CONSIDER THIS:

• High-income countries, with 15 percent of the world's population, use more than half of the world's energy, according to the World Bank.
• Worldwide use of fossil fuels continues to rise faster than that of other sources of energy, according to the World Bank.
• Global warming may increase cyclones and torrential rains; poor people, with inadequate shelter in exposed locations, are most vulnerable, the World Bank says.
• The earth has lost 20 percent of its forests over the last century, largely due to demand for timber and farmland in developing countries, the World Bank says.
• Land suitable for rain-fed agriculture may shrink 11 percent in developing countries by 2080 due to climate change, according to the United Nations.
• An estimated 75 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas, where livelihoods depend on proper management of natural resources, the World Bank says.
• Worldwide use of fossil fuels continues to rise faster than that of other sources of energy, according to the World Bank.
• High-income countries, with 15 percent of the world’s population, use more than half of the world’s energy, according to the World Bank.
• The earth has lost 20 percent of its forests over the last century, largely due to demand for timber and farmland in developing countries, the World Bank says.
• Land suitable for rain-fed agriculture may shrink 11 percent in developing countries by 2080 due to climate change, according to the United Nations.
• Global warming may increase cyclones and torrential rains; poor people, with inadequate shelter in exposed locations, are most vulnerable, the World Bank says.
• An estimated 75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas, where livelihoods depend on proper management of natural resources, the World Bank says.

Overview

Ecological balance and the sustainability of human life are inextricably linked.  Everyone in the world depends on natural resources for a healthy, secure life. 

For people struggling with extreme poverty, environmental degradation and the resulting loss of natural resources can tip an already precarious scale. An estimated 80 percent of Latin America’s poor live on land of low agricultural productivity and high susceptibility to degradation - as do 60 percent of poor Asians and half of poor Africans. Loss of habitat and species diversity significantly decreases opportunities for tourism income in places where other sources of livelihood are often not available.

These are environmental issues, but they have profound effects on quality of life for millions of people worldwide. And while these issues are global in scope, solutions lie in local communities.

Sector Performance 2006

Active Funds

• North Haiti Environment and Economic Empowerment