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Managing rainwater, improving livelihoods: assessing impacts using a Rainwater–Livelihoods–Poverty Index (RLPI)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2013

Kindie Getnet  and
Geremew Kefyalew
Kindie Getnet
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), East Africa & Nile Basin Office, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tel: +251-(0)11-6172252. E-mail: [email protected]
Geremew Kefyalew
Affiliation:
Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Assessing and empirically measuring the development impact of rainwater management innovations to inform related decisions remains conceptually and methodologically difficult. Whether it is empirically more appropriate to assess and measure the impact pathways than the impact per se remains an important methodological issue. This paper proposes a Rainwater–Livelihoods–Poverty Index (RLPI) as a comprehensive and participatory impact pathway assessment technique with measurable indicators recapitulating the sustainable livelihoods framework. The methodological contributions to rainwater impact assessment are two-fold. First, the RLPI explicitly incorporates intermediate processes and impact pathways as important factors affecting the development impacts of rainwater-related interventions. Second, the RLPI combines quantitative and qualitative household response data into a single yet meaningful quantitative impact indicator. This makes the methodology participatory, allowing farmers engagement to use their knowledge (as local expert observers) in informing rainwater management decisions. The methodology is empirically tested in Diga district (western Ethiopia) and validated using expert opinions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 18 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 615 - 639
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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