In this article, we operationalized a sustainability framing based on the Sustainable Rural Livelihood Resources Framework (SLF), which consists of five capitals—human, physical, social, financial, and natural. We proposed a sustainability index (SI) for two landscapes dominated by two agricultural systems: cattle ranching and small-scale family agriculture. Farm variables within each capital were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Key variables were identified and index values were calculated for each capital. These were combined through a set of simultaneous equations to estimate farm-specific capitals and SI from the observed farm variables. Principal component and cluster analyses were used to group the farms according to their index scores and to further compare their characteristics. Furthermore, with the purpose of comparing the index scoring with an independent metric, a landscape indicator, which comes from a continuous forest, was calculated. From the results, the capitals that contributed to a higher SI score the most were financial and physical. As cattle ranching was associated with higher economic returns and infrastructure investments, this livelihood was identified as the most sustainable. Yet, cattle ranching has been a deforestation driver in the region. These results are attributed to the current conceptual framework design, which gives greater weight to material and economic variables; therefore, it generates a weak sustainability measure. Although the framework allowed us to identify land-use alternatives that could improve SI scores (i.e., silvopastoral systems), corrections to the proposed framework and methodological approach will need to include additional environmental benefits currently unaccounted for. Farmers that use their farms for conservation purposes should be recognized and compensated. An improved environmentally focused SI operational framework could help to endorse and promote sustainable livelihoods and to generate a strong sustainability measure.

No abstract

Este artículo presenta nuevas estimaciones sobre la calidad del empleo para la ciudad de Cali (Colombia), utilizando índices sintéticos que permiten la comparación a través del tiempo. La ciudad de Cali es el principal referente sobre la calidad del empleo de la población afro-colombiana, ya que es la ciudad colombiana con mayor proporción de personas afrodescendientes del país. Nuestros resultados muestran que las comunas con una mayor calidad del empleo son las comunas 17, 19, 22 y 2. Mientras que los residentes de las comunas ubicadas al oriente, sur oriente y zona de ladera de la ciudad, tienen una calidad del empleo baja; estas son: 13, 21, 15, 3, 7, 20. Por lo que existen localizaciones espaciales entorno a la calidad del empleo fruto de las migraciones del Pacífico colombiano. Los resultados también muestran cómo ser afrodescendiente reduce la probabilidad de tener empleos de alta calidad e incrementa la posibilidad de acceder a empleos de calidad baja y media. De esta forma, en Cali la condición étnica afrodescendiente limita el acceso a empleos de alta calidad.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.