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Livelihood Opportunities (livelihood + opportunity)
Selected AbstractsExploring the Frontier of Livelihoods ResearchDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2005Leo De Haan This article discusses the value of livelihoods studies and examines the obstacles which have prevented it from making a greater contribution to understanding the lives of poor people over the past decade. After examining the roots of the livelihoods approach, two major challenges are explored: the conceptualization of the problem of access, and how to achieve a better understanding of the mutual link between livelihood opportunities and decision-making. The article concludes that access to livelihood opportunities is governed by social relations, institutions and organizations, and that power is an important (and sometimes overlooked) explanatory variable. In discussing the issue of access to livelihood opportunities, the authors note the occurrence of both strategic and unintentional behaviour and the importance of structural factors; they discuss concepts of styles and pathways, which try to cater for structural components and regularities; and they propose livelihood trajectories as an appropriate methodology for examining these issues. In this way, the article also sets the agenda for future livelihoods research. [source] A Development Delivery Institution for the Tribal Communities: Experience of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in IndiaDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2010Pulak Mishra This article examines the varied impacts of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) as a development delivery institution for the tribal communities vis-à-vis other social groups across the Indian States, using the framework of new institutional economics. A number of State-specific, socio-economic institutional factors seem to be responsible for these variations. The article therefore suggests institutional reforms and convergence of the development initiatives of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with the NREGS in order to realise the optimal potential of the scheme, and, in particular, to ensure greater livelihood opportunities for these marginalised groups and their entitlement to productive resources with greater socio-economic and political empowerment. [source] Reterritorilizing the Relationship between People and Place in Refugee StudiesGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2001Cathrine Brun The article discusses different conceptions of space and place in refugee studies, especially contributions from anthropology and geography. A main distinction is drawn between two understandings of space and place; an essentialist conception, stating a natural relationship between people and places and an alternative conception attempting to de-naturalize the relationship between people and places. The consequences of applying different conceptions of space and place for the development of refugee policies and representations of refugees and displaced persons are addressed. For many displaced persons, displacement is experienced as being physically present at one place, but at the same time having a feeling of belonging somewhere else. It is argued that though attempts to de-naturalize the relationship between people and places have been important for how the refugee experience is conceptualized, there has been too much focus on imagination accompanied by a neglect of the local perspective of migrants and displaced people. In the local perspective of forced migration, the present lives of displaced people are emphasized. Especially the attitudes from the host communities, the policy environment that displaced people are part of, and their livelihood opportunities are the focus of regard. ,Territoriality' and ,reterritorialization' of the relationship between people and places are discussed as tools to analyse the local perspective of forced migration in general and the strategies of internally displaced persons and their hosts in Sri Lanka in particular. [source] Reintegration Support for Young Ex-Combatants: A Right or a Privilege?INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 5 2007Krijn Peters ABSTRACT Under-age and youthful combatants are the major participants in contemporary African conflicts and, therefore, the largest group to be disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated when peace agreements are signed. Programmes to support this process, so-called disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes, usually have two main objectives: 1) to reduce security risks; and 2) make ex-combatants less dependent upon their home communities once returned. However, badly designed or implemented DDR programmes can jeopardize a country's fragile peace and rehabilitation process. This article uses the Sierra Leone case to explore the efficacy of DDR programmes. It questions whether the reintegration options offered to the demobilized ex-combatants were appropriate to the context. In a country where more than 70 per cent of the population depends on (semi-)subsistence agriculture, the most popular reintegration package among the young ex-combatants was vocational training - only 15 per cent of the ex-combatants chose the "agricultural package". The article questions whether