Sunil Santha

This chapter analyses the contexts and nature of social innovations in livelihoods and skill building among youth and adolescents in India. It further explores the nature and impact of social innovations, sustainability and social value creation on the life of youth and adolescents. This paper offers a fresh and interactive perspective of social innovation. The methodology included desk review of literature, mapping of 100 organisations and programmes that had a crucial component of livelihood promotion and enhancement as a key intervention. Detailed case studies of 40 programmes were also carried out. Our analysis shows that most of these selected projects in the commencement phase are innovative. However, these projects tend to fail, owing to frequent discouragement, lack of sustained funding and absence of volunteerism. This chapter advocates the need for institutional innovations and proactive multi-stakeholder partnerships in designing and implementing adolescent- and youth-ori...

This chapter highlights the importance of studying social interfaces in the contexts of humanitarian crisis situations such as the Asian tsunami. Humanitarian response and recovery processes are characterized by the interface of different social actors with diverse values, interests, knowledge, and power. During such social encounters, social interfaces are manifested in the form of conflicts or cooperation between those actors affected by the disaster and those actors responsible for humanitarian aid. The chapter also reflects on the processes of continuity and change enforced by diverse outside actors, such as development practitioners and the State, on the day-to-day life events of people affected by disasters. By illustrating the case of fisherfolk in Tamil Nadu, this chapter emphasizes the need to revisit vulnerability reduction from a people-centred perspective. Pointing out that social situations in post-disaster settings are characterized by the interplay between very dynami...

This paper examines the continuity and change in the governance of inland fisheries in Kerala. It analyses the transformations taking place in riverine fisheries management due to social, technological, and policy changes. Further, it discusses the significance of contextual factors ...

This paper examines the vulnerability context of migrant workers in the informal sector in three Indian cities (Kochi, Surat and Mumbai), specifically in terms of how their livelihoods interface with climate variability, related hazard events and social inequities. It examines the progression of population vulnerability from a political economy perspective. The underlying assumption is that migrant workers' vulnerability to climate variability in cities is closely embedded within the wider political economy of their day-today livelihood struggles. A mixed methodology design was adopted to carry out the study. Data from 50 migrants in each of the three cities were collected using a semi-structured interview schedule. The research demonstrates that urban vulnerability is a condition that shapes and reshapes itself continuously and fiercely, accompanied

ABSTRACT This paper explores and analyses how local ecological knowledge as a component of culture facilitates sustainable resource management practices among riverine fishing communities in Kerala, India. The paper is based on a comparative ethnographic analysis between a heterogeneous fishing village and a homogeneous fishing village within the Pamba-Achankovil River Basin. Key observations from analysis show that various groups of fishermen give emphasis to different knowledge spheres based on the nature of the resources and the type of fishing gear they are familiar with. Local knowledge among the fishing communities plays a crucial role in the sustainable management of fishery resources. However, this local knowledge serves the purpose of sustainable resource management only when it is supplemented by the other components of culture.

... adopting such a multifaceted strategy (such as increasing food security, securing access to local resources and strengthening local governance) will enable ... Environmental Management and Disaster Risk Reduction Re-Imagining Public-Private Partnerships 237 5.4. ...

... adopting such a multifaceted strategy (such as increasing food security, securing access to local resources and strengthening local governance) will enable ... Environmental Management and Disaster Risk Reduction Re-Imagining Public-Private Partnerships 237 5.4. ...

This case study examines the coastal hazard adaptation strategies of a fishing community in a village in Kerala, India. It shows that formal adaptation strategies are highly techno-centric, costly, and do not take into account the vulnerabilities of the fishing community. Instead, they have contributed to ecological, livelihood, and knowledge uncertainties. The adaptation strategies of the fishing community are a response to these uncertainties. However, they may not lead to the fishing community's recovery from its vulnerability contexts. This case study is primarily qualitative in nature. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. Insights reveal that when actors with diverse values, interests, knowledge, and power evolve or design their respective adaptation strategies, the resulting interface often aggravates existing uncertainties associated with hazards. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that local discourses on coastal hazards are livelihood-centric and socially constructed within the struggle of the fishing community to access resources and to acquire the right to development.

ABSTRACT This paper explores and analyses how local ecological knowledge as a component of culture facilitates sustainable resource management practices among riverine fishing communities in Kerala, India. The paper is based on a comparative ethnographic analysis between a heterogeneous fishing village and a homogeneous fishing village within the Pamba-Achankovil River Basin. Key observations from analysis show that various groups of fishermen give emphasis to different knowledge spheres based on the nature of the resources and the type of fishing gear they are familiar with. Local knowledge among the fishing communities plays a crucial role in the sustainable management of fishery resources. However, this local knowledge serves the purpose of sustainable resource management only when it is supplemented by the other components of culture.

This article examines the critical transitions in social innovation in India post independence. Drawing insights from ‘systems thinking’, it explores the scope of social innovation towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on a desk review of 31 cases, this article demonstrates that social innovations in the neo- liberal era largely cater to economic entrepreneurship without taking into account the social and environmental interlinkages. Such an approach can become a major barrier for achieving the SDGs. This article suggests people-centred and context-specific systemic social innovation approaches as possible pathways to achieve the SDGs.