利用者:Nightingale/Working Area/世界重要農業遺産システム

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GIAHS LOGO

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), as defined by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UNO), are: "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". Worldwide, specific agricultural systems and landscapes have been created, shaped and maintained by generations of farmers and herders based on diverse natural resources, using locally adapted management practices. Building on local knowledge and experience, these ingenious agri-cultural systems reflect the evolution of humankind, the diversity of its knowledge, and its profound relationship with nature. These systems have resulted not only in outstanding landscapes, maintenance and adaptation of globally significant agricultural biodiversity, indigenous knowledge systems and resilient ecosystems, but, above all, in the sustained provision of multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of local community members and indigenous peoples, well beyond their borders.

国際連合食糧農業機関(FAO)による世界重要農業資産システムの定義は、「環境、必要性および持続可能な開発を目指して複合的に適応した地域コミュニティーから発展した世界的に重要な生物多様性に富む土地の利用システムと景観」である。 世界中にその土地に独特な農業システムや景観が、多様な天然資源を元にその土地に合った管理手法を活用して何世代もの農民や遊牧民によって作り出され、形作られ、維持されてきた。その地方の知識や経験を元に作られた独創的な農業と文化の複合システムは人類の進歩、知識の多様性、自然との深い関わりを示している。これらのシステムは、見事な景観や、世界的に重要な農業における生物多様性の維持と適用、および固有の知識の体系と強靭な生態系を生み出すだけでなく、なによりも多岐にわたる財とサービスを安定的に供給し、数百万もの地域の人々や土着の人々の食料と安定的な生計手段をその境界を超えて提供している。

For millennia communities of farmers, herders, fishers and forest people have developed complex, diverse, and locally adapted agricultural 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. Agricultural heritage systems can still be found throughout the world covering about 5 million hectares, which provide a vital combination of social, cultural, ecological and economical services to humankind. These “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems-GIAHS” have resulted not only in outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty, maintenance of globally significant agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage Above all these systems sustainabley provide multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of poor and small farmers. The existence of numerous GIAHS around the world testifies to the inventiveness and ingenuity of people in their use and management of the finite resources, biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics, and ingenious use of physical attributes of the landscape, codified in traditional but evolving knowledge, practices and technologies. Whether recognized or not by the scientific community, these ancestral agricultural systems constitute the foundation for contemporary and future agricultural innovations and technologies. Their cultural, ecological and agricultural diversity is still evident in many parts of the world, maintained as unique systems of agriculture. Through a remarkable process of co-evolution of Humankind and Nature, GIAHS have emerged over centuries of cultural and biological interactions and synergies, representing the accumulated experiences of rural peoples.

農民、遊牧民、漁師、森林の民の共同体は何千年もの間複雑で多様性に富みその地方に合った農業システムを発展させてきている。これらのシステムは長年の試練に耐えぬいた技術と実践の独創的な融合によって維持されてきており、地域の食料安全保障や天然資源と生物多様性の保全に役に立ってきた。このような農業遺産システムは今も世界中で見かけることができ、約500万ヘクタールの面積を占めており、社会、文化、生態、そして人類への経済的な利益が相互に組み合わさった重要なシステムを形成している。これらの”GIAHS”は見事な美しい景観、世界的に重要な農業における生物多様性の維持、強靭な生態系そして価値のある文化遺産を結果的に生み出しただけではない。なによりも多岐にわたる財とサービスを何百万もの貧しい小規模の農民に安定的に供給してきた。世界中に数々のGIAHSが存在することは限られた資源、生物多様性、そして生態系のダイナミズムを管理し利用する際に人間が示す創造性に富んだ想像力と工夫と、伝統的だが変化に対応し進歩し続けている知識、実践と技術に組み込まれている土地の物理的な特性を独創的に利用する能力を証明している。科学者によってきちんと認識されているかどうかにかかわらず、この先祖代々伝わる農業システムは現代そして将来の農業の技術革新と技術の基盤となる。これらの文化的、生態的、農業的多様性は、世界の多くの地域において、農業のユニークなシステムとして維持されておりはっきりと存在している。人類と自然がともに進化してきた注目すべき過程において、農村の人々の経験の蓄積を表すものとしてGIAHSは文化的また生物学的相互作用と相乗効果の何世紀にも渡る歴史から浮かび上がった概念である。

