Explanation of Factors Affecting the Natural Resources Degradation with Emphasis on Poverty and Food Security

One of the most obvious aspects of poverty is the apparent link between this phenomenon and the degradation of natural resources, which leads to environmental instability. In the present study, the relationship between poverty and natural resource degradation in Iran was investigated within the VECM model in the period 1994-2018. The study results showed that the first break of poverty had a positive and significant effect on the degradation of natural resources and a one percent increase in the poverty index would increase the amount of natural resources degradation by 0.19 percent, but the value added of agriculture had a negative effect on natural resources degradation and with a one percent increase in value added, the natural resources would be less extracted by 0.20 percent; also, energy price liberalization and trade liberalization had negative effects on the natural resources degradation while the food security index had a positive and significant effect on the natural resources degradation, so that for every one percent increase in the food security index, the rate of natural resources degradation would increase by 0.78 percent. In addition, according to the study results, energy efficiency has a negative effect on the rate of natural resources degradation with a coefficient of -0.21, but this rate is not significant. The coefficient of the ECM variable is equal to -0.59, which is statistically significant at the level of 95 percent and is in accordance with the theory and indicates that in each period, 59.77 percent of the imbalance error will disappear; also, providing the fuel needed by the rural people, providing subsidies and facilities for the use of new technologies to improve productivity as well as supporting producers and consumers in a targeted way to reduce the degradation of natural resources and protect the environment will be helpful.