Sustainability of Subsistence Livelihood at Risk: A Study of Agro- Pastoralists in Cholistan Desert - Pakistan

Abstract

Sustainability of subsistence livelihood at risk: a study of agro-pastoralists in Cholistan Desert – Pakistan focusing on the important issue of socioeconomic changes and transformation. Subsistence livelihoods of agro-pastoralists are heavily dependent on vulnerable natural resources. These natural resources are exposed to a number of risks in the form of shocks, trends and seasonality. These risks are linked with environmental hazards, policy implications, and mechanization and population growth. Sustainability in livelihoods has been remained an important and widespread topic for the researchers for the last three decades of the recent century when the sustainable livelihood approach has been developed. The sustainable utilization and management of available natural resources have brought into notice and has become an interesting subject for experts and policy makers around the world. Subsistence livelihoods of mobile agro-pastoralists are characterized by dependence on uncertain and vulnerable natural resource based and simultaneously faced by risks and challenges.These challenges and problems are associated with environmental hazards; these hazards and uncertainties brought transformations in the livelihood patterns in arid areas of Bahawalpur. The environmental impacts of these challenges and transformation both in socio-economic and physical set up in the marginalized areas are pushing the poor agro-pastoral communities towards vulnerability. The present study is to evaluate the socioeconomic changes and their impact on livelihood strategies in a typical desert environment. This arid region provides the opportunities to the scientists and researchers to explore various aspects of human life and natural environment. This research is focused on the sustainability of subsistence livelihood by exploring the socioeconomic changes. Different research tools and techniques were used for collection and analysis of the data concerning with the said purpose. Climate and physiography are the essential elements of environment which have the most important variables of temperature, precipitation, soil and water. Human interaction with environment, population distribution, human perception, and technologies has been studied in this context. The current status of these variables is basically imperative to the study of man and environmental interaction which is the base for livelihoods structure. The present human practices are the product of this interaction which is adapted in form of hamlet (toba), villages, towns, nomadic, state land/communal property management and transhumance. The associated livelihoods are animal husbandry (nomadic and commercial farming); agriculture (irrigated and rain-fed); wildlife; fuel wood; lumbering; herbs and shrubs for chemicals and medicine extraction; honey collection; and aqua culture etc. Drought, desertification, flash floods and epidemics have adverse effect on these livelihoods. Similarly, the compound impacts of population growth, technology, farming, irrigation, machinery, commercial livestock and policies on livelihoods have been sorted out. To investigate and explore the above mentioned problems of the Cholistan Desert thirty settlements were selected on the basis of population 30% and 70% respectively from Greater and Lesser Cholistan. A Stratified sampling method was used for the household questionnaire survey. The total number of questionnaires were 1000, out of which 70% were collected from Lesser Cholistan while 30% from Greater Cholistan area. The district wise scheme of questionnaire survey was 290, 645 and 65 from Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawal Nagar Districts respectively. Based on 2015 estimation, the number of households, the sample size was 3% of the total households. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted in Lesser and Greater Cholistan. The main targets of interviews were the elders of community, numberdars, Councilors, clan heads and government officials, focused on the natural resource management, utilization and temporal changes in livelihood pattern. The sustainability of the livelihoods is dependent on the mode of the changes; changes in the livelihoods have been studied through strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) analysis. Finding of the study disclosed that the processes of transformation in agro-pastoralism and other occupations have greatly contributed to the changes in the livelihood pattern in Cholistan Desert. There are multiple factors influencing rural households to diversify their livelihoods. Several occupational transformations taking place especially in agricultural sector. Agriculture revolution and innovation in technologies are obviously labour-displacing, although wages of labour disarticulation vary between different activities at the farm. Therefore sustainability of the subsistence livelihood has become vulnerable. To combat the growing problems a strategic framework has been suggested to enhance the sustainability of the area. In the lesser Cholistan, transformation in sustainability of livelihoods prevails in positive realm. However, in Greater Cholistan which is the marginalized areas of Cholistan Desert, this transformation both in socio-economic and physical set up are pushing the poor agro-pastoral communities towards vulnerability. The resilience of these subsistence livelihoods of agro-pastoralists can be enhanced through adaptation of innovative techniques and synchronization of land resettlement policy.