Key to the Green Recovery: Microenterprises
Last week, the New York Times published an article about the impact of COVID on tourism-related jobs, and how it is fueling a migration back to rural communities.
The pandemic has forced hotels and other tourist facilities to lay off some workers and cut the pay and hours of others. Larger hotels have kept skeleton staffs on duty, rotating workers in for a week or two at a time, while allowing them to make a little money and return to their villages.
“Mostly they are going back to their villages,” said Mr. Ricky, who is also general manager of the Santrian Resorts and Villas hotel group. “Some of them can use this very challenging time to help their parents and go back to their village farming or fishing.”
The article highlights a critical consequence of the COVID pandemic — urban migration to rural communities. This will place increasing pressure on rural resources especially the natural resources that these communities rely on.
With supply chains cut off, small-scale fisheries and smallholder farms are left to feed and sustain local communities through this crisis. They are the backstop to local food security while supporting the job safety net that people turn to when other employment dries up. With the impact of COVID likely to linger for the foreseeable future, we must secure these livelihoods and safeguard the resources communities depend on for sustainable growth.
Right now, governments, NGOs and foundations are planning for a “green recovery” of sustainable jobs to replace those lost to the pandemic. We must ensure that small-scale fishers, smallholder farmers and the network of microenterprises are fully recognized as the foundation of the rural economy, and that a sustained recovery will be built through thriving rural communities that balance production with environmental protection.
