Transcript Livelihood Systems in the Sahel

The Way we Live:
Livelihood Systems
in the Sahel
AIACC_AF92
Presented at the Africa Regional Workshop, South Africa
March 10-13, 2003
Basic Questions
• What are the various livelihood systems of the rural
people in the Sahel?
• Who can achieve a sustainable livelihood, and who
cannot in the face of climate change?
• What resources, institutions and strategies are
important for enabling the options open to the rural
poor in the Sahel to adapt to climate change?
• What practical, operational and policy implications
stem from adopting this approach?
Defining Livelihood
• Livelihoods are the ways people make a living, including
how they distribute their productive resources and the
types of activities in which they are engaged.
• The decisions people make about how to organize their
livelihoods may incorporate a whole range of goals and
values, e.g. an individual’s preference for agricultural
work over pastoral work.
• Some of these goals and values are influenced by
cultural norms. Therefore, it is relevant to consider the
cultural context of how people in a society structure their
livelihoods.
Why Livelihood?
• A livelihoods perspective encourages a broader
understanding and examination of factors,
institutions and processes that can explain the
differing success with which rural households make
a living.
• Consequently, permits a bringing together of more
sectoral approaches which tend to focus on a single
aspect of rural livelihood systems, to create a more
holistic understanding of the options and trade-offs
facing different groups in the face of climate change.
Methodology
• Define or Adopt a framework
• Rapid rural reconnaissance
– Identify livelihood systems
– Identify stakeholders
• Participatory rural workshops and data
collection
• Scenario and model development
• Evaluate adaptation strategies
The Sustainable Livelihood
Framework (1)
Is simply a tool to help:
o plan new development/adaptation initiatives
o assess the contribution to livelihood
sustainability made by existing activities
It:
o
o
o
provides a checklist of relevant issues
highlights what influences what
emphasizes the multiple interactions that
affect people’s livelihoods
The Sustainable Livelihood
Framework (2)
Helps us think holistically about:
o
o
o
o
o
The things that poor rural households
might be very vulnerable to
The assets and resources that help them
thrive and survive
The policies and institutions that impact
on their livelihoods
How they respond to threats of climate
change
What sort of adaptation strategies are
open to them
The SL
Framework
Livelihood
Outcomes
• + Sustainable
use of NR base
• + Income
• + Well-being
• - Vulnerability
• + Food security
Livelihood
Capital Assets
Human
Social
Natural
Policies &
Institutions
Physical
Vulnerability
Context
•
Financial
• Government
• Socio-Cultural
-
Livelihood
Strategies
The SL
Framework
Livelihood
Outcomes
• + Sustainable
use of NR base
• + Income
• + Well-being
• - Vulnerability
• + Food security
Livelihood
Capital Assets
Livelihood
Systems
Human
Social
Natural
Policies &
Institutions
Physical
Vulnerability
Context
•
Financial
• Government
• Socio-Cultural
-
Livelihood
Strategies
Reconnaissance Survey
• Familiarize with project Area
• Identify candidate project sites
• Identify logistics that we may need for
effective research implementation
• Identify potential stakeholders
Study Region
Livelihood Systems
Rural livelihood structures in the Sahel are heavily
reliant on the natural resource base.
• Formal
– Agriculture
– Non-Agricultural
• Informal
– Wildlife
– Fuel wood gathering
– Tourism?
Formal Livelihood
• Agriculture
– Arable farming
• Rain fed
• Irrigation/Fadama
– Pastoralism
• Commercial
• Domestic
– Fishing
• Non-Agriculture
– Handicrafts
– Small scale manufacturing and processing
Agriculture
• Over 90% of
agricultural production
comes from rural areas.
Index of Agricultural Production in
Nigeria, 1970-1998
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Crops
Livestock
Fishery
19
70
19
74
19
80
19
84
19
88
19
92
19
96
• Main stay of Nigeria’s
economy, employing
over 70% of active
labour and accounting
for over 90% of non-oil
export earnings.
Years
Pastoralism
• In the Sahel, pastoralism is the dominant livelihood. The
Sahel of Nigeria is estimated to support about:
–
–
–
–
15 million cattle
10 million sheep
18 million goats
All the donkeys in Nigeria, etc
• Here, nomadic herdsmen graze their livestock and are
constantly in search of suitable pasture.
• Two major pastoral corridors in Nigeria: The Northwest
and Northeast.
• 3 million hectares of wetlands dot these corridors, with
an average livestock density of 13/ha, well above the
carrying capacity.
Livestock in Mali: 1960-1992
Pastoralism
Fishing
A dry river valley in the dry season, a
major source of fish in the rainy
season
Fishing in a pond in Arid
Northern Nigeria
Informal Sector
Utensil makers
Mat makers
Anticipated Problems
• Deciding on what livelihood systems to
include or exclude
• Scale of analysis
• Integrating local knowledge with western
scientific knowledge in model specification
• Coordinating the project across two
countries with very different languages