It can be considered that human well-being is a multifaceted concept – it comprises of one’s ability to figure out his or her needs and demands and to be equipped with opportunities and choices to achieve his or her full potential. In order to achieve human well-being, certain issues should be tackled including economic, social and environmental challenges. By addressing these issues and increasing available options, people can effectively meet their needs and create a sustainable living in the long run. In Africa, sustainable livelihoods (which increase entitlement and access to wide range of opportunities and assets) are important for attaining human well-being. The components of livelihoods include income level, good-paying labour, and meeting food security in households, as well as opportunities for business and investment.
In a nutshell, a sustainable livelihood must have the assets, activities and capabilities necessary for means of living. Livelihood can be considered sustainable, however, when it can cope up with challenges and recovering from shocks and stresses caused by economic, environmental and social factors, while enhancing and maintaining assets and natural resource capabilities.
Adopting to the changes for further improvement of well-being
Economic and environmental changes can undercut opportunities for sustainable livelihood development, which can produce vulnerabilities to human well-being in the process. By having an enhanced well-being, African people can adequately respond to and mitigate the negative effects of such changes. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, it is imperative for the African community to learn different coping mechanisms, because these can enhance their diversification and productive activity, which are all necessary to adapt to and mitigate such environmental and economic changes. By doing so, every livelihood can thrive within the challenges they face, thereby increasing overall human well-being in the long run.
Access to resources is important for livelihood development and sustainability
To be able to achieve the full benefits of a well-developed and sustainable livelihood, people should learn how to utilize natural resources – keep in mind that these environmental resources (including woodlands, forests, lands, wetlands and freshwater, marine and coastal resources, and fauna and flora) are essential for achieving services and income, which are the core component of African livelihood. People from the rural areas should learn to capture these resources effectively for their sources of livelihood in order for their overall well-being to be sustained and promoted.
However, one challenge faced by the African community is that the poorest sectors of the community often lack the knowledge on how to increase and promote their livelihood to the fullest potential. It is therefore important for African governments to widen their options for the poor people so they can also attain a wide range of benefits from their livelihoods.