Your search found 22 records
1 Murugani, V. G.; Thamaga-Chitja, J. M. 2018. Livelihood assets and institutions for smallholder irrigation farmer market access in Limpopo, South Africa. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 34(2):259-277. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2017.1301249]
Irrigation schemes ; Small scale systems ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Living standards ; Market access ; Institutions ; Assets ; Natural capital ; Fixed capital ; Financing ; Human capital ; Capacity building ; Social capital / South Africa / Limpopo
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048506)
(1.31 MB)
Despite having access to irrigation water, many smallholder irrigation farmers in rural South Africa remain subsistence-oriented, with little market participation. Their tangible and intangible assets influence production and market access. Largely qualitative data collected in rural Limpopo Province show that the farmers’ tangible assets supported production but in some instances restricted them from producing efficiently. Likewise, their intangible assets mostly limited their capacity to produce efficiently, to find markets or to organize themselves. These farmers’ tangible assets need to be upgraded and their intangible assets need strengthening to increase production capacity and marketing efficiency.
2 Maiti, S.; Jha, S. K.; Garai, S.; Nag, A.; Bera, A. K.; Paul, V.; Upadhaya, R. C.; Deb, S. M. 2017. An assessment of social vulnerability to climate change among the districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Ecological Indicators, 77:105-113. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.02.006]
Climate change adaptation ; Risk assessment ; Indicators ; Households ; Socioeconomic environment ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Natural capital ; Financing / India / Eastern Himalaya / Arunachal Pradesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048596)
(0.99 MB)
The present study highlighted the state of climate change induced social vulnerability of the districts of Arunachal Pradesh. For the purpose of assessment of one of the most fragile ecosystems of the eastern Himalaya, the ‘Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Approach’ and IPCC’s definition of vulnerability were utilized. The assessment was based on various secondary data, like socio-economic and biophysical indicators, collected from several authenticated sources; and the respective weightage of these indicators was assigned by using ‘Principal Component Analysis’. Vulnerability was calculated as the net effect of exposure and sensitivity on the adaptive capacity. Anjaw district of eastern Arunachal Pradesh was found to be the most vulnerable district, while Tawang district of western Arunachal Pradesh happened to be the least vulnerable. This net effect was found negative in 7 out of 12 districts viz. Anjaw, Upper Siang, West Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, East Siang, East Kameng and Kurung Kurmey. This net negative effect could be construed as an alarming situation.
3 Costanza, R. 2020. Valuing natural capital and ecosystem services toward the goals of efficiency, fairness, and sustainability. Ecosystem Services, 43:101096. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101096]
Payments for ecosystem services ; Natural capital ; Efficiency ; Sustainability ; Valuation ; Property rights ; Economic aspects ; Communities ; Models
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049686)
(0.36 MB)
Ecosystem services (ES) are the ecological characteristics, functions, or processes that directly or indirectly contribute to sustainable human wellbeing. The ecosystems that provide the services are ‘natural capital’ (NC) using the general definition of capital as a stock that yields a flow of services over time. But these concepts must be embedded in a whole systems view of the interdependencies between humans and the rest of nature, as espoused by ecological economics from its inception. Valuing NC and ES is therefore about assessing their contributions (in complex interaction with built, human, and social capital) toward the goal of sustainable wellbeing of the whole system of humans and the rest of nature. This recognizes that sustainable human wellbeing cannot be achieved without the wellbeing of the rest of nature. To achieve this, an integrated approach to valuation toward the three sub-goals of efficient allocation (E-value), fair distribution (F-value) and sustainable scale (S-value) is necessary. This article reviews these ideas, and discusses an agenda to improve understanding and valuation of NC and ES toward the goals of efficiency, fairness, and sustainability in a dynamic, whole systems context.
4 Zhang, C.; Fang, Y. 2020. Application of capital-based approach in the measurement of livelihood sustainability: a case study from the Koshi River basin community in Nepal. Ecological Indicators, 116:106474. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106474]
Sustainable development ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Community involvement ; Climate change ; Infrastructure ; Indicators ; Precipitation ; Economic aspects ; Human capital ; Natural capital ; Social capital ; Natural disasters ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Case studies / Nepal / Koshi River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049827)
(5.26 MB)
Climate change is classified as a global scale issue, since it impacts numerous and varied regions worldwide without regard for anthropogenic or natural geographic borders. However, household livelihood vulnerability and sustainability are influenced by various factors that differ between countries, districts, and communities. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region has been severely affected, as climate change has profoundly impacted the native people’s livelihood, habitation, and physical infrastructure. In order to develop appropriate and effective adaptation strategies, it is necessary to understand the current livelihoods status of local households, to identify underlying factors that affect their livelihood, and to access vulnerability and livelihood sustainability. In this study, researchers collected data by surveying 130 households from the Koshi River basin (KRB) of Nepal. The study was conducted in three different districts, representing various ecological regions within the KRB, including: the Kavre district in the Mid-mountain area, the Sindhuli district in Siwalik Hill, and the Saptari district in the Terai Plains. While the different districts are susceptible to diverse types of climate-induced disasters, all three study areas have suffered huge economic losses in response to climate change.
