Transition to adulthood is a complex phenomenon, yielding varying outcomes for young people in different environments. Hence, adolescent girls transitioning from institutional care are a heterogeneous group with varying transition experiences and livelihood outcomes. Studies suggest that adolescents leaving care have less desirable outcomes compared to their counterparts in familial care (Vaughn, Shook & McMillen, 2008). Therefore, adolescents in the institutional context need specialised transition programmes as they traverse to adulthood and independent living (Storm, Porter & Macaulay, 2010:307). Unfortunately, institutions fail to provide well-structured and gender-sensitive transition programmes that promote the achievement of sustainable livelihoods during and after leaving care (Powell, 2006:143). As a consequence, adolescents are vulnerable to negative social and economic outcomes beyond institutional care. iii. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effects of transition programmes on the livelihood outcomes of adolescent girls post institutional care in Highfield, Harare. This study, which is participatory action research, evaluated the transitions and livelihood outcomes of adolescent girls transitioning from two institutions in Highfield, Harare. To conceptualise the transition phenomena, sustainable livelihoods and feminist theoretical frameworks were applied. Mixed methods approaches were used and qualitative as well as quantitative data were collected, analysed and interpreted concurrently. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty-two adolescent girls, two superintendents and a district social services officer. Focus group discussions were held with participants from Institutions A and B and observations made on their counterparts discharged from the same institutions. A gender assessment questionnaire was administered to superintendents to establish whether the programmes being provided were gender-sensitive. Findings from the study showed that adolescent girls in the two institutions have access to more assets (55.55%) compared to those outside with 49.2%. Hence, adolescent girls leaving institutional care lose 6.35% assets, making them poorer than their counterparts in care. Adolescent girls in the institutional context face increased gender-based constraints resulting in limited access to livelihood opportunities. Findings also indicate that adolescent girls living in resource-constrained institutions and households have more complex and harder transitions compared to those in well-resourced institutions and households. The study concluded that the transition programmes being provided are not adequately preparing adolescent girls for life beyond care and they are also not gender-sensitive. Thus, they have a negative impact on the transitions and livelihood outcomes of adolescent girls. Furthermore, stakeholders in the transition process lack financial and human resources to develop and implement gender-responsive transition policies and programmes, thereby affecting adolescent girls’ access to different kinds of livelihood assets. iv. To facilitate successful transitions, this study recommends the development of gender-sensitive transition policies, transformation of the case management system and more investments in participatory policy development, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of transition programmes. Key words Adolescent girls Assets Case management system Evaluation Feminist approaches Institutional care Livelihood outcomes Poverty Sustainable Livelihoods Approach Transition programmes / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / The aim of the research was to identify what female and male farmersthink are the best strategies to enhance the role of conservation farming as a buffer against social, economic and environmental hazards, and a means of ensuring livelihood sustainability and food security. The study also aimed at coming up with information useful to policy and other decision makers on how to improve adoption of these technologies. The empirical component of the research included a questionnaire survey of one hundred and fifty two(152) selected households in one identified ward in Insiza District, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with key informants and in-depth interviews of individual male and female members of a few selected farming households from the sampled population. The desktop portion of the study used secondary data from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government and other stakeholders involved in conservation farming. Collected data was then disaggregated by gender and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Perception statements that emerged as significant in chi-square tests of independence were be subjected to factor analysis and weighted factor scores from factor analysis were then used as independent variables in binary logistic regression analysis. The study concluded that both practising and non practising farmers were of the opinion that conservation farming was good though they indicated that information on conservation farming was not readily available The study found out that most farmers agreed on the possible positive effects of CA in addressing livelihood challenges effected by hazards such as HIV and AIDS and environmental hazards such as declining soil fertility but it had is labour intensive therefore is not suitable for people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS. / South Africa

The relationship between environmental change and violent conflict has increasingly received attention in recent years. Most of the research has focused on fast-onset environmental disasters, rather than slow-moving environmental processes, however. This thesis aims to contribute to filling that gap by assessing the effect of decreasing land productivity on the intensity of violent conflict by theorizing that pastoralists and farmers affected by decreasing land productivity must turn to drastic measures to provide for themselves, increasing the intensity of violent conflict in the process. This is done through a structured, focused comparison that assesses four states in South Sudan, Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Warrap and Lakes in the period of 2014 through 2019. Due largely to the lack of data, no clear and systematic support for the hypothesis or the causal mechanism is found. The thesis suggests that future research should focus on interviewing affected people on the ground or to attempt to study decreasing land productivity through more quantitative methods.

