Livelihood Challenges Research Articles

Cyclone-induced coastal vulnerability, livelihood challenges and mitigation measures of Matla-Bidya inter-estuarine area, Indian Sundarban.

Indian Sundarban is highly susceptible to tropical cyclones and resultant impacts such as storm surge-induced floods, embankment breaching, and saline water intrusion. It affects life and livelihood in severe ways. Mitigation and policy measures are therefore very important, based on information gathered at the grassroots level. Hence, this study is designed to assess inter-village variation in cyclone vulnerability, considering physical vulnerability, social vulnerability, and mitigation capacity. This study also highlights livelihood challenges faced by coastal dwellers. Geospatial and quantitative methods were used to assess the composite vulnerability index (CVI). Remote sensing data and climatic data were integrated to assess physical vulnerability and various socioeconomic data were incorporated to determine the social vulnerability. Moreover, an intensive field survey (2020-2021) was also conducted to understand the livelihood challenges of local people and accordingly suggest mitigation measures to cope with natural hazards. According to this analysis, nearly 18% of the total population living in the southern and eastern parts of the Matla-Bidya inter-estuarine area (MBI) are extremely vulnerable (CVI > 0.544) due to their geographical location and high exposure to coastal hazards. Almost 51% of the total populations inhabited in 46% of the total MBI villages are experiencing high to moderate vulnerability. Conversely, MBI villages in the northern part, where 32% of the total population lives, show low vulnerability (CVI < 0.387) due to less exposure and high resilience. Coastal low-lying villages are often hardest hit by tropical cyclones. Therefore, effective mitigation strategies and coping mechanisms are essentially needed to reduce the adverse impacts of cyclones.

Stateless Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: Life and Livelihood Challenges

Rohingya is one of the most persecuted ethnic minority groups in the world, as identified by United Nations. More than one million Rohingya refugees, over half of whom are children, live at various camps in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh. This study uses a mixed methodology approach based on primary data to examine the life and livelihood challenges of Rohingya people in the refugee camps. The study's findings reveal that there is a severe scarcity of basic human needs in the Rohingya camps and a prevalence of widespread human rights violations. Among the life and livelihood challenges in the camps are- poor health services, the weak structure of shelter, scarcity of nutritious food, inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure, lack of education facilities after secondary school, gender-based violence, insecurity, congestion and lack of privacy, limited freedom of movement, and high risk of landslide. The study's findings may guide governments and NGOs operating in Rohingya camps to ensure the community's basic needs and human rights.

Determinants of Smallholder Farmers’ Income-Generating Activities in Rubber Monoculture Dominated Region Based on Sustainable Livelihood Framework

The rapid expansion of rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna, China, has severely decreased rubber prices in the last several years. The income loss and other adverse environmental impacts have brought livelihood challenges and opportunities to develop and adopt more diversified and environmental-friendly income-generating activities (IGAs). To better understand the constraints and opportunities for smallholder rubber farmers to sustain or improve their livelihoods, this study investigates which IGAs are applied by local farmers and the factors that determine their adoption, using the sustainable livelihood framework as the theoretical guideline. The qualitative approach is applied using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Five directions of changes in IGAs (i.e., intercropping, other cash crops, livestock raising for marketing, part-time job, and land renting) are identified, and local farmers are categorized into three groups (i.e., rejective, affirmative, and hesitate groups) based on their attitudes towards these IGAs. The results reveal that the main adoption motivations of certain IGAs are closely related to price shock, economic return, information, and extension service. Based on the results, suggestions are provided to enhance farmers’ motivation to make changes and improve the adoption of emerging IGAs with attention given to vulnerability contexts, livelihood assets and institutional assistance.

