Sustainable Livelihood SR

Compiled by S.Rengasamy-Madurai Institute of Social Sciences

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The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

• It’s ONE WAY of “organising” the complex issues surrounding POVERTY

• It’s NOT the ONLY WAY• It needs to be:

o Modifiedo Adaptedo Made appropriate to local

circumstanceso Made appropriate to local priorities


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Why an ‘approach’?

It’s about trying to see development standing in the shoes of the poor

not from the shoes of:the ‘expert’ or the ‘service delivery manager’


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'A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base'

(Chambers, R. and G. Conway, 1992).


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Livelihood"A livelihood, on the other hand, is engagement in a number of activities which, at times, neither require a formal agreement nor are limited to a particular trade. Livelihoods may or may not involve money. Jobs invariably do. Livelihoods are self-directing. .... . Livelihoods are based on income derived from "jobs", but also on incomes derived from assets and entitlements. "

Job"A job connotes one particular activity or trade that is performed in exchange for payment. It is also a formal agreement, as manifested by a contract, between an employer and employee...... . A job can, however, comprise part of an overall livelihood, but does so only to complement other aspects of a livelihood portfolio.


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What is a livelihood?• A livelihood comprises

-- the capabilities, – assets (material and social)– activities required for a means of living.

• Not just the means to survive but the capability to thrive


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Is simply a tool to help:o plan new development/adaptation

initiativeso assess the contribution to livelihood

sustainability made by existing activities

It:o provides a checklist of relevant issueso highlights what influences what o emphasizes the multiple interactions

that affect people’s livelihoods

The Sustainable Livelihood Framework -1


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The Sustainable Livelihood Framework -2

Helps us think holistically about:o The things that poor rural

households might be very vulnerable to

o The assets and resources that help them thrive and survive

o The policies and institutions that impact on their livelihoods

o How they respond to threats of climate change

o What sort of adaptation strategies are open to them


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Principles of SLA• People-centered: beginning by understanding peoples’ priorities and livelihood strategies.● Responsive and participatory: responding to the expressed priorities of poor people.● Multi-level: ensuring micro-level realities inform macro-level institutions and processes.● Conducted in partnership: working with public, private and civil society actors.● Sustainable: environmentally, economically, institutionally, and socially.● Dynamic: ensuring support is flexible and process-oriented, responding to changing livelihoods.● Holistic: reflecting the integrated nature of people’s lives and diverse strategies.●Building on strengths: while addressing vulnerabilities.


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Principles -1• People at the centre

• Holistic analysis– Not supply driven

• Asset-based analysis– Build on inherent potential– Not on weaknesses and gaps

• Focus on outcomes (results)


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Principles -2If people are at ‘the centre’,

it affects the way services are delivered

• Participatory– Involves users directly

• Responsive– Flexible and dynamic

• Multi-agency– ‘Joined-up’ work (Integration)– Partnerships


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‘PIPS’ effectively determine:

• access (to various types of capital, to livelihood strategies and to decision-making bodies and sources of influence)

• the terms of exchange between different types of capital

• returns (economic and otherwise) to any given livelihood strategy.

Without a pro-poor and supportiveenabling environment, interventions

have little impact


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SLA and RBA: Complimentary?

• Rights-based perspective: • focuses on linkages between public

institutions and civil society and, particularly, on

• how to increase the accountability of public institutions to all citizens.

• The livelihoods approach,• takes as its starting point a need to

understand the livelihoods of poor people in context.

• also recognizes the importance of these rights and of enhancing accountability


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Principles -3

• Focus on institutions– the ‘rules of the game’ – ‘voice’ and ‘choice’– rights, entitlements, inclusion– multi-level consistency– ‘micro-macro’ linkages

Focus on sustainability


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Livelihoods assets

Financial Capital

NaturalCapital

Social Capital

Physical Capital

Human Capital

The Poor


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The SL Framework

Livelihood Capital Assets

Human

Social

Physical

Financial

Natural

Vulnerability Context

Livelihood Strategies

Policies & InstitutionsGovernment

Socio-Cultural

Livelihood Outcomes

• + Sustainable use of NR base • + Income• + Well-being• - Vulnerability• + Food security


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Sustainable Livelihoods Framework


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Focussing on the poor

TheThePoorPoor


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Livelihood Assets

Financial Physical

Natural

SocialHuman

Personal

TheThePoorPoor


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Unpacking Policies and Institutions

Enablingagencies

Serviceprovider

s

FinancialPhysical

Natural

Social

Human

Personal

The The PooPoo

rr


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Unpacking “Processes”

