Sustainability Of Rural Livelihoods Research Articles

Sustainable tourism for rural livelihood sustainability (A case study of agrotourism in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java)

Abstract Sustainable tourism development is a concept appearing to overcome the negative impacts of tourism development. This study aims to analyze sustainable tourism development to achieve economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability goals in Ngargoyoso District. The research method used in this study was a descriptive qualitative method with FGD, direct interviews, documentation, and field observation being the techniques of collecting data. Tourist villages in Ngargoyoso District, especially in Jatirejo, Kemuning, and Berjo are supported by stakeholders, namely the government, private parties, and the community who synergize with each other to achieve community welfare. Considering the findings of study, it can be seen that the positive impacts of the existence of tourist villages include increased economic level, increased fame in the public, and reduced unemployment rate, while the negative impacts occurring include increasingly accumulated garbage, infrastructural damage, and traffic jam.

SRI Adoption through Innovative Alliance-Building: Learning from the SRI-LMB

Given the challenges presented by climate change, water shortage, and land degradation, sustainable agriculture strategies that increase farming systems’ resilience are needed more than ever. This is especially true for sustaining rice production which is the staple food for hundreds of millions of people. Agroecology-based System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is seen as a way forward in transforming food and agriculture systems, especially for the smallholder farmers to build an inclusive, safe, sustainable and resilient society. The findings reported here are based on the engagement that the Asian Center of Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (ACISAI), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand had in the Lower Mekong River (LMB) basin countries (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) using a regional project commonly known as “SRI-LMB”. Using a local, national and regional innovation platform that was designed to systematize engagement and strengthen communication for fuelling innovation, more than 15 institutions were involved in the six-year-long farmers’ participatory action research (FPAR) trial located in the 33 districts of 11 provinces in the LMB. The SRI was used as an ‘entry point’ for such engagement-led-transition. Average yield along with factor productivity increased by more than 50% with a significant reduction in cultivation costs, energy use, and greenhouse gas emission. The purpose of this paper is to share results, and also to detail three key processes that led to innovations in different areas for better adoption: 1. the multi-stakeholder platforms used for action; 2. The FPAR that led to community development; the evidence-based policy and strategies that can support the sustainability of rural livelihoods.

The Impact of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) on Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural Communities

This study sought to assess the impact of savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) on rural sustainable livelihoods using the case of Nekatambe Ward 13 in Hwange district of Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a qualitative approach and a descriptive research design which were consistent with the research problem. Using convenience and purposive sampling, local leaders, non-governmental organisation (NGO) officials and members of the existing SACCOs were selected as respondents. The major findings were that SACCOs played a significant role in sustaining rural livelihoods particularly through enabling members to fend for themselves and their families. In addition, NGOs helped cooperatives through capacitating members with knowledge and technical skills and that SACCOs impacted positively on sustaining rural livelihoods. However, quite a number of challenges are associated with SACCOs in their bit to sustain rural livelihoods; with the major ones being failure to recover loans, competition from more established cooperatives, lack of start-up capital, poor financial and managerial skills and the general national economic meltdown. From the study findings, the researchers concluded that, despite the challenges associated with SACCOs, their existence under members’ resilience, has generally improved the lives of people in rural communities to generate employment, boost food production, send their children to school and empower the marginalized among other positive developments. Accordingly, the researchers recommend that SACCOs should diversify their operations and invest in fixed assets in order to curtail challenges and make lucrative benefits that can sustain their families and communities. On the other hand, the government and other concerned stakeholders should support SACCOs in order to alleviate the possible challenges that cripple them in their bid to promote rural livelihood sustainability.

Mission impossible? Pursuing the co-existence of viable predator populations and sustainable reindeer husbandry in Finland

The recovery and expansion of large carnivores have increased livestock damage in Europe, one example being the reindeer husbandry in northern Fennoscandia. Mostly free-ranging reindeer herds have been exposed to increased predation. We studied connections between the contemporary predator management approach and the consequences of predation in reindeer husbandry within the reindeer management area in Finland. National and supranational management policies aim at biodiversity conservation; predator populations with favourable conservation status play an important role in this. The metapopulation status of large carnivores has been suffering from weak connections between Finland and Scandinavia, but such connections have the potential to be improved due to increased population sizes and changes in carnivore distribution in Finland. Although the sustainability of rural livelihoods is pursued concurrent with the recovering predator populations, the increasing amount of predation-caused reindeer damage has locally compromised the economic sustainability of reindeer husbandry and well-being of herders in Finland. If co-existence is pursued in the present situation, it will require both the development of novel coping strategies by herders to prevent damage, and adaptive management of predator populations. To increase the acceptance of predator protection by local communities, it is crucial to develop more interactive predator management strategies with a concrete role of local stakeholders to address trust issues between herders, policy makers and researchers. Open discussion on the population goals for predators in the reindeer management area as well as the desired role and status of reindeer husbandry is also needed. • Status of the predator populations has improved in northern Finland compared to 90s. • Connections of carnivore populations between Finland and Scandinavia have improved. • Increasing large carnivore populations increase predation-caused reindeer damage. • Damage risks the economic and socio-cultural sustainability of reindeer husbandry. • Conflict between reindeer husbandry and predator conservation can be mitigated.

