57Abstract
The story of world agriculture is closely interwoven
with that of the evolution of human civilization and
of its diverse cultures and communities across the
globe. In many developing countries, agricultural
and rural life to this day is considerably influenced by
the society’s ancient cultural traditions and local
community institutions and values, which are mostly
conditioned by natural endowments, wealth and
breadth of accumulated knowledge and experience
in the management and use of natural resources.
The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage
Systems are dispersed over many countries and
regions, and represent a microcosm of the larger
rural world of land-use systems, livestock, pastures,
grasslands, forestry and fisheries. They reflect the
value of the diversity of agricultural systems adapted
to different environments and tell a fascinating story
of man’s ability and cultural ingenuity to adjust and
adapt to the vagaries of a changing physical and
material environment, from generation to generation
and leave indelible imprints of an abiding commitment
to nature conservation and respect for their agri-
cultural patrimony. These agricultural heritage
systems have a contemporary relevance, among
others, for providing sustainable diets for the rural
poor, food sovereignty, livelihood security and
sustainable development.
- Introduction
Throughout centuries, human communities, gener-
ations of farmers, herders and forest people have
developed complex, diverse and locally adapted
agricultural and forestry systems. These systems
have been managed with time-tested ingenious
combinations of techniques and practices that have
usually led to community food security and the
conservation of natural resources and biodiversity.
These microcosms of agricultural heritage can still
be found throughout the world covering about 5
million ha which provide a series of cultural and
ecological services to humankind such as the
preservation of traditional forms of knowledge
systems, traditional crops and animal varieties and
autochthonous forms of sociocultural organizations.
These agricultural heritage systems have resulted
not only in outstanding landscapes of aesthetic
beauty, maintenance of globally significant agricultural
biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and valuable
cultural inheritance, but above all, in the sustained
provision of multiple goods and services, food and
livelihood security for millions of poor and small
farmers. Their agricultural biodiversity is maintained
and dynamically conserved by rural farming
communities through localized, traditional ecological
agricultural practices/knowledge systems. However,
many of these globally important biological diversity
and ecological friendly agricultural systems and
their goods and services are threatened by several
factors such as lack of or low priorities for family
farming systems, lack of access to market, dis-
placement of local agricultural practices, lack of social
organization and financial-institutional support that
underpin management of these systems. Thus, the
desired progress towards a sustained economic
development process is compromised and thereby
resulting in disparities between and among com-
munities.- What are GIAHS?
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the
United Nations defines Globally Important Agri-
cultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) as "remarkable
land use systems and landscapes which are rich in
globally significant biological diversity evolving from
the co-adaptation of a community with its environment
and its needs and aspirations for sustainable devel-
opment" (FAO, 2002). GIAHS are classified and
typified based on its ingenuity of management
systems, high levels of agricultural biodiversity and
associated biodiversity, local food security, biophysical,
economic and sociocultural resources that have
evolved under specific ecological and sociocultural
constraints and opportunities. The examples of such
agricultural heritage systems are in the hundreds
and are home to thousands of ethnic groups, indige-
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