Abstract:
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The main thrust for sustainability indicators for renewable natural resource
management, in agriculture and rural development in particular, has its origins
in the sustainable development paradigm. Despite tremendous progress in the
science surrounding climate change scenarios, it is not currently possible to
rely upon existing scenarios for Sudan to confidently assess the impact of
climate change on vulnerable communities. The broad objective of the
research is to explore the potential role of the sustainable livelihood assets of
household under prevailing climate change and desert encroachment, thus
enabling them to adapt. This study was conducted at Umjawasir in southern
part of Marawi province. Two types of data were used in this research,
namely; primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through
personal interviews with individual using structured questionnaire, group
discussions and observation.
The main findings of the research are; sources of income are limited. Most of
the small farmers rely on subsistence and cash crops which are barely
sufficient, and animal breeding is the second source of income. At the end of
the harvest season there is no surplus money to save for the next season. The
study area is suffering from desert encroachment and a long-term climatic
change. Decrease in rainfall, in combination with the interaction of man and
animals, are the main reasons for the gradual desertification of the study area.
The principal source of labor is the hired labor beside the household (family
labor) also contributes to the labor force. Still the community members retain
big herds and the bigger the herd the greater prestige value for the owner.
Despite the frequent severe drought, the rangelands deterioration and
overstocking, there are no conflicts between the different Hawawir clans.
The main conclusions of the research are; the efforts exerted by ADRA project
contributed significantly to the sustainable livelihood of the local people, the
study area witnesses’ cute climate variability and climate change which affects
water resources in the study area, the sources of income for the local
community is limited. The level of participation of local community in the
activities of the project is good and this reflects the potentiality of the project in
mobilizing the local community for the adoption of the different activities.
Also, the study arrived to valuable recommendations. |