for adding value to natural resource goods and services can be accessible to the poor. However, how best to manage Africa’s natural resources to improve livelihoods, reduce poverty and advance economic growth while maintaining and enhancing the sustainability and resilience of the natural resource base remains an elusive goal and daunting challenge for research, teaching, development practice, community actions and policy. Understanding and tackling this complex challenge demands creative, integrative and holistic approaches by multiple stakeholders, to bring multiple and complementary perspectives, knowledge and skills to facilitate a socially equitable, economically efficient and environmentally sound development.
The terms natural resources and environment are used interchangeably. The term environment generally refers to a natural resource base that provides sources and performs sink functions. We shall explore an overview of the different perspectives on the linkages between NRM, poverty and development. The the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable livelihoods are presented as a way of thinking about the objectives, scope and priorities for NRM to serve development purposes.
NRM, Poverty and Development Linkages
Natural resource management is defined here as a scientific and technical principle that forms a basis for sustainable management (conservation and use) and governance of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations. It is widely recognized that natural resources contribute significantly to development in different ways: as an economic activity and source of growth; as a livelihood, by providing jobs for people; and as a provider of environmental services that can have both good and bad outcomes (NEPAD, 2003; Comim et al., 2009; Khan, 2008; IAASTD, 2009; Chowdhury and Ahmed, 2010). Chapter two discusses the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being: the bundle of positive benefits that people obtain from natural resources.
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The events of 2020 have opened the world’s eyes to digital transformation as never before. Despite many people not being aware of the term, remote learning, working and socialising has seen people embrace more technology than ever.
Much of this adoption is of technology that has been around for quite a while, but more and more, we’re seeing some advanced services and solutions being spoken about as countries and companies look to emerge from the crisis stronger. One of these, probably the most prominent, is AI.
AI seems to make a regular appearance in success stories surrounding COVID-19 specifically. Lebanon is a case in point where citizens now have access to a health bot with an inbuilt symptom checker to conduct self-assessments for the virus. The sophisticated bot is able to identify high-risk patients and direct them on to further treatment and consultation, helping to alleviate the capacity of frontline healthcare workers.
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