Assessing the Vulnerability Context
The Vulnerability Context describes the conditions that people and communities have little or no control over; and will indicate the kind of opportunities that may be possible for sustainable livelihoods. Three factors make up a Vulnerability Context and need to be understood to help communities achieve their livelihoods visions:
the Challenges faced by the community,
the Risks it faces,
and its ability to be Resilient.
These concepts are explained below.
Challenges
Coastal communities may face challenges to livelihoods that are often beyond their control. Such challenges need to be identified to help determine which livelihoods are possible within a livelihood’s strategy. Challenges may include:
The marine ecosystem may be threatened by
Unsustainable harvest from outsiders
Damage from external sources (e.g., pollution)
Climate impacts - sea temperature increases, sea-level rise, and freshwater shortages
Coastal erosion
Demographic, social, and economic trends, such as
Population growth leading to increased pressures on natural resources
Out-migration
Decline in social cohesion
High prevalence of gender-based violence
Increasing costs of basic needs
Increasing competition from large-scale industrial fishing
Decreasing access to markets
Seasonal variations – e.g., in fishing catches – resulting in uneven earnings over the year
Political dynamics (e.g., instability) and inadequate governance
Risk
Risk is the level of possibility that an activity will not lead to the desired outcome. In the context of sustainable coastal livelihoods, there is risk that livelihood capital may be destroyed, degraded, or otherwise made unavailable to community and individual activities for earning a living.
It is important to review the following risk categories before developing a livelihood strategy to ensure that risks are mitigated.
Natural disasters – climate-induced or others such as tsunamis, resulting in losses to coastlines, reefs, and fisheries, etc. that lead to a reduction in natural capital
Political risk – including political or regulatory upheaval which might limit or remove the rights of the community to harvest marine resources
Economic risk – economic downturns that affect the demand for products, lower prices, increases in the cost of financing, or cash flow constraints
Unintended consequences – including the possibility that a successful livelihoods strategy will attract others to move into the area putting new pressures on the marine ecosystem and increase demand for natural resources; may also include an increased risk for women and other marginalized groups if their participation is viewed as taking power away from existing groups engaged in livelihoods
Risk that livelihood opportunities are not realized – lack of community buy-in (e.g., due to lack agency) can result in poor up-take of sustainable opportunities and continued pressure on marine resources
Social/cultural risk – change in social status, conflicts arising from inequitable distribution of benefits
Attitudes to risk may be an important part of a community’s willingness to engage in a livelihood initiative. Different people and communities have different views regarding their willingness to take on risk:
Young people may be more willing to take on risk.
Typically, the further you move from existing livelihoods, the riskier it is perceived to be and the greater reluctance to adopt a new approach.
A community that suffers from extreme poverty may feel unable to take on the risk of a new livelihood.
Understanding risk and attitudes to risk may point to the need to engage in extensive consultation and to find creative ways to address and mitigate risk.
Resilience
Resilience refers to a system’s capacity to 1) maintain its current state of functioning while facing disturbance, 2) adapt to future challenges, and 3) transform in ways that enhance its functioning. The higher the resilience of a community, the better it can cope with and adapt to shocks and stresses. Shocks can occur at multiple levels of society:
At the individual level, e.g., if the owner of a small business gets sick
At the community level, e.g., if a coastal area is irreparably damaged by a storm
At the national or regional level, e.g., the government or economy collapses
Assessing Livelihood Capital
A livelihood is made up of the capabilities, capital, and activities required to make a living. The capital (or resources) someone can access helps determine their livelihood opportunities. Note: ’Capital,’ also may be referred to as ‘capabilities’ or ‘assets.’
There are five main types of capital. These include natural, human, social, infrastructure, and financial. Assessing these different types of capital helps define the resources available to a community, which can support livelihoods. It’s important to assess the status of each capital and how each type of capital is affected by the community’s Vulnerability Context and Enabling Environment.
