Environmental Factors of poverty

Erosion. Intensive farming often leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields and hence, increased poverty.

Desertification and overgrazing. Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.

Deforestation as exemplified by the widespread rural poverty in China that began in the early 20th century and is attributed to non-sustainable tree harvesting.

Natural factors such as climate change. or environment Lower income families suffer the most from climate change; yet on a per capita basis, they contribute the least to climate change

Geographic factors, for example access to fertile land, fresh water, minerals, energy, and other natural resources, presence or absence of natural features helping or limiting communication, such as mountains, deserts, navigable rivers, or coastline. Historically, geography has prevented or slowed the spread of new technology to areas such as the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa. The climate also limits what crops and farm animals may be used on similarly fertile lands.

On the other hand, research on the resource curse has found that countries with an abundance of natural resources creating quick wealth from exports tend to have less long-term prosperity than countries with less of these natural resources.

Drought and water crisis.