Livelihood Assets Research Articles

Measuring Resilience of a Tourism Village Against Flash Flood Disaster

One of the most popular tourist destinations in East Java is Batu City, which had been visited by 2.4 million tourists in 2021 during the pandemic, regardless of the fact that 7.2 million tourists normally have visited the city annually before the outbreak. Flash floods that struck Batu City in November 2021 resulted in significant damage and losses which affected several tourism villages. The preparedness of Batu City for potential natural catastrophes was identified throughout this study. It is essential to think of both technological and non-technical ways as preventive measures before a tragedy arises, given how eager travelers are to visit Batu City. Several city-scale analyses are conducted, notably by doing spatial analysis with the use of GIS technology in order to understand land use and probable flow routes. A livelihood asset analysis was used as a methodological and indicator assessment of disaster preparedness in one of the Resilient Village (Destana). The findings indicate that land conversion in production and protected forest areas change into agricultural areas is one factor that triggers flash floods. After a ten-year decline, only 20% of the forest stands are left in hilly and steep terrain, with the rest being farmland and human settlements. Meanwhile, an assessment of the community preparedness in the Tourism Village reveals that the community has a strong capability in terms of financial, social, and natural capital.

Partial climatic risk screening, adaptation and livelihoods in a coastal urban area in Ghana

Coastal urban areas worldwide are increasingly becoming convergence points for climatic hazards, demographic shifts, and spatial development. However, the presence of societal demands that impact both livelihoods and urban planning in response to climatic hazards undermines the potential positive outcomes. This research, conducted in a coastal urban area of Ghana's Greater Accra Region, utilized the Community-based Risk Screening Tool – Adaptation and Livelihoods (CRiSTAL) developed by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to analyze the experiences of climatic hazards and overall livelihoods of the population. The study employed Ghana's Census Sampling Frame for implementation, and Participatory Learning Approaches, to collect data which it identified floods, heavy storms, and heat stress as the most significant hazards. These hazards greatly influenced the population's physical, social, and financial livelihood assets, resulting in losses and damages caused by heavy rains, storms, and subsequent floods. Extreme heat also had a notable impact on human and financial resources. The local population prioritized human mobility and livelihood diversification as important adaptation strategies. The findings have important policy implications, highlighting the need to address barriers and disruptions in resilience-building and sustainability efforts, emphasizing the significance of prioritizing policy investment and considering climate change uncertainties in planning towards minimizing “urban climate policy inhibition” (Urban-CPI). The study also revealed valuable lessons, such as CRiSTAL's ability to bridge the gap between climatic risk and livelihood issues, bringing them closer to communities and enhancing preparedness to adapt to climatic risks and impacts on livelihoods.

Impact of the Grain for Green Project on the Well-Being of Farmer Households: A Case Study of the Mountainous Areas of Northern Hebei Province, China

There are close dynamic relationships among the livelihood, well-being, and ecological environment of farmer households. It is of great significance to scientifically clarify the impact of the Grain for Green policy on the livelihoods and well-being of farmer households in mountainous areas. Based on data from a survey of 392 farmer households in Zhangbei County, the system of indicators for livelihood assets and well-being of farmer households were constructed using the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF). The livelihood assets and well-being levels of different types of farmer households were measured, and a multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the impact of the Grain for Green policy implementation on the well-being levels of farmer households. The results showed that (1) the Grain for Green project caused changes in the livelihood of farmer households. The average livelihood diversity of farmer households was 3.008, and the returned farmland households (3.022) were higher than the nonreturned farmland households (2.975) in Zhangbei County. The level of natural assets among the total average livelihood assets of farmer households was the highest at 0.374, while the level of physical assets was the lowest at 0.018. The level of livelihood assets of returned farmland households (0.948) was lower than that of nonreturned farmland households (1.117). (2) The Grain for Green policy had an improving effect on the level of well-being of farmer households, but the effect was not significant. The level of well-being of all farmer households in Zhangbei County was 0.517, with the level of wealth contributing the most to the well-being of farmer households at 40.20% and the quality of the ecological environment contributing the least at 11.99%. The level of well-being of returned farmland households (0.518) was slightly higher than that of nonreturned farmland households (0.514). (3) The influencing degree of each factor on the level of well-being varied significantly. There are three main paths through which the Grain for Green policy affects the well-being of farmer households: by reallocating human assets, optimizing natural assets, and enhancing financial assets. The factor of household size had the highest degree, at 0.366, while educational attainment of household members, household labor capacity, annual household expenditure, livelihood diversity, number of large production tools, and total value of livestock were also important drivers of household well-being, and area of arable land was negatively associated with household well-being. There were also differences in the factors influencing the level of well-being of different types of farmer households.