The Effects of COVID-19 on Informal Traders in Undesignated Spaces

The literature on COVID-19 impacts overlooks the pandemic’ impact on informal traders who operate in undesignated public spaces. While studies on the impact of COVID-19 on informal traders exist, there remains little focus on how the socio-economic livelihood activities of informal traders in undesignated public spaces, such as parks, who rely on both domestic and international tourists as customers, have been impacted. This paper fills this gap by focusing on two case studies of urban public spaces in the city of Tshwane, South Africa. These spaces are Jubilee Square and Magnolia Dell Park. The study is predicated on the spatial triad framework which enables it to interrogate how the restriction on access and utilisation of public spaces during the COVID-19 lockdown impacted on the socio-economic activities of informal traders. It found that informal traders in these two parks were the most vulnerable category of traders during the COVID-19 lockdown and faced huge socio-economic and livelihood challenges. They lost their income sources and had their social networks disrupted. The article proposes social policy interventions in the governance of public spaces as part of an effort to save both lives and livelihoods in the face of a pandemic. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-SPER-07 Full Text: PDF

A Preliminary Study of Livelihood Challenges in Water Settlement Area in Northern Sarawak, Malaysia

Water settlement area, also known as water village, is situated above the water and is frequently referred to as a fishing village due to the majority of the population's occupation as fishermen. It consists of a cluster of typical river-long stilt settlements, most of which are located near or outside the city. This paper is a preliminary study in identifying the difficulties of sustaining a living in a water settlement area. The significance of this paper lies in its examination of the obstacles related to the safety of villagers on the water. In this article, qualitative face-to-face interviews with respondents served as the research method, and the obtained data were analysed using thematic analysis. There are three identified challenges that can affect community safety in this geographical area. Water village communities are among the most vulnerable populations, more likely than others to require humanitarian aid or be excluded from financial and social services. Consequently, this article can also be used as a relevant resource for the development and improvement of strategies related to the same problem that occurs in other villages on water and can increase the level of safety for villagers.

Contextualising environmental and climate change migration in Uganda

ABSTRACT The complex linkage between environment, climate change and migration is increasingly capturing global debate. Uganda faces widespread environmental degradation and high vulnerability to climate change impacts that cause livelihood hardships, inducing human mobility. However, the environment, climate change and migration nexus is not well understood and documented, although advocacy to address the livelihood challenges associated with environmental and climate-induced migrations is on the rise. This paper addresses this knowledge gap and presents findings from a review of literature, complemented by key informant interviews and group discussions conducted in the Karamoja, Mt. Elgon and Teso sub-regions of Uganda. The findings show that some socio-economic hardships that cause migrations like natural resources scarcities (water, pastures and fertile soils), hunger and food insecurity and conflicts are linked to slow-onset processes/events related to environmental degradation, rising temperatures and desertification, compounded by sudden-onset events/disasters including; drought, rainstorms, flooding and landslides, that threaten livelihood security and trigger voluntary and forced migrations. Migration also occurs as a coping strategy to environment and climate shocks and stresses. However, empirical research evidence on the numbers of people who have migrated because of environmental change or climate change is still lacking as more research focus has been on the socio-economic and political drivers of migration. Deeper empirical research that incorporates spatial analyses on how the environmental and climate parameters induce migrations is necessary to provide an evidence base to inform transformative policy processes and actions that address human mobility challenges and build resilient societies in Uganda.

Co-created community contracts support biosecurity changes in a region where African swine fever is endemic – Part I: The methodology

In Northern Uganda more people live in poverty than elsewhere in the country. Small-scale pig-keeping is common and African swine fever (ASF) is endemic, spreading along the smallholder value chain. Biosecurity measures remain the only way to prevent and control the spread of ASF in this context. Previous research in the study area has shown that many stakeholders are aware of ASF, how it is spread and methods for prevention and control, but biosecurity implementation remains limited. Participatory approaches have been suggested in order to increase community engagement in relation to animal disease control, ensuring that disease prevention or control actions are guided by local people’s priorities and the promotion of local ownership of disease control. The objective of this study was to investigate the capacity of participatory action at community level with a broad inclusion of stakeholders to initiate change and greater stakeholder ownership to improve biosecurity in the smallholder pig value chain. Specific attention was paid to the feasibility of co-created community contracts for this purpose. The study was carried out in Northern Uganda in six purposively selected villages and included both farmers and traders. Centred on co-created community contracts on biosecurity, the study comprised repeated group discussions, semi-structured and structured group and individual interviews, as well as field observations. At the first meeting, participants were presented with suggested biosecurity measures adapted for farmers and traders respectively. Participants discussed each measure, agreed which ones to implement for one year, and co-created a community contract to this effect. During the study period, repeated interviews were undertaken and implementation support was provided. Interview data was coded and thematically analysed. Great diversity was observed between communities with regard to which and how many measures were selected, illustrating heterogeneity in the possibilities of biosecurity implementation and the complexity of livelihood challenges. The methodology appeared to be effective at instigating change, with all the communities changing some of their biosecurity behaviour during the study period. The intensified communication and cooperation around pigs in the communities reinforced the sense of group identity and the capacity-building offered at the first meeting supported implementation and appeared to be more important than the physical contract. Participants reported feeling empowered and described how they shared their knowledge, educated their peers and acted as catalysts for wider biosecurity change in their communities. These are promising results and indicate a positive attitude to both the agreed measures and the methodology.

