Environmental Variables in Multidimensional Poverty Measurement: A Practical Guide with Examples from Latin America and the Caribbean

This document examines the integration of environmental indicators into multidimensional poverty measurement in Latin America and the Caribbean, developed under the Poverty-Environment Initiative led by the UNDP-UN Environment Initiative. It begins with a conceptual and methodological overview of the links between poverty and the environment, and shows how relevant indicators can be included. It then analyses national experiences with multidimensional poverty indices in countries such as Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Panama. It emphasises both widely used indicators such as access to clean water, sanitation, and exposure to pollution or natural disasters, as well as underdeveloped, indicators such as livelihood security and environmental health in the workplace. The document also contains a twelve-step practical guide for the inclusion of environmental variables in poverty measurement systems, illustrated with examples.