Nature-Based Solutions (Dec 2023)
Unlocking the potential of agroforestry as a nature-based solution for localizing sustainable development goals: A case study from a drought-prone region in rural India
Abstract
Agroforestry enhances farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change and delivers multiple ecological, social, and economic benefits. However, scientific evidence linking agroforestry as a Nature-based Solution (NbS) to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular the localization of these goals, is limited. Using a case study from a drought-prone region of southern India, this paper uses a qualitative research methodology to demonstrate how agroforestry offers NbS that localize 10 of the 17 SDG targets. In doing so, it identifies farmers' intrinsic motivations, barriers to the adoption of agroforestry practices as means to adapt to climate hardships, and the role of the carbon market in rewarding environmental stewardship.This case study focuses on the farmers’ narratives, and puts their perspectives at the forefront, emphasizing on basic needs of the poorest of the rural poor, illustrating the “real world” setting of developing countries. The information presented in this paper will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers working on community-based NbS in developing countries, as well as those interested in agroforestry as a strategy for advancing the SDGs and its scope under global initiatives as UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration.