Quantitative assessment of capital-based vulnerability in the rural villages was carried out based on the three dimensions of vulnerability specified by the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and Sustainable Livelihood Index (SLI) was used to assess these three dimensions of vulnerability and sustainability and incorporated a wide range of socio-economic variables that represent human, physical, natural, financial, and social capitals. 45 sub-component indicators were selected to evaluate the five major capitals and ultimately reflect the three vulnerability dimensions. The results suggest that: 1) Kavre households have higher human capital vulnerability; 2) the Saptari district may be more vulnerable to natural and physical capital, and 3) the Sindhuli district is more vulnerable to financial and social capital. Investigation into the specific impacts of climate change on rural livelihoods in different environments enhances our understanding of the resulting environmental and socioeconomic changes. Furthermore, it helps identify the specific vulnerabilities pertaining to susceptible communities at a micro level and aids governments and scientists in developing targeted, customized, adaptive strategies to address infrastructure construction, education, public health services, skills training, establishment of early warning systems, and community-based risk reduction schemes, as needed.
Quantitative assessment of capital-based vulnerability in the rural villages was carried out based on the three dimensions of vulnerability specified by the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and Sustainable Livelihood Index (SLI) was used to assess these three dimensions of vulnerability and sustainability and incorporated a wide range of socio-economic variables that represent human, physical, natural, financial, and social capitals. 45 sub-component indicators were selected to evaluate the five major capitals and ultimately reflect the three vulnerability dimensions. The results suggest that: 1) Kavre households have higher human capital vulnerability; 2) the Saptari district may be more vulnerable to natural and physical capital, and 3) the Sindhuli district is more vulnerable to financial and social capital. Investigation into the specific impacts of climate change on rural livelihoods in different environments enhances our understanding of the resulting environmental and socioeconomic changes. Furthermore, it helps identify the specific vulnerabilities pertaining to susceptible communities at a micro level and aids governments and scientists in developing targeted, customized, adaptive strategies to address infrastructure construction, education, public health services, skills training, establishment of early warning systems, and community-based risk reduction schemes, as needed.
5 Mulema, A. A.; Boonabaana, B.; Debevec, L.; Nigussie, Likimyelesh; Alemu, M.; Kaaria, S. 2021. Spiraling up and down: mapping women’s empowerment through agricultural interventions using the community capitals framework in rural Ethiopia. Community Development, 52(1):113-130. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2020.1838589]
Women's empowerment ; Gender equality ; Agriculture ; Rural communities ; Social capital ; Human capital ; Natural capital ; Cultural capital ; Collective action ; Social networks ; Livelihood diversification ; Off farm employment ; Financing ; Infrastructure ; Political aspects ; Households ; Decision making / Ethiopia / Adami Tulu / Yaya Gulele
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050056)
(2.09 MB)
The paper draws on the Community Capitals Framework to frame and analyze the process of rural women’s empowerment through agricultural interventions in two districts of Ethiopia. A blend of qualitative data collection methods comprising group discussions, life histories, and key informant interviews was used. Our study shows that investing in social, human, financial, cultural, natural, physical, and political capitals resulted in increased assets within those capitals and others amongst the beneficiaries. The interaction between capitals builds “power with”, “power within”, “power to” and “power over” in an upward spiral. Specifically, the interaction between social, human and financial capitals is a key entry point to rural women’s empowerment. Cultural capital intermediates the interaction and flow of capital assets during the empowerment process. We argue that empowering women requires an approach that enhances their capability to identify and systematically manage interactions among capitals that foster their voice and agency.
