Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

T H E W O R L D ’ S W A T E R C R I S I S : F I T T I N G T H E P I E C E S T O G E T H E R / 5 0 7Box 23.2: continuedVulnerabilitycontext• Trends• Shocks• CultureCapital assetsNaturalSocial HumaninfluencePhysical FinancialTransformingstructures &processesStructures• Levels ofgovernment• Privatesector• Laws• Policies• Incentives• InstitutionsProcessesLivelihoodstrategies• Naturalresources-based• Non-naturalresources-based• MigrationLivelihoodoutcomes• More income• Increasedwell-being• Reducedvulnerability• Improvedfood security• More sustainableuse of naturalresources baseSource: Carney, 1998.Sustainable livelihoods frameworkShort-term survival rather than sustainable management isoften the priority of people living in absolute poverty.Securing livelihoods is aimed at enabling individuals andhouseholds to secure a regular income, so that goods andservices become affordable, and people are better able tofind their own ways out of poverty. It is founded on thecapabilities, assets and activities that are required for ameans of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it cancope with stresses and shocks and can maintain itscapabilities and assets both now and in the future,without bankrupting its resource base. A livelihoodsframework is consistent with putting people first. Resultsshow up in improved family and household income, morepurchasing power and in increasing independence from asubsistence and service provision economy. The associatedoutcomes include increased well-being, reducedvulnerability and improved security.A generic framework for sustainable rural livelihoodsframework is presented in the figure above. The frameworkis built around capital assets, but embraces other dimensionsthat have strong correlation with the challenges in water. Itembraces the vulnerability context in which assets exist –the trends, shocks and local cultural practices that affectlivelihoods. The framework embraces capital assets uponwhich people can draw, to which there are five parts: thecapital of natural resources (water, land); social resources(the wide institutions of society, membership of groups,networks); the skills, knowledge and ability of humanresources; basic infrastructure and production equipment;and financial resources that are available to people (whethersavings, supplies of credit or regular remittances, orpensions). The framework also embraces the structures(organizations, from layers of government through to theprivate sector in all its guises) and processes (policies, laws,rules of the game and incentives) of the institutional setting.A livelihoods perspective provides a framework in which thechallenges come together to enable people to make a living.Business managementBusiness management represents a framework within whichorganizations operate on a daily basis. A typical businessplan will comprise many areas – business analysis, focusedprogrammes, core functions, technical themes, processesand tools, asset acquisition and management, managementmaintenance and support of its systems, information flowsand human resources, depending on an organization’s sizeand mission. The water challenges come together throughthe manner in which a business internalizes them within itsplanning and operations, and ultimately its delivery ofservices – either voluntarily or through compliance. TheMillennium Development targets can only be achieved iforganizations orientate their day-to-day business towardssuch accomplishments.