A Global Partnership Initiative グローバルパートナーシップイニシアチブ

In response to the global trends that undermine family agriculture and traditional agricultural systems, in 2002, during the World Summit on Sustainable Development(WSSD, Johannesburg, South Africa), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations launched a Global Partnership Initiative on conservation and adaptive management of “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems”. To achieve this goal, the main objectives are to:

家族経営の農業や伝統的農業システムを弱体化する世界的潮流に対向するために、2002年、持続可能な開発に関する世界首脳会議の期間中にFAOが世界重要農業遺産システムの保全と変化に適応できるような管理のためのグローバルパートナーシップイニシアチブを提案した。これを実現するための主な目標は；

1) Leverage global and national recognition of the importance of agricultural heritage systems and institutional support for their safeguard:

global recognition through the creation of the Agricultural Heritage Systems category with support of governments, FAO governing bodies, UNESCO, World Heritage Centre and other partners; national recognition, awareness and improved understanding of threats that such agricultural systems face, of their global importance and of the benefits that they provide at all levels.

1) 農業文化遺産システムとそれを守っていく制度的な支援体制の重要性について世界および各国レベルでの認知を高める

政府、FAO、ユネスコ、世界遺産センターそしてその他のパートナー機関の支援により農業遺産システムを設立することにより世界規模での認知を高める。国レベルでそのような農業システムが面している危機、世界的な重要性、すべての階層に与えるメリットについての認知を高め理解を深める。

2) Capacity building of local farming communities and local and national institutions to conserve and manage GIAHS,generate income and add economic value to goods and services of such systems in a sustainable fashion :

identify ways to mitigate risks of erosion of biodiversity and traditional knowledge, land degradation and threats posed by globalization processes and skewed policies and incentives; strengthen conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources, reducing vulnerability to climate change and enhancing sustainable agriculture and rural development and as a result contributing to food security and poverty alleviation; enhancing the benefits derived by local populations from conservation and sustainable use of their resources and their ingenious systems and rewarding them through payment for Environmental Services, Ecolabelling, Eco-tourism and other incentive mechanisms and market opportunities.

2）このような農業システムが持続可能な形でGIAHSを保全・管理し、生計を得てそして財やサービスに経済的な付加価値を付けることができるよう地域の農業コミュニティ、地方および国の機関の能力を開発する。

生物多様性や伝統的な知識を損なうリスク、土地の荒廃、グローバル化の進展と歪んだ政策やインセンティブによってもたらされる脅威を軽減する方法を見つける。生物多様性と天然資源を保全し持続可能な形で利用することを強化する、その結果気候変動に対する脆弱性を減らし持続可能な農業と農村開発を促進し食料安全保障に寄与する。地域の資源や独創的なシステムを保全し持続維持可能な形で利用することによって地域住民が得る利益を増やし、生態系サービス, エコラベル, エコツーリズム、その他のインセンティブ制度や商品化の機会を開拓し現金収入をもたらして地域の住民に利益を還元する。

3) Promote enabling policy, regulatory and incentive environments to support the conservation, evolutionary adaptation and viability of GIAHS:

assessment of existing policies and incentive mechanisms and identification of modalities to provide support for sustainable agricultural practices; promotion of national and international processes leading to improved policies and incentive mechanisms.

3）GIAHSの保全および変化に適応し残り続けていく力を支援する政策、規制、インセンティブ制度を推進する

現在の政策やインセンティブ制度の評価と持続可能な農業の実践に必要な支援を提供する形態にどのようなものがあるかを見極める。よりよい政策やインセンティブ制度につながる各国および国際レベルでの取り組みを推進する。

A major outcome of the GIAHS initiative is the contribution to the implementation of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Article 10c: “protect and encourage customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices that are compatible with conservation or sustainable use requirements”, specifically within agricultural systems; and Article 8j: “respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity”.