6 Allan, T.; Bromwich, B.; Keulertz, M.; Colman, A. (Eds.) 2019. The Oxford handbook of food, water and society. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press. 926p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190669799.001.0001]
Food systems ; Water systems ; Society ; Food security ; Water security ; Food supply chains ; Value chains ; Water resources ; Water management ; Virtual water ; Water footprint ; Agricultural water use ; Agricultural trade ; Conservation agriculture ; Irrigation management ; Water scarcity ; Natural capital ; Political aspects ; Policies ; Municipal water ; Water demand ; Pollution prevention ; Agricultural production ; Transformation ; Wheat ; Coffee industry ; Rice ; Oil palms ; Meat ; Beef ; Pricing ; Pesticides ; Farmers ; Water user associations ; Gender ; Feminization ; Household consumption ; Diet ; Hunger ; Malnutrition ; Obesity ; Poverty ; Sustainability ; Technology ; Subsidies ; Ecosystem services ; Infrastructure ; Drought ; Flooding ; Soil erosion ; Semiarid zones ; Arid zones ; Drylands ; WTO ; Modelling / Africa / Mediterranean Region / North America / Western Asia / United Kingdom / England / Wales / USA / Brazil / Australia / Jordan / Israel / South Africa / California / Cape Town / Sonoran Desert
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 333.91 G000 ALL Record No: H049524)
(1.26 MB)
Society’s greatest use of water is in food production; a fact that puts farmers centre stage in global environmental management. Current management of food value chains, however, is not well set up to enable farmers to undertake their dual role of feeding a growing population and stewarding natural resources. This book considers the interconnected issues of real water in the environment and “virtual water” in food value chains and investigates how society influences both fields. This perspective draws out considerable challenges for food security and for environmental stewardship in the context of ongoing global change. The book also discusses these issues by region and with global overviews of selected commodities. Innovation relevant to the kind of change needed for the current food system to meet future challenges is reviewed in light of the findings of the regional and thematic analysis.
7 Maund, P. R.; Irvine, K. N.; Dallimer, M.; Fish, R.; Austen, G. E.; Davies, Z. G. 2020. Do ecosystem service frameworks represent people’s values?. Ecosystem Services, 46:101221. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101221]
Ecosystem services ; Frameworks ; Cultural values ; Social aspects ; Woodlands ; Natural capital ; Decision making ; Gender ; Ethnic groups ; Natural environment ; Biodiversity ; Models / United Kingdom
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050108)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041620301637/pdfft?md5=cd89702671e2cfc0fa0912e25a5366a3&pid=1-s2.0-S2212041620301637-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050108.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050108.pdf
(1.99 MB) (1.99 MB)
Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was published, a plethora of ecosystem service frameworks have been developed to conceptualise the links between the natural environment and society. The intended geographic scales of application, the policy/practice context, and the scientific disciplines involved have driven variations in how the frameworks are constructed. However, the frameworks are homogenous in that they have been created predominately based on expert opinions and views of how ecosystem services are structured. Here, we use the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) to examine the extent to which frameworks capture people’s values for British woodlands. Our findings reveal several disparities between how experts and the public conceptualise ecosystem services. The considerable refinement and specificity provided by CICES does not align with public values (e.g. some provisioning, and regulation and maintenance, services), which tend to be more generalised. We also demonstrate differences in values explained by social characteristics (e.g. ethnicity) that need to be accounted for in decision-making processes. Moving forwards, we need to consider how society views the services derived from nature and reflect this in frameworks to ensure ecosystem service approaches are effective, transparent and widely supported.
8 Jeevamani, J. J. J.; Priya, P.; Infantina, J. A.; Abhilash, K. R.; Behera, D. P.; Samuel, V. D.; Soundararajan, R.; Purvaja, R.; Ramesh, R. 2021. An integrated approach to assess coastal vulnerability versus fisheries livelihood sustainability: strategies for climate change adaptation in Sindhudurg, west coast of India. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(3):4011-4042. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00754-6]
Climate change adaptation ; Marine fisheries ; Coastal zones ; Vulnerability ; Livelihoods ; Sustainability ; Strategies ; Marine ecosystems ; Fishing communities ; Socioeconomic environment ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Natural capital ; Infrastructure ; Villages ; Towns / India / Maharashtra / Sindhudurg Coastal and Marine Ecosystem / Devgad / Malvan / Vengurla
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050246)
(1.08 MB)
Global warming-induced climate change affects the coastal regions diversely leading to warmer oceans, rise in sea level, aggravating storm patterns, inundations, increasing precipitations and salinization. This study focusses to explore the livelihood as well as the vulnerability status of the marine fishing spatial units in Sindhudurg Coastal and Marine Ecosystem (SCME) area, west coast of India. The focus was to develop a composite index, namely, Sustainable Fisheries Livelihood Index (SFLI) comprising five capitals, which acts as a tool to evaluate the livelihood status of the fishing communities and also a coastal vulnerability (Cumulative Vulnerability Index-CVI) framework from an earlier assessment was used. The livelihood and vulnerability indices were integrated to arrive at a decision-making matrix to identify and propose suitable interventions for appropriate climate adaptation strategies and achieving sustainable fisheries livelihood. In the present study, SCME was found to have a low SFLI value (0.36). Among the three taluks in SCME, Malvan taluk had comparatively higher SFLI (0.46) than Vengurla (0.34) and Devgad (0.29) taluks. Based on cumulative vulnerability indices, the majority of marine fishing spatial units (i.e. 58.3% after combining high and very high CVI ranges) in SCME were found to face severe vulnerability. These spatial units, plotted using CVI versus SFLI in the four quadrants of decision matrix, were analyzed for management interventions with strategies aimed at reducing the vulnerability and improve the adaptive capacity of fishing communities to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Spatial units in Quadrant IV were preferred to have focused climate change adaptation strategies to minimize vulnerability as well as to improve the fisheries livelihood sustainability by enhancing the access to livelihood capital assets. Spatial units in Quadrant I might serve as model units to demonstrate the vulnerability mitigation interventions to achieve stability and sustainability of livelihoods. Appropriate interventions for climate change adaptation such as diversification of fishing, selection of appropriate fishing gears, regulation of fishing effort, diversification of livelihoods and adoption of ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) have been discussed.
