ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some regional generalizations about the key changes to rural livelihoods. It illustrates – and problematizes – the generalizations with reference to country case studies, focusing on gender and generation, class and inequality, persistence and dispossession, poverty and well-being, and livelihoods and climate change. Aggregate trends in the countryside tell a familiar and expected story. They reflect quite fundamental transformations in the spatial distribution of populations, the sectoral distribution of economic activity and employment, and the location of poverty. Poverty reductions across Southeast Asia have been remarkable, reflecting the generally robust performance of the region's economies. Poverty and climate-related hazards intertwine in the lives of smallholders in rural Southeast Asia. Efforts aimed at reducing rural poverty and promoting rural development often exacerbate climate-related problems. The goal of development may be to address poverty, but the fear is that the impacts of climate change will whittle away the gains that have been achieved in alleviating poverty.