young ex-combatants are simply disinterested in farming, and, if so, whether vocational skills training programmes offer realistic alternative livelihood opportunities. This article argues that most ex-combatants have not been able to achieve sustainable livelihoods skills due to failures in DDR programmes. The existence of a large reservoir of marginalized, foot-loose youth has been widely acknowledged as one of the root causes of the conflict in Sierra Leone. There is clear evidence that one result of the poor DDR design and implementation is that this reservoir has not been sufficiently drained in Sierra Leone. Les principaux participants aux conflits contemporains en Afrique sont de jeunes combattants, parfois mineurs, qui représentent donc le plus important groupe à désarmer, à démobiliser et à réintégrer une fois les accords de paix signés. Les programmes d'appui à ce processus, appelés programmes DDR (désarmement, démobilisation et réintégration), comportent généralement deux objectifs principaux : 1) la réduction des risques liés à la sécurité; et 2) la diminution de la dépendance des ex-combattants à l'égard de leur communauté d'origine lorsqu'ils y retournent. Cependant, des programmes DDR mal conçus ou mal appliqués peuvent mettre en danger le processus fragile de paix et de redressement du pays. L'auteur prend le cas de la Sierra Leone pour vérifier l'efficacité de ces programmes. Il pose la question de l'adéquation au contexte ambiant des options de réintégration offertes aux ex-combattants démobilisés. Dans un pays où plus de 70 % de la population dépendent d'une agriculture de (semi-)subsistance, la formule de réintégration qui a rencontré le plus de succès parmi les jeunes ex-combattants était celle de la formation professionnelle. Seuls 15 % des ex-combattants ont choisi le programme agricole. L'auteur de l'article se demande si les jeunes ex-combattants ont simplement perdu tout intérêt pour l'agriculture, et, dans ce cas, si les programmes de formation professionnelle offrent des possibilités réalistes d'accéder à d'autres moyens d'existence. Dans cet article, il seramontré que les carences dans les programmes DDR n'ont pas permis à la plupart des ex-combattants d'acquérir les qualifications voulues pour s'assurer des moyens d'existence durables. Or, il faut savoir que l'origine du conflit en Sierra Leone est en grande partie attribuée à la présence massive de jeunes gens marginalisés et sans attaches. De toute évidence, ces programmes, tels qu'ils ont été conçus et mis en ,uvre, n'ont pas suffisamment résorbé cette présence massive. Los combatientes jóvenes menores de edad son los principales participantes en los conflictos africanos contemporáneos y, en consecuencia, el grupo más grande que es desarmado, desmovilizado y reintegrado cuando se firman acuerdos de paz. Los programas en apoyo de este proceso, denominados programas de desarme, desmovilización y reintegración (DDR), suelen tener dos objetivos principales: 1) reducir los riesgos de seguridad; y 2) reducir la dependencia de los excombatientes en sus comunidades de origen tras su retorno. Sin embargo, si los programas DDR no están bien diseñados o no se aplican eficazmente, pueden poner en peligro el frágil proceso de paz y rehabilitación de un país. En el presente artículo se pone como ejemplo el caso de Sierra Leona para analizar la eficacia de los programas DDR. Se cuestiona si las opciones de reintegración ofrecidas a los excombatientes desmovilizados fueron apropiadas para el contexto. En un país donde más del 70 por ciento de la población depende de la agricultura de (semi)subsistencia, el conjunto más popular de medidas de reintegración entre los jóvenes excombatientes era la formación profesional -sólo el 15 por ciento de los excombatientes eligió el "conjunto de medidas agrícolas". En el artículo se pregunta si los jóvenes ex combatientes sencillamente no tienen interés en la agricultura y, en ese caso, si los programas de formación vocacional ofrecen otras oportunidades de subsistencia realistas. En este artículo se sostiene que la mayoría de los excombatientes no han podido adquirir una especialización sostenible que les permita sobrevivir debido a las deficiencias de los programas DDR. Se reconoce, en general, que la existencia de una gran reserva de jóvenes marginados y errantes es una de las causas básicas del conflicto en Sierra Leona. Hay pruebas evidentes de que una de las consecuencias del deficiente diseño y ejecución de los programas DDR es el insuficiente aprovechamiento de esta gran reserva en Sierra Leona. [source] Freshwater prawn farming in Bangladesh: history, present status and future prospectsAQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 8 2008Nesar Ahmed Abstract Within the overall agro-based economy in Bangladesh, freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) farming is currently one of the most important sectors of the national economy. During the last two decades, its development has attracted considerable attention for its export potential. Freshwater prawn farming offers diverse livelihood opportunities for a large number of rural poor. Although the prospects for prawn farming are positive, it requires some research and development activities for long-term sustainability. This paper provides an overview of freshwater prawn farming in Bangladesh. [source] | ||||||||||