Interdisciplinary Science in Land…
Outline
This long term initiative aims to develop interdisciplinary understandings of and methods to reveal the role, value and importance of natural resources in rural and urban livelihoods for poverty alleviation. Simplistically, that requires attention to four ‘subsystems’, namely (i) the growth and production of specific natural resources, (ii) the household use of natural resources for consumptive and non-consumptive purposes, (iii) small-scale trade in natural resources, and (iv) the scale-dependent contextual attributes that influence each of the other three subsystems and how they interact with one another and change in time and space. The relative magnitude of these to other livelihood strategies, especially with respect to use of land for varying purposes, will be examined to understand the potential for poverty alleviation. The trade-offs made within and barriers between each subsystem are of particular interest. Additionally, the spatial and temporal shocks (short-term) and drivers of change (long-term) buffeting each subsystem require deep understanding and debate as they have potentially profound influences on livelihood decisions, trade-offs, use patterns and poverty outcomes. Lastly, the role of governance, management and government (all levels) in shaping the drivers of change and the subsystems themselves and the range of possible responses at the household or community level need to be teased out to ultimately be able to offer informed policy options. At the intra-household scale differentiation on the grounds of age and gender need to be understood as these are central to implicit and explicit trade-offs.
Time Frame: 2013-2018
Contact: Charlie Shackleton