GIAHSイニシアチブの主要な成果のひとつは生物の多様性に関する条約の具体的実施への貢献である。10条のc項は、とりわけ農業システムの中で、「保全と持続可能な利用に必要な条件に合致した伝統的文化的行動に沿った生物学的多様性の慣習的利用を保護し推奨する。」そして8条のj項は、「生物学的多様性の保全と持続可能な利用に関係している伝統的な生活スタイルを体現している独創的なコミュニティの持つ知識、イノベーション、そして実践を尊重し、守り維持していく。」

Currently, a number of agricultural heritage systems are identified in Algeria, Chile, China, India, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Tunisia, and Tanzania. In these countries, dynamic conservation approaches are being implemented, to assist national and local stakeholders in the conservation and adaptive management of the agri-cultural heritage.

現在、世界農業遺産はアルジェリア、チリ、中国、日本、ケニア、モロッコ、ペルー、フィリピン、チュニジア、タンザニアで認定されている。これらの国では、農業と文化の複合した遺産の保全と変化に対応できる管理にたずさわる各国の国レベルおよび地域の当事者たちを支援するために、機能的な保全対策が実施されている。

Agricultural Heritage Systems

Ifugao rice terraces, Philippines.

GIAHS are selected based on their importance for the provision of local food security, high levels of agro-biodiversity and associated biological diversity, store of indigenous knowledge and ingenuity of management systems. The biophysical, economic and socio-cultural resources have evolved under specific ecological and socio-cultural constraints to create outstanding landscapes. The examples of such agricultural heritage systems are in the hundreds and are home to thousands of ethnic groups, indigenous communities and local populations with a myriad of cultures, languages and social organization. Examples of GIAHS could fall into:

Mountain rice terrace agroecosystems

Hani rice terraces, China.

These are outstanding mountain rice terrace systems with integrated forest use and/or combined agro-forestry systems, such as the agroforestry vanilla system in Pays Betsileo, Betafo and Mananara regions in Madagascar; Ifugao rice terraces in the Philippines;

and many more. These systems also include diverse agricultural and other elements: for example, integrated rice-based systems (e.g. rice-fish culture, rice-fish-duck, rice-fishtaro) with numerous rice and fish varieties/ genotypes; and integrated forest, land and use systems, especially found in East Asia and the Himalayas.

Multiple cropping/polyculture farming systems. These are remarkable combinations and/or plantings of numerous crop varieties with or without integration of agroforestry. They are characterized by ingenious micro-climate regulation, soil and water management schemes, and adaptive use of crops to deal with climate variability. These practices are heavily dependent on their rich resources of indigenous knowledge and the associated cultural heritage e.g. maize and root crop-based agroecosystems developed by the Aztecs (Chinampas in Mexico); waru-waru systems or suka collos in and around Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia (Incas in the Andes region).

Understory farming system. These are agricultural systems using combined or integrated forestry, orchard or other crop systems with both overstory canopy and understory environments. Farmers use understory crops to provide earlier returns, diversify crops/products and/or make efficient use of land and labor. These practices are common in the tropics, e.g. in taro-based or root cropping systems, planted along with other endemic plant varieties from local genetic resources. These are common in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and other Pacific small island developing countries.

Nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral systems

Nomadic pastoral systems, Maasai.

These are the rangeland/pastoral systems based on adaptive use of pasture, rangeland, water, salt and forest resources, through mobility and variations in herd composition in harsh non-equilibrium environments with high animal genetic diversity and outstanding cultural landscapes. These include highland, tropical and sub-tropical dryland and arctic systems such as Yak-based pastoral management in Ladakh and the high Tibetan plateau in India and China; highly extensive rangeland use in parts of Mongolia and Yemen; cattle and mixed animal based nomadic pastoral systems, such as of the Maasai in East Africa; reindeer-based management of tundra of the Saami and Nenets in the temperate forest areas of Scandinavia and Siberia. The landscapes formed by these systems often provide habitats for wild species including endangered species.

Ancient irrigation, soil and water management systems. These are the ingenious and finely tuned irrigation, soil and water management systems most common in drylands, with a high diversity of crops and animals best adapted to such environments: (i) the Qanat ancient underground water distribution systems allow specialized and diverse cropping systems in Iran, Afghanistan and other central Asian countries with associated home gardens and endemic blind fish species living in underground waterways; (ii) the oases of the Maghreb in deserts of North Africa and the Sahara; (iii) traditional valley bottom and wetland management such as the water management systems in Lake Chad, the Niger river basin and interior delta e.g. floating and flooded rice systems;and (iv) other ingenious irrigation systems in Bamileke region, Cameroon; of Dogon tribes in Mali and Diola tribes in Senegal; as well as the village tank system in Sri Lanka and India.

