Biodiversity in our home gardens: Sri Lanka

Ayubowan!

Help SRI LANKA show the world how biodiverse in our HOME GARDENS is by making as many observations of as many species as possible from 25th August, 2020!

In many places across the world, home gardens are traditional agro-forest systems characterized by the complexity of their structure and function. Also, home gardens are traditional conservation systems, where some key versatile plant species are grown by householders near by their homes. Also, these are the places for faunal species to find suitable habitats for foraging, nesting, roosting, mating and resting outside the protected areas and use as corridors between protected forest areas.

Degradation of home gardens is a major reason for loss of forest cover outside the protected area system in many tropical countries including Sri Lanka. This also leads to the loss of biodiversity in home gardens.

Preventing the degradation of home gardens is a means of conserving biodiversity. There is scope to develop the Home Garden system as an important strategy to conserve biodiversity outside the natural and protected area systems.

Therefore, the “Biodiversity in our home gardens: Sri Lanka” is a national effort for nature lovers to find and identify plants and animals (vertebrates and invertebrates) in their home gardens in Sri Lanka. This project will help to understand and learn the value of current biodiversity in their home gardens by Sri Lankan citizens and helpful for transferring their knowledge of fauna and flora in home gardens to future generations to protect them.

Scientists, taxonomists, researchers, conservationists, policy makers and nature lovers who are working on our biodiversity across the Island are welcoming for this project to review the identification of species submitted by nature lovers especially from our children and beginners.

Also, this is an interesting project for nature lovers specially beginners who love to identify flora and fauna. Children (13-16 years) can join this project with the support and permission from their parents. University students who are studying biology can use their taxonomic skills to identify amazing creatures in your home gardens.

Once a year, a detailed report will be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Wildlife Resources, Sri Lanka and the report will be available to the general public.

Thank you very much for your support and effort for this volunteer project!

Project created by Lahiru Ishan Samaranayake less ↑