This project will deliver help to reduce the vulnerability of poor people in Haiti to the effects of climate change, while at the same time conserving threatened coastal and marine biodiversity. Investments in climateproofed and socially-sustainable BD conservation strategies, within the context of the National Protected Areas System (NPAS), will enable coastal and marine ecosystems to continue to generate Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EBA) services; while additional investment of adaptation funds in the watersheds which drain into these ecosystems will serve to maximize BD benefits and ecosystem functions, as well as generating EBA benefits for the populations living in the watersheds themselves.

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The United Nations Development Programme

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is a new survey-based index designed to measure the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agricultural sector. The WEAI was initially developed as a tool to reflect women’s empowerment that may result from the United States government’s Feed the Future Initiative, which commissioned the development of the WEAI. The WEAI can also be used more generally to assess the state of empowerment and gender parity in agriculture, to identify key areas in which empowerment needs to be strengthened, and to track progress over time. The WEAI is an aggregate index, reported at the country or regional level, based on individual-level data collected by interviewing men and women within the same households. The WEAI comprises two subindexes. The first assesses the degree to which women are empowered in five domains of empowerment (5DE) in agriculture. It reflects the percentage of women who are empowered and, among those who are not, the percentage of domains in which women enjoy adequate achievements. These domains are (1) decisions about agricultural production, (2) access to and decisionmaking power about productive resources, (3) control of use of income, (4) leadership in the community, and (5) time allocation. The second subindex (the Gender Parity Index [GPI]) measures gender parity. The GPI reflects the percentage of women who are empowered or whose achievements are at least as high as the men in their households. For those households that have not achieved gender parity, the GPI shows the empowerment gap that needs to be closed for women to reach the same level of empowerment as men. This technical paper documents the development of the WEAI and presents pilot data from Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Uganda, so that researchers and practitioners seeking to use the index in their own work would understand how the survey questionnaires were developed and piloted, how the qualitative case studies were undertaken, how the index was constructed, how various indicators were validated, and how it can be used in other settings.

/pdf/the-women-s-empowerment-in-agriculture-index-2a8n81bl0r.pdf

The Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits Pearson Education Inc., Wharton School Publishing, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2004; Pages: 432; Price: US $ 29.99; ISBN: 0-13-146750-6. The treasure lying at the bottom of the world's economic pyramid, attracts companies with unimaginable prospects and profits. The economic pyramid of the world contains more than 400 crores of population at the bottom whose earnings and spendings per capita are low, but as an aggregate, are much larger than they are perceived to be. Hence, it is high time for the corporate managers to make an effort to locate the Alibaba's treasure lying hidden at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP). Broadly, the characteristics and spending patterns of the BOP segment are different as compared to the other segments of the society. In the high and medium range markets, consumers are able to buy bigger packages of consumables such as a 10 kg packet of detergents so that they need not shop frequently. But low-end BOP consumers do not have so much disposable cash to buy in bulk and store. Hence, it is suggested that this segment be provided with "single serve" packages. Already in India, 30% of personal care and other consumables such as shampoo, tea, and cold medicines are sold in single serve packages and most single serve packages are priced at one rupee. Hindustan Lever Limited offers Clinic Plus shampoo priced at 50 Paisa. The major differences between the Bottom of the Pyramid and the Top of the Pyramid markets are differences in buying habits and cultural differences. The Bottom of the Pyramid is characterized by a low brand consciousness due to low economic position, and is mostly need driven. Major emerging BOP markets in the world, including China, India, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Indonesia, with a combined population of about 300 crores, represent 70% of the world BOP population. Such a huge jumbo size BOP market promises intense marketing opportunities for the companies. THE BOOK UNDER REVIEW Part 1 of the book emphasizes the development of an appropriate framework for the active engagement of the private sector at the BOR It provides the basis for a profitable win-win situation for all stake holders involved in the process of catering to BOP markets. Part 2 describes 12 cases, in a variety of businesses where BOP is becoming an active market and is bringing benefits to its customers far beyond offering just products. Part 3 contains stories in video form-an attempt to present the prospects and prosperity underlying the BOP markets, and to bring the BOP markets into limelight. Around 100 hrs of video was collected as part of the research. The book specifies workable solutions for serving huge population lying at the bottom of the world's economic pyramid. Even with NGOs working tirelessly and government support and international aid being circulated heavily, the problem of poverty still persists. According to the author, the main reason for this situation is that the private sector, which is huge and potentially capable of solving any problem in the world, is practically not involved. The concept of 'Bottom of the Pyramid" is explained in this book. The World's Economic Pyramid contains wealthy people at the top with high spending capacities and habits. But the size of this segment is very small i.e., only about 7.5 to 10 crores of 600 crores plus population, whereas more than 400 crores of population live at the bottom of the pyramid earning less than $2 per day and in India alone around 40 crores of people earn less than Rs. 90 per day. The author opines that, to effectively serve this BOP market, instead of old and tried solutions, continuous innovation and a paradigm shift in the thinking process of the private sector is needed. THE BOOK PRESENTS CASES OF COMPANIES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN BOP MARKETING * The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF): It established the Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) in 1995 to market, install, and serve the Solar Home Systems (SHS) in south India. …

