Climate-Smart Biodiversity Agroecological Tourism Gardens (CBATG): A Sustainable Model for Climate Resilience and Rural Development

Abstract

The Climate-Smart Biodiversity Agroecological Tourism Gardens (CBATG) is a new methodology dealing with the problems of climate change, biodiversity loss, and rural poverty simultaneously. In this study, we present CBATG as a model of eco-sustainable development that combines climate-smart agriculture, biodiversity enhancement, and agro-tourism to build resilient socio-ecological systems. Using a systematic review of selected case studies and policy documents, we show how CBATGs can increase carbon capture in agroforestry, reduce the population of endangered species through habitat restoration, and improve alternative income opportunities for the community through eco- tourism. This construction supports’ works of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as 13, 15, and 8. Most importantly, our research indicates the prerequisite conditions of successful CBATG implementation as: (1) funding from all sectors, (2) bottom-up community engagement design, and (3) positive-cum-initiatives from government networks. Others include poorly defined land rights and insufficient political will or regulations which we solve with our policy recommendations. Straddling the boundary between development and conservation gives vulnerable regions across the globe a strategic outline for sustainable rural development using CBATGs.