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The Department for International Development's Infrastructure and
Urban Development Department (IUDD) are taking forward a programme for
furthering understanding on the urban dimensions, including rural-urban
interface issues, of sustainable livelihoods (SL). This work is part of IUDD's
SL advocacy and lesson learning programme, which compliments DFID's work on
Sustainable Livelihoods (SL).
The objective of this work is to inform an integrated understanding of the SL
approach within DFID, one that recognises the need to understand the spatial
issues affecting poor people's livelihoods. This requires a greater
understanding of the nature of urban poverty and the importance of rural-urban
linkages, which are particularly important in the livelihoods of people living
in the peri-urban interface. An integrated approach will facilitate a greater
understanding of poverty leading to more effective poverty reduction
strategies.
In order to facilitate an integrated approach to SL within DFID and inform and
influence our development partners, both in the UK and overseas a number of
activities are in progress.
Activities
In November 1999, IUDD held a one day Sustainable Urban Livelihoods (SUL)
workshop at DFID, bringing together a broad range of key UK development
partners from the research, NGO and private urban consultancy communities. The
purpose of the workshop was:
- to raise
awareness of sustainable livelihoods approaches;
- discuss and
explore their applicability within the urban context; and to,
- inform the
development of an integrated spatial approach to sustainable
livelihoods.
The workshop
endorsed the usefulness of the sustainable livelihoods approach as a starting
point for a multi-disciplinary analysis of urban livelihoods. It also
explicitly recognised that it is inappropriate to consider urban and rural
areas in isolation, and so the relationship and links between urban and rural
areas and people, both in the peri-urban interface and beyond need to be
emphasised.
One of the key follow-up activities of the workshop will be publishing a
sourcebook on sustainable urban livelihoods. This should be available in early
2000 and will aim to:
- summarise the
existing state of knowledge on livelihoods in the urban and urban/rural
context;
- reflect
critically on conceptual issues raised by the approach in the urban and
urban/rural context;
- explore issues
related to the operation of the approach in both policy and practice;
and,
- identify
issues for further research to guide future technical and financial
support.
Research
As a result of both the workshop and the call for articles for the publication,
urban livelihoods approaches are now featuring more strongly in on-going
research as well as new proposals being received under IUDD's
Knowledge
and Research Programme. For example on-going research is taking place on
peri-urban interface issues
and poverty reduction and on the livelihood issues of urban development and
the commercialisation of core urban areas. This should, over the next few
years, provide a clearer assessment of the applicability of the SL approach in
the urban context.
DFID Urban Poverty Strategy
On-going work with sustainable livelihoods has also influenced the thinking of
DFID's new Urban Poverty Strategy for meeting the international development
targets, which are directed towards the reduction of poverty. The strategy,
which is part of a set covering issues from human rights, gender, economic
development and the environment, will provide DFID's view as to how dynamic
urban development can contribute towards the reduction of poverty. The role of
the international community in assisting developing countries with meeting the
urban challenge and how DFID proposes to direct its resources will be
documented. Before publication the paper will undergo a period of external
consultation. This is currently scheduled for November 2000. During public
consultation the paper will be able to be viewed on the DFID web site (www.dfid.gov.uk).
The Way Forward
We are currently considering the way forward for our work. This will
involve:
- the collation
of case studies that demonstrate the applicability of sustainable livelihoods
approaches, methods and tools in the urban rural/urban setting that can inform
research, projects and programmes as well as policy development - these will
feed into chapter five, six and seven of the Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance
Sheets being produced by DFID;
- dissemination
of research and awareness raising activities linked to the external
consultation on the Urban Poverty Strategy Paper;
- consideration
of publication of Issues Papers focused on operational matters; and,
- establishing
and strengthening collaboration with our international development partners,
such as the World Bank's rural-urban linkages work.
For further
information and updates on DFID's work on urban poverty and rural-urban
linkages please contact me:
Email: c-davey@dfid.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7917 0927
(Cormac Davey, Urban Development and Planning Adviser)
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