SUDAN: Durable solutions elusive as southern IDPs return and ...

Urban versus rural livelihoods
A January 2007 report by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children noted:
"As agriculture has been the mainstay of the economy, and may offer the most promising
immediate source for livelihoods, challenges affecting that sector are of particular concern.
Patterns of displacement during the war, and now of reintegration and settlement, present
obstacles for revitalising agricultural activities. Many IDPs returning from the north are settling first
in urban areas. One reason for this may be the extremely poor and treacherous condition of the
roads in Southern Sudan, which inhibit travel to rural areas. In addition, returnees may be
choosing to resettle in urban locations because they lack the skills necessary to work as farmers
after years of living in northern cities or refugee camps, or because they lack interest in returning
to the agro-pastoralist lifestyle. This is particularly true for youth. Some, too, anticipate that
economic and educational opportunities will be superior in urban areas. As is often the case in
conflict and post-conflict situations, uncertainty over land ownership presents a variety of
challenges. IDPs have identified uncertainty over their families’ land holdings in the south as a
disincentive to returning. Regardless, at present it appears that employment opportunities are not
sufficient to absorb the influx of people. Given the region’s agrarian history, absorbing large
numbers of individuals into urban regions will require a significant economic and social shift"
(Women’s Commission, January 2007, p.10).
For further analysis of the opportunities and obstacles to livelihoods for returnees in Southern
Sudan, including discussions of rural versus urban livelihood strategies, see ODI, The Long Road
Home:
· Phase I (August 2007): Chapter 13.4 (Northern Bahr el Ghazal)
· Phase II (September 2008): Chapter 4 (Juba) and Chapter 13 (Jonglei State)
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