Study on Development of Sustainable Livelihood Framework Approach at Indian Part of Sundarbans by Geospatial and Geo-statistical Analysis

Reclamation for settlement was started in 1770 at Sundarbans and the present population in the Indian part, is around 5.0 million, and gradually increasing, but continuous mangrove degradation made Sundarbans vulnerable. The Livelihood Structures for Sundarbans’ residents and amenities are largely dependent upon the Sundarbans’ resources, but these livelihood opportunities became vulnerable and face threats from several natural processes and anthropogenic activities. The present study attempted to understand the several dimensions of livelihood strategies for the inhabitants of several occupational groups at Sundarbans; associated opportunities, as well as constraints through the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) approach (after DFID, 2000) that envisages and comprises the livelihood assets, activities, important vulnerable issues that affect livelihood structures with the complex interactions amongst them. The objective of the present study is to establish a sustainable livelihood through the analysis of five important capitals of the SLF approach for the people of Indian Sundarbans considering the possible vulnerabilities. The same study has been carried out based on the extensive literature review, household livelihood surveys; informant interviews, and Shared Learning Dialogue (SLD) using the participatory approach by selected livelihood groups through several quantitative and qualitative indicators. The study concluded with the recommendation of Mangrove regeneration at Sundarbans.

INFLUENCE OF GROUP DYNAMICS ON FARMERS’ FIELD SCHOOLS IN NEPAL

Around 200 million rice farmers live in Asia, where the FFS was first created. The brown plant hopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stl), which caused major rice production losses, jeopardized some nations’ food security and political stability. A second generation of FFS expanded this initial classical FFS for integrated pest management (IPM) on rice to cover other crops and subjects. In actuality, the FFS is not intended to be prolonged. It is envisaged that FFS would continue to positively impact economic, social, environmental, and political assets. In order to inform operational programs about the kinds and pathways of effects that can realistically be anticipated, this study will review the available evidence on the influence of group dynamics on FFS and its effects across the human, social, natural, and financial capital domains of the sustainable livelihoods approach. Knowing about these consequences could aid present and upcoming FFS programs in developing their treatments and evaluations. To tailor FFS interventions in order to maximize their effects, in-depth case studies are required to clarify the linkages between livelihood assets and the influences of the policy, institutional, and external environments. The FFS has the ability to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in light of the favorable implications it can have on rural livelihoods. However, care must be taken to ensure the FFS’s quality and conduct a fair assessment of all the capital domains.

Assessment of livelihood sustainability during Urban Development-Induced Rural Displacement and Resettlement (UDIRDR): a literature review

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the impact of Urban Development-Induced Rural Displacement and Resettlement (UDIRDR) projects on the livelihood of the affected people through a literature review. Identifying various focus/objectives of previous studies on UDIRDR and eight dimensions of livelihood assets, it tries to build a link with the sustainable livelihood framework proposed by the Department for International Development (DFID), especially for rural communities. Finally, it proposes a conceptual framework for evaluating the livelihood scenario at the individual, household, and community levels affected by the UDIRDR projects and helping to achieve sustainable livelihood in the future.