Enablingagencies

Serviceproviders

FinancialPhysical

Natural

Social

Human

Personal

The The PooPoo

rr


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An Envelope of Action

Enablingagencies

Serviceproviders

FinancialPhysical

Natural

Social

Human

Personal

The The PooPoo

rr


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Strong Envelope – People Less Vunerable

Enablingagencies

Serviceproviders

FinancialPhysical

Natural

Social

Human

Personal

The The PooPoo

rr


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Weak Envelope – People More Vulnerable

Enablingagencies

Serviceprovider

s

FinancialPhysical

Natural

SocialHuman

Personal

The The PooPoo

rr


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Enablingagencies

Serviceprovider

s

FinancialPhysical

Natural

SocialHuman

Personal

The The PoorPoor


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The five Capitals /Assets

Assets/Assets/

CapitalsCapitalsExamplesExamples

Human:Human: Skills, Knowledge, Information, Ability to work, Skills, Knowledge, Information, Ability to work, HealthHealth

Financial:Financial: Savings, Credit, Remittances, PensionsSavings, Credit, Remittances, Pensions

Social:Social: Networks, Groups, Trust, Access to servicesNetworks, Groups, Trust, Access to services

Built:Built: Transport, Shelter, Water, EnergyTransport, Shelter, Water, Energy

Natural:Natural: Land, Water, Wildlife, Biodiversity, Environment, Land, Water, Wildlife, Biodiversity, Environment, Solar Solar


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The five capitals

Human capital - skills, knowledge & info., ability to work, health

Natural capital - land, water, wildlife, biodiversity, environment

Financial capital - savings, credit, remittances, pensions

Physical capital - transport, shelter, water, energy, comms

Social capital - networks, groups, trust, access to institutions


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Social Capital - Issues• Much debate centers on the concept of social

capital – one of the key terms in the development lexicon and the missing link in development ‘the glue that holds society together’

• Concept attributed to Putnam who identifies three elements of social relations– Interpersonal trust, networks and shared

norms• Where these elements function well they

enable people to act together more effectively, make decisions, formulate policy and gain access to power and resources

• Proposed that the major obstacle of economic and social development in the ‘third world’ is ineffective institutions


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Social capital - critique• Key critiques of Putnam’s approach are

that it– Devalues political civil society –

concentrates on ‘apolitical’ institutions– Romanticizes associational life– Deterministic – “path dependent

development” – you either have social capital or you don’t.

– A repackaging of what social scientists have studied for years with new terms

• social capital equals “Bankspeak”, a term designed to neutralize and obscure problems and relations of power (Harriss and Fine)


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Counterpoints

• Hilary argues that the concept of social capital exposes the limitations of conventional economic approaches for understanding economic and social processes


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What is a sustainable livelihood?

A livelihood is sustainable when it can:

– cope with and recover from stresses and shocks

– maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future,

– while not undermining the natural resource base.


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Livelihood StrategiesWhat do people do?

• Natural-resource based• Non-NR / off-farm activities• Migration / remittances• Pensions and grants• Intensification vs. diversification• Short-term vs. long-term


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Livelihood outcomesWhat people are trying to achieve

with their assets and strategiesCategories of livelihood outcome• More income• Increased well-being• Reduced vulnerability• Improved food security• More sustainable use of the natural

resource base


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Livelihood OutcomesWhat are people seeking to achieve?

• More sustainable use of the NR base

• More income• Increased well-being• Protect rights• Recover dignity• Reduced vulnerability• Improved food security


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Human Capital• Health• Nutrition• Education• Knowledge and skills• Capacity to work• Capacity to adapt


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Natural Capital• Land and produce

• Water & aquatic resources

• Trees and forest products

• Wildlife

• Wild foods & fibres

• Biodiversity

• Environmental services


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Social Capital• Networks and connections

o patronageo neighbourhoodso kinship

• Relations of trust and mutual support• Formal and informal groups• Common rules and sanctions• Collective representation• Mechanisms for participation in

decision-making• Leadership


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Physical Capital• Infrastructure

• transport - roads, vehicles, etc.• secure shelter & buildings• water supply & sanitation• energy• communications

• Tools and techology• tools and equipment for production• seed, fertiliser, pesticides• traditional technology


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Financial Capital

• Savings

• Credit/debt - formal, informal, NGOs

• Remittances

• Pensions

• Wages


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The Asset Mix

• Different households with different access to livelihood “assets/capital”

• Livelihoods affected by:o diversity of assetso amount of assets o balance between assets


