Nineteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

The UN adopted 17 SDGs in 2015 to balance social, economic and environmental sustainability, while ending poverty, protecting the planet, and bringing prosperity by 2030. Agroforestry home gardens in rural Sri Lanka are unique land-use systems involving deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs within the compounds of individual homes. This paper reviewed published studies and current thinking to provide a critical evaluation on the topic. A wide range of products in homegardens provide domestic food security and nutrition, indigenous medicine, and fulfil requirements for good health and wellbeing. Home gardening is a family matter where gender disparities are eliminated and shared mutual learning environment for the family interest. Homegardens are individually own landholdings, small-scale production systems and sources of indivisible benefits that influencing the reduction of rural inequality. They sustainably produce nutritive food for responsible consumption and extra for targeting local market minimizing food wastage and earning income. Homegardens promote environment concern and strengthening capacity of land use systems for mitigation and adaptation of climate change impacts. Continuation of vegetation cover in homegardens comprising highly diversed improved and traditional species for the purpose of producing food, medicine, and forest products visualizing the practicing life on land. Home gardening supports community-based organizations and small-scale entrepreneur associations accountable for participatory governance and socio-economic development while protecting environment in rural villages. Development of policies and programs aligned with the SDGs, the benefits provide by the agroforestry in rural homegardens in Sri Lanka can help achieve UN SDGs.