Climate variability and rural livelihood sustainability: evidence from communities along the Black Volta River in Ghana

Livelihood sustainability has been a major concern for many developing economies across the globe. In Ghana, studies have identified climate change as one constraining player that trigger sustainable livelihood. In the Wa West District of Ghana, studies have paid much efforts on climate change and its perceived effects on livelihood with little attention on climate variability which is a yearly phenomenon. The study aimed to investigate climate variability and rural livelihood sustainability using communities along the Black Volta River in the Wa West District in the Upper West Region as units of analysis. The study employed cross-sectional survey using a mixed method approach to investigate the phenomenon. Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to select the communities and household heads for the study respectively. Questionnaires and interviews were used as data collections tools and questionnaires were administered to 163 household heads. Descriptive and thematic analytical approaches were employed. The result of the study revealed that respondents of the four communities were engaged in primary (crop farming, animal rearing, shea butter processing and Pito brewing) and secondary livelihood activities (dry season gardening, weaving of birds/fishing nets and hair dressing). Evidently, the study found that short, unstable, drought spelt, warm/extreme weather have affected respondents livelihood especially the primary livelihood strategies. In addition, respondents observed drought, flood, poverty/famine, pest and disease, poor crop yield and bush fires as major climate variability-induced shocks and stresses they experienced over the last one decade. Importantly, the study found that respondents have employed cultivation of short duration crop varieties, shifting of planting dates when bad season is suspected and addition of alternative livelihood as response strategies to climate variability. The practical and policy considerations of the study are discussed.

Participatory Assessment Model (PAM) for the Sustainability of Rural Livelihoods Based on Climate Change

Participatory Assessment Model (PAM) for the Sustainability of Rural Livelihoods Based on Climate Change

The Sustainability of Rural Livelihoods and Ecology among Small-Holder Coffee Farmers in the Eastern Districts of Zimbabwe, 1980-2018

Abstract This paper examines the sustainability of rural livelihoods and ecology from small-scale coffee production in the Eastern Districts of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2018. When Zimbabwe attained political independence in 1980, the government made deliberate efforts at encouraging smallholder commercial farming, particularly of coffee in the Eastern Districts of the country. Emphasis on smallholder coffee production was couched within the pitch of black empowerment designed to counter exploitative colonial policies that segregated against blacks. Smallholder commercial agriculture was regarded as the best conduit to improve rural livelihoods and integrate rural economies in the mainstream economic grid, and also to promote environmental protection. Despite efforts invested in the development of smallholder coffee production, livelihoods and ecological sustainability based on the coffee business were elusive and, over time, the sector has failed. A number of factors explain this, including vacillating government policy, organisational challenges, the commodity problem and chronic dependency on donor funding. These developments attract a critical scholarly discourse to analyse livelihoods and ecological sustainability in the coffee business.

Socioeconomic Impacts of the Billion Trees Afforestation Program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan

In recent decades, the terrestrial ecosystem in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan, has undergone tremendous destruction. To restore environmental conditions, the government implemented the Billion Tree Afforestation Program (BTAP), with a high target to impact multidimensional aspects of the terrestrial ecosystem. The government claims that it is local residents who have benefited the most from the BTAP. Hence, the objective of this research was to examine the socioeconomic impact and local rural perception of the BTAP in three districts of KPK. Primary data were collected from 406 households. Fundamental orientation theory was used to assess the social impacts of the BTAP, while cost–benefit analysis was applied to examine its economic impact. The results show that the overall social impacts of the BTAP are satisfactory and beneficial, increasing social sustainability by 69% between 2014 and 2018. Additionally, based on the cost–benefit analysis and perception-based analysis, it was found that the BTAP positively affects the economic conditions of rural households. The community livelihood increased during the program, with a total net income of 6.9 million USD in the three districts of KPK. It is concluded that the majority of respondents have benefited from participation in the BTAP. The sustainability of rural livelihood is one of the main concerns related to the establishment of the BTAP. Effort is needed by the government and other parties to both increase rural household income and to protect the environment.

