Resource-dependent livelihoods and the natural resource base

The natural resource base, terrestrial and marine, provides rural households in lower-income countries with income, food, shelter, and medicines, which are variously gathered and hunted in common lands and waters. These resources may be actively managed, whether by the government or local community; or may be de facto open access, with little effort by governments to prevent what may be de jure illegal extraction. This paper provides an appraisal of the literature that encompasses the direct value of wild resources to rural households; the extent to which these resources mitigate poverty and inequality; and the importance of the institutional context. The literature is increasingly addressing competing demands on the resource base both to support nearby livelihoods, and to enhance ecosystem services such as biodiversity; and how initiatives such as community-based payments for ecosystem services are changing how people interact with the resource base.

Animals in international development, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods

This paper explores the role and percept¡ons of an¡mals in internat¡onal development efforts and the possible contradictions between differing priorities of agencies involved in internat¡onal charitable efforts. The description ofthe differing descriptions of purposes in the (England and Wales) Charities Act of 2006 prov¡des a good starting point. There are many available purposes for charities, and although having one purpose does not preclude a second, organizations concerned with animal welfare appear to be quite d¡stinct from those work¡ng for poverty alleviation in the developing world. A fun and novel gift of a donkey may equally be perceived as a cruel, environmentally unsustainable and misguided development effort, a valuable asset for a household, or a burden to a household struggling to feed existing mouths..... This paper questions the underlying tensions between human development, animal welfare, and poverty alleviation exploring cultural tensions, philosophical tens¡ons and where areas of common ground may be found.

Invasive plants – Do they devastate or diversify rural livelihoods? Rural farmers' perception of three invasive plants in Nepal

In this paper, we examine how rural people in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park in Nepal perceive the effects of accidently transported invasive plant species, such as Mikania micrantha, Lantana camara and Chromolaena odorata, on their livelihoods. We found that their perception of the impact of each species on their livelihood varies with factors such as the duration of the presence of invasive plants in the landscape, and household characteristics. Results of a household survey indicate that farm households close to the forests have responded to the invasive species both as a victim and a beneficiary. Farm households are likely to adapt to the invaded environment as they have a history of interacting with invasive plants and can commoditise them through appropriate intervention. Additionally, the findings indicate that rural people are willing to invest in the control and management of invasive plants if appropriate technical assistance is available. Without assistance, they consider mitigating the infestation an unattainable mission and consider acceptance of the invasive species as a part of the rural ecosystem an inevitable outcome.

Suriname: the impact of the May 2006 floods on sustainable livelihoods

Includes bibliography

Guyana: the impact on sustainable livelihoods caused by the December 2005-February 2006 flooding

Includes bibliography

Pastoral Livelihoods in South Ethiopia - Value Chain Assessment of Gum & Resins in Moyale Area

This research assessed the value chain of gum and resins, which are available in four woreda in the southern lowlands of Ethiopia. They are Moyale Somali, Moyale Oromia, Dhas and Dire woreda. The output of this research is the elaboration of three value chains. The first is a general one for all the woreda, while the other two concern the Moyale and Dubluk markets. The assessed products are the gum arabic from Acacia trees and the resin exuded by the dunkhal tree - Boswellia family. The aim of this study was not only to understand the way in which resins and gum gain value through the chain and the profit each stakeholder gains, but more importantly how pastoralists use resin and gum collection to diversify their income. The first chapter analyses what it means to be a pastoralist in the Moyale area and its challenges. The second chapter describes how the policies of the central state influenced the pastoral access to rangelands and water and the way in which this contributed to the increase of conflict among the different groups. A particular focus is on the settlement. The third chapter describes the different ethnic groups living in the studied area and their management system to preserve resources and cope with the dry season. This chapter considers the dynamic evolution of the relations among the various groups in terms of negotiating access to resources while facing political and climatic challenges. The fourth chapter illustrates the physical context and the environment, and the way in which it has been managed in order to preserve the pastoral lifestyle. The fifth chapter describes the characteristics of gum and resins in the studied area. Finally, the sixth chapter describes how the value chain methodology was applied in this specific study and its outputs.