9 Aguilar, F. X.; Hendrawan, D.; Cai, Z.; Roshetko, J. M.; Stallmann, J. 2021. Smallholder farmer resilience to water scarcity. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 34p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01545-3]
Water scarcity ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Resilience ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Social capital ; Human capital ; Natural capital ; Household income ; Farmland ; Agroforestry ; Infrastructure ; Public policy ; Econometrics ; Models / Indonesia / South Sulawesi / Bantaeng
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050520)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10668-021-01545-3.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050520.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050520.pdf
(1.03 MB) (1.03 MB)
Water scarcity poses one of the most prominent threats to the well-being of smallholder farmers around the world. We studied the association between rural livelihood capitals (natural, human, social, financial, and physical) and resilience to water scarcity. Resilience was denoted by farmers’ self-reported capacity to have avoided, or adapted to, water scarcity. Proxies for livelihood capitals were collected from two-hundred farmers in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and their associations with a typology denoting water scarcity impacts analyzed with a Taylor-linearized multinomial response model. Physical and natural assets in the form of irrigation infrastructure and direct access to water sources were saliently associated with overall resilience (avoidance and adaptation) to water scarcity. Years of farming experience as a form of human capital asset was also strongly associated with resilience to water scarcity. Factors solely associated with the capacity to adapt to water scarcity were more nuanced with social capital assets showing closer associations. A household with a larger number of farm laborers had a higher likelihood of being unable to withstand water scarcity, but this relationship was reversed among those who managed larger farming areas. We discuss possible mechanisms that could have contributed to resilience, and how public policy could support smallholder farmers cope with water scarcity.
10 Alba-Patino, D.; Carabassa, V.; Castro, H.; Gutierrez-Briceno, I.; García-Llorente, M.; Giagnocavo, C.; Gomez-Tenorio, M.; Cabello, J.; Aznar-Sanchez, J. A.; Castro, A. J. 2021. Social indicators of ecosystem restoration for enhancing human wellbeing. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 174:105782. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105782]
Ecological restoration ; Ecosystem services ; Social indicators ; Circular economy ; Natural capital ; Agroecology ; Sustainability ; Semiarid zones ; Biodiversity ; Vulnerability ; Policies / Spain / Almeria / Los Velez
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050558)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344921003918/pdfft?md5=bcd17722a22ba4ce21563172901f4263&pid=1-s2.0-S0921344921003918-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050558.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050558.pdf
(2.75 MB) (2.75 MB)
This study implements the ecosystem service framework to link the concepts of farming activity and ecosystem restoration within the circular economy. It proposes a method for identifying social indicators of ecosystem restoration that can be taken into account in the transition towards more circular and sustainable agricultural systems. Using a case study located in semi-arid Mediterranean landscapes, we conducted a social sampling with 350 respondents to explore how an almond tree restoration changes perceptions and preferences for ecosystem services, and how these socio-ecological changes translate into indicators of natural capital and human wellbeing. Results not only indicated that the almond tree restoration induced changes in people´s preferences and perceptions for ecosystem services, such as an increase in ecosystem service diversity (i.e., local identity and erosion control), but they also demonstrated how the social and cultural benefits associated to ecosystem services can be used as indicators of human well-being (i.e., human health and access to goods). We suggest that the inclusion of social indicators of ecosystem restoration must be included in policies and initiatives for a transition to circular economy, and to achieve the challenges of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
11 Vorosmarty, C. J.; Stewart-Koster, B.; Green, P. A.; Boone, E. L.; Florke, M.; Fischer, G.; Wiberg, David A.; Bunn, S. E.; Bhaduri, A.; McIntyre, P. B.; Sadoff, C.; Liu, H.; Stifel, David. 2021. A green-gray path to global water security and sustainable infrastructure. Global Environmental Change, 70:102344. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102344]
Water security ; Water resources ; Water management ; Infrastructure ; Natural capital ; Ecosystem services ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Environmental degradation ; Forecasting ; Investment ; Frameworks ; Economic aspects