Forest Resource and Agriculture option for Livelihoods among Schedule tribe in RARH Region of West Bengal in India

Agriculture activity and forest resource collection are the major livelihood source among rural tribal people. Agriculture and Forestry can reduce hunger and poverty and improve the sustainability of rural livelihood in the face of economic and environmental shocks and stresses. The major objectives of this study are as follows: 1. to investigate the influences of agriculture activity and forest resource on tribal livelihoods. 2. To find out the major challenges facing by tribal people for agriculture development and forest resource collection. The database of the study is based on secondary and primary sources. Primary data is collected through a well-structured questionnaire. The result shows that most of the tribal people do not have a sufficient amount of agriculture land for sustaining their livelihood. That’s why they depend upon forest resource collection and seasonal migration. With the passage of time growing demands of wood and Non-Timber Forest Products leads to illegal cutting of trees and many times forest land unprotected by forest officials. So agriculture development and forestry regeneration are the utmost need for sustainable livelihood.

Networks of Reciprocity: Precarity and Community Social Organisations in Rural Myanmar

ABSTRACTGrowing precarity amongst rural households in Myanmar is characterised by increasingly debt-fuelled agriculture, decreasing sufficiency and sustainability of rural livelihoods and an absence of social safety nets. This constrains the capacity for viable livelihoods, as risk-averse coping strategies undermine long-term economic sustainability. In this context, informal support networks may be expected to decline or collapse. However, recent evidence demonstrates the widespread emergence of community-based social organisations in rural communities, formed along traditional principles of reciprocity. Analysis of large-scale rural household surveys demonstrates that such organisations are found in nearly 40% of communities in rural Myanmar. These organisations collect and redistribute funds to help with healthcare, education, funerals and other social needs. The presence of such organisations is linked to higher levels of household resilience, achieved through reducing the inequalities linked to gender, disability and poverty, and through providing enabling environments for effective income diversification. Communities with higher levels of migration are more likely to have community-based social organisations, possibly a result of economic and social remittances. In the absence of effective formalised social protection, these social organisations provide most of the social assistance in rural communities, representing new networks of reciprocity in the face of increasing precarity.

Tetrapleura tetraptera in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda: households uses and local market

ABSTRACTTetrapleura tetraptera is an indigenous fruit tree in Tropical Africa. Scientific findings indicate its medicinal and nutritional properties, vital for rural livelihood sustainability. Despite this reported scientific potential, its uses in local communities have not received much attention. This study assessed T. tetraptera local uses in selected communities in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a total of 420 user households and 30 traders. Reported uses of T. tetraptera were medicine, food, timber, firewood, shade and cultural applications. When ranked by importance, medicinal uses emerged highest in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. Except for food uses that differed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) between Uganda and Ghana, other T. tetraptera uses were not significantly different across the three countries. Household sales exclusively concerned the fruits, and were low, comprising only 16%, 15% and 6% of respondent households in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda respectively. Our results reveal the importance of T. tetraptera for medicinal and food uses in local communities and its potential for improving local livelihoods through its domestication

Designing a sustainable land use scenario based on a combination of ecological assessments and economic optimization

Land use change and the corresponding effects on ecosystems and their services has gained much interest in the recent past, particularly in areas with a significant reservoir of biodiversity, the so-called biodiversity hot spots. In order to assess the impact of possible future land use decisions in a watershed in Yunnan, Southwest China, we applied a method of combining ecological and socio-economic indicators to highlight key aspects concerning the current status of our research area. Data on species diversity, landscape matrix and erosion risk as well as agricultural and socio-economic activities were gathered and analyzed. We were able to locate the areas were conservation measures, erosion control and improved agricultural practices would have the strongest impacts. This information was used to develop a storyline for a “Go Green” scenario. Expert groups and interdisciplinary panels were used to critically review, enhance and expand this storyline in the area of conflict between nature conservation, rural livelihood and economic development.Based on the set of planning prerequisites, a village-household linear programming model was developed and solved with the General Algebraic Modelling System (GAMS) to identify factors driving landscape and land use changes for three different farming systems in the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve, mainly to contribute to the CLUE_Naban model by providing representative farm types and to analyze the decision making of land use (until 2025). In addition, this model is designed to provide policy makers with potential strategic intervention options for land use planning through the utilization of shadow prices.This process enabled us to reconcile the demands for nature conservation and economic wellbeing on a basis of an iterative and participatory working process that incorporates ecological and economic datasets, but also takes the sustainability of rural livelihood into account.

