The most vulnerable to any reduction in access to basic needs are the rural poor. It is characteristic of many of the large river basins in developing countries that the rural people account for about 70% of the population. This is the case for the Niger, Congo and Mekong basins. There are many definitions of poverty, related to monetary measures, nutrition (calorific values) and access or rights based approaches to water, food, energy, education, health services etc. Different pictures and policies emerge depending on which aspects of poverty/wealth are focused on. For example, the definition of poverty as $1 per day can lead to a (worthy) focus on increasing cash income, but other dimensions may be overlooked. Lifestyle opportunities, health and education are also important. There is no perfect method to address all concerns and expectations across cultures and countries. Monetary and calorific values are however obvious choices considering the linkages between poverty and water-related resources (agricultural products such as rice, fish and other aquatic animals).