Vulnerability and resilience of competing land-based livelihoods in south eastern Zimbabwe.

Vulnerability and resilience have emerged as powerful analytical concepts in the study of socio-ecological systems. In this research these concepts are used to enhance our understanding of heterogeneous rural livelihoods in a semi-arid area on the western border of protected wildlife areas in Zimbabwe’s southeast lowveld. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a methodological approach that helps understanding the vulnerability of rural livelihoods to change and relate this to adaptive mechanisms employed by people to cope with the resulting change...