Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)
Throughout history, human beings have domesticated plants and animals and shaped harsh and remote environments to guarantee their survival. Generations of farmers and herders have, for more than 12 thousand years, developed ingenious farming systems to overcome extreme climatic conditions, geographic isolation and scarcity of natural resources. This patient work has resulted in magnificent reservoirs of globally significant agricultural biodiversity and valuable cultural inheritance, but also in sites of great aesthetic beauty. However, many of these systems are now under severe threats from global development challenges, including climate change, rural impoverishment, exodus towards urban areas and exclusion of local economies from international markets, and are at risk of disappearing forever. In 2002 FAO initiated a wide programme on conservation and adaptive management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage systems (GIAHS) aiming to establish the basis for the global recognition, conservation and sustainable management of such systems and their associated landscapes, biodiversity, knowledge systems and cultures. During the preparatory phase (2002-2006), the GIAHS initiative has identified pilot sites in Peru, Chile, China, the Philippines, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. For the next seven years (2007-2014), the pilot systems will implement dynamic conservation management approaches aimed at helping the national and local stakeholders to protect and sustainably conserve the systems and their components. The lessons learned will serve as basis for creating a World Agriculture Heritage category, in collaboration with other institutions, like UNESCO and the World Heritage Convention, to guarantee the sustainability of these globally important traditional agricultural systems.
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