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 paper `An Appraisal of the use of livelihoods approaches in South Africa¿ is the second in the series of project working papers. This is the output of a literature review and series of interviews on sustainable livelihood approaches, projects, programmes and sector wide approaches in South Africa. / Department for International Development

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been harvested in the wild for generations in Appalachia. Demand for forest farmed raw material and transparent supply chains is growing, which has increased attention on the role of NTFPs in regional livelihoods. We conducted an embedded case study to understand contemporary NTFP harvest, perceptions of community-based development of NTFP livelihood opportunities, and the extent to which forest landowners are interested forest farming. One case study focused on Grayson County, Virginia and included semi-structured interviews with 16 key stakeholders. Interviews explored motivations, species preferences, and uses of NTFPs among individuals and then perceived assets, obstacles, and desired strategies for NTFP livelihood development within the community. Through qualitative analysis we found financial benefits, engagement with nature, and personal preferences (personal fulfillment, learning and creativity, and lifestyle) were key motivators. Newcomers to Appalachia were more likely to balance monetary, environmental, and lifestyle motivations, and multigenerational residents focused more on financial motivations and to a lesser degree lifestyle. We used the community capitals framework to analyze the community focused data and found references to natural, human, and cultural capital as both an asset and an obstacle. Financial capital was a top-obstacle whereas social capital was a top asset. Strategies focused on social, human, and financial capital investments such as social networking, educational programming, tax incentive programs, and local fundraising. The regional case study surveyed via mail those who own 5 or more acres of forestland in 14 Southwest Virginia Appalachian counties to understand extent to which they are interested in forest farming or leasing land for forest farming. We had a response rate of 28.9% and found 45% of forest landowners, owning 47% of the forestland, were interested in forest farming. Those that were likely to lease their land accounted for 36% of all respondents and owned 43% of the forestland. Further, those who were interested did not differ based on demographic and land characteristics. Our study reveals the contemporary state of NTFP livelihoods combines markets sales with broader homesteading objectives and that lifestyle and environmental motivators are an increasing focus as newcomers take roots in the region. Further, communities may be able to draw upon the cultural and natural capital around NTFPs as well as the strong social capital often present in rural communities to further invest in social networking, education, financial incentives, and funding to support NTFP livelihood development. Finally, forest farming and leasing of land for this practice is of considerable and broad appeal to forestland owners in Southwest Virginia, which may indicate possibilities for a critical mass to supply a growing demand for sustainably sourced and quality NTFP raw materials. / Doctor of Philosophy / In recent decades Appalachia has experienced socioeconomic challenges with lack of employment opportunities, high poverty levels and the resulting outmigration of residents, especially youth, in search of work. At the same time newcomers are migrating into the area drawn by the culture and natural environment, which is shifting the social fabric of the region. It is in this new context that communities are asked to develop livelihood opportunities using what is available to them. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been harvested in the wild for generations in Appalachia and offer one avenue of possibility, especially as the market has begun to support higher prices for raw materials that meet the increasing consumer demand for sustainability and quality. Within these new dynamics we set out to understand contemporary uses of NTFPs in Appalachia, and what motivates people to work with these species, as well as community perceptions about how to develop NTFP livelihood opportunities, and the extent to which Appalachian residents are interested in forest farming (the cultivation or stewardship of NTFPs in an existing forest). Our study reveals the contemporary state of NTFP livelihoods combines markets sales with broader homesteading objectives and that lifestyle and environmental motivators are an increasing focus as newcomers take roots in the region. Further, communities may be able to draw upon the cultural and natural capital around NTFPs as well as the strong social and human capital often present in rural communities to further invest in social networking, education, financial incentives, and funding to support NTFP livelihood development. Finally, forest farming and leasing of land for this practice is of considerable and broad appeal to forestland owners in Southwest Virginia, which may indicate possibilities for a critical mass to supply a growing demand for sustainably sourced and quality NTFP raw materials.

The objectives of the study were to analyse rural youth poverty alleviation in the Zambezi Region, problems, and possibilities in order to determine how rural youth agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood activities have improved their livelihood and alleviated poverty. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework has helped the researcher to understand and explain rural youth poverty alleviation, problems, and possibilities in the study area. The study employed a mixed-method approach, with more emphasis on qualitative research. The study had a total size sample of 223, respondents, including focus group discussions. The findings indicate that no livelihood analysis was carried out for rural youth in agriculture and non-agricultural activities in the Zambezi Region. For this reason, agricultural and non-agricultural programmes and projects have not addressed rural youth poverty alleviation. The findings also show that rural youth in agriculture and non-agricultural activities are exposed to numerous factors affecting their livelihood, as most of them cannot efficiently affect the vulnerability context. Furthermore, rural youth depends on their families and friends for livelihood support since they lack access to most livelihood assets. Despite livelihood improvement, rural youth faces problems that impede poverty alleviation in both agriculture and non-agricultural livelihood activities; lack of participation in policy deliberations, access to markets, Information Communication Technologies, training in both agriculture and non-agricultural activities, limited access to financial services and limited access to land. The study demonstrates that successful agricultural and non-agricultural programmes need to take rural youth sincerely to influence rural youth poverty alleviation. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the limited literature on rural youth poverty alleviation and also provide a rural youth critique in agriculture and non-agricultural activities in Namibia. / Development Studies / D. Phil. (Development Studies)

