Your search found 26 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 Matchaya, Greenwell; Nhemachen, Charles; Nhlengenthwa, Sibusiso. 2018. Income growth, population and savings in the Southern Africa development community region. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 21(1):1-9. [doi: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v21i1.1772]
Community development ; Development programmes ; Economic growth ; Income generation ; Population growth ; Poverty ; Savings ; Human capital ; Econometric models ; Investment / Southern Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048959)
https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/1772/1622
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048959.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048959.pdf
Background: The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) faces pervasive income stagnation, high inequality, increasing population growth rates and poverty. For example, despite that half of SADC countries are low middle income (as opposed to low income), high inequality implies that many people in the region still live in poverty. While literature is replete with theories linking low incomes to population growth and savings, empirical evidence is context specific and often mixed. Aim: There is a dearth of strong empirical evidence that shows empirical linkages between population growth rates, incomes and savings in the SADC and this article aims to investigate these linkages. Specifically, the aim is to empirically understand the impact of population growth, savings and investment in human capital, on incomes. Setting: We focus our investigation on the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), which comprises 16 countries namely, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros. Methods: To achieve the goals of this study, we analyse data from 1977 to 2014 obtained from the World Bank databases and use ordinary least squares, fixed effects, random effects and Arellano-Bond dynamic panel-data estimation techniques to investigate the relationships between incomes, population growth and savings. Results: Our findings support the existence of a negative relationship between high population growth rates and income per capita, as well as a positive relationship between capital accumulation (human capital), savings and income per capita growth. Shares of savings in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) of countries in the SADC stand at under 16% of GDP (compared to shares of over 30% in developed countries) and are particularly worrisome. Conclusion: There is a case for a concerted effort by the SADC Member States to control population growth, encourage schooling and, further, encourage a ‘savings culture’ in order for the SADC region to achieve its aspirations of eradicating poverty and hunger as outlined in Agenda 2063 and even the Sustainable Development Goals.
4 Paudel, J.; Ryu, H. 2018. Natural disasters and human capital: the case of Nepal’s earthquake. World Development, 111:1-12. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.06.019]
Natural disasters ; Earthquakes ; Human capital ; Social structure ; Educational status ; Socioeconomic environment ; Mortality ; Gender ; Developing countries ; Models / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048987)
(0.73 MB)
We exploit the quasi-random spatial and temporal nature of ground tremors to evaluate the long-term impact of the 1988 earthquake on educational outcomes among affected children of rural Nepal. We employ difference-in-differences research design to show that infants born in districts severely affected by the earthquake are 13.8% less likely to complete middle school and 10% less likely to complete high school. Our findings demonstrate that children belonging to high caste groups mitigate the negative environmental shock in the long run. However, infants belonging to low caste groups are 17.6% less likely to complete middle school and 11.9% less likely to complete high school. We also find that male infants exposed to a severe earthquake perform significantly better than their female counterparts, suggesting prospects of gender bias in a patriarchal society. Together, these results provide strong evidence that earthquakes lead to deterioration of human capital in a developing country setting.
5 McMillan, M.; Rodrik, D.; Sepulveda, C. (Eds.) 2016. Structural change, fundamentals, and growth: a framework and case studies. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 305p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896292147]
Structural change ; Economic growth ; Economic structure ; Frameworks ; Case studies ; Agricultural productivity ; Trade liberalization ; Gross national product ; Manufacturing ; Trade policies ; Industrialization ; Human capital ; Labour market ; Unemployment ; Government policy ; Private sector ; Tariffs ; Constraints ; Political aspects ; Social change ; Transformation ; Households ; Developing countries ; Urbanization / India / Vietnam / Botswana / Ghana / Nigeria / Zambia / Brazil / Gujarat / Maharashtra
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 338.9 G000 MCM Record No: H049061)
https://www.ifpri.org/cdmref/p15738coll2/id/131168/filename/131379.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049061.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049061.pdf
(4.12 MB) (4.12 MB)
6 Hyland, M.; Russ, J. 2019. Water as destiny - the long-term impacts of drought in sub-Saharan Africa. World Development, 115:30-45. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.11.002]
Drought ; Climate change ; Rain ; Human capital ; Living standards ; Socioeconomic environment ; Gender ; Women ; Empowerment ; Water resources ; Weather data ; Rural areas / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049135)
(1.21 MB)
We examine the long-term impacts of drought exposure on women born in 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, across four decades. We find that women who were exposed to drought conditions during their early childhood are significantly less wealthy as adults. These effects are confined to women born and raised in rural households, indicating that the impacts of rainfall are felt via changes in agricultural output. In addition to lower levels of wealth, women who experience droughts in infancy also receive fewer years of formal education and, in the case of extreme drought conditions, have reduced adult heights. Our results also suggest that drought exposure in infancy can have long-term, negative impacts on women’s empowerment. Finally, we also show that these impacts may be transmitted to the women’s offspring, with children of affected women more likely to be born at a low birth weight (weighing <2.5 kg). To our knowledge, this represents the largest study to date both geographically and over time showing a strong relationship between early life rainfall conditions and adult outcomes, and the first to show that the impacts could span generations.