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050666)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378021001230/pdfft?md5=ca672c3daa45eeb798d8a5cf9a93f3bb&pid=1-s2.0-S0959378021001230-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050666.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050666.pdf
(11.20 MB) (11.2 MB)
Sustainable development demands reliable water resources, yet traditional water management has broadly failed to avoid environmental degradation and contain infrastructure costs. We explore the global-scale feasibility of combining natural capital with engineering-based (green-gray) approaches to meet water security threats over the 21st century. Threats to water resource systems are projected to rise throughout this period, together with a significant expansion in engineering deployments and progressive loss of natural capital. In many parts of the world, strong path dependencies are projected to arise from the legacy of prior environmental degradation that constrains future water management to a heavy reliance on engineering-based approaches. Elsewhere, retaining existing stocks of natural capital creates opportunities to employ blended green-gray water infrastructure. By 2050, annual engineering expenditures are projected to triple to $2.3 trillion, invested mainly in developing economies. In contrast, preserving natural capital for threat suppression represents a potential $3.0 trillion in avoided replacement costs by mid-century. Society pays a premium whenever these nature-based assets are lost, as the engineering costs necessary to achieve an equivalent level of threat management are, on average, twice as expensive. Countries projected to rapidly expand their engineering investments while losing natural capital will be most constrained in realizing green-gray water management. The situation is expected to be most restrictive across the developing world, where the economic, technical, and governance capacities to overcome such challenges remain limited. Our results demonstrate that policies that support blended green-gray approaches offer a pathway to future global water security but will require a strategic commitment to preserving natural capital. Absent such stewardship, the costs of water resource infrastructure and services will likely rise substantially and frustrate efforts to attain universal and sustainable water security.
12 Usubiaga-Liano, A.; Ekins, P. 2021. Monitoring the environmental sustainability of countries through the strong environmental sustainability index. Ecological Indicators, 132:108281. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108281]
Environmental sustainability ; Monitoring ; Indicators ; Natural capital ; Sustainable development ; Frameworks ; Drinking water ; Public health ; Uncertainty / Europe
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050753)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21009468/pdfft?md5=d3362d917770fb69933afa2c72ce6da3&pid=1-s2.0-S1470160X21009468-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050753.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050753.pdf
(2.37 MB) (2.37 MB)
Countries still lack adequate metrics to monitor environmental sustainability across a range of relevant environmental and resource issues. The Strong Environmental Sustainability Index (SESI), which is based on the Environmental Sustainability Gap (ESGAP) framework, is intended to fill this gap. SESI is the result of aggregating 21 indicators across different dimensions. Each of the underlying indicators is related to the functions of natural capital and normalised using science-based targets. SESI uses the geometric mean to aggregate in order to reflect the limited substitutability between the functions of natural capital.
The results of the index, which is computed for 28 European countries, show that several functions of natural capital are impaired in Europe. Countries tend to perform worse in indicators related to pollution and ecosystem health, compared to indicators that describe the provision of natural resources, and human health and welfare. Because the results are sensitive to assumptions in the normalisation, weighting and aggregation processes, the relevant choices have been aligned with the theoretical underpinnings of the ESGAP framework. SESI responds to the demands of the ‘Beyond GDP’ community on the need for a single environmental sustainability metric that can complement GDP in its (mis-)use as a headline indicator for development.
The results of the index, which is computed for 28 European countries, show that several functions of natural capital are impaired in Europe. Countries tend to perform worse in indicators related to pollution and ecosystem health, compared to indicators that describe the provision of natural resources, and human health and welfare. Because the results are sensitive to assumptions in the normalisation, weighting and aggregation processes, the relevant choices have been aligned with the theoretical underpinnings of the ESGAP framework. SESI responds to the demands of the ‘Beyond GDP’ community on the need for a single environmental sustainability metric that can complement GDP in its (mis-)use as a headline indicator for development.
