HOW THE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS FRAMEWORK CAN CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (original) (raw)
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The South African constitution seeks to secure ecological sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. It is important to understand how society makes use of natural resources in order to seek ways to advance sustainable use of natural resources while promoting social development. Environmental assessment and management needs to embrace approaches aimed at sustainable social development of society such as the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA). The concept of sustainable livelihoods has its roots in the UN Conference on Environment and Development (1987) which called for development to integrate all aspects of human livelihoods and the means that people use to obtain them. The SLA provides a manner in which to improve understanding of the livelihoods of poor people in terms of their assets and capabilities, as well as, the policies, institutions and processes that enhance or inhibit their access to capital whilst increasing or decreasing their vulnerability. The SLA also examines the risks, shocks and stresses and how households cope with them and adapt to long term changes that affect their livelihoods. Households make use of different assets and capabilities to carry out a number of activities to sustain their livelihood and this all contributes to sustainable development. Livelihoods strategies are deemed sustainable or vulnerable depending on their ability to withstand shocks or stresses. This paper investigates how the SLA can be used when planning new development activities (e.g. biofuels) and in assessing the contribution that existing activities have made to sustaining livelihoods.
Town and Regional Planning, 2020
In South Africa, different spheres of government (national, provincial and municipal) have different responsibilities with respect to rural planning and development. Rural development strategies, however, are predominately developed by national and provincial government (centralised planning) such as, for example, the 2009 Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) and the 2018 draft National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF). These efforts from different spheres of the South African government are nevertheless still not having the desired effect in the development of sustainable rural livelihoods, according to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, similar to policies and efforts to implement them elsewhere in Africa. In addition to the appropriate planning and implementation scale, the spatial dimension of rural livelihood within the South African context also requires a specific understanding of the extreme differentiation of areas within 'rural South Africa'. Research regarding the impact of planning at village level (micro-level), as presented in this article, may provide valuable insights for realising sustainable rural livelihoods. This article aims, through an analysis of relevant literature, to examine the sustainable development discourse, in general, while addressing sustainable rural livelihoods and micro-level planning, in particular. The main research question concerns the way in which micro-level planning can contribute to ensuring sustainable rural livelihoods in South Africa. The article also discusses the complexity of 'rural' space and its understanding in the development planning framework of South Africa, providing the spatial context for sustainable rural livelihoods. Examples of micro-level planning approaches in Africa and South Africa are discussed to elucidate their applicability to sustainable rural livelihood development in South Africa. In conclusion, the analysis reveals that, while centralist policies are pursued in South Africa to support sustainable rural development, the actual realisation of sustainable rural livelihoods may well require micro-level development planning strategies. The implication for academics, planning professionals and politicians is that the support and development of microlevel sustainable rural livelihood planning should be pursued to attain the goals of the National Development Plan (2012) of eliminating poverty and to encourage citizens to be active in their own development.
2000
approach to assess the impact of policy and services on poverty. It used the approach in following through a ‘vertical transect’ of the public administration from village to central ministries. As a result the sustainable livelihoods framework has been adapted into one for examining institutional issues. This first paper addresses the conceptual issues and methodological learnings of undertaking this type of audit. Paper 50 in this series summarises the key findings from the four case study countries/provinces. Policy conclusions In terms of process: • In all cases a government partner hosted the project and was in some way interested in implementing the recommendations6. This is critical for such a study to have impact, and recommendations are being taken forward already in at least two of the four situations. • To ensure ownership, representatives from national/provincial stakeholders participated in the study and report-writing. • The importance of linking micro and macro is reco...
SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE METHODOLOGY
This essay discusses the meaning and methodologies of sustainable livelihoods (SL), or sustainable livelihood approaches (SLA), as applied strategies for rural development. Given the existence of several social organizations applying their methodology, with each one having its own expectations; the different approaches that have been developed to achieve a better perspective of sustainable livelihood are discussed in this paper in terms of their objectives and goals. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the approaches is carried out. It can be concluded that despite the different approaches by each organization to achieve SL, all have a common objective: the development of human groups in situations of social disadvantage and the eradication of poverty.
Sustainable livelihoods: the poor's reconciliation of environment and development
Http Www Ebookstore Tandf Co Uk Html Moreinfo Asp Etailerid 0 Isbn 9780203012796, 1992
Many Taylor & Francis and Routledge books are now available as eBooks. 2 14 Human nee& and aspirations employment, to recognize the primacy of local wishes and realities and to find ways of helping them to be realized. This applies especially when the needs are being articulated by those whom development professionals characterize as 'poor'. Sustainable livelihoods: the poor's reconciliation of environment and development Robert Chambers I shall argue in this paper that the thinking and strategies advocated and adopted with regard to problems of population, resources, environment and development (PRED) have largely perpetuated conventional top-down, centre-outwards thinking, and have largely failed to appreciate how much sustainability depends upon reversals, upon starting with the poorer and enabling them to put their priorities first. The context of the interrelationships between population, resources, environment and development is well understood and generally accepted. A summary overview, with which most would agree can set the scene. The context is the rural South, mainly but not only in the tropics. Three major processes stand out. These are population growth, 'core' (urban, industrial, rich) invasions of rural environments, and responses by the rural poor. Population growth Rapid population growth is the norm in the South. According to World Bank estimates (rounded), in the thirty-seven years from 1988 to 2025, populations will grow by 80 per cent in low-income countries and by the same 80 per cent in middle-income countries, in total from less than 4 billion to over 7 billion, while in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) taken on its own the increase will be over 180 per cent, from 464 million to over 1.3 billion (World Bank 1990: 228-9). As in much of SSA, it is often where the environmental base is most fragileand deteriorating, and where the rural population is a high proportion, that population growth is projected to be most rapid. 'Core' invasions and pressures The second process-'core' invasions and pressuresis shorthand for extensions into rural areas of the power, ownership and exploitation of central, I urban institutions and individuals which include the richer world of the North, governments of the South, commercial interests, and professionals who are variously wealthy, urban and powerful. 'Core' also reflects the bias of language and thought which makes urban areas the centre, from which other I vastly larger numbers of people can be enabled to gain adequate, secure, I decent and sustainable livelihoods in rural areas.
2003
Approaches to projects and development have undergone considerable change in the last decade with significant policy shifts on governance, gender, poverty eradication, and environmental issues. Most recently this has led to the adoption and promotion of the sustainable livelihood (SL) approach. The adoption of the SL approach presents challenges to development interventions including: the future of projects and programmes, and sector wide approaches (SWAPs) and direct budgetary support. This project intends to undertake an innovative review of these issues. Central to this will be to question how a livelihood approach is actually being used in a range of development interventions. This will be used to identify and clarify the challenges to the design, appraisal and implementation of development interventions and changes required from the adoption of a livelihoods approach. The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of general and country reviews on SL and development interventions. The second phase of the research involved the compilation of ten detailed case studies of development interventions in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa. These case studies compare and contrast the implementation of a range of sector wide approaches, programmes and projects all developed with a livelihoods-orientation. Each case study intervention was examined through what might be termed as a 'sustainable livelihoods (SL)-grounded audit', which uses sustainable livelihoods 'principles' as the basis. The results of this analysis offer useful guidance on the opportunities and challenges faced by development practitioners in operationalizing sustainable livelihoods approaches. This paper 'A livelihoods-grounded audit of the 'Training for Environmental and Agricultural Management (TEAM) project in Lesotho' is the eleventh in the series of project working papers. This research is funded by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom. However, the findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the Department for International Development, which does not guarantee their accuracy and can accept no responsibility for any consequences of their use.