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Accessibility as a Determinant of Environmental Dynamics and Socio-economic Disparities in Mainland Southeast Asia
Author
Michael Epprecht, Andreas Heinimann, Peter Messerli, Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt and Urs Wiesmann
Editors
Hans Hurni, Urs Wiesmann and an international group of co-editors
Year
2010
Book Title
Global Change and Sustainable Development A Synthesis of Regional Experiences from Research Partnerships
Publisher
Perspectives of the Swiss National Centre of Compe-tence in Research (NCCR) North-South, University of Bern
City of Publication
Bern, Switzer-land
Volume
5
Pages
371-384
Phisical Description (illustration, index)
ISBN: 978-3-905835-13-7
Call Number
BC0301-10
Keywords
Accessibility; social distance; poverty; forest cover change; Southeast Asia
Abstract:
Access and accessibility are important determinants of people’s ability to utilise natural resources, and have a strong impact on household welfare. Physical accessibility of natural resources, on the other hand, has generally been regarded as one of the most important drivers of land-use and land-cover changes. Based on two case studies, this article discusses evidence of the impact of access to services and access to natural resources on household poverty and on the environment. We show that socio-cultural distances are a key limiting factor for gaining access to services, and thereby for improved household welfare. We also discuss the impact of socio-cultural distances on access to natural resources, and show that large-scale commercial exploitation of natural resources tends to occur beyond the spatial reach of socio-culturally and economically marginalised population segments. We conclude that it is essential to pay more attention to improving the structural environment that presently leaves social minority groups marginalised. Innovative approaches that use natural resource management to induce poverty reduction – for example, through compensation of local farmers for environmental services – appear to be promising avenues that can lead to integration of the objectives of poverty reduction and sustainable environmental stewardship.
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