Why we need bold action to secure livelihoods

The world has made good progress in improving global livelihoods witnessing more than two billion people emerge from extreme poverty over the last four decades, real increases in wages for unskilled workers, better life expectancy, greater gender equality and more widespread literacy. However, a number of daunting challenges threaten to undo this progress, particularly on the demographic and environmental fronts. This chapter provides an overview to the entire book. It outlines the status of livelihoods today and enumerates the main emerging trends which will affect livelihoods in the near future. It envisages a range of possible future scenarios for livelihoods, whose positive or negative outcomes depend on how several emerging challenges are dealt with. It concludes with a wealth of ideas for global, national and local action that hold significant promise for securing resilient and inclusive livelihoods for all.