The purpose of income diversification is to protect biodiversity, discourage environmentally degrading practices and improve the overall health of the environment. It works by providing incentives to the community people for switching to healthier livelihood options. Measures include: the application of Sloping Area Land Technology (SALT), climate resilient crops and cover crops, construction and rehabilitation of irrigation systems, and conservation and recharge of ponds to protect soil biodiversity. In addition, these activities improve agricultural productivity and boost income. Cultivation of climate-resilient crops with high local demand, namely banana, turmeric, ginger, sweet potato, taro and pineapple not only enrich soil fertility but also increase the resilience of farmers in the face of climate change and augment their income. Construction of bioengineering sites reduces soil erosions along river banks and mountain slopes. New catchment ponds in the upstream and maintenance of wells/ponds in the downstream help to irrigate fields, feed livestock, and retain soil moisture. Collectively, these activities decrease siltation in the downstream and consequently conserve the flora and fauna diversity.
Community participation and confidence in the initiatives are the major success factors for this building block. It is essential for the project to understand the needs and capacities of the community and keep them at the forefront, so that their livelihood strategies, ability to adapt and social environment are considered. While designing livelihood diversification initiatives, it is crucial to recognize the dynamic nature of livelihood strategies and respond flexibly to changes in people's situation.
A project can be successful if the livelihood options offered are technologically affordable, economic, environment-friendly and locally acceptable. Such activities not only increase productivity but also save beneficiaries' time, which can be invested in profitable activities. It is important to link livelihood initiatives with entrepreneurial skills through different trainings and orientations to ensure continuity. In order to achieve better environmental health and eliminate environmentally detrimental livelihood practices, environmental conservation activities must be linked with lucrative but environmentally sustainable income generation alternatives. Deep understanding of the interconnectedness of nature, such as the linkage between upstream and downstream ecosystems, is beneficial. It is important to develop local people as resource persons. Creating and employing resource persons within the locality is not only cheaper in the long term, but also increases benefits through ripple effect and favors sustainability of high technique livelihood diversification initiatives.