Oases, Maghreb.

Complex multi-layered home gardens. These agricultural systems feature complex multi-layered home gardens with wild and domesticated trees, shrubs and plants for multiple foods, medicines, ornamentals and other materials, possibly with integrated agro-forestry, swidden fields, huntinggathering or livestock, such as the home garden systems in China, India, the Caribbean, the Amazon (Kayapó) and Indonesia (e.g. East Kalimantan and Butitingui).

Below sea level systems. These agricultural systems feature soil and water management techniques for creating arable land through draining delta swamps. The systems function in a context of rising sea and river levels while continuously raising land levels, thereby providing a multifunctional use of land (for agriculture, recreation and tourism, nature conservation, culture conservation and urbanization) e.g. Polder or dyke systems in the Netherlands; Kuttanad wetlands in Kerala, India; floating gardens in Bangladesh and South Asia.

Tribal agricultural heritage systems. These systems feature the various tribal agricultural practices and techniques of managing soil, water and crop cultivars in sloping lands from upper to lower valleys using mixed and/or a combination of cropping systems and integrating indigenous knowledge systems e.g. Seethampheta in Andhra Pradesh, the Apatani rice fish culture, the Zabo system, Darjeeling system in the Himalayas, and many other systems in India.

High-value crop and spice systems. These systems feature management practices of ancient fields and high value crops and spices, devoted uniquely to specific crops or with crop rotation techniques and harvesting techniques that requires acquired handling skills and extraordinary finesse e.g. Saffron systems in Iran, Afghanistan and Kashmir, India.

Hunting-gathering systems. This features unique agricultural practices such as harvesting of wild rice in Chad and honey gathering by forest dwelling peoples in Central and East Africa.

There are numerous other agricultural heritage systems around the world meriting identification, assessment and dynamic conservation. One of the main tasks of GIAHS partnership initiative is this work in collaboration with local communities, national governments and other national and international institutions.

GIAHS pilot systems around the world

The GIAHS initiative has selected pilot systems located in several countries of the developing world. The values of such systems not only reside in the fact that they offer outstanding aesthetic beauty, are key in the maintenance of globally significant agricultural biodiversity, and include resilient ecosystems that harbour valuable cultural inheritance, but also have sustainably provisioned multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of poor and small farmers, local community members and indigenous peoples, well beyond their borders. Despite the fact that in most part s of the world, modernity has been characterized by a process s of cultural and economic homogenization, in many rural areas specific cultural groups remain linked to a given geographical and social context in which particular forms of traditional agriculture and gastronomic traditions thrive. It is precisely this persistence that makes for the selection of these areas and their rural communities a GIAHS site. The dynamic conservation of such sites and their cultural organization is the basis for a strategy of territorial development and socio-cultural revival. Overcoming poverty is not equivalent to resignation to loss of the cultural richness of rural communities. On the contrary, the foundation of regional development should be the existing natural and agro-biodiversity and the socio-cultural context that nurtures it.

Chiloe Agriculture System

Chiloé island, Chile

The Archipelago of Chiloé, a group of islands in southern Chile, is a land rich in mythology, with native forms of agriculture practiced for hundreds of years based on the cultivation of numerous local varieties of potatoes. Traditionally the indigenous communities and farmers of Chiloé cultivated about 800-1 000 native varieties of potatoes before the onset of agricultural modernization. The varieties that still exist at present are the result of a long domestication process, selection and conservation made by ancient Chilotes. The conservation of such rich genetic diversity provides a major social-economic service to the Chilotan people by improving their nutrition, welfare and resiliency, as many varieties are resistant to introduced pathogens and droughts which are increasingly affecting the region. Native varieties are highly adapted to the range of ecological conditions found in the region and are of key importance for subsistence production.

