Social Sustainability

Sustainable Livelihood

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Definition

A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide opportunities for the next generation, while not undermining the natural resource base (the Chambers and Conway definition, institutionalised in DFID's Sustainable Livelihoods Framework). The framework analyses the five capitals households draw on — human, social, natural, physical and financial — within a vulnerability context, shaping development programme design worldwide.

References

www.ids.ac.ukBulk import source

Source imported for editorial provenance.

www.fao.orgBulk import source

This reference provides supporting context for how “Sustainable Livelihood” is defined and used.

Overview

How it is used

The framework structures rural development programmes, climate adaptation planning (livelihood diversification), conservation-community projects, and resilience measurement.

Why it matters

Sustainability that does not work as a livelihood does not last; the livelihoods lens keeps development honest about how people actually live.