A framework for research on sustainability indicators for agriculture and rural livelihoods

Report of a project aiming at contribute to planners’ and policy makers’ understanding of what policies and institutions are required for effective, equitable, and sustainable management of renewable natural resources. The project aims to achieve this purpose by evaluating a methodology for the application of sustainability indicators (SI) to renewable natural resource management.This paper has sets out an analytical framework based on the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods approach, and used this to generate a matrix of potential indicators compatible with five ‘dimensions of sustainability’ from commonly-used indicator frameworks. In doing this it seeks to bring together disparate components of the ‘sustainability’ literature into a single methodological approach.The conclusions of this paper are: indicators may vary in their relevance according to the local environment and the final purpose of their measurement and monitoring (and the practicality of this measurement) it is important to test externally-defined indicators against local stakeholders’ criteria for valid indicators of the success and sustainability of their agricultural systems and livelihoods. it would also be a mistake if no “external” framework or set of indicators were to be identified based on prior knowledge and technical expertise. This is important to ensure a basis of comparison between different study sites, to assess the robustness of the methodological approach proposed, and to permit valid policy conclusions. For this, success or sustainability of an agricultural system needs to be assessed from different perspectives. It is therefore useful to start off with a core set of indicators around which a final set will be built using stakeholders’ indicators. It follows logically from this that the methodology of identifying indicators will be important. This should deliver: locally relevant and easily measurable indicators indicators which represent the potential diversity of perspectives of different users on success and sustainability– from farmers/local communities (both wealthy and poor), through scientists, to policy makers indicators which encompass both agricultural systems and peoples’ livelihoods indicators which can be “related” to policy; and the smallest number of indicators possible, to make any assessment of success or sustainability of agricultural systems and livelihoods relevant.The research steps set out above are, obviously, presented sequentially. The process in reality should be characterised by loops and feedback between the various people involved (most importantly, the various project teams and the inhabitants of the study areas).