The world's poor depend critically on fertile soil, clean water and healthy ecosystems for their livelihoods and well-being. This reliance creates complex, dynamic interactions between environmental conditions, people's access to and control over environmental resources, and poverty. Understanding the nature of these relationships is a prerequisite for enduring success in the fight against poverty. Yet, the central importance of environment for poverty reduction, and the economic case for pro-poor investment in environmental assets, remains dishearteningly unfamiliar to many. As a result, the environmental concerns of the poor all too often are marginalized within the context of national development planning and eff orts to reach the MDGs.