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A
Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to Drought and Water Security
(Ethiopia) |
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1.
Introduction
Adopting
a sustainable livelihoods perspective on drought and water
security results in a fundamental shift in focus away from
the resource itself to people, the role of water in their
livelihood strategies, and resource conditions. The ramifications
of this shift are considerable: projects tackling drought
mitigation and water security become problem-led rather than
'discipline-led'; non-physical barriers to water access rise
in prominence; access to water is seen in the context of people's
livelihood security, and so on. The experience of the British
Geological Survey (BGS), which has been gradually
adopting a livelihoods perspective in its projects since the
mid-1990s, suggests that such a shift in perspective is likely
to have far reaching implications for the way in which projects
on drought and water security are planned and implemented.
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Which
of the core concepts of the SLA does this project
best illustrate?
| Core
Concept |
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| People
centred |
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| Holistic |
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| Dynamic |
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| Building
on strengths |
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| Macro-micro
links |
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| Sustainability |
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| In 1994,
BGS began work on a DFID Knowledge and Research (KAR) project
on 'Groundwater management in drought prone areas of Africa'.
The impetus for this project was the 1991-92 drought that affected
much of Southern Africa, and which left many rural communities
without ready access to water. This initial project was resource-focused,
highlighting groundwater management policies and interventions
that might increase access to water during drought and, by implication,
protect rural livelihoods. A second KAR project, 'Groundwater
drought early warning for vulnerable areas' followed in 1997.
Working with partners in Ethiopia, the project aims to develop
guidelines for identifying areas where groundwater is less reliable
and, within these areas, for identifying the most water-insecure
communities. This project, which ended in October 2000, followed
a more livelihoods-based approach in terms of problem definition,
methodology and recommendations, although both projects have
reflected concern that drought policy has been too narrowly
focused on humanitarian food relief.
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