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| About GIAHS |
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| Systems and sites |
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What are GIAHS?
Definition
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems are defined 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 development".
Descriptions - Read what scientists say about GIAHS:
 Patricia L. Howard, Wageningen University
"The agricultural heritage systems are unique in as much as they represent a fascinating story of the man's ability and 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 conservation and respect for their natural patrimony. Their other unique characteristics include their ethical, religious, and aesthetic values, respect for the rights of indigenous and traditional peoples, their relation with biodiversity, the richness of their natural and cultural diversity, and their deep reservoirs of knowledge and experience, all of which are of tremendous importance for human resilience".
Miguel A. Altieri, University of Berkeley, California
"GIAHS have resulted not only in outstanding 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 and quality of life for millions of people. Despite the onrush of modernization and economic change, a few traditional agricultural management and knowledge systems still survive. These systems exhibit important elements of sustainability, namely, they are well adapted to their particular environment, rely on local resources, are small-scale and decentralized, and tend to conserve the natural resource base. Therefore, these systems comprise a Neolithic legacy of considerable importance, yet modern agriculture constantly threatens the sustainability of this inheritance. Because of their significance and the wealth and breadth of accumulated knowledge and experience in the management and use of resources that GIAHS represent, it is imperative that they be considered globally significant resources and should be protected and preserved as well as allowed to evolve. Such ecological and cultural resource is of fundamental value for the future of humankind."
Miguel A. Altieri: Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): extent, significance, and implications for development
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Patricia L. Howard, Wageningen University)
Miguel A. Altieri, University of Berkeley, California
