Exploring the impact of conditional cash transfers on poverty alleviation and environmental conservation: a scoping review emphasizing zakat utilization

Existing studies have rarely integrated poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability within a unified framework, creating a gap in designing holistic CCT-based interventions. This study examines the role of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes in addressing poverty while contributing to environmental conservation, with particular emphasis on the potential integration of zakat as a complementary financing mechanism. Using a scoping review methodology guided by PRISMA-ScR, relevant literature published between 2018 and 2024 was systematically identified from Web of Science, SCOPUS and Google Scholar, followed by thematic analysis. The findings revealed four key themes: mitigation of deforestation, complementarities between CCT and Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), shifts in beneficiaries’ environmental attitudes and the combined effects of CCT on socio-economic and ecological outcomes. Theoretically, the study extended social protection discourse by linking poverty alleviation instruments with sustainability objectives, demonstrating how behavioural conditionalities can operationalise integrated development goals. Practically, it highlighted the potential for zakat institutions, particularly in OIC countries, to support CCT-type interventions that promoted sustainable livelihoods and environmental stewardship. The study’s originality lies in synthesising fragmented evidence across poverty, environmental policy, and Islamic social finance to propose a more holisti