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Land reform is currently high on the agenda of the current government. This is because many people believe that land reform is a valuable tool in addressing the land question and combating poverty in South Africa. It is also evident that government and experts on land reform are clear that in order to enhance land reform in the country, the land must be used to improve the livelihoods of those who need it the most. It is also pivotal that land reform is successful in order to ensure food security. It is important to evaluate these types of land reform models in order to gain valuable insights and lessons that can enhance successful land reform projects in the country that can also serve as a manual for farmers and governments. Although much research focuses on the failure of land reform projects, this research focuses on a successful land redistribution programme that improved the livelihoods of rural people. More specifically, this research critically evaluated the Bergland Development Trust (BDT) land reform project in the Porterville region in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The BDT land reform project is a joint venture between the workers of the Berghoff Farm and their employer, the farmer who also served as a valuable mentor to them. My research found that BDT land reform project improved the livelihoods of the beneficiaries of the project. The BDT beneficiaries earn a sustainable income which, in turn, helps them to buy clothes, vehicles, and enrol their children at the local former ‘Model C’ school. Furthermore, active participation in the project has enhanced the self-image and bargaining power of the beneficiaries which, in turn, extended their livelihoods base. This study is guided by the sustainable livelihoods approach to development. This study critically analysed the factors contributing to their successes and also explored the lessons it holds for other land reform projects. A qualitative research design was employed in order to obtain the necessary data for the research. The data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with the management of the Bergland Development Trust land reform project. After a critical assessment of the BDT land reform project, the recommendations will be forwarded to the Local Government and other projects that will benefit from the experiences of the BDT land reform project.

<p>This study explored the livelihood activities in female-headed households in Vrygrond, Cape Town. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse livelihood strategies adopted by female-headed households. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical framework of the study. This approach drew on the idea that resources and abilities enable people to achieve a range of valued ways of being and doing.</p>

Smallholder livestock keeping and agriculture systems in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) seem to be caught into poverty traps, in as much as they cannot any longer provide ecosystem services on which local communities depend for their survival. I used a regime shifts framework to carry out a thorough assessment of these two case studies in arid and semi-arid lands and smallholder by identifying relevant traps and alternate desirable regimes. Using systems analysis and modelling, I drew casual loop diagrams of the two case studies, which helped me to identify the feedback loops that maintain the systems in undesirable traps and the external driving forces of change. A set of interventions points or leverage points were identified to change the dynamics of the systems and shift them towards more desirable regimes. Essentially, a structural change of both systems is called for if sustainable livelihoods in the rural areas of the SSA are to be seriously envisaged. Human capital investments present the main opportunity for facilitating escape from poverty by transforming farmers to non-farmers and livestock keepers to non-livestock keepers.

This study examines potential livelihood outcomes from a recently established irrigation project in Ta Haen, Cambodia, in a sustainable livelihoods framework. The aim of this SAUCE irrigation project is to provide water for drinking and irrigation purposes with the goal of enhancing food by producing an extra rice harvest, the staple, per year. Field research conducted in December 2011 provided qualitative data from questionnaires, key informant interviews, and participant and direct observation, in addition to quantitative data from water quality analysis focusing on arsenic (a potential risk), pH, EC and temperature. Most of the people in the village did not obtain an extra rice harvest in this first year of the project. However, they did plant other crops along the Ta Haen riverbanks. Average arsenic concentration was 32 ppb, above WHO guideline value (10 ppb). However, dose response data is uncertain at levels below 50 ppb, which makes river water use acceptable given that this is a major water source for the community. Preliminary results suggest that project sustainability and positive livelihood outcomes depend upon improving overall agricultural and water management practices by addressing quality issues, rationing water, and removing invasive water hyacinths that affect water quantity.

<p>This study explored the livelihood activities in female-headed households in Vrygrond, Cape Town. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse livelihood strategies adopted by female-headed households. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical framework of the study. This approach drew on the idea that resources and abilities enable people to achieve a range of valued ways of being and doing.</p>

Canada's immigration policy is based on the notion that increased levels of immigration will bring economic prosperity to the nation and its citizens. However, some immigrants and refugees face a number of challenges in finding adequate employment which has contributed to their living in low socio-economic conditions. Using a document analysis, I investigated the structural and historical contexts and the accountability mechanisms of Canada’s immigration policy under the lens of critical political studies theory and critical race theory to gain some insight as to what some of the dynamics are which could account for the discrepancy between the expected economic outcomes and the actual experiences of new Canadians. I learned that the policy is driven by hegemonic economic forces. From this perspective, I have concluded that immigration is a policy tool used to support the nation’s economic policy resulting in settlement and integration practices favouring the industry that immigration has created rather than the interests and needs of immigrants.

This research is focused on evaluating the UNDP—GEF Small Grants Programme support in Ethiopia. It involves SWOT strategic analysis of outcomes in projects addressing three of the GEF focal areas mainly biodiversity conservation, abatement of climate change and prevention of land degradation. To this end, the study evaluated how the grant presented to the beneficiary communities short-term and long-term opportunities to undertake nature-based sustainable livelihood activities, alleviate poverty as well as impact national policies pertaining to rural economies and the protection of natural resources. In general, the study highlights that the crucial factor for the success of SGP’s service delivery is not only the provision of the support and the subsequent completion of the projects. Most importantly, how local communities equitably benefit from project outputs and maintain sustainability of developments after project completion were identified to be foundational to the developmental causes the grants have been provided.