Today, the scientific community increasingly recognizes that environmental degradation is having a significant impact on human development. Notably, it is the poor who are disproportionately affected by the degradation of their land, air, water and biological resources, with many lacking access to clean and affordable water and energy services. This publication highlights the important role that energy and ecosystem services play in providing the poor with the means to improve their livelihoods, as well as protecting nature’s capacity to provide invaluable ecosystem services upon which economic growth depends. This publication is a compilation of UNDP’s work in each of its 166 programme countries, demonstrating how local communities from Kenya to Syria and from Guatemala to Mongolia are working to create sustainable livelihoods while addressing global environmental challenges.