Poverty and environment linkages in mountains and uplands: Reflections on the \u27poverty trap\u27 thesis

In this paper the author first considers a central premise of the idea of a poverty trap that there is a mutual and spiraling relationship between poverty and environmental degradation. The argument maintains that, mainly due to inherent short time horizons and risk, poverty encourages over-exploitation of the physical environment which results in further impoverishment. Using both conceptual and empirical material, this paper examines some of the major linkages that are believed to exist between the processes of poverty and environmental degradation, with a focus on the Western Himalayan..