Document Actions
What is a Livelihood Zone Map?
A livelihood zone map is a useful tool to spatially disagregate Patterns of livelihood clearly vary from one area to another, which is why the preparation of a livelihood zone map can be a useful first step for many types of livelihoods-based analysis. Local factors such as climate, soil, access to markets etc. all influence livelihood patterns. For example, people living in a fertile highland area have very different options from those living in a semi-arid lowland area. In highland areas, people generally pursue an agricultural pattern of livelihood, whereas in the lowlands they grow few crops and are either pastoralists or agro-pastoralists. Those living in a coastal or lakeside zone may follow a livelihood based upon fishing or combining fishing with other activities, and so on.
Agro-ecology is one aspect of geography which determines patterns of livelihoods. Another factor is market access. Market access affects the ability of people to sell their production (crops or livestock or other items) and the price they obtain for these goods.
Since patterns of livelihood depend so much upon geography, it makes sense to divide a country or a region into a number of livelihood zones. These we can define as areas within which people share broadly the same pattern of livelihood (i.e. broadly the same production system -agriculture or pastoralism for example - as well as broadly the same patterns of trade/exchange).
Livelihood zoning involves more than just the drawing of maps. A livelihood zone map is of little use unless it is accompanied by a basic description of the patterns of livelihood in each zone, and ideally by an analysis of the underlying reasons for differences between zones. This means analyzing in some detail the production and trade/exchange options in each of the zones and the influence that the underlying geography has on each of these. We can think of these three factors as linked to consumption as follows: geography affects both the options for production (climate, soil, etc.) and for marketing/trade (roads, proximity to urban centres, etc.), which in turn affect consumption by the household. Household production (of food and other items) may either be directly consumed or may be traded/exchanged for other items in the market. Consumption is also critically determined by what is available in these markets, and how people obtain the means to purchase these commodities.