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So……..Human capital• labour capacity• no education• limited skillsNatural capital• landless• access to common property resourcesFinancial capital• low wages• no access to creditPhysical capital• poor water supply• poor housing• poor communicationsSocial capital• low social status• descrimination against women• strong links with family & friends• traditions of reciprocal exchange= an extremely reduced “livelihood pentagon”

Landlessfemale

agricultural labourer

Financial Capital

Social Capital

Physical Capital

Human Capital

Natural Capital


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Understanding vulnerability

• Moser characterizes vulnerability as insecurity in the well being of individuals, households or communities in the face of a changing environment– Because people move in and out of

poverty the concept of vulnerability better captures processes of change that poverty line measures


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Understanding vulnerability

• Chambers observes that vulnerability has two sides– An external side of risks, shocks

and stress– An internal side of

defencelessness due to lack of means to cope with damaging loss


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“Vulnerability” Context• Shocks

– Floods, droughts, cyclones– Deaths in the family– Violence or civil unrest

• Seasonality• Trends and changes

– Population– Environmental change– Technology– Markets and trade– Globalisation


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Vulnerability ContextThe external environment in which people exist

ShocksShocks - - illness,death in the family, disaster-illness,death in the family, disaster-floods,droughts,cyclones, economic, conflict-violence floods,droughts,cyclones, economic, conflict-violence or civil unrest, crop / livestock pests & diseasesor civil unrest, crop / livestock pests & diseases

StressesStresses – – long term trends that undermine long term trends that undermine livelihood potential: livelihood potential: population, environment-population, environment-declining declining natural natural resourceresource base base, , climate change, markets and climate change, markets and trade- inflationtrade- inflation, , currency devaluation, structural currency devaluation, structural unemployment, poor unemployment, poor governance, globalisation governance, globalisation etcetc

SeasonSeasonalityality- - prices, production, health, prices, production, health, employmentemployment


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FP

H

NSThe Poor

Vulnerability

ContextShocks

SeasonalityTrends

Changes

“Vulnerability” Context


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Policies, Institutions & Processes

• Policies • of government• of different LEVELS of government• of NGOs• of interational bodies

• Institutions

• Processes

• political, legislative & representative bodies

• executive agencies• judicial bodies• civil society & membership

organisations• NGOs• law, money• political parties• commercial enterprises & corporations• the “rules of the game”• decision-making processes• social norms & customs• gender, caste, class• language


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PoliciesInstitutio

nsProcesses

FP

H

NS The Poor

Vulnerability

ContextShocks

SeasonalityTrends

Changes

influence

Policies, Institutions & Processes


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Livelihood StrategiesCombining:• the assets they can access

Taking account of:• the vulnerability context

Supported or obstructed by:• policies, institutions and processes.

………..………..leading to


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Livelihood OutcomesPoverty - a “poor” livelihood outcome:

• based on a fragile or unbalanced set of livelihood assets

• unable to sustain to shocks, changes or trends

• not supported, or actively obstructed by policies, institutions and processes that do not allow assets to be used as they might

• livehood options combined in a “bad” or unsustainable strategy


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The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

PoliciesInstitutio

nsProcesses

Vulnerability

ContextShocks

SeasonalityTrends

Changes

influenceLivelihoodStrategies

LivelihoodOutcomesNS

FP

H

The Poor


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Uses

• A guide for people in the analysis of development practice and issues

• Encourages discussion and probing

• Not necessarily easier to explain but more complete

• Specifically identifies many features – politics, rules, social norms, gender/age/class/ethnic issues – that will help make it more culture specific

• Still not a magic bullet!


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Advantages

•Addresses some of the “grey areas” identified regarding SL

Places the poor firmly at the centre – makes people visible

Suggests the importance of clear definition of who is at the centre of the analysis

Unpacks the PIP box – more specific regarding key institutions and processes – and provides a more practical approach to analysing institutional and policy issues

Incorporates political dimension more explicitly

Helps understand entry points – based on opportunities and aspirations, possible at different levels (identifying them still depends on good analysis)


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PRE-SRL SRL

Starting point Resources, needs People

Level of operation Either policy or field level Both policy and field levels with clear links between them

Conceptions ofpoverty

Income-based, simple,measurable

Multi-dimensional, complex

Sectoral scope Single sector Multi -sectoral

Indicators Specified at outset People and outcome oriented;negotiated/ developed over time.

Time frame 3 - 5 years Longer

Project size Medium Start small andgrow

SupportingResearch

Production system-based Livelihoodstrategy-based.Action research

Skills needed forcore staff

Technical, policy Managerial, policy, facilitators.

Source: Carney, 1998

How does the SL differ from previous approaches?


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A Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

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