An Ecosystem Services Approach to Sustainable Livelihoods in the Homegardens of Kandy, Sri Lanka
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8382151 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicholas Landreth (NSW Environment and Heritage, corresponding author), Osamu Saito (0000-0002-0697-9593, United Nations University) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 355-373 |
| Publication date | 2014-07-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Geographer (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-9182 • E-ISSN: 1465-3311 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00049182.2014.930003 |
| OpenAlex | W2003358316 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 9 |
The Kandyan homegardens, or forest gardens, of central Sri Lanka are diverse, smallholder agroforestry ecosystems that for 2000 years have reflected evolving environmental, economic, and social livelihood needs. An ecosystem services approach interrogated homegarden changes over the last 10 years in 31 Kandyan households. Livelihood strategies favouring homegardens were found to have broader benefits across household, national, and global scales than those favouring commercial simplification or those abandoning cultivation for alternative incomes. Livelihood benefits beyond income included resilience to economic and environmental shocks; food security; and higher stocks of biological and agricultural diversity. This revealed overlooked socio-ecological feedbacks between drivers that frustrated interventions to sustain homegarden livelihoods, including increased wild animal incursions thwarting household climate adaptation and disaster recovery; global organic and fair trade incentives reducing food security and livelihood resilience; and national seed and animal regulations counteracting homegarden sustainability programs. Despite these pressures, households maintained homegarden systems for their cultural, aesthetic and eating preferences. The authors thank Renuka Ganawardena, Prof. Nimal Gunatilleke, Dr Gamini Hitinayake, Prof. Buddhi Marambe, Shireen Samarasuriya, and Prof. Jeevika Weerahewa for their expert advice and invaluable contributions to this research. The opinions expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not reflect the view of the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage or the New South Wales Government
Agriculture · Agroforestry · Business · Economics · Ecosystem · Ecosystem services · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Food security · Geography · Livelihood · Natural resource economics · Psychological resilience · Stakeholder · Sustainability · Ecology · Environmental Science · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Urban Green Space and Health
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The potential effects of climate change on subsistence farmers’ wellbeing in tropical (sub)montane homegardens. A case study on Mount Kilimanjaro
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Traditional uses of wild and tended plants in maintaining ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa
Homegarden agroecosystems managed by Salar people on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
| Citations per year | 1.11 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |