Brief introduction to SL

The household evaluation framework is based on the concept of Sustainable Livelihoods (SL), which dates back to the work of Robert Chambers in the mid-‘80s¹. Since then, numerous development agencies have adopted concepts related to livelihood and have carried out various actions to link it to the effects of development projects focusing on action against poverty.

The SL framework does not seek to provide an exact representation of reality, but rather a view of the livelihoods of less advantaged populations. In its simplest form, this framework visualizes households or communities in a context of vulnerability in which they have access to certain assets or factors; this allows them to reduce this vulnerability or, in other words, to strengthen their resilience (see diagram).

In the guide we believe that evaluating the effects of increasing security and legal certainty of tenure, as part of the country’s institutional services, will help strengthen capital (human, social, natural, physical and financial (see the definition of SL) linked to the greater resilience of households in poverty.

By having a greater level of security and legal certainty of individual or collective tenure and better access to land administration services, families can make more appropriate decisions about the fate of their assets, such as investing to make their capital more productive, helping to reduce local disputes or strengthening their involvement in local decision-making spaces.

The DFID defines a sustainable livelihood (SL) based on capabilities, assets (both material and social resources) and activities required for living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining natural resource bases.

Livelihoods can therefore be affected by external factors which increase their resilience and consequently reduce their vulnerability.

Module 4 presents the concept of SL applied to the effects of strengthening security and legal certainty of tenure in livelihoods of households and in their wellbeing, along with their econometric analysis based on methodologies developed by the World Bank³.