Abstract:
The study explored the implications of environmental sanitation for
three coastal livelihood activities, namely fishing, tourism and salt
production. Qualitative data were collected from purposively
selected respondents through key informant interviews and focus
group discussions, and analysed using thematic and most significant
stories approaches. The study found that sanitation affected livelihoods
associated with tourism, fishing and salt production through
its implications for health, productivity, income, job security and
sustainability of the physical environment. However, while virtually
all respondents acknowledged the effect of sanitation on human
capital through the health implications, a substantial part of the
people who eked their living from the stated livelihood activities
did not appreciate the link between sanitation and these livelihood
avenues. Sanitation behavioural change communication messaging
by the responsible actors should, therefore, stress the relevance of
sanitation not only for human health but also the linkage between
sanitation and sustainable livelihood in its entirety.
