Looking at land and water management issues through a livelihoods lens?

Looking at land and water management issues through a livelihoods lens? Impact of land and water management interventions has been low in the Blue Nile basin, partly due to low levels of adoption. Historically approaches to RWM have been technology‐oriented and top‐down in approach with little regard for the needs, aspirations, constraints and livelihood realities of farming communities. A people centered approach is required which takes into account local livelihood strategies, cultural, social and institutional dynamics as well as power relations and gender. Livelihoods are complex: thorough assessment and stakeholder engagement is required to gain an adequate understanding. Illustrated below are examples of livelihood issues and the implications for RWM in Jeldu, one of the NBDC sites. Livelihood issues Implications for RWM Farmer perspectives Why should I invest in Being landless, why would I MIGRATION laborious and time consuming expend labor on RWM when RWM when my son can bring I can work in off‐farm Significant levels of seasonal migration, quick cash from Addis? Adama activities. mainly by young people, to Addis Ababa, or Arsi? Adama, Arsi and other towns for at least 3 months a year. • Seasonal migration patterns potentially affect RWM targeting • Labor fluctuations have implications for RWM planning and implementation • Can lead to conflicting interests‐ migration may seem more beneficial Debo work groups are preferable to campaign‐led activities because we can make our own arrangements COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONSLivestock, land and labor sharing are prominent • Community‐based institutions build up social institutions within communities relationships, cooperation, and social networks which often go beyond political boundaries used by RWM planning • Resource sharing has implications for RWM strategies requiring collective action: there is Is increased productivity Why should I reduce my existing potential that could be utilized really the answer to livestock numbers? The everything? more I have the more networks I can establish • Livestock intensification and destocking for Land rental Livestock donation NRM may impact on social capital, networks and coping strategies • Strong cultural values around livestock: g g , / significance for marriage, social status/wealth & emotional wellbeing so people may be resistant to changes Oxen sharing Debo work group My animals are like my LANDLESSNESS children, I know them all by name. It is difficult to get rid of Significant levels of landlessness among the them youth caused by population pressure and land • Lack of access to, and ownership of, fragmentation leading to a variety of productive resources may lead to lack of livelihood strategies e.g. land renting, incentives for adopting RWM, particularly on migration, daily labor. migration daily labor rented land rented land • Landlessness among the young can lead to them seeking land in other areas, for example clearing uncultivated land which can lead to further resource degradation Why would I put long term investment into rented land when my focus is just on this year’s production Ways forwardFor RWM strategies to be successful, project planning and design need to consider the context in which people access natural resources, what shapes or constrains their access, what factors influence adoption or lack of adoption of RWM strategies and technologies, whose livelihoods will be improved and who might lose out. Beth Cullen, Alemayehu Belay, Katherine Snyder, Kebebe Ergano, Alan Duncan (Photos: Beth Cullen) Prepared for the International Forum on Water and Food, South Africa, 14‐17 November 2011

Looking at land and water management issues through a livelihoods lens?

by ILRI on Nov 16, 2011

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Looking at land and water management issues through a livelihoods lens? — Document Transcript