Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Multiple livelihood system have developed in the most of rural areas in the world. The aim of my study is to examine the functions and meanings of multiple livelihood system in the contemporary rural areas, especially focused on an agro-pastoralists society in Namibia and other southern African countries. For example, agro-silvo-pastoral system which is combined of agriculture, silviculture and pastoralism have managed on a rural society and established the characteristic landscape, agroforestry parkland, in northern Namibia. These multiple livelihood system holds many functions and meanings on the subsistence strategies and food security of local people, maintain agrobiodiversity and improve the production from a unit of land with the changes on climate & socio-economic environment of rural areas. Especially my study focused on the three points, micro-macro interventions of economic changes, sustainability of natural resource use, and adoption of climate changes. I have conducted field survey mainly in Ovambo society on northern Namibia and some agro-pastoral societies in Botswana and South Africa, and also compared with rural areas in other countries include Japan.