With more than 60% of the population still living in rural areas, Chilotan small farmers located in inland as well as coastal valleys are cultivating native and exotic potatoes, elephant garlic, wheat, oats and rye. Old apple varieties in small orchards with native vegetation are utilized to make cider. In addition many farmers preserve native forest areas from which they derive wood and other non-timber products. Others gather from the wild or grow a variety of medicinal plants. Most harvest for subsistence family use but surplus is sold in local markets in nearby towns or cities. Potatoes, sheep meat, and marine resources are the backbone of the food security of the Chilotan population. Rural women have traditionally carried out agrobiodiversity conservation activities in small plots on family vegetable gardens, comprising a key source of knowledge about on-farm seed conservation, cultivation and potato-based gastronomy in their respective communities.

Andean agriculture system

The Cuzco-Puno corridor, Peru

The Andes are a range of mountains including valleys, Puna and Páramos. These valleys are considered as one of the most heterogeneous ecological environments in the planet. Andean people have domesticated a suite of crops and animals. Of particular importance are the numerous tubers, of which the potato is the most prominent. Several hundreds of varieties have been domesticated by generations of Aymara and Quechua in the valleys of Cusco and Puno, of which more than 400 varieties are still grown today. The maintenance of this wide genetic base is adaptive since it reduces the threat of crop loss due to pests and pathogens specific to particular strains of the crop. Other tubers grown include oca, mashua, ullucu, arracacha, maca, achira and yacón. Farmers also grow some fruit trees, corn and chenopods.

Ascending the Andes range of mountains, a transect of different climates and plant communities, and a human landscape composed of terraces, irrigation works, patchworks of crop fields and settlements can be found. The impact of the complex Andean environment on human economy has resulted in vertical arrangements of settlements and agricultural systems. The pattern of verticality derives from climatic and biotic differences related to altitude and geographical location. The evolution of agrarian technology in the Central Andes has produced extensive knowledge about using the environment. This knowledge affected the division of the Andean environment into altitudinally arranged agroclimatic belts, each characterized by a specific field and crop rotation practices, terraces and irrigation systems, and the selection of many animals, crops, and crop varieties. The most important cultural adaptation to these environmental constraints has been the development of farming systems and technologies designed to yield an adequate diet with local resources while avoiding soil erosion. The highlands of Peru contain more than 600 000 hectares of terraces, mostly constructed during prehistoric times. These staircase farms, built up in steep mountain slopes with stonewalls, contributed vast amounts of food to the Incas.

They provided tillable land, controlled erosion, and protected crops during freezing nights. Many were irrigated with water carried at long distances through stone canals. Today, as in the distant past, the major crops grown on these terraces are native tubers, such as potatoes, oca and ulluco. The 350 kilometre transect of the GIAHS pilot site captures such environmental verticality and heterogeneity as it extends from the southern area of the Peruvian Andes and includes the environment around the sacred city of the Incas, Machu Picchu, (1 900 m), including the whole Vilcanota river watershed up to the divortium aquarium in the Raya (4 300 m), crossing to the northern part of the Peruvian high plateau to reach Lake Titicaca (3 800 m). In this transect, more than 300 native communities maintain most of the ancient traditional agricultural technologies, in spite of strong outside economic influences. A long list of cultural and agriculture treasures from the Inca civilization can be found in this GIAHS transect, and has been carefully conserved and improved over centuries to live in high altitudes (from 1 000 to 4 000 meters above sea level). One of the most amazing features of this agriculture heritage is the terracing system used to control land degradation. Terraces allow cultivation in steep slopes and at different altitudes. Andean peasants manage a diversity of crops and crop varieties which have been adapted to different altitudes and are grown in up to 20 plots in different ecological zones to spread risk across the mountain environment. A plot is seldom dominated by a single crop, and even a potato field has up to 10 different varieties. Crops are combined for different purposes.

