Photo Credit: © FAO/Xia Zuzhang
Are our growth-based models of modernization at odds with sustainable development? Does addressing environmental concerns need to take a back seat to economic growth in order to alleviate poverty? And is it reasonable to expect people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from to care about the environment?
In this episode, I sit down with Heather Tallis, Global Managing Director and Lead Scientist for Strategy Innovation for the Nature Conservancy, who dispels the myths and assumptions around the interplay of conservation and safeguarding the environment with meeting human needs and raising living standards. Marshaling the evidence, Heather makes the case that there doesn’t have to be a tradeoff between economic growth and poverty alleviation and conservation and that development goals and environmental goals can go hand in hand.
This conversation is part of this year’s theme for A Deeper Look podcast, in which we explore the darker side of development — the paradoxes and unintended consequences that surround international development efforts. You can listen to the episode on iTunes, SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts. I invite you to subscribe and join the conversation by leaving a comment, submitting a rating or sharing this episode on social media.