These working papers cover practical applications of Sustainable Livelihood (SL) approaches within natural resources management. The papers provide substantial case study material of varied practical experiences, combined with reflection on the emerging findings concerning uses of SL. Some focus on specific types of application of SL approaches (e.g. project design, impact assessment) and some on their application to specific sectors (e.g. water, tourism).

This set of Working Papers on livelihoods was co-ordinated by Caroline Ashley and funded by the Department for International Development's Rural Livelihoods Department.

For current ODI work in this area, visit the Rural Livelihoods and Growth section.

Applying Livelihood Approaches to Natural Resource Management Initiatives: Experiences in Namibia and Kenya ODI Working Paper 134
This paper reviews different uses of livelihoods analysis in four projects/programmes, and identifies lessons learnt on the application of a livelihoods approach. All four examples explored how rural livelihoods affect and are affected by natural resource management (NRM) initiatives. ISBN 0 85003 467 1
Caroline Ashley	February 2000
Adopting a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to Water Projects: Policy and Practical Implications ODI Working Paper 133
This paper has three elements. The first identifies the pre-eminence of a health-based view within the water and sanitation sector. This view emphasises the health impacts of improving access to supplies of clean drinking water and better sanitation. It then assesses the relevance of this view to wider debates on how to achieve supply sustainability by adopting demand-responsive approaches (DRA) and by shifting the emphasis to the principle of 'consumer pays'. The paper argues that an overemphasis on health impacts does not fit well with DRA, which is being increasingly advocated by agencies at an international level. Thus, in order to encourage demand for water services in particular, and to ensure that communities can be engaged in self-financing their development, greater attention has to be paid to the role of water within wider household livelihood strategies - and livelihood impacts should become a major focus of interventions. ISBN 0 85003 466 3
Alan Nicol	April 2000
The Reality of Trying to Transform Structures and Processes: Forestry in Rural Livelihoods ODI Working Paper 132
Within the forest sector, key constraints to improving forest-based livelihoods lie in the institutional environment and in particular in the relationships between and within the forest department, the forest users and the political (or enabling) environment. The Western Ghats Forestry Project, in Karnataka, India, the focus of this working paper, is used to illustrate the processes and problems of supporting change in the forestry institutional environment in which rural livelihoods are constructed. ISBN 0 85003 465 5
Mary Hobley and Dermot Shields	February 2000
Watersheds and Rural Livelihoods in India ODI Working Paper 131
This paper uses the sustainable livelihoods approach to take a fresh look at the impact of Watershed Development Programme (WSD) on rural livelihoods. It focuses particularly on questions relating to the extent to which WSD activities result in the creation of new livelihood opportunities and to extent to which these opportunities are both equitably distributed and sustainable. ISBN 0 85003 464 7
Cathryn Turton	April 2000
The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach and Programme Development in Cambodia ODI Working Paper 130
Experiences are presented of using the SL approach at CSP and programme level in Cambodia. The sustainable livelihoods approach (SL) was used in the context of a study which aimed to identify options for a programme to support rural livelihoods in Cambodia. The study fed into the wider process of developing a country strategy paper (CSP). The study drew primarily on secondary information sources and discussions with key people, both in and outside Cambodia. The author of this paper used the SL approach to facilitate a process of exploring the issues affecting rural livelihoods. The framework was used to structure information drawing out key linkages and as a checklist, to ensure major issues were covered and the main information gaps identified. ISBN 0 85003 463 9
Cathryn Turton	February 2000
Developing Methodologies for Livelihood Impact Assessment: Experience of the African Wildlife Foundation in East Africa ODI Working Paper 129
This Working Paper describes how key concepts of the Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) approach were incorporated into methods for assessing the impact of wildlife projects in East Africa. It shows that the SL approach can be applied not only to planning new projects, but also to the review of existing ones - even where these were not planned with SL concepts in mind. The working paper explains the rationale for developing an impact assessment methodology incorporating livelihood analysis, summarises the methodology and its application, and identifies several lessons learnt for application of SL approaches. ISBN 0 85003 462 0
Caroline Ashley and Karim Hussein	February 2000
The Impacts of Tourism on Rural Livelihoods: Namibia's Experience ODI Working Paper 128
This paper assesses the wide range of impacts that tourism has on the livelihoods of rural residents in parts of Namibia. It aims to serve two purposes. First it illustrates that a focus on livelihoods offers a useful perspective on tourism for enhancing local benefits. It contrasts with conventional tourism perspectives which tend to focus exclusively on either economic, commercial or environmental impacts. It also contrasts with narrow assessment of local benefits focusing only on job creation and cash income. ISBN 0 85003 461 2
Caroline Ashley	February 2000
Sustainable Livelihoods and Project Design in India ODI Working Paper 127
This paper reviews the design of two new DFID projects in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, India. The projects aim to contribute to the Government of India's efforts to eliminate poverty through support to its watershed development programme. The design of the two projects ran parallel to the development of the Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) approach and framework. This paper explores how these emerging concepts fed into the design process of the two projects. ISBN 0 85003 460 4
Cathryn Turton	February 2000
Tourism, the Poor, and Other Stakeholders: Asian Experience ODI-Fair Trade in Tourism Paper
This Paper pulls together 27 case studies of local tourism development to identify what is known regarding impacts of tourism on stakeholders in different circumstances. The case studies have been drawn from two geographic clusters: Southeast Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam), and the mountainous regions of Nepal and northern India. ISBN 0 85003 459 0
Kishore Shah and Vasanti Gupta. Edited by Charlotte Boyd.	April 2000