Mashua and potato are grown together as protection against certain diseases. To prevent cattle damage, tarhui (lupine) is planted on the edge of maize fields. Maize, beans and pumpkin complement each other in maintaining soil fertility and growing space. In the high plateaus around Lake Titicaca, farmers used to dig trenches (called “sukakollos” or “waru-waru”) around their raised fields. These trenches were filled with water, modifying or regulating the microclimate and allowing for crop production in the midst of frosts. These ingenious platforms of soil surrounded by ditches filled with water are able to produce bumper crops, despite floods, droughts, and the killing frost common at altitudes of nearly 4 000 m. The revival of this ingenious system in the form of raised fields emerged on the high plains of the Peruvian Andes about 3 000 years ago. The combination of raised beds and canals has proven to have important temperature moderation effects, extending the growing season and leading to higher productivity on the Waru-Warus compared to chemically fertilize normal pampa soils. In the Huatta district, reconstructed raised fields produced impressive harvest, exhibiting a sustained potato yield of 8 to 14 tons per hectare per year (t/ha/yr). In Camjata, with the waru-waru system, the potato yields can reach up to 13 tons per hectare per year.

Ifugao Rice Terraces

Philippines

The ancient Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT) are the country’s only remaining highland mountain ecosystem (about 68 000 hectares) featuring ingenuity of the Ifugaos which has created a remarkable agricultural farming system and has retained the viability of a 2 000 year-old organic paddy farming. The continued existence and viability of the rice terraces is a manifestation of strong culture-nature connections, marvelous engineering systems, innovativeness and determined spirit of the Ifugaos to maximise use of mountainous lands for food production. In 1995, five terrace clusters in the Ifugao province were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites honouring the spectacular landscapes reflecting the harmony between rural society and the environment. The rice terraces are supported by indigenous knowledge management of muyong, a private forest that caps each terrace cluster. The muyong is managed through a collective effort and under traditional tribal practices. The communally managed forestry area on top of the terraces contains about 264 indigenous plant species, mostly endemic to the region. The terraces form unique clusters of microwatersheds and are part of the whole mountain ecology. They serve as a rainwater filtration system and are saturated with irrigation water all year round. A biorhythm technology, in which cultural activities are harmonized with the rhythm of climate and hydrology management, has enabled farmers to grow rice at over 1 000 meters. IRT paddy farming favours planting traditional rice varieties of high quality for food and rice wine production. Varieties of mudfish, snails, shrimps, and frogs (many of them endemic) are associated with the rice paddies. The muyong associated with the rice terrace paddies serve as biodiversity reservoirs (171 tree species, 10 varieties of climbing rattan, 45 medicinal plant species, and 20 plant species used as ethno-pesticides, about 41 bird species, 6 indigenous mammal species, including beneficial species of rats, and 2 endemic species of reptiles) and are fundamental to the agroecosystem.

Rice-Fish Culture

Qingtian county, China

In Asia fish farming in wet rice fields has a long history. Over time an ecological symbiosis has emerged in these traditional rice-fish agricultural systems. Fish provide fertilizer to rice, regulate micro-climatic conditions, softens the soil, displace water, and eat larvae and weeds in the flooded fields; rice provides shade and food for fish. Furthermore, multiple products and ecological services from the rice ecosystems benefit local farmers and the environment. Fish and rice provide high quality nutrients and an enhanced living standard for farmers. The rice-fish association reduces cost and labor, increases productive efficiency and reduces use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides for insect and weed control through agro-biological conservation and on field environmental protection. In the Longxian village of the Zhejiang province this system demonstrates an ingenious approach to generating ecological, economic and social benefits through integrated systems that perform essential ecological functions. About 20 native rice varieties - many threatened - grow in the rice paddies, interwoven in the landscape with home gardens, livestock, poultry; trees, field hedges; small plots featuring numerous native vegetables and fruits including lotus root, beans, taro, eggplant, Chinese plum (Prunus simoni) and mulberry; 6 native breeds of carp; 5 other species of fish, several amphibians and snails can also be found in the paddies. Seven species of wild vegetables are commonly collected along field borders where 62 forest species thrive with 21 species used as food as well as 53 species for medicinal and herbal purposes.

