The Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF)

The concept of sustainable rural livelihoods has become important to the debate about how poverty can be reduced, how the environment can be managed, and the issue of rural development. The SLF or simply put the Livelihood framework, is a concept which developed from the broader concept of the livelihood approach, which has its roots in understanding how different farmers in rural communities cope with emergencies such as drought, famine and floods. The framework, which is popular amongst students of development studies and people who work in the area of development policy, organizes and presents the factors that enhance or impede livelihood opportunities, and describes the relationship between these factors. The SLF is both used as an analytical tool and a tool for policy making. In this study, it is used as an analytical tool to describe the nature of preferences for REDD+ compensation in six selected local communities, and how compensation is likely to impact on people´s livelihoods. A livelihood is defined as comprising the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims and access) and activities needed for a means of living (Chambers and Conway 1992). Ellis (2000) expanded on this definition:

A livelihood comprises the assets (natural, capital, human, physical, financial and social capital), the activities, and the access to these (mediated by institutions and social relations) that together determine the living gained by the individual or household.

According to Carney (1998), a livelihood is sustainable when it is able to cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain the capabilities and assets, as well as provide sustainable opportunities for the next generation. The assets which poor people possess or have access to, the livelihoods which they aspire to achieve, and the strategies they adopt to achieve them, are all influenced by the context in which they live. This constitutes the three elements under the SLF namely Assets, Vulnerabilities and Transforming processes, institutions and policies. Below is the SLF in a diagram, which shows the relationship between local peoples assets, livelihood strategies available to them, and the institutions which exist to transform their assets into desired outcomes. Before desired outcomes, the vulnerability box shows that farmers are always prone to shocks, changing trends and seasonal changes, which may affect their livelihoods and the extent to which they can achieve desired outcomes.

Source: DFID, FAO (2000)

Figure 8: The Livelihood Framework

5.1.1 5.1.1 Assets

Assets come at the beginning of the Framework, and comprise the resources and livelihood strategies that people have access to and use to make a living. Assets are owned, controlled, claimed or accessed by the household. They are grouped into five types as follows:

Human capital: This is defined as the labour available to a household (Carney 1998). It includes skills, knowledge, good health and physical capability important for the successful pursuit of different livelihood strategies. The value of human capital can be improved through education, engaging in some vocation and skills acquired through work experience. When a person is free from illness and other health challenges, he is most effective at work, whereas a sick person is the least productive.

Natural capital: This is the natural resource base that human beings exploit for their livelihoods and survival. It includes forests, trees, wildlife and water bodies. When human effort is added to natural capital, the value increases.

Social capital: These are the social resources (networks, social claims, social relations, affiliations, associations) upon which people draw when pursuing different livelihood strategies requiring coordinated actions. They also join these networks in order to gain support. Group representatives, social organizations, rules and sanctions, shared values and mutual understanding is some examples of social capital (Serrat 2008).

Physical capital: This usually incudes properties and productive assets that are available to people, which helps to improve their livelihoods, farm equipment, health facilities. Examples of these are public infrastructure such as community centres, individual houses owned by households, agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, seedlings and machetes, and school buildings, roads.

Financial capital: Financial capital consists of all sources of income available to a household.

Of all the other assets, this is the least attainable and available to poor people. All the other livelihood assets are required in order to acquire this. Some examples of these are credit facilities, loans, and remittances.

5.1.2 Vulnerabilities

The second element in the SLF is the Vulnerability Context. It refers to the capacity or lack thereof, of an individual, household or community to secure their livelihood. The concept is related again to the risks and insecurities among individuals, households or communities in the face new threats. Vulnerabilities are external to the local people; but it has the ability to determine their livelihoods and establish which schemes should be put in place to realize them. The concept has three elements- shocks, seasonalities and critical trends.

Shocks: Include health, natural (flood, drought, and deforestation), economic (loss of markets) and social (conflict) shocks. Shocks can both directly and indirectly influence the amount of assets negatively. Shocks are short-term.

Trends: These are based on population growth trends, natural resource availability, economic and political trends which all can have positive and negative effects on people’s livelihood.

Seasonal shifts in prices: The price of cocoa on the world market is volatile and unpredictable. These affect the livelihoods of farmers negatively, as their incomes are reduced.

5.1.3 Transforming structures and processes/ Institutions

The third element of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework is a set of structures and processes. These structures are also referred to as institutions. These include public and private organizations that formulate and implement policies, deliver services, and purchase, trade and perform other functions that impact on people’s livelihoods. These institutions may be formal or informal, local, national or international (Serrat 2008).