Key lessons about livelihood transitions in the Horn …...: 1) Confronting Drought in Africa’s...
Transcript of Key lessons about livelihood transitions in the Horn …...: 1) Confronting Drought in Africa’s...
Key lessons about livelihood transitions in the Horn of Africa
Summary of the Livelihoods in Transition technical meeting of the Global Alliance,
Addis Ababa 8-9th September 2016
Tim Frankenberger
Overview
• Main findings from 4 papers presented • Push/pull factors and trends affecting pastoralism and
livelihoods
• Ideas for the way forward • from 4 papers and group discussion
Big picture: significance of drylands
• In Africa, drylands (arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas) comprise: – 43% of land area – 75% of agricultural land – home to 50% of the population
• People living in drylands have worse development outcomes • Higher poverty rates, less education, less
food security, higher % of underweight children, less access to vet services
Trends in drylands
Multiple challenges faced: • Climate variability • Poor infrastructure • Land degradation / fragmentation
– Increasing sedentarization
• Conflict • Political marginalization
Source: 1) Confronting Drought in Africa’s Drylands: Opportunities for Enhancing Resilience (2015) edited by Raffaello Cervigni and Michael Morris. Africa Development Forum series. Washington, DC: World Bank. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO. 2) USAID. 2015. Resilience and Risk in Pastoralist Areas: Recent Trends in Diversified and Alternative Livelihoods. Edited by Peter Little. Chapters by D. Abebe, K. Bushby, P. Little, H. Mahmoud and E. Stites. USAID East Africa Resilience Learning Project.
Trends in pastoralism Lind & Sabates Wheeler (2016) • Those who combine livestock-based livelihood with
other income have the highest level of wellbeing and the least vulnerability
• Sedentarised pastoralists experience the highest levels of poverty and greatest resilience challenges
• Small town growth presents new economic opportunities and options to cope during crises. – These opp’s are highly gendered: women take on much of
the newly-important work in town, and in some cases control more of the income
• Diversification is not just about leaving pastoralism; many use it as a way to remain in or return to pastoralism
Source: Jeremy Lind and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler. 2016. Changes in the drylands of Eastern Africa: understanding and mapping livelihood dynamics and resilience within pastoralist systems
Lind & Sabates-Wheeler (2016) • Mobile and semi-mobile livestock-keeping are the
most productive activity in nearly all drylands, but herd sizes are diminishing for most
• Commercialisation in the livestock sector and export trade is intensifying, but levels of poverty and vulnerability are worsening
• The mobility of people with herds has greatly decreased, but it is more common for household members to live in separated locations
• Climate risks necessitate flexibility and adaptability, but rangelands are fragmenting and key grazing resources are being commodified
Paradoxical trends in pastoralism
Source: Jeremy Lind and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler. 2016. Changes in the drylands of Eastern Africa: understanding and mapping livelihood dynamics and resilience within pastoralist systems
Literature review & 3 case studies: 1) Karamoja, Uganda 2) Borana Zone, Ethiopia 3) Garissa County, Kenya
Key findings: • Push factors: 2 droughts (1973-74, ‘79-80) pushed herders temporarily or permanently out of pastoralism • Rapid growth of towns creates problems & opp’s • Education is esp. important for women • Wage activities have increased, but it’s mostly low wages
Source: USAID. 2015. Resilience and Risk in Pastoralist Areas: Recent Trends in Diversified and Alternative Livelihoods. Edited by Peter Little. Chapters by D. Abebe, K. Bushby, P. Little, H. Mahmoud and E. Stites. USAID East Africa Resilience Learning Project.
Resilience & Risk in Pastoralist Areas: Recent Trends in Diversified & Alternative Livelihoods
TANGO: livelihood diversification and HH resilience in the Horn of Africa
Study of 2 programs 1)PRIME in Ethiopia 2) BRACED in Uganda and Kenya
Key findings: Livelihood diversification as a mechanism to better cope with shocks and stresses needs to be better understood in the local context: • Diversification can work if opportunities exist to engage in:
– high-return activities – non-climate-sensitive activities with high returns
• If these opp’s don’t exist, livelihood diversification does not necessarily lead to better adaptation.
• In terms of programming, investment in expanding economic opportunities that diversify livelihood risk profiles is critical for making vulnerable HHs and communities more resilient.
The way forward for programming & investments • There are currently lots of
initiatives but they are fragmented • All livelihood changes and
diversification come with risks (economic, social, health, environmental, other) • Need to minimize risks and distinguish
short term vs. long-term costs and benefits (Little et al. 2016)
• Moving to town can be a positive adaptation, not just a negative coping strategy
Core messages from World Bank Business as usual is not an option • By 2030, up to 70% increase of population vulnerable to drought • Strong push to drop out of existing livelihoods (e.g. pastoralism)
Better management of livestock, farming, and natural resources is effective and affordable • Opportunity to cut in half or more the size of the problem • The cost ($0.4 - 1.3 billion/ year) is in the range of current development budgets
But it needs to be complemented by • Better safety nets • Contingent finance mechanisms • Alternative livelihoods • Landscape restoration
Livelihoods in transition: ideas to address the other half of the problem • Improve public-private investments
– Reduce risk by offering co-financing to encourage job creation
– Create enabling environment (schools, clinics) • Ensure that regulations support livelihoods
– e.g., communal land management • USAID considering less SME development
and more focus on bigger enterprises that employ people – Problem: high turnover; people work for 2-3
months only
Livelihoods in transition (cont’d)
• Prepare youth for city life and wage labor – Conduct market assessment to ID
available and emerging jobs – Provide education/vocational training
so youth have skills to get jobs – Provide psychosocial prep
• Raise youth’s aspirations • connect youth with role models/mentors • Provide info about risks/opp’s associated
with urban life • Establish “mobility” centers like a job-
search/welcome center