Livelihoods

As a policy research organisation, the International Institute for Environment and Development has evolved key concepts, theories and ways of working in sustainable development since 1973. The big idea we explore here is banking on biodiversity. This approach rests on the fact that much rural poverty is concentrated in the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

This report summarises the findings of a study, conducted between 2001 and 2002, which aimed to test the effectiveness of these strategies in reconciling biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development interests, in particular through interventions that both improved livelihoods and resulted in increased support for biodiversity conservation, in terms of the attitudes and behaviours of local communities.

During the past several years, biofuels in rich countries have come to be regarded as an important option for reducing consumption of petroleum, which is a main policy goal as a result of recent high oil prices, energy security concerns, and global climate change. The use and development of alternative sources of energy are increasingly encouraged in western countries, and private and public sources of financial support for biofuels development have increased greatly.

The reduction of world poverty is a major challenge for the international community over the next decade. It is increasingly clear that the our capacity to successfully achieve this objective will be undermined if the natural resource base for development is threatened.

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<p>This book aims to build a better understanding of how to build on the opportunities -- and how to reduce the risks -- that biodiversity presents to the achievement of sustainable livelihoods for all. It does this by sketching out ways forward for the more effective mainstreaming of biodiversity in the natural resource sectors, to be fitted -- as appropriate -- to a range of different contexts.

This text examines the flaws in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) and proposes remedies for many locations and circumstances; shows how CBNRM can be central to sustainable development and the conservation of biodiversity; and presents a wealth of case studies from southern Africa – the crucible of CBNRM development Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) refers to rural people managing and using natural resources to enhance their livelihoods.

Humla is a remote and mountainous district situated in the north-west corner of Nepal, bordering with China. People in Humla or Humlis belong to the Chhetri-Thakuri, and Dalits social groups of the Indo-Aryan language group and to the Lama social group of the Tibeto-Burman language group.The main objective of the research is to assess the contribution of NTFPs to the overall livelihood of upper Humla, and to explore ways of how this contribution could be further enhanced.

Este informe, basado en 21 casos analizados, procedentes de 17 países en cuatro continentes, describe cómo los pastores lograron defender y hacer valer sus derechos sobre la tierra. La pregunta inicial era qué elementos contribuyen a consolidar los derechos de los pastores sobre la tierra y los recursos.