13 Datta, P.; Behera, B. 2022. Assessment of adaptive capacity and adaptation to climate change in the farming households of eastern Himalayan foothills of West Bengal, India. Environmental Challenges, 7:100462. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2022.100462]
Climate change adaptation ; Households ; Farmers ; Highlands ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Frameworks ; Indicators ; Vulnerability ; Natural capital ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Rain ; Land ownership ; Villages ; Socioeconomic aspects / India / West Bengal / Himalayan Region / Dalsinghpara / Turturi Khanda / Ballalguri
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050924)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010022000221/pdfft?md5=d281c6af02bcc481008f9f934d150f5c&pid=1-s2.0-S2667010022000221-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050924.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050924.pdf
(2.42 MB) (2.42 MB)
The Indian agricultural sector is highly vulnerable to climate change. Hence, the adoption of appropriate adaptation measures by the farmers is crucial for reducing the adverse effects, and it is expected that farmers with higher adaptive capacity would be better equipped to respond to the rapidly changing climatic conditions. Therefore, understanding the factors that are likely to influence farmers’ adaptive capacity is critical for efficiently targeting adaptation and capacity-building initiatives. Based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), this study explored farming households’ adaptive capacity in three climatic hazard-prone villages of the Eastern Himalayan foothills of West Bengal, India. The Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to assign weights to the indicators under the SLF, and the consistency ratio was 0.04, indicating the adequacy of the derived weights for assessing adaptive capacity. The findings showed that only 11.41 percent of households had a high adaptive capacity, whereas 60.40 and 28.19 percent had moderate and low adaptive capacity, respectively. It is found that a large number of households having a low adaptive capacity left their land as fallow. While the majority of households with moderate and high adaptive capacity diversified their farming systems or switched from traditional staple cereals to less water-intensive cash crops. The differences in natural, physical, and financial capital are mainly responsible for the differential adaptive capacity among the farming households in this region. However, there were considerable differences among the villages in terms of asset distribution. Therefore, sustainable adaptive capacity-driven policy initiatives to enable efficient adaptation and agrarian welfare are of paramount importance in this region.
14 Seymour, V.; Willls, B.; Wilkin, P.; Burt, P.; Ikin, E.; Stevenson, P. C. 2022. Incorporating citizen science to advance the natural capital approach. Ecosystem Services, 54:101419. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101419]
Citizen science ; Natural capital ; Assessment ; Public participation ; Environmental policies ; Frameworks ; Ecosystem services ; Decision making ; Government ; Stakeholders ; Scientists ; Sustainability ; Case studies / UK
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051063)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041622000158/pdfft?md5=cb67722d5f91d3e43d807ac73ffed90f&pid=1-s2.0-S2212041622000158-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051063.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051063.pdf
(1.44 MB) (1.44 MB)
There are several frameworks which have been developed to describe the Natural Capital assessment approach. However, some of these frameworks are not fully operational in practice, and there is no unified methodology. Furthermore, calls have been made to increase the public’s awareness and understanding of Natural Capital issues. To address some of these limitations it has been suggested to incorporate citizen science methods, an approach which has been increasingly growing in the Natural Capital field. The purpose of this article is to present a framework within the context of UK environmental policy as a case study. It illustrates the practicalities and the potential of using citizen science and other forms of public engagement approaches within a pre-existing Natural Capital accounting framework. This article first reviews current UK Natural Capital assessment approaches, as well as the potential for including citizen science and public engagement approaches. Combining these approaches, the inclusion of citizen science within the Natural Capital assessment framework is explored through the development of a conceptual model. We argue that the inclusion of a citizen science approach, and other forms of public engagement within the Natural Capital assessment can support in gathering a multidimensional perspective on comprehensive Natural Capital assets, and ecosystem service benefits. Knowledge generated could then be implemented to support holistic decision-making for nature-based solutions.
15 Hiwasaki, L.; Minh, Thai Thi. 2022. Negotiating marginality: towards an understanding of diverse development pathways of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Journal of International Development, 34(8):1455-1475. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3646]
Ethnic minorities ; Ethnic groups ; Marginalization ; Development policies ; Social inequalities ; Social differentiation ; Livelihoods ; Transformation ; Living standards ; Assets ; Natural capital ; Human capital ; Cultural capital ; Social capital ; Socioeconomic development ; Political aspects ; Strategies ; Frameworks / Vietnam
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051153)
(4.76 MB)
Existing studies on socio-economic differentiation in Vietnam focus on the inequality between the ethnic majority and minorities while neglecting the disparities among ethnic minorities. Using a framework to analyse marginalisation at different scales, we identified through an extensive literature review the diverse ways in which ethnic groups develop strategies to transform or maintain their marginality. These strategies depend on, at the same time influence, inequalities that manifest in processes of social differentiations and power relations. Elucidating these processes of inequalities enables us to promote livelihood opportunities that support the diverse development pathways of different ethnic groups, thus increasing the relevance of development interventions.