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits

https://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/ophi-wp-58.pdf

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

Achieving sustainable development has been hampered by trade-offs in favour of economic growth over social well-being and ecological viability, which may also affect the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by the member states of the United Nations. In contrast, the concept of inclusive development emphasizes the social, ecological and political dimensions of development. In this context, this paper addresses the question: What does inclusive development mean and to what extent is it taken into account in the framing of the SDGs? It presents inclusive development as having three key dimensions (social, ecological, and relational inclusiveness) with five principles each. This is applied to the 17 SDGs and their targets. The paper concludes that while the text on the 
SDGs fares quite well on social inclusiveness, it fares less well in respect to ecological and relational inclusiveness. This implies that there is a risk that implementation processes also focus more on social inclusiveness rather than on ecological and relational inclusiveness. Moreover, in order to de facto achieve social inclusiveness in the Anthropocene, it is critical that the latter two are given equal weight in the actual implementation process.

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Sustainable development goals and inclusive development

The global moving out of poverty study is unique in several respects. It is one of the few large-scale comparative research efforts to focus on mobility out of poverty rather than on poverty alone. The study draws together the experiences of poor women and men who have managed to move out of poverty over time and the processes and local institutions that have helped or hindered their efforts. It is also the first time that a World Bank report draws on people's own understanding of freedom, democracy, equality, empowerment, and aspirations-and how these affect poor people in different growth, social, and political contexts. By giving primacy to people's own experiences and how they define poverty, the study provides several new insights to develop more effective strategies to reduce poverty. The study finds that poor people take lots of initiative, in many cases even more than those who are better off. There are millions and millions of tiny poor entrepreneurs. The investment climate of these tiny entrepreneurs has not been a centerpiece of poverty strategies. Too often, poor people do not face a level playing field. Despite the micro credit revolution, poor people remain outside of most financial services; and large lenders remain reluctant to lend to micro enterprises and micro entrepreneurs. New institutional models and financial instruments are needed to serve poor people's financial needs and give them the capital they need to expand their businesses and connect to markets.

Moving Out of Poverty : Volume 2. Success from the Bottom Up

Moving Out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up

The Moving Out of Poverty Study: An Overview Stories About the Poor, Stories by the Poor Poverty Is a Condition, Not a Characteristic I Believe I Can The Myth of Equal Opportunity All Politics Is Local: How Better Governance Helps the Poor The Unfulfilled Potential of Collective Action Concluding Reflections

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/11838/48104.pdf

Success from the bottom up

Poor people work hard and are the most motivated to move out of poverty. Yet pervasive inequality in opportunity, agency, organization and human development prevents them from getting fair returns and keeps them trapped in poverty. The demise of the Washington Consensus has created a need for new consensus that supports poor people's direct participation in economic growth on fairer terms. This paper proposes creating wealth from below as a new strategy to support market based approaches that are value based and build on poor people's strengths. It requires breaking through the ideological mindsets of state vs. civil society vs. private sector. This paper uses the framework of opportunity structure and agency as the two building blocks to understand the obstacles to economic empowerment in an unequal world. Opportunity structure consists of the institutional climate and the deeper political and social structures that govern the interaction between poor people and other actors. The concept of collective agency is viewed as particularly important. It consists of collective organization, voice, representation and identity which interact with poor people's individual assets and capabilities. The framework also points to possible policy intervention points. The paper then analyses and draws lessons from four large scale programs, AMUL, SEWA, e-choupals and women's self help groups from Andhra Pradesh in India implemented by civil society, private sector and the state that have raised poor people's incomes to varying degrees.

Soumya Kapoor

Papers

Moving Out of Poverty : Volume 2. Success from the Bottom Up

Moving Out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up

Success from the bottom up

Beyond ideologies: creating wealth for the poor

Moving Out of Poverty : Volume 2. Success from the Bottom Up