Sustainable Livelihoods Many people's lives are a quest to create a secure, sustainable livelihood for themselves and their families. Outside forces, be they natural, political, economic or social all conspire together to make this more or less difficult. The concept of 'sustainable rural livelihoods' (SRL) is important in the debate about rural development, poverty reduction and environmental management. Livelihoods thinking dates back to the work of Robert Chambers in the mid-1980s (further developed by Chambers, Conway and others in the early 1990s). For more information on this concept, check www.livelihoods.org The sustainable livelihoods framework presents the main factors that affect people's livelihoods, and typical relationships between these. It can be used in both planning new development activities and assessing the contribution to livelihood sustainability made by existing activities. -The working definition for livelihoods -Sustainable livelihoods framework -Sustainable livelihoods and natural resource management