16 Goli, I.; Azadi, H.; Najafabadi, M. O.; Lashgarara, F.; Viira, A.-H.; Kurban, A.; Sklenicka, P.; Janeckova, K.; Witlox, F. 2023. Are adaptation strategies to climate change gender neutral? Lessons learned from paddy farmers in northern Iran. Land Use Policy, 125:106470. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106470]
Climate change adaptation ; Strategies ; Gender ; Women ; Rice ; Farmers ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Vulnerability ; Agricultural products ; Food security ; Infrastructure ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Natural capital ; Drought ; Villages ; Communities ; Households / Iran Islamic Republic / Mazandaran
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051533)
(3.16 MB)
Adopting a qualitative approach, this study performs a gender analysis of the climate change effects on rice farmers’ adaptation strategies (AS) in Mazandaran Province (northern Iran) based on the sustainable livelihood approach. For this purpose, 36 male and female heads of households in Arab Mahalla and Qajar Khel villages and 10 heads of households in Kiasar village (in Mazandaran Province) were selected and studied through theoretical and purposeful sampling methods of Corbin and Strauss. These villages have the highest number of female household heads and have been severely affected by the climate crisis in recent years. For the male-headed households (n = 23), the most important climate crisis was drought (f=16), and for the female-headed households (n = 23), drought, cold, and early off-season frost and monsoon storms were the most important (f=13). The results also indicated that in climatic crises, human (X¯=12.35) and social (X¯=13) capital from the women’s perspective and financial (X¯=12.5) and physical (X¯=13) capital from the men’s perspective had the highest vulnerability percentages whereas natural capital was equally affected from both the men’s and women’s viewpoints. One of the innovative aspects of this study is the gender analysis of the impact of climate change on the AS of sustainable livelihood framework based on a qualitative approach. This study recommends that beyond increasing the diversity of living amid climate change, deliberate climate change efforts should be directed at women and that fundamental gender discrimination such as prejudices and gender inequality should be eliminated.
17 Galvin, S. S.; Garzon, D. S. 2023. The political life of mitigation: from carbon accounting to agrarian counter-accounts. Journal of Peasant Studies, 25p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2022.2153043]
Climate change ; Mitigation ; Carbon ; Political aspects ; Justice ; Land use ; Greenhouse gas emissions ; Research ; Sustainability ; Natural capital ; Agricultural production ; Global warming
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051605)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/03066150.2022.2153043?needAccess=true&role=button
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051605.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051605.pdf
(2.12 MB) (2.12 MB)
This article seeks to stimulate analysis of how accounting knowledge, techniques, and practices work to incorporate agriculture and land use into climate mitigation. Accounting plays a significant role in the ways that capitalism inserts itself into, reworks, or reorganises agrarian webs of life. To study these processes, we train our critical gaze on accounting itself – its epistemic foundations, instruments, and narratives, and their implications for agrarian livelihoods and relations. Through the notion of “agrarian counter-accounts,” we conclude by considering the potential of alternative methodologies and understandings of account-giving, taking, and holding in struggles for agrarian climate justice.