Teacher wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Comparing the results across the institutions

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economic and socio-psychological comforts of teachers in varying degrees. Depending on their job status and the types of institutions, teachers have lost their jobs and faced livelihood challenges. This paper reports the findings of an online survey and focus group discussions exploring various dimensions of teacher wellbeing from both schools and universities in Nepal. The study shows that the wellbeing, particularly economic wellbeing, of teachers from private schools and affiliated colleges is shaken most as their job security is critically affected by the pandemic. Along with the job insecurity and discontinuity of monthly salaries, their stress has elevated due to an added workload for online teaching. In comparison, teachers from community schools and constituent colleges are in a comfortable position; they are regularly paid, and their job is secure despite the school closure in the pandemic. This study raises a critical question about the privatization of schooling to ensure teachers’ wellbeing during a crisis. Based on the findings from this study, we argue that the government and schools should develop the systems to prepare teachers to use ICT tools and other alternative approaches to address learning needs of students during and after crises. More importantly, we suggest that the government should develop policies to create teacher wellbeing funds to support teachers in the crisis.

Developing Livelihood Resilience through Adaptive Strategies and Government Interventions during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study on the Small-Scale Fishermen in Tacloban City, Philippines

With the onset of the pandemic, small-scale fishermen (SSF) in the country have become even more vulnerable to multiple adverse stressors. It is important to remember that fisher households have minimal assets, and their ability to mitigate the effects of crises and shocks is restricted. This study aims to enhance our understanding of livelihoods by using the idea of resilience as an analytical tool in examining the different aspects of fisherfolks' adaptive systems during the pandemic and the role of the government in bolstering their livelihood resiliency. This qualitative study utilized a multimethod case study design, and for the data analysis, I utilized Clarke and Braun's six phases of thematic analysis. Four major themes were uncovered in the study: assets and livelihood resiliency; livelihood challenges and stressors in the pandemic; SSF with adaptive strategies vs. without adaptive strategies; and Government's role in SSF livelihood resiliency. The study produced findings on resiliency and adaptive strategies pertaining to livelihoods in the context of a pandemic. The study found that SSF who diversified during the pandemic were more robust in their livelihood than SSF who did not have any adaptation techniques applied during the pandemic.

Livelihood adaptive capacities and adaptation strategies of relocated households in rural China

Adaptation to environmental change is the focus of sustainability research. Rural households face multiple environmental and social pressures due to global environmental change, so effective livelihood changes must be made to reduce capability losses and adapt to current or future livelihood challenges. Livelihood adaptive capacity and its evaluation provide a new framework for research into the livelihoods of relocated households, we attempt to evaluate the livelihood adaptive capacity of rural households in disaster resettlement areas and to explore how disaster resettlement affects the choice of adaptation strategies. Taking the case of southern Shaanxi as an example, this paper selects indicators from the dimensions of awareness, ability, and action. An index system is constructed for evaluation of farmers' livelihood adaptive capacity, and factors influencing the adaptation strategy are identified by using the multinominal probit regression model. The analysis shows: (1) the most adaptation strategies adopted after disaster resettlement are “expansion strategy,” “expansion and adjustment strategy,” “expansion and assistance strategy,” and “expansion and adjustment and assistance strategy”; (2) disaster avoidance relocation has a significant impact on expansion strategies, and whether centralized resettlement has a significant effect on the choice of “expansion strategy” and “expansion and adjustment strategy”; and (3) household size, physical assets, and skills training also have a significant impact on the choice of adaptation strategies. Local governments should increase the assistance to the relocated households, improve the households' livelihood adaptive capacity, and encourage adoption of the most favorable adaptation strategies.

