Evolution

The term 'sustainable livelihood' came to prominence as a development concept in the early 1990s, drawing on advances in understanding of famine and food insecurity during the 1980s. Much of the literature takes an adaptation of Chambers and Conway’s (1991) definition of livelihoods: 

“A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks.”

CARE, UNDP, Oxfam and IISD were some of the early adopters of sustainable livelihoods methodologies. In the late 1990s the sustainable livelihoods approach gained momentum in the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) with investments in research, workshops and the publication of guidance sheets and other papers. Mechanisms for debating and analysing the effectiveness and challenges of implementing livelihoods approaches were put in place. This included a web-based learning platform, Livelihoods Connect, from which this Eldis Livelihoods Dossier has evolved into an online knowledge base that sources and organises and disseminates the latest information on the use of livelihoods approaches by a wide range of organisations and individuals.

Livelihoods Connect also acts as the secretariat of an international Livelihoods Network comprising over 200 organisations and individuals with an interest in the use of livelihoods approaches to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Through a combination of both virtual and physical spaces the Network brings together practitioners, researchers and policy-makers to:

• engage in discussion and debate
• access peer support and tacit knowledge
• develop collaborative activities
• co-create new knowledge
• advocate for a forward-looking agenda for livelihoods

To join the Network, email: livelihoods-connect@ids.ac.uk