7 Mottaleb, K. A.; Krupnik, T. J.; Keil, A.; Erenstein, O. 2019. Understanding clients, providers and the institutional dimensions of irrigation services in developing countries: a study of water markets in Bangladesh. Agricultural Water Management, 222:242-253. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.05.038]
Irrigation management ; Water market ; Water pricing ; User charges ; Developing countries ; Groundwater ; Pumps ; Tube wells ; Farmers ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Seasonal cropping ; Rice ; Surface water ; Institutions ; Risk management ; Sustainability ; Models / Bangladesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049294)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377418306620/pdfft?md5=8dc52896fbc756e5dd42214a7992ff74&pid=1-s2.0-S0378377418306620-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049294.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049294.pdf
(3.14 MB) (3.14 MB)
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated nations that nonetheless has largely achieved staple self-sufficiency. This development has been enabled in part by the rapid proliferation of small-scale irrigation pumps that enabled double rice cropping, as well as by a competitive market system in which farmers purchase water at affordable fee-for-service prices from private irrigation pump owners. Excess groundwater abstraction in areas of high shallow tube-well density and increased fuel costs for pumping have however called into question the sustainability of Bangladesh’s groundwater irrigation economy. Cost-saving agronomic methods are called for, alongside aligned policies, markets, and farmers’ incentives. The study assesses different institutions and water-pricing methods for irrigation services that have emerged in Bangladesh, each of which varies in their incentive structure for water conservation, and the level of economic risk involved for farmers and service providers. Using primary data collected from 139 irrigation service providers and 556 client-farmers, we empirically examine the structure of irrigation service types and associated market and institutional dimensions. Our findings demonstrate that competition among pump owners, social capital and personal relationships, and economic and agronomic risk perceptions of both pump owners and farmers significantly influence the structure of irrigation services and water pricing methods. Greater competition among pump owners increases the likelihood of pay-per-hour services and reduces the likelihood of crop harvest sharing arrangements. Based on these findings, we explore policy implications for enhancing irrigation services and irrigation sustainability in Bangladesh.
8 Lee-Smith, D.; Prain, G.; Cofie, Olufunke; van Veenhuizen, R.; Karanja, N. 2020. Urban and peri-urban farming systems: feeding cities and enhancing resilience. In Dixon, J.; Garrity, D. P.; Boffa, J.-M.; Williams, Timothy Olalekan; Amede, T.; Auricht, C.; Lott, R.; Mburathi, G. (Eds.). Farming systems and food security in Africa: priorities for science and policy under global change. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.504-531. (Earthscan Food and Agriculture Series)
Farming systems ; Urban agriculture ; Peri-urban agriculture ; Towns ; Rainfed farming ; Irrigated farming ; Backyard farming ; Open spaces ; Crop production ; Livestock ; Wastewater irrigation ; Waste utilization ; Nutrients ; Agricultural productivity ; Food security ; Nutrition security ; Households ; Farmers ; Population ; Hunger ; Poverty ; Resilience ; Sustainable development ; Natural resources ; Climate change ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Women's participation ; Technology ; Energy ; Policies ; Trade ; Markets ; Institutions ; Strategies / Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049663)
(8.87 MB)
9 Dixon, J.; Garrity, D. P.; Boffa, J.-M.; Williams, Timothy Olalekan; Amede, T.; Auricht, C.; Lott, R.; Mburathi, G. (Eds.) 2020. Farming systems and food security in Africa: priorities for science and policy under global change. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. 638p. (Earthscan Food and Agriculture Series)
Farming systems ; Food security ; Climate change ; Policies ; Urban agriculture ; Peri-urban agriculture ; Sustainable development ; Irrigated farming ; Large scale systems ; Mixed farming ; Agropastoral systems ; Perennials ; Agricultural productivity ; Intensification ; Diversification ; Farm size ; Land tenure ; Livestock ; Fish culture ; Agricultural extension ; Forests ; Highlands ; Drylands ; Fertilizers ; Soil fertility ; Water management ; Natural resources ; Nutrition security ; Energy ; Technology ; Investment ; Market access ; Trade ; Human capital ; Agricultural population ; Gender ; Women ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Living standards ; Poverty ; Hunger ; Socioeconomic environment ; Households ; Yield gap ; Tree crops ; Tubers ; Cereal crops ; Root crops ; Maize ; Ecosystem services ; Resilience ; Strategies / Africa South of Sahara / West Africa / East Africa / Southern Africa / Central Africa / Middle East / North Africa / Sahel
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049739)
(103 MB)
10 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.
