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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dc.contributor.authorOpiyo, Stephen Balaka
dc.contributor.authorOpinde, Godwin
dc.contributor.authorLetema, Sammy
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-26T08:11:28Z
dc.date.available2023-06-26T08:11:28Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.descriptionArticleen_US
dc.description.abstractEvaluation 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.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipDAADen_US
dc.identifier.citationOpiyo, 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.en_US
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2023.2216019
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/25963
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherTaylor \& Francisen_US
dc.subjectSustainable livelihood frameworken_US
dc.subjectlivelihood capital assessmenten_US
dc.subjectlivelihood sustainability indexen_US
dc.subjectwatershed developmenten_US
dc.titleA Perspective of Sustainable Livelihood Framework in Analysis of Sustainability Of rural Community Livelihoods: Evidence from Migori River Watershed in Kenyaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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