Completed Outputs

The two primary outputs of this project were:

• The analytical framework for community adaptation and sustainable livelihoods - This framework involves an understanding of the interaction of science, local knowledge, and policy in determining how communities adapt to change in a sustainable manner. It is presented in the introduction to IISD's CASL program. Further testing and revision of the model for more general application are currently underway.
• The guidebook on participatory research for sustainable livelihoods - This is a detailed guide, based on our field experience on how to apply existing participatory research tools and policy analyses to adaptive strategies and sustainable livelihoods projects. The guidebook will be useful to both practitioners and researchers interested in conducting work in this field. It is not a PRA/RRA type manual, but rather a guide to using the integrated approach we have developed, which brings together policy and community initiatives. In the process of creating these outputs, a number of other documents were prepared. These included reports written by our collaborating partners on the community-articulated adaptive strategies and policies researched in each of the five countries. Summaries of their findings have been compiled into a working paper which may be of interest to other researchers working in these countries.

• Discussions on the development of popular forms of the results for community use, to further test our hypothesis of self empowerment of communities through validation of their adaptive strategies and knowledge systems and informing them of policy issues.
• Dissemination of outputs and presentation of findings to major players such as UNDP, WB, etc.
• Analysis of the outputs to identify possible generic principles and prepare an overall report on the project.

Community Sustainability - Home

ASAL Project

ASALs

Description

Outputs

Findings

Significance

Bibliography

Discussions with the World Bank have led to an invitation to present the project concept and results to an in-house seminar in the Africa Division of the Bank. Discussions at this meeting are likely to focus on the implications of the project findings for:

• policy making and policy-makers
• project development and design
• understanding the context of proposed development interventions
• development thinking related to agro-pastoralists in arid and semi-arid lands in Africa
• community empowerment