A perspective of sustainable livelihood framework in analysis of sustainability of rural community livelihoods: evidence from Migori River watershed in Kenya

ABSTRACT Evaluation of livelihood sustainability in ecologically sensitive areas, impoverished regions, and disaster-stricken zones is critical for understanding sustainability challenges and administering poverty-relief interventions. This paper assesses the sustainability of rural households’ livelihoods in the Migori River watershed in Kenya by constructing a livelihood sustainability index (LSI). A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 318 randomly selected households from the upstream, midstream, and downstream watershed zones. The LSI was constructed using the UK Department for International Development (DFID) methodology based on the five livelihood capitals, and one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences between watershed zones. The results of the analysis show that although the livelihoods of all the three watershed zones are moderately sustainable with no significant variations (at p < 0.05) between the zones, the livelihoods of midstream households are most sustainable followed by the upstream households and then downstream. The social (ranging from 0.64 to 0.69), physical (ranging from 0.60 to 0.67) and natural (ranging from 0.60 to 0.64) capitals registered relatively high index values across the watershed zones unlike the human (ranging 0.55–0.65) and financial (ranging from 0.44 to 0.57) capitals that recorded relatively low index values; which implies that human and the financial capitals are least possessed assets in the watershed. Therefore this paper recommends increasing the natural capital through sustained conservation of natural resources, increasing human capital by providing skills training to household on alternative livelihood options, and increasing access to financial capital by strengthening rural entrepreneurship. The paper suggests the usage of LSI by policy-makers as a practical tool to quantify the livelihood capital endowment of rural communities to help in prioritizing watershed management programs and the development of interventions aimed at a specific livelihood asset. It may also help policy-makers in project monitoring and evaluation, where it provides feedback critical for continual project improvement.

The Contribution of Village Land Forest Reserves in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Songea and Liwale Districts in Tanzania

Village land forest reserves (VLFRs) are recognized as an important base for rural community development. This study used timber and honey production activities to assess the actual contribution of three Village land forest reserves of Lupagalo VLFR from Songea District in Ruvuma Region, and Liboya and Luhangino VLFRs from Liwale District in Lindi Region on livelihood improvement rural communities living adjacent to these forests. This study assessed livelihood improvement based on financial, human, physical, and social assets. Data were collected using household structured interviews and focused group discussions. A total of 71 timber dealers (38 in Songea and 33 in Liwale District) and 37 honey dealers (23 in Songea and 14 in Liwale District) were interviewed in this study. Inferential statistics and Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage were used to report the results of this study. Results show that there is gain in livelihood assets due to timber and honey production. In addition, findings reveal that, physical capital indicators including better education, better health care, and food security had significant influence on livelihood of timber and honey dealer as the p-value (p<0.05). In financial capital, savings had a significant influence on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Also, training as an indicator of human capital had a significant contribution on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Further, based on social capital, membership status had a significant influence on livelihood contribution p<0.05. Since this study considered only two products, other forest products such as firewood, charcoal, and medicinal plants should be assessed.

A Study on the Livelihood Assets and Income of the Plantation-Based Rehabilitated Jhumias of Tripura

The indigenous tribes of Tripura predominantly practised shifting cultivation. However, efforts at weaning them away have been done through several developmental interventions including plantation-based rehabilitation models. The present paper attempts to examine the status of income and livelihood capital endowments among four different types (rubber, tea, horticulture &amp; multi-croppers) of plantation-based rehabilitated beneficiaries. Using primary survey data from five districts of Tripura, it is seen that multi-croppers and rubber farmers are better placed in terms of income accruals. However, horticulturists are better endowed than rubber growers in terms of livelihood assets. The tea-based rehabilitated beneficiaries are at the bottom in terms of both income as well as livelihood assets.

