Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)

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Videos

23/04/2025

This promotional video showcases the agricultural heritage of the Kunisaki Peninsula Usa Region, a designated GIAHS site in Japan. Featuring local farmers, artisans, students, and cultural traditions, it highlights the region’s unique practices in biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, and community-based knowledge.

28/03/2025

A journey through the agriculture and food of Nishi-Awa in Tokushima Prefecture. The travelers are influencers Anri (@anritocamp) and Taka (@taka.sh_). They experience farming on steep slopes, a practice recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. The trip also features recommended camp-style dishes made with local ingredients. It's packed with the seasonal charm of Nishi-Awa!

21/05/2025

On the arid island of Lanzarote, farmers have developed a unique system using volcanic lapilli and sea sand to trap moisture and protect the soil. Grapes, sweet potatoes, and legumes thrive in this dry landscape, sustaining biodiversity, livelihoods, and cultural heritage—largely without irrigation.

17/05/2025

Kuancheng, one of China’s earliest chestnut cultivation areas, has been a core chestnut-growing region since the Han Dynasty. Chestnuts became the main economic fruit tree, supported by a traditional system integrating crops, medicinal plants, and poultry, optimizing resource use and sustaining local livelihoods through balanced agriculture.

17/05/2025

Tea production in Anxi was first born in the 18th century in southeastern Fujian where the most famous tea is Tieguanyin. Local farmers’ unique traditional practices guarantee the production of exceptional quality tea leaves. These legacies have ensured the long-term stability and sustainability of the ecological systems and communities´ livelihoods.

17/05/2025

Hay milk production dates back to the origins of dairy farming in Europe. In the Alpine region, feeding ruminants with hay during the cold, vegetation-free season has sustained farming families for centuries. This tradition relies on permanent mountain grasslands, combining alpine pasture in summer with fresh grass and hay feeding, preserving landscapes and rural livelihoods.

17/05/2025

In Iran’s Fars province, Estahban leads global rainfed fig production with 2.6 million trees over 25,950 hectares. Home to 75% of Iran’s fig cultivars, its gardeners apply 250-year-old traditions and innovative water management to prevent erosion and ensure sustainability, showcasing the region’s key role in rainfed agriculture.

17/05/2025

Siwa oasis is an example of farmers’ ingenuity to adapt agriculture to very harsh climatic conditions. Situated in a very dry region, this oasis based on date palm agriculture combined with other crops such as olive trees and alfalfa, provides an effective way to grow food, livestock and preserve wild flora and fauna.

17/05/2025

In Shichuan, a 600-year-old agroforestry system thrives along the Yellow River, where towering pear trees are cultivated using the traditional “Gaotian” method. Integrating fruit trees, crops, and livestock, it preserves ancient varieties like Ruan’er and Dongguo.

17/05/2025

In Fuding, China, centuries-old white tea cultivation blends ecological wisdom and craftsmanship. Centered on the Lüxueya mother tree and natural withering techniques, this system integrates tea gardens with forests and crops, preserving biodiversity and supporting rural livelihoods. Deep cultural roots, rituals, and traditions reflect a strong bond between people, tea, and the land.

17/05/2025

In Deqing County, China, farmers have sustained an 800-year-old fish-mussel co-cultivation system that merges aquaculture, agriculture, and craftsmanship. Centered on Shelled Pearl Mussel techniques, it yields pearls, rice, silk, and more.

17/05/2025

No episódio inaugural do podcast "Vozes do Mate", Ana Paula Wenglarek e André Lacerda compartilham práticas tradicionais de produção de erva-mate sombreada no Paraná. Mediados por Renata Kempf, eles destacam a integração de saberes ancestrais, sustentabilidade e a conservação da Floresta com Araucária. Acompanhe essa conversa sobre cultura, economia e meio ambiente!ns.

23/12/2024

Watch FAO Indonesia Representative Rajendra Aryal on TVRI , where he explain how this system not only preserves biodiversity but also sustains local livelihoods and traditions.

19/05/2020

Over centuries, pastoralism has shaped and conserved the biodiversity and landscapes while buffaloes adapted to survive in the wetlands of Southern Thailand.

02/09/2024

Discovering the Programme and its role in preserving agricultural heritage.

28/08/2023

The Cocoa Agroforestry System occupies most of the agricultural area of the two main islands—the only inhabited ones—of the archipelago that makes up the country. It is a highly diversified agricultural system, which is the foundation of its economic and environmental sustainability.

11/05/2021

The agrosilvopastoral system home to the argan tree is now recognized as one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by the FAO. So the unique characteristics and benefits of the Argan tree can be preserved and protected for future generations.

30/05/2024

Embark on a fascinating journey from South America, the birthplace of potatoes, to North African soils where potatoes can grow in the sand above sea water.

19/06/2016

The Archipelago of Chiloé, in the south of Chile, is one of the center of origin of potatoes and is an extraordinary biodiversity reserve: its temperate rainforests hold a wide range of endangered plant and animal species.

18/03/2020

In the Espinhaço Mountain Range of in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, a complex agricultural system has been developed as the result of a long co-evolution between traditional communities, known as the Sempre-vivas flower gatherers, and the surrounding environment.