Assessing the Level of Sustainability of Rural Households’ Livelihood under Drought Condition (The Case of Selseleh County in Lorestan Province)

The aim of this study was to assess the level of sustainability of livelihoods of rural households in Selseleh city under drought conditions. This research is applied in terms of purpose and data collection. The statistical population of the study was the heads of rural households in Selseleh county (N = 10888). Using Krejcie and Morgan table, the statistical sample size was estimated 379 cases. In order to select the samples, a multi-stage sampling method was employed. The analytical framework used in this study was a sustainable livelihood framework. Stability radar method was used to calculate the level of stability. The results of the research showed that out of the five livelihood capitals, four human, natural, social, and financial capitals are of average level of sustainability. In addition, the results revealed that physical capital is in a potential sustainability state. The final results of measuring the level of sustainability among the sub-counties of Selseleh city indicated that with the highest and lowest scores, Firouzabad and Honam were the most and the least sustainable sub-counties in the studied region, respectively. Based on the findings, it is suggested that more planning be done in order to increase the financial capital and improve the access of rural households to financial resources such as low interest loans and long-term installments. Also, the necessary measures should be taken into consideration to correct the current process of allocating drought credits so that the less fortunate and poor households can benefit from such facilities in a fair way.