The Dynamics of Sustainable Livelihoods and Agroforestry in Gunungkidul Karst Area, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The livelihoods of farmers in developing countries are often associated with the existence of forests, especially agroforestry. The dynamics of agroforestry and livelihoods could not be separated from the political context and developments in Indonesia. In this paper, the dynamics of Sustainable Livelihood Assets (SLA) owned by smallholder farmers are explored using three political sequences, namely the New Order Era, the Reform Era, and the Post-Reform Era. The result showed that the development of agroforestry in Gunungkidul had been primarily influenced by political initiatives that have a connection with vegetation coverage, livelihood assets, and species composition in the systems. The livelihoods possessed by farmers have been relatively sustainable during the past five decades; only a slight change could be observed in the ownership of capital. The political initiatives have been an enabling environment for agroforestry development that support sustainable livelihoods. The study recommends that the socio-political culture needs to consider the traditional agroforestry system in order to sustain the livelihoods of the people.

Are Women Empowered in India? A Perspective of Women Participation in Mgnrega From Ladnu Block of Rajasthan, India

Women empowerment is about promoting their sense of self-worth and ability to make choices which may create social influence in society. Moreover, it emphasises sharing equal responsibility in the family as well as society in terms of accessing their choices without any hindrances, contributing economically to the family and society, and representing equally everywhere in the process of development. World’s largest employment guarantee programme, i.e. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has provisioned providing 100 days of jobs to one-third of women in the country to ensure livelihood security and asset creation. The current paper tries to highlight the experiences of the beneficiaries from Ladnu block of Rajasthan about their improved lifestyles in terms of qualitative research and suggests ways to bridge the existing gaps to achieve the goal. In other words, it tries to explore whether women, as a beneficiary of the MGNREGA, are contributing to the programme or not, and creating assets for maintaining a better lifestyle. To answer this question, a blended methodology was implemented in two villages of Ladnu block of Rajasthan with 97 respondents. The results are positive from the numbers; however, to achieve the real goal of the Act, the government must actively mull over creating awareness among the community through Gram Panchayat (GP), orient the GP members towards implementing the Act with transparency, timely payment, increase the wage as per the inflation rate and converge different schemes with MGNREGA .

The Women’s Role in the Resilience of Farmers’ Households during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Gubugklakah Village, Poncokusumo District, Malang Regency

The cause of rural changes, in terms of demographic, technological developments, climate changes, and the Covid-19 pandemic potential to cause vulnerabilities, especially for women as individuals in household members. These must be responded with livelihood resilience by involving the women’s role to contribute in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. This study aims to (1) describe the vulnerabilities of farmers’ households and (2) analyze women’s role in household resilience through the use of livelihood assets during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research was conducted in Gubugklakah village, Malang regency as a tourist village affected by the closure of TNBTS tourist visits due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This research used the simple random sampling technique, with total sample of 64 women farmers. Data were analyzed using WarpPLS software. The results showed that farmers’ households experienced several vulnerabilities by that the households’ livelihood assets: natural, physic, human, social and financial capital can be optimized to achieve a degree of resilience. The women’s role in resilience efforts is as the core of the household, because all financial cycles involve housewives’ role, such as reducing consumption expenditures, selling jewelry assets, taking savings, involving in farm worker, and others.

Impacts of small-scale irrigation on farmers' livelihood: Evidence from the drought prone areas of upper Awash sub-basin, Ethiopia

Irrigation is an important mechanism to mitigate risks associated with the variability in rainfall for the smallholder subsistence farming system. This study analyzed how practicing small-scale irrigation (SSI) impacts the key livelihood assets on farm households' human, physical, natural, financial, and social capitals in Ethiopia's upper Awash sub-basin. The household-level survey data, collected from the 396 sample households, was used to carry out the current study. A Propensity Score Matching (PSM) analytical model was applied to match the SSI user and non-user groups. The difference between the five capital assets of livelihood was estimated using the PSM's Nearest Neighbor, Radius, Kernel Mahalanobis, and Stratification matching criteria. The results indicated that farmers' participation in SSI has enhanced the capital assets of the farm households. Compared to the non-users, the irrigation users were better off in the number variety of food consumed (0.28 ± 0.13 Standard Error [SE]), types of crops produced (0.60 ± 0.17 SE), expenditures on land renting, and agricultural inputs (3118 ± 877 SE) measured in Ethiopian Birr (ETB), as well as on-farm (9024 ± 2267 SE ETB) and non-farm (3766 ± 1466 SE ETB) incomes. Challenges such as the involvement of local brokers in the market value chain and the absence of farmers' marketing cooperatives have reduced the benefit of irrigated agriculture. Hence, the expansion of SSI schemes for the non-user farmers should consider improving the water usage mechanism and productivity, establishing proper water allocation institutions between up and down streams and limiting the role of brokers in the irrigation product marketing chain be future policy directions.

