Introduction
A sustainable livelihood is one that can provide a decent standard of living for people, even in the face of climate change. It is important to have livelihoods that are diversified, resilient and equitable.
One way to do this is to diversify your income sources — that is, to have different ways to make money. This can help to reduce your risk if one source of income is affected by climate change. For example, a farmer who grows both food crops and cash crops will be less vulnerable to crop failure in times of drought.
It is also important to build in gender equality when designing climate-responsive and sustainable livelihoods by creating equal access to resources and opportunities for women.
Climate change creates opportunities for new and innovative livelihoods. For example, there is a growing demand for renewable energy and energy-efficient products and services. There are also business opportunities in the areas of waste management, climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
When you are designing climate-responsive and sustainable livelihoods, you must consider the following factors:
- Local needs: What are the needs of the local community? What challenges are they facing?
- Gender-sensitivity and inclusivity: Is the livelihood designed to be gender-sensitive and inclusive?
- Local resources: What resources are available in the local community? What skills and knowledge do people have?
- Market opportunities: Is there a market for the products or services that the livelihood would offer?
- Environmental impact: What is the potential environmental impact of the livelihood? How can the livelihood be designed to minimise its environmental impact?
Outcomes
On completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- discuss climate change mitigation, adaptation and conservation-oriented livelihoods in sustainable agriculture and food production.
- understand and explain the importance of gender equality in developing a resilient local economy: how to achieve it through reorienting existing livelihoods and designing new livelihoods that are aligned with or based on climate actions and responses to climate-related factors.
To do this, you will explore the following topics:
- Climate-responsive and sustainable livelihoods
- Climate-responsive livelihood opportunities
- Examples of adapting existing livelihoods to be more climate-responsive
Terminology
Climate-responsive: Climate-responsive means considering the weather and climate of a place when you are developing or making something for a specific geographic location.
Climate-responsive design is important because it helps us to reduce our impact on the environment and create more resilient communities.
Sustainable livelihoods: A sustainable livelihood is a way of earning a living that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It is a livelihood that is both environmentally and economically sustainable.
Innovation: Innovation means finding new and better ways to do things. It can involve creating new products or services, or improving existing ones. It can also be about finding new ways to solve problems or meet needs.
Resources: Resources are the things that we need to survive and to live well. They include natural resources —for example, water, air and land — and human resources — for example, skills and knowledge.
We use resources to meet our basic needs for food, water, shelter, clothing and healthcare. We also use resources to produce goods and services, and to build and maintain our communities.
Social capital: Social capital is the network of relationships we have with others and the trust and support we can get from them. It can help us to get things done, to learn and grow and to cope with challenges.
Climate risk: Climate risk is the chance of being harmed by climate change. It can include things like extreme weather events — for example, floods, droughts and heatwaves — as well as slower-onset changes — for example, rises in sea levels and changes in agricultural yields.
Climate risk is not evenly distributed. People who live in low-income countries and in marginalised communities are often at the highest risk of being negatively affected by its impacts.
Economic opportunities: Economic opportunities are the chances that people must have in order to improve their financial situation — for example, having a good job, starting a business or investing in their education. Economic opportunities can also include things like having access to affordable housing and healthcare.
