The edge of markets: Ecosystem services and meeting the needs of the poor

Here I open a critical dialogue between two currently divergent camps; between those interested in rural poverty alleviation and those interested in biodiversity conservation – parties who in truth could be collaborating in a systematic way to provide a range of services to the end user.  First I will examine how biodiversity and poverty is measured and mapped.  A critical stumbling block in linking poverty alleviation strategies to conservation efforts is created by the multitude of measures available and the non-concordance between them.  Next using case studies I ask how the poor place value on the basic services of nature they need to survive.  I will focus on six services (like forest products or freshwater) most crucial to the rural poor.  Finally, I look at how these services contribute to biodiversity health.  A way forward I argue is through the valuation and incorporation of ecosystem services into development and poverty alleviation efforts.   Without this re-framing of the relationship between people and nature, we run the real risk of conservation being viewed as a hobby for the elite, and nature being viewed as having less to offer the poor than the rich.