Povertyreductionandsustainabledevelopment

　　1. An	　	introduction to the sustainable development	　	When we give a definition to sustainable development, first and	　	foremost, we have to figure out what means sustainable and what is development	　	respectively. Development is a comprehensive process involving economic as well	　	as social and environmental changes, while sustainability is an inherently dynamic,	　	indefinite and contested concept. Sustainable development can, therefore, be	　	seen as an unending process, which is defined not by fixed goals or the	　	specific means of achieving them, but by an approach to creating change through	　	continuous learning and adaptation. 	　	Nowadays, as survival and development have been regarded as the two	　	policy priorities in the developing country, sustainable development gets	　	another definition. It could also be called ＂equitable and balanced＂， meaning	　	that, in order for development to continue indefinitely, it should balance the	　	interests of different groups of people, within the same generation and among	　	generations, and do so simultaneously in three major interrelated	　	areas-economic, social, and environmental. 《Soubbotina 9-10》 This definition concerning the	　	links between sustainable development and people’s livelihood 《from survival to	　	a better living condition》 , follows from the ambivalent and frequent	　	references to poverty eradication as ‘an overarching objective’ of sustainable	　	development, that is the desirable outcome of a successful development process	　	– and an essential requirement for sustainable development – that is a means to	　	an end.	　	 	　	2. Poverty as a threat to sustainable	　	development	　	In each country as well as	　	globally, the most critical problem of sustainable development is eradicating	　	the existing or the potential poverty. This is because poverty is not only an	　	evil in itself, but also stands in the way of achieving most other goals of	　	development, from clean environment to personal freedom and rights, and even to	　	the stability and equality of the society, which goes against the theory an	　	practice sustainable development proposed.	　	 	　	　　	　	2.1 poverty with higher social inequality	　	Poverty is one of the reasons that increasing the population rate.	　	As far as the poor people concerned, big families and more children are the way	　	to have a better survival, because more labor means more food and drink would	　	be produced and found. This is why in most developing countries, population	　	keeps a rapid growth. The consequences has been predicted that in the future,	　	particularly in the next 50 years, the additional population will pose many	　	economic, social, and environmental challenges, not only for these poor people	　	themselves, the countries they belong to, but also for the entire global	　	community. Whether these additional people could be access to or afford to	　	social resources and services, such as education and health services, jobs,	　	food and drink, is critical for the possibility of global sustainable	　	development. Then the question of equity is on the debate. People in the	　	developed country may criticized that it is not equal to them because the	　	additional people will shrink the share of social services and resources, while	　	the so-called additional ones also argue it is not equal for they fail to	　	access to enough basic needs.	　	Another inequality caused by poverty and population is gender	　	inequality, and it brings  gender	　	asymmetry. The poor people mainly rely on the natural resources. Males are	　	often been considered as a capital and the major productivity. For example, in Ethiopia and Ghana,	　	the two countries largely depend on agriculture and are made up of many poor	　	people, which women’s status is generally low in both	　	countries. Traditionally in Ghana, customary inheritance practices	　	left widows with limited land or resources. In Ethiopia, traditional practices	　	also transfer land to	　	males. Labor is a productivity constraint for poor female-headed	　	households without an adult male in rural Ethiopia, because women usually do	　	not plow with	　	oxen due to social norms. Labor is a constraint for women in Ghana as well, in	　	part because they are	　	obligated to work first on their husband’s crops. Women in both	　	countries have heavy, time-consuming domestic task burdens. 《World Bank 12》	　	 	　	　　	　	2.2 poverty with lower economical growth	　	The poor developing countries are accounted	　	for about 85% of the world’s population, however, they only generates less than	　	22% of the globe GDP. The reasons are obvious. The poor people always own lower	　	productivity, fo the low health levels and the lack of education makes them fail	　	to acquire the knowledge and skills needed by the modern society. The lower	　	productivity directly leads the lower income. For example, in Hungary the	　	richest 20% of the population received about 4.5 times income more than the	　	poorest, while in Brazil the richest received income over 30 times more than	　	the poorest. Lower income and human poverty tend to be accompanied by such	　	social deprivations as high vulnerably to adverse events 《for example,	　	diseases, economic crisis, or natural disaster》, voicelessness in most of	　	society’s institutions, and powerlessness to improve one’s living	　	circumstances. 《Soubbotina 33》 furthermore, it also influences economic	　	investment. Economists generally assume that people are willing to save for	　	future consumption grows with their incomes. However, to the poor ones, most of	　	they can not afford to plan for the future and save. Thus in poor countries,	　	where a great amount of their incomes has to be spent to meet their current	　	needs, especially the urgent needs. Under this context, the national saving	　	rates doom to be lower, which have a big influence on the needed domestic	　	investment in both physical capital and human capital. For instance,	　	Sub-Saharan Africa consistently has the lowest saving rate and the smallest	　	pool of saving. On the contrary, the high-income countries save a smaller share	　	of their GDP with a larger pool of savings, which give them a chance to have	　	varies investments. Followed by, their economy’s productivity can be increased	　	and incomes can also be raised. It is easy to figure out that poverty worsened	　	the overall economic growth, owing to the lower productivity, lower incomes and	　	savings. Such economic growth can be socially unsustainable which in return	　	will lead to social stress and conflict, detrimental to further growth.