Assessment of Local Adaptive Capacity of Mountain Farmers: A Way Forward for Sustainable Livelihood Development

This study aims to understand the perception of mountain farmers towards the local adaptive capacity at a household level in an agro-ecological landscape. An indicator-based assessment is conducted to examine the 6 determinants and 27 indicators to give a local adaptive capacity index of the villages around Govind Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, located in the Indian Himalayan region. The findings indicate that, though the connected and isolated villages have a low and very low adaptive capacity, respectively, the effect of various determinants on the local people varies among the village settlements, based on their socio-economic capacity. Despite the government endeavours to build the livelihood of mountain farmers through different programmes and policies, it still lacks proactive decision-making. The study suggests for an integrated assessment and sustainable enhancement of the landscape as a whole, with a focus on community-level adaptation strategies. It draws attention to the need for enhanced collaboration between research institutions, government and private sectors with the mountain community in the centre.

Contribution of Small-Scale Agroforestry to Local Economic Development and Livelihood Resilience: Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan

Agroforestry plays a vital role in enhancing environmental sustainability, improving local economies, and reducing poverty through livelihood resilience. Several researchers have studied the importance of agroforestry, but little attention has been paid to livelihood resilience and local economic development in developing countries. This study aims to find the role of small-scale agroforestry in local economic development in the Shangla and Swat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Province, Pakistan. In this study, a total of 350 quantitative household surveys, 12 qualitative household case studies, and interviews of experts are used. The ordinary least squares (OLS), linear regression model, household income, wealth index, and five capitals of sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) were used to measure livelihood resilience. Results show several significant findings which may apply on a larger scale and in other cities of Pakistan or other countries. First, it directly shows the association between agroforestry, resilience-building, and local economic development. Second, financial capital can be improved through agroforestry, which can improve other capital assets. Third, small-scale agroforestry brings non-financial benefits such as environmental sustainability, improved living standards, reduced soil erosion, and provided shade. Fourth, irrigation plays a vital role in building livelihood resilience and promoting agroforestry. Lastly, on-farm diversity can be improved through agroforestry. This research discusses several practical implications along with recommendations for future research.

Sustainable Rural Livelihood and Poverty Reduction Strategies

This chapter presents the framework of sustainable livelihoods. The interests of this chapter derive from three issues: (1) How can one determine who in the population achieves a sustainable livelihood and who does not? That is, how does sustainable livelihood assist in eliminating poverty and reduce deprivation in rural communities? (2) What livelihood resources and institutional processes are necessary for enabling or constraining sustainable livelihoods for different groups? That is, does household livelihood help individuals or families to escape poverty? (3) What are the practical, operational, and policy implications of adopting a sustainable livelihood approach to poverty reduction? Namely, what constitutes a satisfactory basis for adopting a livelihood framework?

Why Study Sustainable Livelihood and Poverty Reduction?

This introductory chapter utilizes a framework of inquiry on why people are poor based on sustainable livelihood and poverty reduction. A livelihood is sustainable when it copes with and can recover from stress and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation. This book examines the core issues, namely (1) the links between sustainable rural livelihoods and why people are poor; (2) the multilateral policy contexts of poverty; (3) poverty reduction within the context of globalizing world economy; (4) the economic and moral interdependence of humans and nature; and (5) the assessment of poverty among vulnerable groups, for instance, the elderly, the young, the ill, and the disabled. The themes of this volume orbit around characteristics and challenges of sustainable development, marginalization, social empowerment, social development theory, and poverty reduction strategies advocated by the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals worldwide.