Rural governance and livelihoods systems diversification in the Western Balkans: comparative case studies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia

Agriculture is still important for socio-economic development in rural areas of Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia (BMS). However, for sustainable rural development rural economies should be diversified so attention should be paid also to off-farm and non-farm income-generating activities. Agricultural and rural development (ARD) processes and farm activity diversification initiatives should be well governed. The ultimate objective of this work is to explore linkages between ARD governance and rural livelihoods diversification in BMS. The thesis is based on an extended secondary data analysis and surveys. Questionnaires for ARD governance and coordination were sent via email to public, civil society and international organizations. Concerning rural livelihood diversification, the field questionnaire surveys were carried out in three rural regions of BMS. Results show that local rural livelihoods are increasingly diversified but a significant share of households are still engaged in agriculture. Diversification strategies have a chance to succeed taking into consideration the three rural regions’ assets. However, rural households have to tackle many problems for developing new income-generating activities such as the lack of financial resources. Weak business skills are also a limiting factor. Fully exploiting rural economy diversification potential in BMS requires many interventions including improving rural governance, enhancing service delivery in rural areas, upgrading rural people’s human capital, strengthening rural social capital and improving physical capital, access of the rural population to finance as well as creating a favourable and enabling legal and legislative environment fostering diversification. Governance and coordination of ARD policy design, implementation and evaluation is still challenging in the three Balkan countries and this has repercussions also on the pace of rural livelihoods diversification. Therefore, there is a strong and urgent need for mobilization of all rural stakeholders and actors through appropriate governance arrangements in order to foster rural livelihoods diversification and quality of life improvement.

Potential and limitations of organic and fair trade cotton for improving livelihoods of smallholders: evidence from Central Asia

Cotton is a leading agricultural non-food commodity associated with soil degradation, water pollution and pesticide poisoning due to high levels of agrochemical inputs. Organic farming is often promoted as a means of addressing the economic, environmental and health risks of conventional cotton production, and it is slowly gaining ground in the global cotton market. Organic and fair trade cotton are widely seen as opportunities for smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods thanks to higher returns, lower input costs and fewer risks. Despite an increasing number of studies comparing the profitability of organic and non-organic farming systems in developing and industrialized countries, little has been published on organic farming in Central Asia. The aim of this article is to describe the economic performance and perceived social and environmental impacts of organic cotton in southern Kyrgyzstan, drawing on a comparative field study conducted by the author in 2009. In addition to economic and environmental aspects, the study investigated farmers’ motivations toward and assessment of conversion to organic farming. Cotton yields on organic farms were found to be 10% lower, while input costs per unit were 42% lower; as a result, organic farmers’ cotton revenues were 20% higher. Due to lower input costs as well as organic and fair trade price premiums, the average gross margin from organic cotton was 27% higher. In addition to direct economic benefits, organic farmers enjoy other benefits, such as easy access to credit on favorable terms, provision of uncontaminated cottonseed cooking oil and cottonseed cake as animal feed, and marketing support as well as extension and training services provided by newly established organic service providers. The majority of organic farmers perceive improved soil quality, improved health conditions, and positively assess their initial decision to convert to organic farming. The major disadvantage of organic farming is the high manual labor input required. In the study area, where manual farm work is mainly women's work and male labor migration is widespread, women are most affected by this negative aspect of organic farming. Altogether, the results suggest that, despite the inconvenience of a higher workload, the advantages of organic farming outweigh its disadvantages and that conversion to organic farming improves the livelihoods of small-scale farmers.

Structural and procedural properties important in promoting bio-enterprises as alternative livelihoods to pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods

Alternative livelihoods to pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods are increasingly gaining attention in rural development but few empirical evidence exist on how to go about supporting such initiatives. As pastoral and agro-pastoral production conditions change due to various factors including market conditions, climate variability and change, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists are increasingly faced with the challenge of finding alternative livelihoods. Bio-enterprises offer such alternatives or complementary activities for rural actors to adapt to changing socio-ecological conditions. This study examines the roles of bio-enterprise initiatives from a livelihood perspective and identifies the features important for such initiatives to reduce poverty and improve the adaptive capacities of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. It draws on four different bio-enterprise initiatives on agro-pastoral and pastoral livelihoods and on improved natural resources management (NRM) in the drylands of Kenya. Data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, informal discussions and the study of reports. Results shows among other factors that diversification into enterprises requires cooperation among the stakeholders with their varying experiences in development, NRM and business development. Other factors such as sustained financial support, capacity development to survive the market introduction phase, as well as quantity and quality of the product, are critical. Mentoring proved to be a driver of success in some initiatives.