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development / Two decades after the “Fast Track” land resettlement in Zimbabwe, little is known about the sustainability of livelihoods of households that benefited from the programme. “Fast Track” refers to the accelerated land resettlement which started in 2000 in Zimbabwe. The government of Zimbabwe argues that it introduced it as an intervention strategy to enhance the livelihoods of marginalised indigenous people. However, the nature of the fast track land resettlement has been met with considerable criticism. An exploratory study that sought to assess the sustainability of livelihoods through obtaining the perspectives of men, women and youth in fast track resettlement areas of Shamva District was carried out. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interview guides were used to obtain the perceptions. The attempt to understand the sustainability of livelihoods involved determining the perceived (a) major features of sustainable livelihoods, (b) criteria for assessing sustainability of livelihoods, and (c) livelihood strategies adopted. Data were coded and analysed using Atlas-it version 7.5 software. Dependability of livelihoods, ability to recover from stress, extent to which livelihoods conserved the environment, ease with which livelihoods were interchanged and ability to close the gap between rich and poor members of society were the perceived features of sustainable livelihoods. Criteria for assessing the sustainability of livelihoods included the ability of livelihoods to contribute to development, provide a stable flow of income, promotion of social development, potential for growth and ability to conserve the environment. Petty trading, agricultural intensification, self-employment and community savings were the main livelihood strategies pursued in the fast track resettlement areas of Shamva District. Inherent challenges that inhibited the sustainability of livelihoods were cited as lack of infrastructure, poor markets for agricultural products and poor communication. The use of participatory research was crucial in co-creation of knowledge with the resettled farmers. The information generated is useful for crafting empowerment strategies in the fast track resettled farming communities. / NRF

With changes in climate and increasing resource scarcity in the future, transition towards a more sustainable and resilient agriculture system that promotes maintenance of a range of ecosystem services is important. Meanwhile, significant global greenhouse gas reduction targets require all sectors including agriculture to take radical actions immediately. Carbon farming is a promising approach which can contribute to mitigating climate change, increase soil accumulation and fertility, enhance ecosystem services and increase productivity within a range of farming systems. Currently, Sweden does not have any formal carbon farming projects. As the implementation of carbon farming is likely to be location, technology and circumstance specific, a case study was undertaken in Sweden in order to cast light on the envisaged synergies and trade-offs associated with carbon farming by assessing the opportunities and barriers to farmer’s sustainable livelihoods. Eleven pilot farmers from south and central Sweden participated in the case study. Data were collected through online survey. Findings suggest that opportunities and barriers to enhance the carbon sink potential of farmlands are closely linked to people’s livelihoods as well as their broader context and; Swedish farmers are interested in incorporating carbon farming practices within their existing farming systems. Further, opportunities and barriers were found in relation to different assets, external shocks and the policy environment. Moreover, carbon farming has the potential to promote sustainable rural livelihoods in Sweden by reducing farmer’s vulnerability context and enhancing farmer’s assets and livelihood strategies.

