**3. Theoretical framework: the sustainable livelihoods approach**

The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach emphasizes natural resources as productive assets in sustaining rural livelihoods. A livelihood encompasses all the activities and capabilities that are required as a means of living and it is considered sustainable if it is able to withstand and recover from any adverse effects without eroding its natural resource base [25]. Climate change negatively impacts livelihood security and presents a livelihood disturbance, especially when adaptive mechanisms are limited. The Sustainable Livelihood Approach has proved useful to explain the adaption of rural households to the impacts of climate change, thus allowing for a more detailed look at livelihoods on a context-specific level [11]. This approach helps to develop intervention strategies that are, among others, people-centered, dynamic, responsive, and participatory and that happens in collaboration with public and private institutions [25].

There is wide consensus in the scientific community that anthropogenic climate change will affect ecosystem services, food production, and water resources – all of which are vital assets associated with human livelihoods [8, 26, 27]. The livelihoods framework states that people require several assets to achieve positive livelihood outcomes. These assets include human capital (education, health, etc.), physical capital (technology, infrastructure, etc.), social capital (networks, leadership, etc.), natural capital (water, land and produce, etc.), and financial capital (wages, savings, etc.) [25]. Communities that have access to more resources, or that possess highly diverse assets, are likely to have greater livelihood options and abilities to adapt to climate change effects. The increase in extreme weather events, however, has raised the level of vulnerability of marginalized communities through declining food security and disruption in livelihood activities that are essential for survival, including agricultural production and fishing [28].