Assessing the economic and social consequences of sustainability of rural livelihood in Eastern India

The present study was conducted to assess economic and social sustainability and their impact on rural livelihood of North East India. Results demonstrate that overall input self sufficiency ratio increased almost two fold (from 0.29 to 0.53). The less the index value is, the higher the cropping diversification will be, and thus, the more relatively sustainable for the farming system. The cropping diversification index (ICD) was enhanced from 36.90 to 18.73%, 40.03 to 19.72%, 34.04 to 19.90% and 43.71 to 22.33% at clusters -I, -II, -III and -IV, respectively. Due to introduction of improved agro-techniques and intensification of crop diversification through National Agricultural Innovation Project in the study areas, overall food deficiency was mitigated by 7.31, 16.97 and 24.05% for 2, 4 and 6 months, respectively, while overall food sufficiency and surplus enhanced from 33.71 to 75.73% and 0.38 to 8.07%. Overall, women’s participation decreased by 40.75% in case of simple physical activities, whereas, it significantly increased to 417.93% in case of knowledge and skill oriented activities, which ultimately assisted in uplifting the sustainability of farming system from low to moderate and high. Key words: Crop diversification index (ICD), food security, input self sufficiency, sustainability.

Impacts of Hydropower Development on Rural Livelihood Sustainability in Sikkim, India: Community Perceptions

Mountain economies are undergoing transformation from traditional agrarian to more industrial or service-oriented economies. Such changes invariably have socioeconomic impacts on nearby communities and lead to fragmentation and rural depopulation. Sikkim, a small state of India in the Eastern Himalayas, has recently embarked on a program of hydroelectricity project construction. This study examined community perceptions of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of these projects in 3 rural areas and considers implications for future sustainable livelihoods. While benefits such as employment have accrued to the rural community from these economic development projects, changes in land use and in people's occupations may have adverse impacts on their future livelihoods. We argue that there is a need to support new types of land-based economic activities on abandoned agricultural lands, reclaim degraded lands, and introduce new products and production methods.

Changes on traditional livelihood activities and lifestyles caused by tourism development in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

The Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) program in Botswana aims at achieving conservation and rural development. In the Okavango Delta, some communities are involved in tourism through CBNRM to improve their livelihoods. However, research has not adequately analyzed changes caused by CBNRM on traditional livelihood activities and lifestyles. This study, therefore, uses modernization theory to analyze changes on traditional livelihood activities and lifestyles caused by CBNRM at Sankoyo, Mababe and Khwai villages in the Okavango Delta. Using primary and secondary data sources, results indicate that CBNRM is causing a decline in traditional livelihood activities like subsistence hunting, gathering, crop and livestock farming. As a result, a modern cash economy has emerged. New livelihood activities done by communities include: employment in CBNRM projects, the sale of crafts to tourists and thatching grass to tourism lodges. Income derived from CBNRM affords households to build modern houses, buy foreign foods and household equipment like: four-burner gas stoves, kitchen utensils, and satellite televisions. Conversely, this causes a decline in the consumption of traditional foods and the use of huts and household utensils. CBNRM is thus a modernization tool since it is causing a transformation of traditional livelihood activities and lifestyles. However, even though changes in livelihood activities and lifestyles may be an indication of the dynamism of culture in study villages, sudden change and modernization may increase livelihood insecurity. As such, tourism planning should ensure that modernization is sensitive to traditional economic systems and the need for rural livelihood sustainability.

Culture, tradition and sustainable rural livelihoods: exploring the culture-development interface in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Considerable attention has been directed recently towards the role of culture in sustainable community development. Individuals and communities have their own values, meanings, customs and knowledge systems that affirm identity and diversity and play a key role in sustaining livelihoods. However, such features have been frequently ignored in development planning. This paper explores the importance of cultural values in attaining rural livelihood sustainability and draws upon field-based research in two villages close to the city of Kandy in central Sri Lanka. The research demonstrates that the sustainable livelihoods approach, whilst useful, does not adequately address traditional cultural values, and frequently perceives culture as a constraint in understanding livelihood opportunities and planning future development trajectories. The research demonstrates the significance of understanding the interface between culture, livelihood sustainability and community development.