Economic vulnerability of aquaculture households of elderly people to typhoon disasters and the factors influencing it in the island regions of southeast China

Aquaculture households face severe economic and livelihood challenges because of the combined effects of typhoon disasters and aging in the island regions of China. A critical aspect of disaster risk management is knowledge of socioeconomic vulnerability at the local level. However, research on the economic vulnerability of aquaculture households to typhoon disasters at the local scale is scarce. This study aims to examine the economic vulnerability of aquaculture households of elderly people to typhoon disasters and the factors influencing it, based on data obtained from household surveys in island regions of Southeast China. The analytical results demonstrated that aquaculture households of elderly people in island regions show high economic vulnerability to typhoon disasters and are more vulnerable than households with younger heads. Employing the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method, this study identified eight configurations, involving the education level, health status, number of household persons engaged in aquaculture, and number of typhoon experiences in the past five years as the key factors leading to high economic vulnerability of aquaculture households of elderly people to typhoon disasters. The results also revealed complex interactions among these key factors, and the dependence of households on aquaculture, government subsidies, and credit loans contributes to their high economic vulnerability. This study provides new insights into the complex causes of economic vulnerability to typhoon disasters at the household level and the particularity of the aquaculture households of elderly people in island regions. These findings have implications for effectively reducing vulnerability and enhancing disaster adaption processes of aquaculture farmers in developing countries.

‘I was born here, I will die here’: climate change and migration decisions from coastal and insular Guinea-Bissau

ABSTRACT This paper shows how coastal and island peoples of Guinea-Bissau continue to prefer staying put over migrating when faced with manifestations of climate change and environmental disrepair. This reaction contradicts widely held interpretations of climate migration, which emphasize anti-immigrant sentiments and border regimes. We examine how historically marginalized Bissau-Guineans respond to slow-onset climate and environmental events in the face of political jeopardy and inadequate governance. We find that while their most pressing livelihood challenges remain politically unaddressed, they mobilize collectively in the absence of state support. While seasonal and temporary migration improves households' conditions, communal togetherness and bonding reinforce a vital sense of security, allowing them to stay put. Coping with present and future climate and environmental changes depends on whether or not people's lives continue to be undermined through the creation and reproduction of vulnerability. To overcome the long-standing socio-economic and political dysfunctions overwhelming Bissau-Guineans, we highlight the urgency for an overturn of the state’s attitudes and actions; of the dependency and cultural asymmetries by Western practices; and of the unjust support of civil society. Failure to provide basic requirements of good governance, self-reliance and communal support may no longer enable people to stay where they wish to.

Community Radio as Information Dissemination Tool for Sustainable Rural Development in Ghana

ABSTRACT Community radio represents the opportunity of placing the means of communication in the hands of grassroot people. In the particular case of this study, it was seen as a tool for rural participatory development. It thus provided the need for a study into how community radio is used for sustainable rural development. The study utilized a qualitative research approach to understand the role of community radio in sustainable rural development in Ghana. As a result, two community radio stations were selected for the study. Purposive and convenient sampling techniques were used to select participants who were interviewed with the aid of semi-structured interviews. In all, qualitative data was collected from 34 participants comprising two programmes’ managers, two radio producers, two radio presenters and 28 listeners. The qualitative research approach enabled in-depth understanding of the phenomenon under study. The study found that both community radio stations allow community members access to information services that addressed their livelihood challenges. In addition, the study found that the community radio stations provided the platform for community members to make inputs into programming which specifically addressed their aspirations, perceptions, and desires. The study establishes the need to resource community radios to embark on more livelihood programmes on radio.