Impacts of Tourism Destination Development on Residents’ Livelihoods in Northern Tanzania

This study aimed at evaluating livelihood impacts in pursuit to provide answer to an outstanding question on whether tourism destination development over time has influenced residents’ access to adequate livelihood assets underlying household-wealth and well-being. The study involved agro-pastoralists residing in three gateway tourism destination communities: Loliondo, Lake Natron and Burunge, located in Northern Tanzania. A cost-effective impact evaluation based on residents’ definition of wealth was embedded in the participatory wealth-ranking as part of the multi-method approach involving in-depth interview, focus group discussions and survey among 416 tourism beneficiaries and 425 non-beneficiary households, to collect data on livelihood assets and changes in household’s wealth from year 2008/9 to 2018/19. It was found that, tourism has significantly raised the wealth status from normal to rich among benefiting households than non-benefiting, thus, enabled them to improve their well-being. Increase access to resident’s financial and human resources are recommended for further improvement of well-being.

Impacts of solar photovoltaic projects on sustainable livelihoods: Evidence from rural China

Solar photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects (PPAPs) have flourished with great achievements in China since 2013. However, the degree to which these PPAPs contribute to the sustainable livelihoods and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. By using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling and multi-group comparative analysis, this study has explored the poverty reduction mechanism of China's PPAPs from the perspective of sustainable livelihood of rural low-income families, taking 1112 rural households in China's 9 counties as the research subject. Results demonstrate that PPAPs perform best in promoting rural livelihood diversification. The PV projects actually provide the service of searching out a personal potential and assist in achieving their economic goal. The parallel mediating effects of livelihood assets, endogenous impetus and livelihood strategies between PPAPs and livelihood outcomes are significant. The poor's livelihood resources are catalysts for the performance of interventions. Further, for those families of the non-agricultural type, and for those with high energy saving habits, good education and young age, PPAPs can be more effective in reducing poverty and improving quality of life and overall income; while the influence of PPAPs on livelihood capital and thought impetus is relatively more significant for those families with greater PV knowledge and project cognition, reflecting the poverty reduction pathways of PPAPs show heterogeneity.

Why Agree to a Forest Easement? Perception of the Residents about the Adaptation of the Conservation Easement in Qianjiangyuan National Park

Conservation easements (CEs) were introduced in the Chinese context to resolve the conflict between rural land use and area-based conservation measures. As conservation easements are usually set on private lands, little is known about their adaptation to the collective land tenure. We introduced a social-psychological aspect to sustainable livelihoods (SL) for an integrated decision-making mechanism to assess rural residents’ motivations for granting CEs. We surveyed farmers in the Qianjiangyuan National Park pilot area in order to explore how tangible factors, i.e., the livelihood assets, and intangible factors, i.e., farmers’ perceptions of the livelihood environment, affected their true feeling of conservation easements. Results suggested that CEs that were adapted to the collectively-owned forestland followed a well-established grassroots democracy but sacrificed the CE’s diversity in restricted uses tailored to specific landowners and properties. Institutional capital and perception of the economic environment appeared most important to affect farmers’ acceptance of CEs. Furthermore, the livelihood assets affected farmers’ perception of the livelihood environment, and their acceptance of CEs affected the perception of policy outcomes. Overall, our findings demonstrate the acceptance of conservation easements as a livelihood strategic choice and strengthen the importance of securing economic rights in the changing institutional environment.

Does Raising Livestock Improve Household Food Security and Child Dietary Diversity in a Rural Region of Madagascar?