Natural Capital is the elements of nature that produce value or benefits to people including ecosystems, species, freshwater, land, minerals, air, oceans, and natural processes.
Assess by engaging with key members of the community, e.g., fishers, to understand how a community’s natural capital is managed and used, and whether it is being used sustainably. It will also feed into decision-making about sustainable harvesting as a basis for livelihoods.
Examples include: coastal areas, marine ecosystems and their species, all of which can provide goods and services that can be sold such as timber, fish, tourism, and carbon storage
Human Capital includes level of education, healthcare, and household demographics.
Assess by using government statistics but additional analysis may be needed to understand the status and distribution of human capital, e.g., by gender or age groups within specific communities. It’s important to develop a livelihood strategy that considers the education levels within a community because finance, management, leadership, and entrepreneurship skills are often required.
Examples include: formal education or acquired skills such as boat-making and business management, good health, and physical capacity to work, which make up the ability to carry out the work needed
Social capital includes both the community’s social relationships, networks, associations, norms, and institutions and how well these structures are functioning.
Assess using community surveys and consultations to identify relevant social structures related to livelihoods and to assess their effectiveness.
Examples include: community structures, family and social relationships, group structures, which provide a social framework to enable a livelihood, everything from making it possible to find work to providing the networks to sell products or services, etc.
Infrastructure capital at the community level includes roads and ports, electricity, and communications and at the business household level includes boats and other modes of transport, housing and buildings.
Such assets are essential for getting goods to market and may also play a role in production (e.g., availability of freshwater for fish processing).
Assess the types and quality of infrastructure capital.
Examples include: roads, buildings, landing sites, markets, communications, digital infrastructure, which make up the physical framework which enables the livelihood
Financial capital includes the level of wealth and access to financing in a community; it affects a community’s ability to undertake new initiatives and build new livelihoods.
It is important to know HOW wealth is distributed across different groups – gender, disability, education level, racial or cultural groups.
Assess using information provided by government agencies but may also require surveys, interviews, and focus groups at the community level.
Examples include: savings in the form of cash, income, remittances, or liquid assets such as livestock, jewelry, all of which can be used to buy things which are necessary for a business, or secure a loan
Assessing the Enabling Environment
The Enabling Environment is the governance system within which the community operates. It has two dimensions – formal and informal – and determines whether and how households can gain access to livelihood capital and how they may use it. It also determines how the community and members of the community can respond to vulnerabilities that the community faces.
Formal Governance includes laws, regulations and political institutions which provide a legal framework for operation. Formal governance determines many aspects of resource management and livelihoods opportunities including access rights, property rights, quotas, and licensing, and may help or hinder sustainable livelihoods. Good formal governance supports sustainable livelihoods by supporting community rights, ensuring accountability, transparency, rule of law, stability, equity and inclusiveness, empowerment, and broad-based participation.
Informal Governance includes a community’s cultural structures, norms, and values, and all the ways of doing things which can help or hinder sustainable livelihoods. Good informal governance can make it possible to promote inclusion and equity, and to provide support networks which increase resilience in the community.
Both formal and informal governance include a set of institutions, norms, and structures which provide community members with a “license to operate” and a system of processes which establish “the rules of the game,” meaning setting out the way things can work. It is necessary to understand both formal and informal governance elements and how they interact, to maximize the success of the livelihood initiatives.
In your assessment of the enabling environment, you should consider:
The institutions and structures that oversee laws and regulations related to natural resource management and economic development
The effectiveness and trustworthiness of formal institutions.
The ability of all groups in the community to access and use formal institutions and processes
Key recommendations include:
Implement a consultative process to clarify existing informal structures and processes
Ensure participation by all groups within the community to gain a complete understanding of different perspectives and experiences regarding informal governance structures.
Analyze how different elements may interact, for example in terms of hindering access and use by disadvantaged groups, e.g., women and the unemployed.
Recognize that this assessment may cover taboo subjects or be obscured by personal interests.
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