HEA for Resilience Measurement: Opportunities, Challenges and Trends Observed

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Helena Hoover
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1 HEA for Resilience Measurement: Opportunities, Challenges and Trends Observed 29th Meeting of RPCA Abidjan, 26 November, 2013 Amadou DIOP & David MATYAS

2 Identifying Common Problems with Resilience Measurement The problem with self-referential indicators and indices The need for dynamic indicators that demonstrate trends as well as changes in amplitude Disaggregating characteristics and proxies Common disaster data challenges (time period and location) and the Sahel

3 Elements Integral to Robust Resilience Measurement Generic Resilience is context specific, but lessons need to be comparable as well Should enable comparison of different shocks, different livelihoods strategies, different wealth groups Multi-Dimensional Incorporate different elements ranging from economic, social, ecological, etc. Multi-Scale Cannot only focus on a single unit of analysis as the resilience of one scale can impact the resilience of another Thresholds and shock costs Absorption, Adaptation and Transformation (Source: Béné, C. (2013) Towards a Quantifiable Measure of Resilience. IDS Working Paper 2013 (434))

What is HEA BASELINE + HAZARD + COPING = OUTCOME OUTCOME ANALYSIS Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Problem Specification Compiled from data collected during

down 50% Migratory labor increased + = The Livelihoods Protection Threshold represents the total income required to sustain local livelihoods.

) Maintain productive activities in the medium to longer term (agricultural inputs, vet drugs, etc.

4 What is HEA BASELINE + HAZARD + COPING = OUTCOME OUTCOME ANALYSIS Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Problem Specification Compiled from data collected during seasonal assessments or monitoring Data collected during baseline + Crop loss of 75% Local labor rates down 50% Food prices doubled Chicken prices down 50% Migratory labor increased + = The Livelihoods Protection Threshold represents the total income required to sustain local livelihoods. This means, total income to: Cover survival costs Maintain access to basic services (routine medical, schooling, etc.) Maintain productive activities in the medium to longer term (agricultural inputs, vet drugs, etc.) Support a locally acceptable standard of living (e.g. sugar, tea, coffee, pepper, etc.) If households can not cover these costs they often turn to high-cost coping strategies leading to the loss of assets and a potential loss of income over time.

Measuring Resilience Total Income following a Moderate Drought Calculation of a Resilience Score If, in the context of HEA, resilience is understood as the livelihoods protection deficit following a

5 Measuring Resilience Total Income following a Moderate Drought Calculation of a Resilience Score If, in the context of HEA, resilience is understood as the livelihoods protection deficit following a locally relevant hazard (e.g. a moderate drought) Livelihoods Protection Threshold then we can calculate a resilience score as indicated in the diagram, i.e. as the ratio of total income after a shock to the livelihoods protection threshold Increasing Resilience The resilience score will vary from one wealth group to another, from one livelihood zone to another and from one shock to another. Resilience score = Total income after shock Livelihoods protection threshold Case: (A) (B) (C) 50 = = =

6 Strengths / Weaknesses of HEA for Resilience Measurement Strengths Generic and specific. HEA can be scaled out, replicated and compared while also providing highly contextual understandings of characteristics of resilience. Provides a multi-dimensional understanding of resilience. Coping strategies feature prominently within HEA in order to survive a shock but so do adaptive (local labour) and transformative strategies (e.g. migrant labour and remittances) Uses a fundamentally participatory methodology and thus can articulate characteristics of resilience that are defined by beneficiaries Allows for a comparison between households livelihood strategies demonstrating the cost of the shock of different socio-economic groups Could enable comparison between different types of shocks (e.g. droughts vs. recurrent floods) Could be used to compare households responses to shock, illustrating which strategies allow households to bounce back faster. Weaknesses Focus on the household as the unit of analysis (limited consideration for multiscale nature of resilience; community, gender, intra and inter household dynamics, insurance (though it could in theory...) Focus on food and income (limited consideration of elements such as ecological and psychosocial resilience) Statistical significance

Introduction to Sahel HEA Atlas This is an exploratory venture: to date the coverage of the Sahel by HEA studies of livelihood zones is far from complete, so that nothing like a full Atlas would be

7 Introduction to Sahel HEA Atlas This is an exploratory venture: to date the coverage of the Sahel by HEA studies of livelihood zones is far from complete, so that nothing like a full Atlas would be possible at this stage. On the other hand, we are able to use 50 rural baseline studies that have been completed around the Sahel since 2007, and this is already enough to represent a considerable geography and to allow some intuitive filling-in of gaps to suggest more extensive patterns.

8 Geographical coverage of HEA baselines (May 2013) zoom zoom

9 Total livestock ownership (tropical livestock unit owned per household) Average Households Very Poor Households Better-Off Households Legend Tropical livestock units per household (1 camel = 0.7 cattle = 0.1 sheep/goats)

10 Percentage of Total Labour income from Migrant labour Average Households Very Poor Households Better-Off Households Legend Migrant labour as a % of total labour

11 Diversification

diversification No data Note: In most livelihood zones, informants were asked about strategies for the very poor

12 Most Important Coping Strategies in a Bad Year Strategies for Very Poor Strategies for Better-Off General Strategies Legend Livestock sales Labour (local) Labour (migrant) Trade/Petty trade Self-employment Crop diversification No data Note: In most livelihood zones, informants were asked about strategies for the very poor and for the better-off (see above maps). In other cases, data on strategies was not differentiated by wealth group (right-hand map).

13 Lessons that Can be Drawn for Resilience Measurement Which Factors will affect the Resilience Score? Two types of factor will affect the resilience score. a) The livelihoods assets and strategies of different types of household since these affect the level of income after a shock, e.g. Higher livestock holdings and sales will increase resilience Higher access to household labour and the ability to migrate for work will increase resilience Diversification can have a counter-intuitive relationship with resilience b) The broader economic and policy context since these affect the magnitude of drought effects, e.g. Better market integration will buffer the effects of drought on, for example, livestock prices, increasing post-drought income and resilience The poorest have limited access to land, calling to question the effectiveness of agriculture for resilience of the poor and very poor

14 THANK YOU

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