Cotton production for the sustainable livelihoods in Punjab Pakistan: a case study of district Muzaffargarh

Purpose This study aims to analyze access of cotton growers to Sustainable Livelihoods Assets Pakistani Punjab. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the department for international development (DFID’s) sustainable livelihoods framework (DFID) (1999). Where data collection was done by using a well-structured questionnaire from 200 randomly selected cotton growers of the district Muzaffargarh. There are five livelihood assets (human assets, natural assets, financial assets, physical assets and social assets) in the SLF, this study has used three different indicators/proxies for each asset except natural assets, where four indicators were used to capture the salient features of the respondents’ access to that assets. Each indicator was given a weight by using the entropy technique to keep the consistency of the quantification. Livelihood assets indices were calculated in case of each livelihood asset for conducting Livelihood Assets Pentagon Analysis. Value of livelihood index ranged from 0–4. Findings Livelihoods Assets Pentagon analysis shows that cotton growers do not have proper access to all five livelihood assets. The asset with the highest capacity were social assets (sustainable livelihood index value = 0.3994), followed by natural assets (0.3294), financial assets (0.2511), human assets (0.2143) and physical assets (0.0897). Originality/value This study uses the SLF developed by DFID for analyzing factors affecting access to livelihoods assets of cotton growers in Pakistani Punjab. Sustainable agriculture and sustainable rural livelihoods lead to sustainable livelihoods where environment quality is taken into consideration. The study contains significant and new information.

The Impact of Movement Control Order on Rural Livelihood in Malaysia

In 2020, the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) had a global impact on normal daily life. The Government of Malaysia officially declared the Movement Control Order (MCO), an official national lockdown, to reduce the virus’s spread. In the face of the unprecedented global health pandemic, Malaysia had struggled to protect its citizens’ welfare and livelihoods, particularly in the hardest-hit rural areas. Therefore, this study uses the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) focusing on the aspect of financial assets and government intervention to enhance understanding on the vulnerability in rural area’s livelihood. Pasir Puteh, Kelantan was identified as the rural area for this study. The analysis was performed on a questionnaire survey based on convenience sampling of 62 respondents. Cross table analysis and a correlation test were used to examine the livelihood of the rural area concerning the financial assets, government intervention and vulnerability. The findings indicated that the MCO had a substantial impact on the rural area regarding the vulnerability toward the financial assets, such as employment status, job loss, increasing living costs, and an insufficient response to rural economic challenges. At the same time, there is no substantial government intervention in the welfare of rural areas. According to the results, the study concluded that the government should set up training courses to assist in the long-term recovery of rural areas due to the enforced lockdown, which has adversely affected rural livelihoods.

Studi Kasus Pengaruh Dana Desa Terhadap Peningkatan Aset Desa Waru Jaya Menggunakan Sustainable Livelihood Impact Assessment Method

After the village fund program runs, it is necessary to review the impact of the Village Fund's performance to determine the achievement of the program with parameters for changes to assets/capital using the SLIA (Sustainable Livelihood Impact Assessment) method, to measure changes in village assets before and after the program. Data on changes in village assets is important to set further policy on the program

Influence of Enterprise Strategy Typologies on Youth Livelihood Outcomes in Kenya

Youth unemployment and underemployment are grave social issues prevalent in developing countries. Ensuring that youth attain productive ends or sustainable livelihood outcomes is a major concern of many governments, organisations and institutions globally. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of enterprise strategy typologies on youth livelihood outcomes in Kamukunji Sub-County, Nairobi County, Kenya. Anchored on Department for International Development livelihoods framework and the General Systems Theory, the study applied a cross-sectional survey research design to gather data from 201 youth from registered youth groups. Analysis was conducted using descriptive frequencies and inferential statistics, namely Chi-square, Z statistic and Ordered Logistic Regression. Findings from inferential statistics established that regardless of the livelihood strategy typology youth adopted (business, wage employment, homemaking, arts & talents and agriculture-based), the livelihood outcomes did not differ significantly. As a group, livelihood strategy typology did not jointly determine youth livelihood outcomes. However, specific enterprise strategies whose parameters attained statistical significance were: wage employment (β = 0.74, p < 0.05) and arts/talent (β = 0.26, p < 0.05) which were important in predicting the level of YLO level. The study recommends that State and Non-State actors should implement elaborate and expansive business incubation and mentorship programs for youth. To improve livelihood outcomes for all youth, development agencies should ensure that youth-focused interventions target all typologies of enterprise strategies undertaken by the youth.