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The International Conference on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems 2021 will be held in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan to bring together experiences and challenges from Agricultural Heritage Systems from all over the world on the occasion of commemorating the 10th anniversary of Noto's Satoyama and Satoumi, designated as the first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in the country.

Just south of the busy city of Agadir lies the rural Chtouka Ait Baha region of Morocco. Despite its proximity to several spots along Morocco’s tourist trail, Chtouka Ait Baha’s empty desert mountainscapes are worlds away from the colourful, bustling streets of the country’s cities. However, the relatively remote area is home to the incredible argan tree. A treasure of Morocco, the argan tree not only provides one of the...

Did you know that most of the world uses the same two words for tea? One variation is the one used in English (tea), French (thé), Spanish (té) and Dutch (thee). The other is a variation of chá (in Mandarin and Cantonese), such as chai in Hindi, shay in Arabic and chay in Russian. There’s an interesting reason for this.

With its distinctive green colour and sharp, spicy flavour, wasabi (Eutrema japonicum) has been highly prized in Japan for centuries. There is evidence from written works that Buddhist monks ate “cold wasabi soup” from as early as the 12th century. By the 14th century, they began to eat sashimi topped with wasabi vinegar, and from then on, wasabi started to appear in the meals of the public. Now, it is eaten all...