Impact of Household Interventions on Homestead Biodiversity Management and Household Livelihood Resilience: An Intertemporal Analysis from Bangladesh

Abstract

Household livelihood preferences are crucial determinants of homestead biodiversity. Therefore, we conducted a temporal analysis (harnessing data from three different time points (i.e., 1994, 2004, and 2014) with ten years of interval starting from 1994) on three Bangladeshi subdistricts to trace the effect of managed interventions on homestead biodiversity. Our findings unravel the transformation of a non-profitable untapped homestead agrobiodiversity from 1994 into an intervened and profitable biodiversity in 2014. The domestication of the introduced species in the homesteads increased the earnings by many folds. The observed stand structure of the introduced tree species was also financially profitable in 2014. We noted that tree diversity, richness, and evenness increased in the study areas while dominance decreased. Animal diversity and evenness decreased; however, richness and dominance increased. Management interventions only occurred when households grasped that homestead biodiversity could significantly supplement their family income. Management interventions occurred in the following ways: willingness to dedicate labor for both males and females increased over time, and willingness to pay labor costs significantly increased (i.e., on average, a male and female member in Haluaghat spent 336 labor hours/year and 288 labor hour/year, which is equivalent to an investment of BDT 23,100 (USD 330) and BDT 12,240 (USD 174.9), respectively in 2014), and average annual investment for agrobiodiversity management almost tripled. As the yearly investment soared, management interventions became better planned. Consequently, earnings from agrobiodiversity increased drastically. In 2014, households in Gouripur, Ishwarganj, and Haluaghat received 43.2, 34.5, and 39.3% of their total income from homestead biodiversity, which generated 157.8, 125.7, and 143.2 person-days employment/household. Thus, planned investment in homestead biodiversity management provides upgraded ecosystem services. Therefore, we claim that intervention is not always wrong, and planned interventions can lead to a progressing symbiotic relationship (a win–win situation) between households and homestead biodiversity.