Integrated Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Livelihoods: A Review of Ecosystem-Based Approaches for Sustainability and Community Resilience

This review explores the essential link between sustainable livelihoods and the natural resource management (NRM), stressing the importance of ecosystem health for ensuring long-term socio-economic and environmental stability. The research looks at significant strategies like the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), which foster resilience, fairness, and participatory governance. It underscores that diverse livelihoods, traditional ecological knowledge, and inclusive decision-making enhance community resilience to climate change and resource-related vulnerabilities. Recent research developments highlight integrated planning approaches that take into account the connections among land, water, energy, and biodiversity, while addressing issues of climate resilience and social equity. Technological tools, market-oriented incentives, and innovative policies are acknowledged for their role in improving NRM effectiveness. Crucially, this review emphasizes the importance of collaboration among various stakeholders and the integration of indigenous knowledge to ensure relevance to specific contexts. The future of NRM is dependent on aligning ecological sustainability with human development objectives through adaptive, inclusive, and knowledge-driven approaches. Ultimately, the review calls for a transformative shift towards comprehensive, integrated, and community-focused frameworks for natural resource governance that can effectively tackle global environmental and livelihood issues.