18 Maru, H.; Haileslassie, Amare; Zeleke, T. 2023. Impacts of small-scale irrigation on farmers’ livelihood: evidence from the drought prone areas of Upper Awash Sub-Basin, Ethiopia. Heliyon, 9(5):e16354. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16354]
Small-scale irrigation ; Smallholders ; Farmer participation ; Livelihoods ; Propensity score matching ; Human capital ; Natural capital ; Social capital ; Assets ; Drought ; Rainfall ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Poverty / Ethiopia / Awash Sub-Basin / Dendi / Adea / Fentale
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051960)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023035612/pdfft?md5=b3174439435ee2f6ebbc6403ee1a74a1&pid=1-s2.0-S2405844023035612-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051960.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051960.pdf
(2.00 MB) (2.00 MB)
Irrigation is an important mechanism to mitigate risks associated with the variability in rainfall for the smallholder subsistence farming system. This study analyzed how practicing small-scale irrigation (SSI) impacts the key livelihood assets on farm households’ human, physical, natural, financial, and social capitals in Ethiopia’s upper Awash sub-basin. The household-level survey data, collected from the 396 sample households, was used to carry out the current study. A Propensity Score Matching (PSM) analytical model was applied to match the SSI user and nonuser groups. The difference between the five capital assets of livelihood was estimated using the PSM’s Nearest Neighbor, Radius, Kernel Mahalanobis, and Stratification matching criteria. The results indicated that farmers’ participation in SSI has enhanced the capital assets of the farm households. Compared to the non-users, the irrigation users were better off in the number variety of food consumed (0.28 ± 0.13 Standard Error [SE]), types of crops produced (0.60 ± 0.17 SE), expenditures on land renting, and agricultural inputs (3118 ± 877 SE) measured in Ethiopian Birr (ETB), as well as on-farm (9024 ± 2267 SE ETB) and non-farm (3766 ± 1466 SE ETB) incomes. Challenges such as the involvement of local brokers in the market value chain and the absence of farmers’ marketing cooperatives have reduced the benefit of irrigated agriculture. Hence, the expansion of SSI schemes for the non-user farmers should consider improving the water usage mechanism and productivity, establishing proper water allocation institutions between up and down streams and limiting the role of brokers in the irrigation product marketing chain be future policy directions.
19 Raahalya, S.; Balasubramaniam, P.; Devi, M. N.; Maragatham, N.; Selvi, R. G. 2024. Farmers' resilience index: a tool to metricize the resilience of the farmers towards natural disasters affecting agriculture in India. Water Policy, 26(1):79-93. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2023.152]
Natural disasters ; Agriculture ; Farmers ; Resilience ; Factor analysis ; Principal component analysis ; Models ; Cyclones ; Livelihoods ; Indicators ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Natural capital / India / Andhra Pradesh / Krishna Godavari Basin / East Godavari District / West Godavari District / Krishna District / Guntur District
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052601)
https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-pdf/26/1/79/1358363/026010079.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052601.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052601.pdf
(0.72 MB) (740 KB)
In the present paper farmers' resilience index (FRI) was constructed considering the natural disaster using five dimensions including physical, social, economic, human and natural. The scale is administered to the 240 paddy farmers in two coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Principal component analysis was performed in order to fix the weightage for each variable. About (39.58%) of farmers are resilient to natural disasters with the highest resilience score for financial capital (0.641) and natural capital with less resilience score (0.401). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to determine how well the generated model of the scale fits the data. The structural equation modelling (SEM) path diagram was developed based on the conceptual model, which uses resilience as a latent variable. The SEM analysis revealed that four dimensions of capital positively affect farmers' resilience except for the human capital which negatively affects resilience. To reduce the effects of natural catastrophes in the upcoming years, the adaptation strategies from the highly resilient places can be examined and put into practice in the less resilient areas. It is imperative that development programmes at all levels incorporate climate awareness and stakeholder capacity building.
20 Haddad, B. M.; Solomon, B. D. 2024. Ecological economics as the science of sustainability and transformation: integrating entropy, sustainable scale, and justice. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 3(2):e0000098. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000098]
Ecological footprint ; Economics ; Economic activities ; Economic growth ; Natural capital ; Sustainability ; Justice ; Transformation ; Entropy
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052624)
https://journals.plos.org/sustainabilitytransformation/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pstr.0000098&type=printable
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052624.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052624.pdf
(0.82 MB) (844 KB)
Ecological economics, developed in the late 1980s, came to be known as the multi- and transdisciplinary science of sustainability. Since that time, it has blended basic and applied research with the intention of both informing and bringing change to environmental policy, governance, and society. However, many conventional economists have questioned its originality and contributions. This paper begins by clarifying the foundational perspectives of ecological economics that it engages an economy embedded in both real and limited ecosystems as well as socially constructed power relations. Herman Daly, a founder of the field, expanded on Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen’s entropy economics by focusing on a quantifiable sustainable scale of the economy and achieving justice in the control and distribution of economic benefits. He called for both quantitative analyses of economic scale and discursive approaches to a just distribution. The paper then discusses how the terms entropy, scale, and justice are used and interact in the literature, illustrated by some of the key debates in the field involving the Ecological Footprint, substitutability of natural and manufactured capital, and the growth—“agrowth”—degrowth debate. The debates also illustrate the potential for the field to influence policy. Ecological economics as the science of both sustainability and transformation can deploy numerous concepts and tools to provide insights on how to illuminate and solve some of the most pressing problems of the Anthropocene.
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