The World Health Organization (WHO) has determined that poor people suffer greater loss of life and health from pollution and other environment-related causes, with lack of safe water, sanitation, and poor air quality being the main factors in determining life expectancy. The statistic that 20% of the total loss of life expectancy in developing countries is attributable to environmental causes, versus only 4% in rich countries is also indicative of the fact that the poor are hit the hardest by environmental degradation. (Ibid. p. 6)

Despite such overwhelming evidence about environmental degradation as a major cause of poverty, there is a widespread perception in developing countries that maintaining the environmental quality was a luxury that the poor countries can ill-afford while allocating their scarce resources in supposedly more important areas such as education, health and infrastructure. This is an arguable point. According to the "Sustaining the Environment to Fight Poverty..."...
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