Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation Programme

The purpose of the ESPA programme is to aid in poverty reduction by taking account of the many varied pressures on ecosystems and improving the management and delivery of ecosystem services.

The current phase of the programme focuses on four of the world’s poorest regions: Africa, Amazon, China and India and the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region. Concurrent Situation Analyses are being undertaken in each of these regions. These systematic analyses will lead to the identification of core research requirements, which can be used to support the development of regional projects.

ESPASSA will produce the Situation Analysis for the India and Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region.

The concept for the ESPA programme was developed by the Department for International Development (DFID), National Environmental Research Council (NERC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).