Poverty and environmental degradation are deeply intertwined, particularly in fragile ecosystems, creating a cycle that is difficult to break. Fragile ecosystems, such as arid regions, wetlands, mountainous areas, and tropical forests, possess limited capacity to recover from human-induced or natural disturbances. These ecosystems are highly sensitive to changes in land use, water availability, and biodiversity, making the impacts of human activity particularly severe. Poor communities often inhabit these regions due to socio-economic marginalization, lack of access to fertile land, and limited livelihood options. Consequently, their subsistence activities—such as agriculture, livestock grazing, logging, and collection of fuelwood—exert significant pressure on already vulnerable ecosystems. In many developing countries, poverty constrains the ability of individuals to make sustainable environmental choices. When communities depend on immediate survival rather than long-term resource management, overexploitation of natural resources becomes inevitable. For instance, overgrazing by livestock in semi-arid regions leads to soil compaction, loss of vegetation cover, and increased vulnerability to desertification. Similarly, smallholder farmers often engage in slash-and-burn agriculture or clear forested areas for cultivation, which contributes to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and carbon emissions. These environmental impacts further reduce the productivity of land, making it even harder for impoverished communities to sustain their livelihoods, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation. The relationship between poverty and environmental degradation is also mediated by institutional and economic factors. In fragile ecosystems, property rights and land tenure systems are often unclear or insecure, discouraging long-term investment in sustainable practices. Communities lacking secure land rights may exploit resources without considering future consequences, as short-term survival needs dominate decision-making. Furthermore, limited access to markets, credit, technology, and education restricts alternatives to environmentally destructive livelihoods. For instance, the absence of affordable renewable energy sources forces poor households to rely on biomass fuels, leading to deforestation and indoor air pollution. Similarly, without access to sustainable irrigation technologies, farmers may overdraw groundwater, resulting in aquifer depletion and salinization of soil, which reduces agricultural yields and exacerbates food insecurity. Climate change amplifies the interaction between poverty and environmental degradation in fragile ecosystems. Vulnerable populations often reside in areas prone to extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, cyclones, and heatwaves. The ecological fragility of these regions means that even minor disturbances can have severe consequences. Poor communities with limited adaptive capacity face heightened exposure to climate-related risks. For example, deforestation in hilly regions increases susceptibility to landslides during monsoons, while wetland degradation