Hani Rice Terraces

China

Hani Rice Terraces are located in the Southeast part of the Yunnan Province. The Hani are the main minority group and have lived in the region for over 1 300 years. Their rice terraces are distributed along the South slopes of the Ailao Mountains covering an area of about 70 000 hectares. Hani villages are usually located on the mountainsides in a landscape with flourishing forests above and the Honghe River below. Hani Rice Terraces are rich in agricultural biodiversity and associated biodiversity. Rice planted in Hani terraced fields is extremely diverse even though it has been subjected to genetic erosion. Of the original 195 local rice varieties, today there are still about 48 varieties. Local varieties of rice include Hongjiaogu, Shuihongjiaogu, Dabaigu, Maxiangu, Mazhagu, Pizagu, Changmaogu, Shangu, Xianggu, Shuihuangnuo, Damaonuo, etc. To conserve rice diversity, Hani people are exchanging seed varieties with surrounding villages.

In addition to the diversity of rice in Hani terraced fields, other common types of plants and animals include a large variety of local aquatic flora and fauna such as fish, snail, eel, loach, shrimp, stone mussels, crab, as well as duckweed, lotus and other aquatic plants. Wild herbs like water celery, plantain, Houttuynia are grown on the ridges of terraced fields. Hani communities also raise ducks and culture a variety of fishes including common carp, silver carp, crucian carp, and other fish species within the rice terraces and also plant soybeans in the ridges between fields. The vertical distribution along the mountain slopes of the Forest – Village – Terrace – River landscapes constitutes a unique system of energy and material flows. Part of surface rainfall runoff percolates into the underground water system, while the balance of the runoff and springs flow through the forests, villages and terraces. The flowing water carries nutrients from the forest litter, village sewage and waste, and soil into the layers of horizontal terraced fields. These nutrients and sediment are trapped and filtered in the fields, hence improving soil fertility of the terrace fields. The spatial distribution of the different components of the Hani terrace system performs multiple ecological functions, including soil and water conservation, control of soil erosion, maintenance of system stability and water-purification.

The Hani people also invented two traditional methods of “fertilization of rice fields with hydropower”. The first fertilization method requires each village to dig a communal manure pond, in which livestock manure is gathered. During spring ploughing, water is released from the large pond and nutrient-rich water washes into the terraced fields. Nutrients are ploughed into the subsoil to provide long-lasting basic fertility. The second type of fertilization method uses June or July rains, which wash dung and humus from the mountain into ditches and diverts them into terraced fields to fertilize the flowering rice. These traditional methods of soil fertilization not only save energy and labour in the fertilization process but also make full use of the organic “garbage” in the village and the nutrients carried by water runoff and natural soil erosion. Management of ditches plays a very important role in terraced field irrigation. Water coming down from the hills has to go through ditches to reach the whole terrace. The purpose of digging, cleaning and maintaining ditches is to catch flows from mountain forests and spring water seeping from mountains to irrigate terraces. In addition, the ditches also deposit sediments before entering the terrace to avoid continuously elevating the terrace surface due to sediment deposition resulting in declining water-retention capacity. To enable every household reasonable access to water, the Hani invented a unique water allocation method with “water dividing wood”, “water dividing stone” and “watershed distribution”.

A wood or stone bar is placed at the junction of water diversion to lower ditches. The wood or stone is carved with different sizes of water outlets to divide and allocate a specific volume of water flow to lower ditches. The size of the water outlet for each lower ditch is decided according to the irrigation area of the ditch, the water flow in the upper ditch, and the historical order of irrigation priority. This water distribution method not only conserves water but also ensures irrigation of lower hill paddy, and has set a precedent for irrigation of mountainous regions.

Wannian traditional rice culture

China

The Wannian County is located in the Northeast of the Jiangxi Province and the lower reaches of the Lean River. It is under the jurisdiction of Shangrao City in Jiangxi. The Wannian has a long history, a splendid ancient civilization and is believed to be at the regions of origin of rice cultivation. Its wild rice ancestor is found in the neighbouring Dongxiang County. Wannian traditional rice was formerly called “Wuyuanzao” and is now commonly known as “Manggu”, cultivated in the Heqiao Village since the North and South Dynasty. Wannian varieties are unique traditional rice varieties as they only thrive in the Heqiao Village. The varieties require cold spring water and special soil conditions and climate that can be found in this Village. The traditional rice is of high nutritional value as it contains more protein than ordinary hybrid rice and is rich in micronutrients and vitamins. Rice culture is intimately related to local people’s daily life, expressed in their customs, food and language. As ancient but dynamic tradition, Wannian people have developed a set of experiences in rice seedling preparation and transplanting, field management, harvesting, storage and processing. Traditional rice is resistant to insects and adapted to poor soils, hence farmers do not need to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This contributes to environmental quality and biodiversity conservation.