Beyond Reserves: A Research Agenda for Conserving Biodiversity in Human‐modified Tropical Landscapes

ABSTRACTTo truly understand the current status of tropical diversity and to forecast future trends, we need to increase emphasis on the study of biodiversity in rural landscapes that are actively managed or modified by people. We present an integrated landscape approach to promote research in human‐modified landscapes that includes the effects of landscape structure and dynamics on conservation of biodiversity, provision of ecosystem services, and sustainability of rural livelihoods. We propose research priorities encompassing three major areas: biodiversity, human–environment interactions, and restoration ecology. We highlight key areas where we lack knowledge and where additional understanding is most urgent for promoting conservation and sustaining rural livelihoods. Finally, we recommend participatory and multidisciplinary approaches in research and management. Lasting conservation efforts demand new alliances among conservation biologists, agroecologists, agronomists, farmers, indigenous peoples, rural social movements, foresters, social scientists, and land managers to collaborate in research, co‐design conservation programs and policies, and manage human‐modified landscapes in ways that enhance biodiversity conservation and promote sustainable livelihoods.

Environmental change and vulnerability in the Usangu plain, southwestern Tanzania: Implications for sustainable development

Natural resources are important assets for sustainability of rural livelihoods and economic development. The objectives of the study were to assess linkage of environmental change to emerging water scarcity, livelihoods insecurity and decline in wildlife biodiversity and hydropower generation in the Great Ruaha ecosystem, and to discuss policy lessons for sustainable development. Literature survey, participatory assessments, collection of records from stakeholders, participatory observations and a questionnaire survey were used. Participatory assessment found that increasing water scarcity is associated with degradation of land, vegetation cover and change in rainfall intensity and duration. Rainfall change is supported by 83% of respondents and rainfall trends analysis. About 42% of variation in cereal production is described by the rainfall amount variability. Analysis of trends for per capita cereals production from district records showed a significant (p < 0.05) decline over the years. Changes in water flows in the Great Ruaha River have been evident since 1993, and have affected wildlife diversity in the Ruaha National Park and power generation from the Kidatu hydroelectric plant downstream. Human livelihood activities, exclusiveness, weak coordination and collaboration between sectors and institutions in policy formulation and implementation have played a role. The pro-poor policy formulation through integrated planning, strong coordination and collaboration is recommended for sustainable development.

From global politics to local land users: applying the United Nations Convention to combat desertification in Swaziland

This paper explores the relevance of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and its related National Action Programmes (NAPs) to people affected by land degradation and change in Swaziland. Household data collected from three chiefdoms are examined, together with policy analyses and information from interviews with policymakers and NGO representatives, as the barriers that inhibit successful implementation of the UNCCD at the national level are explored. We demonstrate how the issues addressed by Swaziland's NAP do not always match the environmental challenges that most threaten the sustainability of rural livelihoods, despite the ‘participatory’ and ‘consultative’ approach taken in developing the policy. This is because the more powerful members of society restricted the public's access to policy space. We argue that local involvement in environmental policy and decision‐making as prescribed from the international political arena is insufficient to ensure empowerment and democracy in dealing with land degradation in national and local contexts, particularly within highly centralized political systems. Although the UNCCD represents a useful global framework in which to situate local anti‐degradation initiatives, in centralized political systems, its success depends upon changes being made to the ethos of national facilitating organizations. Only when the power balance is challenged and greater moves are made towards decentralization will local land users be able to assume a meaningful role in combating desertification.

Linking perceived land and water resources degradation, scarcity and livelihood conflicts in southwestern Tanzania: implications for sustainable rural livelihood

In Africa, the land and water resources quality are key factors for sustainable development. The degradation of the quality of these resources leads to scarcities and conflicts, which together threaten the sustainability of rural livelihoods. This work investigated and analysed the livelihoods conflicts over the land and water resources and their scarcities, policies that contributed to the land and water scarcities and the livelihood conflicts and linkage of the conflicts to the resources scarcities and degradation. Implications of degradation of the resources, development policies and livelihoods conflicts on sustainable development are discussed. Literature study, visits and discussions, participatory assessments, observations and questionnaire survey were used tools to collect data. Interviews of the 266 households revealed that, those experiencing the land and water scarcities and conflicts over these resources are significantly (p < 0.001) higher than those not experiencing the scarcities and conflicts. Crop-livestock competition, over the land and water resources causes prominent conflicts. A significant, (p < 0.05) associations of livelihoods conflicts to water shortage and period of water shortage for crop and livestock production were found. Improved accessibility to soil and water management technologies, wildlife–livestock co-existence, recognition of needs and land rights for pastoralists are recommended to minimize scarcities and herders versus farmers’ conflicts.