Madagascar is one of the poorest countries and has an alarming prevalence of food insecurity and child undernutrition. Most of the Malagasy population live from agricultural activities making livestock a livelihood asset and a source of animal-source foods, especially for smallholder farmers. This study aimed to examine the association between livestock ownership, household food security, and children's dietary diversity in a rural region of Madagascar. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 344 respondents were used to assess the association between household tropical livestock units (TLU) per capita, Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) scores, and dietary diversity scores (DDSs) among children aged 6-23 months. The estimation results from the ordered probit model showed that household TLU per capita is negatively associated with HFIAS scores and positively associated with DDSs among children. Additionally, households with mothers who received information on childcare and nutrition from health facilities and community nutrition agents were more likely to be food secure and have better dietary diversity. Therefore, promoting livestock ownership and strengthening nutrition-sensitive messages focusing on the benefits of raising livestock to mothers from rural Madagascar will likely be effective in improving household food security and nutrition for children.

Provisions Regarding Low Heritage In The Compilation Of Islamic Law (Study In Nagari Koto Gadang, Koto Besar District Dharmasraya District)

The purpose of this research is to explain the distribution of low inheritance that occurs in Nagari Koto Gadang. The research method used in this study is a qualitative method, in which data collection uses interview techniques from the Nagari Koto Gadang community. In Minangkabau custom, there are two types of inheritance that are inherited, namely high inheritance and low inheritance. Low inheritance assets are assets originating from one family's livelihood assets, in the form of rice fields, fields purchased from other parties. In this study it can be concluded thatThis low inheritance can be inherited through customary law and Islamic law. Because there is a similarity, that is, low inheritance is an inheritance in Minangkabau custom, and low inheritance can be donated according to Islamic law.

Provisions Regarding Low Heritage In The Compilation Of Islamic Law (Study In Nagari Koto Gadang, Koto Besar District Dharmasraya District)

The purpose of this research is to explain the distribution of low inheritance that occurs in Nagari Koto Gadang. The research method used in this study is a qualitative method, in which data collection uses interview techniques from the Nagari Koto Gadang community. In Minangkabau custom, there are two types of inheritance that are inherited, namely high inheritance and low inheritance. Low inheritance assets are assets originating from one family's livelihood assets, in the form of rice fields, fields purchased from other parties. In this study it can be concluded thatThis low inheritance can be inherited through customary law and Islamic law. Because there is a similarity, that is, low inheritance is an inheritance in Minangkabau custom, and low inheritance can be donated according to Islamic law.

Roles of Agricultural Cooperatives (ACs) in Drought Risk Management among Smallholder Farmers in Pursat and Kampong Speu Provinces, Cambodia

This research aims to investigate the roles of agricultural cooperatives (ACs) in the provinces Pursat and Kampong Speu, Cambodia, with respect to managing the drought risks among smallholder farmers, with particular focus on the following factors: (a) the impacts of drought on socio-economic development and livelihood; (b) the services delivered by AC operations in terms of increasing the five livelihood assets; and (c) the interactions between AC operations, adaptive capacity, and the impacts of drought. Household surveys were conducted among 421 smallholder farmers; in addition, case studies were also conducted with stakeholders in the Bakan district in Pursat Province and the Barsedth district in Kampong Speu Province. The study demonstrates that (i) both climatic and human-made factors contributed toward the impact of drought in the Bakan and Barsedth districts. Furthermore, this hazard affected smallholder farmers. (ii) AC operations increased the smallholder farmers’ access to natural and physical assets. Currently, AC operations are constrained by a lack of willingness and commitment in AC committees, trust building in the communities, and human and financial resources after development projects, which are implemented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). (iii) Adaptive capacity contributed to the drought impacts and participation in AC activities, but the involvement in AC activities did not contribute to AC operations nor to aiding with the impacts of drought. This empirical research, which was performed via structural education modeling (SEM), fills a gap in the literature by increasing the understanding of the roles of AC operations in the context of drought risk management and their role in increasing access to the five livelihood assets.