Migration and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Uttarakhand Migrants in Delhi

The COVID-19 crisis has posed unprecedented livelihood challenges for migrants across the globe. In India too, the vulnerability of migrants working away from their homes, at a different location, has come to light—in the face of the pandemic, many were forced to return to their places of origin, and migrants from Uttarakhand residing in Delhi were no exception. This article is an attempt to understand the disruptions in the lives and livelihoods of migrants from Uttarakhand, who were residing in low-income settlements in Delhi during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show that more than three-fourths of these migrant workers lost their jobs during the recent pandemic. Dipping into their past savings and dis-saving, the majority of these migrants survived on lesser food, and essentials in order to stay alive on their reduced household incomes. Understandably, the probit results indicate that migrant workers, particularly the less educated, recent migrants and those engaged in the informal manufacturing and service sectors are likely to be more vulnerable during a crisis like COVID-19 than others, and thus, need urgent policy attention.

The impact of colonial and contemporary land policies on climate change adaptation in Zimbabwe's communal areas.

Climate change adaptation policies should recognise the country's colonial and historical legacy that has led to poverty and other livelihood challenges in communal areas. By acknowledging this, policymakers are better positioned to understand the structural issues making adaptation difficult, and they could intervene by proposing context-specific adaptation strategies that meet the needs of communal farmers.

A Central Asia hydrologic monitoring dataset for food and water security applications in Afghanistan

Abstract. From the Hindu Kush mountains to the Registan Desert, Afghanistan is a diverse landscape where droughts, floods, conflict, and economic market accessibility pose challenges for agricultural livelihoods and food security. The ability to remotely monitor environmental conditions is critical to support decision making for humanitarian assistance. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS) global and Central Asia data streams provide information on hydrologic states for routine integrated food security analysis. While developed for a specific project, these data are publicly available and useful for other applications that require hydrologic estimates of the water and energy balance. These two data streams are unique because of their suitability for routine monitoring, as well as for being a historical record for computing relative indicators of water availability. The global stream is available at ∼ 1-month latency, and monthly average outputs are on a 10 km grid from 1982–present. The second data stream, Central Asia (21–56∘ N, 30–100∘ E), at ∼ 1 d latency, provides daily average outputs on a 1 km grid from 2000–present. This paper describes the configuration of the two FLDAS data streams, background on the software modeling framework, selected meteorological inputs and parameters, and results from previous evaluation studies. We also provide additional analysis of precipitation and snow cover over Afghanistan. We conclude with an example of how these data are used in integrated food security analysis. For use in new and innovative studies that will improve understanding of this region, these data are hosted by U.S. Geological Survey data portals and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Central Asia data described in this paper can be accessed via the NASA repository at https://doi.org/10.5067/VQ4CD3Y9YC0R (Jacob and Slinski, 2021), and the global data described in this paper can be accessed via the NASA repository at https://doi.org/10.5067/5NHC22T9375G (McNally, 2018).

LIVELIHOOD CHALLENGES AND COPING STRATEGIES OF AGRICULTURAL WORKERS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Bangladesh is one of the high-risk countries of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent losses. The main objectives of this research were to find out the livelihood challenges and coping strategies of agricultural workers during pandemic situation. This study was conducted targeting lower income group of people (temporary agricultural worker, casual agricultural workers). As the nature of the research was qualitative, the researcher used convenience sampling to select respondents because this is the most common non-probability sampling strategy where respondents were selected in an ad hoc fashion based on their accessibility. However, the researcher has taken 60 respondents as sample in analyzing data, descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) of responses are estimated. Scores of livelihood challenges are the means of a 4-point Likert-type scale used. From this study find that most of the respondents did small business but they did not get any help or small loan from NGO. Most of the respondents drive rickshaw, auto as their off day. Due to closing of school, respondents’ children engage themselves to earning activities.&#x0D; &#x0D; Key words: Covid-19 pandemic, coping strategies, Livelihood challenges , Agricultural workers &#x0D;

Constraints to climate change adaptation and livelihood challenges: perspectives from the Sundarbans fishers' community in Bangladesh