The voluntary carbon market, the area of focus for this thesis, developed alongside the compliance carbon market when individuals and organisations elected to compensate for their CO2 emissions. The steep growth in demand for voluntary carbon offset credits stemmed from the 2015 Paris Agreement. Climate issues were firmly on the agenda and carbon offsetting was viewed as a way for countries to meet their carbon reduction targets in efforts towards mitigating climate change. Since then, there has been a shift to natural climate solutions, namely forestry and land use carbon projects.  The ideal host location for such projects oftentimes have an existing, usually poor, population.  Project developers claim to help such populations by providing community benefits such as job creation and improved agricultural practices.  However, there is a gap in the research which focuses on the future of these communities after the projects, and how sustainable the benefits are.  This thesis examines the community benefits of two REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects: Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative, Peru and Yaeda Valley REDD Project, Tanzania.  Interviews with project developers are cross-referenced with project documents and other available sources to analyse the sustainability of the livelihood impacts.  The results show that the positive impacts of voluntary carbon projects on a local community can be sustained post-project. Overall, the well-being of community members can improve, as can decision-making skills and capacity levels.  Project participants can become more adaptable to shocks as their livelihoods have diversified and they have stronger links with international markets.  This link with international markets, however, can also become a barrier to livelihood benefits. As local people become reliant on market demand and project funds, they move away from subsistence farming and when demand drops, they may find it hard to prosper.  Additionally, there is a risk that following the departure of the project and its developers, more malevolent and powerful parties may move into the area.  To overcome these barriers, livelihood diversification opportunities need to be strengthened and land tenure issues clarified.

This thesis examines whether, how and to what extent social cash transfers help the poor in reducing poverty; not only in income terms but also in relation to how they build on their capabilities and address gender inequality, risk and vulnerability. The thesis explores these questions through an analysis of a community targeted social cash transfer scheme from Traditional Authority Mlomba, Machinga district in Malawi, using the capability approach as the conceptual framework of analysis. The study is located in the critical realist domain as its underlying research philosophy. The study is qualitative in nature, using semi-structured interviews, observations and life histories. The scheme targets the poorest 10% of the population who are also labour constrained and deemed to be economically unproductive. Thus, the study offers some insights into an area that is not well researched as it is a relatively new concept to target the poor who are also labour constrained and not economically productive. In this thesis, I show that despite the limited resource base compared to the large number of the poor, social cash transfers as low as US$14 per household per month can make a valuable contribution to the reduction of poverty through building capabilities of the poor, empowering women and addressing some of the gendered inequalities, risk and vulnerability. Therefore, social cash transfers are not just handouts but act as ladders that can uplift the absolute poor out of poverty.

The spread of Community-based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programs can be attributed to the failure of top-down approaches and the development of more equitable governance strategies. A CBNRM approach seeks to fulfill dual objectives by balancing environmental conservation goals and local livelihood opportunities. This thesis analyzes how the implementation of CBNRM programs at Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR) influences the available livelihood opportunities for local communities. Data was gathered through document analysis and online qualitative interviews and questionnaires with MSDR's staff, directly involved with these programs. The study found that trust, empowerment, and engagement are crucial for the effective implementation of these programs. By including local knowledge, promoting community participation and organization, providing continuous training, and having an ongoing evaluation and adaptation approach when managing resources, MSDR balances conservation goals with local development. Additionally, results indicate that the existing challenges are related to the efficacy of policy and legislative frameworks at the local and national levels, which complicates the work of implementing organizations. The findings suggest that a participatory approach to conservation can lead to positive outcomes, highlighting the importance of sustainable development within protected areas. These results have implications for future CBNRM projects and deepen our understanding of the intrinsic relationship between nature conservation and local livelihoods.

As environmental changes, including climate change, become more and more severe and affect every corner of the world, many people are forced to move from their homestead as the nearby environment that once was a safe place slowly becomes inhabitable. The Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam is one of the places in the world where environmental changes jeopardize rural livelihoods creating a trend of out-migration and urbanization. Through a Minor Field Study facilitated by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA, this research was conducted in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, specifically the An Biên District in Kiên Giang province. The empirical base did, from an ethnographically inspired qualitative method, collect primary data by using observation, semi-structured interviews, a group discussion, as well as expert interviews with key informants. The research aimed at generating insights and knowledge about local perceptions by investigating environmental changes’ connection to migration and integrating the frameworks Drivers of Migration and the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods approach. It found both that the perceptions of environmental changes impact on livelihoods and its relation to migration as adaptation was different depending on the type of agricultural activities. It also found that environmental changes partly had or did not at all have a relationship with migration as adaptation, but rather the financial and social conditions together with natural capital as the size of land.

No description available.