11 Beshir, H. A.; Maystadt, J.-F. 2020. In utero seasonal food insecurity and cognitive development: evidence on gender imbalances from Ethiopia. Journal of African Economies, 29(4):412-431. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jafeco/ejz028]
Gender analysis ; Cognitive development ; Food insecurity ; Food security ; Human capital ; Child development ; Food shortages ; Nutrition ; Education ; Investment ; Mortality ; Public health ; Households ; Communities / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050001)
(0.32 MB)
Food insecurity is pervasive and highly seasonal in Ethiopia. In this study, we investigate the effect of seasonal food insecurity on child development. Exploiting the Young Lives Ethiopia dataset, we study the gender-specific impact of in utero exposure to seasonal food insecurity on cognitive development and the probability of being on the expected grade for children of age 8 up to 12. We find that at age 8, in utero exposure to food insecurity negatively affects cognitive development, only for boys. At age 12, such exposure significantly reduces cognitive development for all children, but with a significantly higher magnitude for boys. The impact is almost three times bigger compared to the one estimated for girls. Corroborated with other outcomes, we explain such gender imbalances by the accumulative nature of the scarring effect rather than the culling effect or gender differences in parental investment.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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.
17 Afkhami, M.; Bassetti, T.; Ghoddusi, H.; Pavesi, F. 2022. Virtual water and the inequality in water content of consumption. Environment and Development Economics, 27(5):470-490. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X21000401]
Virtual water ; International trade ; Water content ; Water use ; Natural resources ; Policies ; Arable land ; Human capital ; Models ; Freshwater
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051349)
(0.57 MB)
We present evidence that international trade may exacerbate the initial unequal distribution of hydric resources. This result is driven by the fact that countries exporting agricultural goods are relatively abundant (with respect to capital) in the combined availability of water and arable land but, in absolute terms, scarce in capital and not richer in water in comparison to more developed ones. Due to both the scarcity of capital and the lower relative price of natural resources with respect to capital, the total value of production in these developing countries is modest, implying that international trade can lead to a less even distribution of the water content of consumption. Policies sustaining water prices and, more generally, those of natural resources (or lower capital costs) may contribute to offsetting this effect and allow for trade to play a positive role in reducing the uneven distribution of water endowments.
18 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.
19 Azad Md J.; Pritchard, B. 2023. The importance of women's roles in adaptive capacity and resilience to flooding in rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 90:103660. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103660]
Women’s empowerment ; Resilience ; Flooding ; Gender ; Human capital ; Social capital ; Vulnerability ; Decision making ; Livelihoods ; Communities ; Disaster risk management ; Risk reduction ; Households ; Climate change ; Case studies / Bangladesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051856)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420923001401/pdfft?md5=1c805a1256d9df919434d6a375dfea01&pid=1-s2.0-S2212420923001401-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051856.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051856.pdf
(1.89 MB) (1.89 MB)
In rural Bangladesh, patriarchal gendered norms aggravate the vulnerability of women to disasters such as floods because of male dominance in access to resources and decision-making. Furthermore, these processes can render invisible women's vital roles in flood preparedness, response, rehabilitation, and recovery. A first step in addressing such gender-based inequalities in disaster contexts is to recognise and acknowledge the varied contributions made by women when a flood strikes. This paper sets out a framework to document women's roles in building adaptive capacity and resilience to floods in rural Bangladesh, using testimony evidence from 20 Focus Group Discussions in the highly flood-prone area of Sirajganj District in north-western Bangladesh. These FGDs consisted of both men and women, providing an inclusive arena for participants to express their perspectives on the roles of women during flood conditions. Responses were coded within the categories of human, social and financial capital, informed by Sustainable Livelihoods Analysis. In human capital terms, women's formal and informal education and skills were identified as critical community assets. With regards to social capital, bonding, bridging and, to a lesser extent, linking forms of social capital were recognised and valued by FGD participants. In terms of financial capital, women were identified as contributing to household capacity in flood times through livelihood diversification and the protection of household financial assets. These results highlight the need for a more formal and prominent acknowledgement of women's role in disaster policy.
20 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.
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