Fishers' are first-line observers of changes in the Sundarbans region and are among the first to be affected by the changes that occurred. In the Sundarbans fishers' communities, transformations of society have always been a part of life. In contrast, environmental changes were always interim and reversible, allowing them to understand and identify with the Sundarbans ecosystems as food and life providers. In this study, fishers' observations on climate change impacts and their livelihoods were compiled and analysed using a structured questionnaire in accordance with the tenets of grounded theory. The observations of fishers from the region of the Sundarbans demonstrated a rise in the frequency of extreme weather events caused by rising temperatures and changes in the weather pattern. Physical components such as rainfall, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, siltation alterations in fish species distribution ranges, and migratory spawning behaviours were also affected by changes in the region's weather and climate. As salinity levels rose, the diversity and productivity of river ecosystems were affected, particularly in the most vulnerable areas. As a result, river freshwater flow decreased over time. A high rate of siltation in rivers and river mouths was considered another major concern that led to seasonal flooding due to its low freshwater upstream flow rate. The Sundarbans region provides a vast array of resources for diversifying fishers' livelihoods, but climate change is diminishing these alternatives due to more frequent catastrophic events. Specifically, climate change limits the resilience of fishers' communities, restricting opportunities for diversification or forcing them to leave their homes or villages. Climate change generated an environment that was generally unfavourable for all fishing communities. In order to survive in an unfavourable environment, the social well-being of fishers (mostly women and children) was negatively impacted by a variety of challenges, including disease, lack of potable water, malnutrition, sanitary difficulties, lack of electricity, lack of food and clothing, lack of proper medical care, and so on. To evaluate the effects of climate change on fisheries in the study area, the biodiversity, abundance, and production of most freshwater species are drastically reduced due to the destruction of spawning grounds, a transition in the spawning season, and the obstruction of fish migration. The findings of this study show that the climate and livelihood conditions of fishers in the Sundarbans region have changed significantly over the past few decades. Regardless of GOs and NGOs taking the required steps, proper implementation of interdisciplinary adaptive policy and regular monitoring in the Sundarbans fisher's community in Bangladesh could effectively reduce climate change impacts and improve livelihood conditions. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. 2022, 8 (2), 103-114

Is translocality a hidden solution to overcome protracted displacement in the DR Congo?

ABSTRACT Policy makers and practitioners usually focus on three durable solutions for IDPs to overcome protracted displacement; return, resettlement and local integration. Based on empirical realities, this paper asks to what extent translocality can be seen as another solution. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from the city of Bukavu in eastern DRC, we explore how translocality is shaped in practice and how it helps people to overcome protracted displacement. Translocality of Bukavu’s IDPs is mostly oriented towards the community of origin. We argue that this translocality requires mobility or connectivity, or a combination thereof. Mobilisation of resources in the community of origin can then contribute to the livelihoods of urban IDPs, but restraining forces beyond the control of IDPs can make this a risky and costly strategy that is not necessarily sustainable. Although translocality can address the livelihoods challenges related to protracted displacement, it cannot solve all challenges related to displacement. The paper concludes that translocality should – at most – be seen as a semi-durable and partial solution to move out of protractedness rather than as a durable solution to displacement in itself; however, addressing some of the restraining forces could make it a more durable solution.

Capturing Stakeholders’ Challenges of the Food–Water–Energy Nexus—A Participatory Approach for Pune and the Bhima Basin, India

Systems models of the Food–Water–Energy (FWE) nexus face a conceptual difficulty: the systematic integration of local stakeholder perspectives into a coherent framework for analysis. We present a novel procedure to co-produce and systematize the real-life complexity of stakeholder knowledge and forge it into a clear-cut set of challenges. These are clustered into the Pressure–State–Response (PSIR) framework, which ultimately guides the development of a conceptual systems model closely attuned to the needs of local stakeholders. We apply this approach to the case of the emerging megacity Pune and the Bhima basin in India. Through stakeholder workshops, involving 75 resource users and experts, we identified 22 individual challenges. They include exogenous pressures, such as climate change and urbanization, and endogenous pressures, such as agricultural groundwater over-abstraction and land use change. These pressures alter the Bhima basin’s system state, characterized by inefficient water and energy supply systems and regional scarcity. The consequent impacts on society encompass the inadequate provision with food, water, and energy and livelihood challenges for farmers in the basin. An evaluation of policy responses within the conceptual systems model shows the complex cause–effect interactions between nexus subsystems. One single response action, such as the promotion of solar farming, can affect multiple challenges. The resulting concise picture of the regional FWE system serves resource users, policymakers, and researchers to evaluate long-term policies within the context of the urban FWE system. While the presented results are specific to the case study, the approach can be transferred to any other FWE nexus system.