Browsing by Author "Twyman, Chasca"

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Climate Science, Development Practice, and Policy Interactions in Dryland Agroecological Systems
(2011) Twyman, Chasca; Fraser, Evan D.G.; Stringer, Lindsay C.; Quinn, Claire H.; Dougill, Andrew J.; Ravera, Federica; Crane, Todd A.; Sallu, Susannah M.
"The literature on drought, livelihoods, and poverty suggests that dryland residents are especially vulnerable to climate change. However, assessing this vulnerability and sharing lessons between dryland communities on how to reduce vulnerability has proven difficult because of multiple definitions of vulnerability, complexities in quantification, and the temporal and spatial variability inherent in dryland agroecological systems. In this closing editorial, we review how we have addressed these challenges through a series of structured, multiscale, and interdisciplinary vulnerability assessment case studies from drylands in West Africa, southern Africa, Mediterranean Europe, Asia, and Latin America. These case studies adopt a common vulnerability framework but employ different approaches to measuring and assessing vulnerability. By comparing methods and results across these cases, we draw out the following key lessons: (1) Our studies show the utility of using consistent conceptual frameworks for vulnerability assessments even when quite different methodological approaches are taken; (2) Utilizing narratives and scenarios to capture the dynamics of dryland agroecological systems shows that vulnerability to climate change may depend more on access to financial, political, and institutional assets than to exposure to environmental change; (3) Our analysis shows that although the results of quantitative models seem authoritative, they may be treated too literally as predictions of the future by policy makers looking for evidence to support different strategies. In conclusion, we acknowledge there is a healthy tension between bottom-up/qualitative/place-based approaches and top-down/quantitative/generalizable approaches, and we encourage researchers from different disciplines with different disciplinary languages, to talk, collaborate, and engage effectively with each other and with stakeholders at all levels."
Evaluating Successful Livelihood Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change in Southern Africa
(2010) Osbah, Henny; Twyman, Chasca; Adger, W. Neil; Thomas, David
"This paper examines the success of small-scale farming livelihoods in adapting to climate variability and change. We represent adaptation actions as choices within a response space that includes coping but also longer-term adaptation actions, and define success as those actions which promote system resilience, promote legitimate institutional change, and hence generate and sustain collective action. We explore data on social responses from four regions across South Africa and Mozambique facing a variety of climate risks. The analysis suggests that some collective adaptation actions enhance livelihood resilience to climate change and variability but others have negative spillover effects to other scales. Any assessment of successful adaptation is, however, constrained by the scale of analysis in terms of the temporal and spatial boundaries on the system being investigated. In addition, the diversity of mechanisms by which rural communities in southern Africa adapt to risks suggests that external interventions to assist adaptation will need to be sensitive to the location-specific nature of adaptation."
Hidden Livelihoods? Natural Resource-Dependent Livelihoods and Urban Development Policy
(2003) Slater, Rachel; Twyman, Chasca
"Natural resources (NRs) and their contribution to livelihoods have been widely explored within the rural context yet have received relatively little attention within the urban context. NRs can, however, contribute significantly, if modestly, to urban livelihoods in a number of often 'hidden' ways. This report explores these 'hidden' livelihoods drawing on frameworks from urban and rural studies to enhance our understanding of the dynamics of urban-based natural resource-related livelihoods. The aim of the paper is to provide: an increased appreciation of the ways in which urban natural resources are used to support urban livelihoods; an enhanced understanding of both the systems that govern access or tenure over these resources and the analytical or conceptual frameworks that can be used to understand them; and creative and innovative thinking about urban livelihoods and options for urban development policy."
Resilient or Vulnerable Livelihoods? Assessing Livelihood Dynamics and Trajectories in Rural Botswana
(2010) Sallu, Susannah M.; Twyman, Chasca; Stringer, Lindsay C.
"In this paper, we explore the resilience and vulnerability of livelihoods within two different social-ecological dryland contexts of Botswana over the last 30 years. We drew on primary field data sources, including oral histories, livelihood surveys, ecological surveys, as well as documented evidence of environmental, socioeconomic, and institutional dynamics to identify a broad range of activities that combine to create a range of different household livelihood outcomes. We used this information as a starting point to assess the ways in which livelihoods have changed over time, and evaluated whether they have become more resilient or more vulnerable, and considered the factors that have contributed to these outcomes. In the context of dynamic dryland social-ecological systems, we applied a livelihood trajectory approach to explore the shocks and stresses that affect livelihoods and to elucidate the characteristics of livelihood strategies that contribute to increased resilience or vulnerability. We used a vulnerability framework as a means of framing discussion about vulnerability and resilience and as a means of identifying broader insights. The research identified 'accumulator', 'diversifier', and 'dependent' households and the ways in which they move between these categories. More resilient livelihood trajectories can be achieved if the important role of formal and informal institutions is recognized."