A Perspective of Sustainable Livelihood Framework in Analysis of Sustainability Of rural Community Livelihoods: Evidence from Migori River Watershed in Kenya
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Date
2023
Authors
Opiyo, Stephen Balaka
Opinde, Godwin
Letema, Sammy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor \& Francis
Abstract
Evaluation of livelihood sustainability in ecologically sensitive areas, impoverished regions, and
disaster-stricken zones is critical for understanding sustainability challenges and administering
poverty-relief interventions. This paper assesses the sustainability of rural households’ livelihoods
in the Migori River watershed in Kenya by constructing a livelihood sustainability index (LSI). A
cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 318 randomly selected households
from the upstream, midstream, and downstream watershed zones. The LSI was constructed using
the UK Department for International Development (DFID) methodology based on the five
livelihood capitals, and one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences between
watershed zones. The results of the analysis show that although the livelihoods of all the three
watershed zones are moderately sustainable with no significant variations (at p < 0.05) between
the zones, the livelihoods of midstream households are most sustainable followed by the
upstream households and then downstream. The social (ranging from 0.64 to 0.69), physical
(ranging from 0.60 to 0.67) and natural (ranging from 0.60 to 0.64) capitals registered relatively
high index values across the watershed zones unlike the human (ranging 0.55–0.65) and financial
(ranging from 0.44 to 0.57) capitals that recorded relatively low index values; which implies that
human and the financial capitals are least possessed assets in the watershed. Therefore this paper
recommends increasing the natural capital through sustained conservation of natural resources,
increasing human capital by providing skills training to household on alternative livelihood
options, and increasing access to financial capital by strengthening rural entrepreneurship. The
paper suggests the usage of LSI by policy-makers as a practical tool to quantify the livelihood
capital endowment of rural communities to help in prioritizing watershed management programs
and the development of interventions aimed at a specific livelihood asset. It may also help policymakers in project monitoring and evaluation, where it provides feedback critical for continual
project improvement.
Description
Article
Keywords
Sustainable livelihood framework, livelihood capital assessment, livelihood sustainability index, watershed development
Citation
Opiyo, S. B., Opinde, G., & Letema, S. (2023). A perspective of Sustainable Livelihood Framework in Analysis of Sustainability of Rural Community Livelihoods: Evidence from Migori River Watershed Community in Kenya. International Journal of River Basin Management, (just-accepted), 1-41.