Oases of the Maghreb

El Oued, Algeria and Gafsa, Tunisia

The oases of the Maghreb region are green islands flourishing in a constraining and harsh environment. They are home to a diversified and highly intensive and productive system, which has been developed over millennia. Sophisticated irrigation infrastructure constitute a crucial element of the oasis systems, supported through traditional local resource management institutions which ensure a fair water distribution. Dominated by the date palm, intertwined with trees and crops, these long-standing systems produce a surprising variety of fruits (pomegranates, figs, olives, apricots, peaches, apples, grapes, citrus) and vegetables, cereals, forages, medicinal and aromatic plants. In Algeria there are about 100 date varieties and 50 can be found in Gafsa, Tunisia. The palm groves offer shade and lower the ambient temperature, making it the best place to live in the Sahara and an important place for recreation. Agricultural products from the oasis provide an important source of nutrition and income for its inhabitants and for many it is their primary or secondary source of livelihood. The systems of production and irrigation and the culture of the oases vary between the different locations in relation to their environment. There are oases in the plains and mountains, as well as in littoral areas. With their rich diversity these oases systems constitute an agricultural and cultural heritage. In Algeria, social institutions such as the Aoumma represent the local community and are charged with the oversight, control, and maintenance of oasis resource systems. The Aoumma derives its legitimacy and authority from customary law and is dependant upon the council of local religious dignitaries- the Halqa of Azzabas- which is also the focus of social life and local norms. Agricultural products from the oasis provide an important source of nutrition and income for its inhabitants and for many it is their source of livelihood. Most of the agricultural products derived from the oasis are for family consumption and guarantee food security that is high in quality and quantity. In Tunisia, the oasis dwellers are descendents of indigenous Berbers and people from numerous civilizations that have invaded, migrated to and assimilated into the population over millennia. Since the beginning of the extraction of phosphate (at the end of the 19th century) there has been a significant influx of workers and families looking for work in phosphate mines from Libya and Algeria. The backbone of Oasis livelihood is the irrigated date palm culture with integration of other crops and livestock. In recent times other economic activities such as tourism and remittances from emigrated community emigrants have provided for other sources of income and investment. The traditional social water management system has been largely replaced by: an association of farmers for water management (Groupement d’Intéret Collectif: GIC for water), a co-operative of agricultural services, Omda (responsible for the smallest administrative unit), agricultural engineering services, and local farmer unions. As there is no integrated collaborative community approach to water management, access to the principal natural water sources and disputes between water users are beginning to be a problem. Also, due to the increased demand for drinking water of the city of Gafsa, the irrigation systems of the Gafsa oases are under increased stress.

The Maasai pastoral system

Kenya and Tanzania

The Maasai pastoral system in Tanzania occupies Northern areas bordering Kenya (from Loliondo to West Kilimanjaro) and extends Southward as far as parts of Manyara (Kiteto to Simanjiro), along the Great Rift Valley on semiarid and arid lands including parts of the Ngorongoro National park and the Serengeti Plains. The Maasai live in extended households and manage livestock herds to increase herd size (sheep and goats for market slaughter, and camels and cattle for wedding, rituals and insurance), produce milk (for young children), for wool (sheep) and for hide (goats). It is an old pastoral system and culture of over 1 000 years and it continues to strike a social and environmental balance in a fragile environment. The Maasai are trying to maintain their unique identity through the maintenance of socio cultural institutions, which are critical in regulating natural resource uses, maintaining grazing cycles and promoting conservation values. Maasai practices of rotational grazing and other natural resource management practices have contributed to creating the typical East African rangeland landscapes that provide such critical habitat for wildlife. In areas where traditional Maasai pastoralism is practiced, the synergies between their natural resource management practices and the prevalence of wildlife continue. However, this traditional pastoral system is under pressure, threatened by several factors including recent policy reforms, an increase in human and livestock population, socio-economic changes, and climatic changes. The livestock pasture and water are diminishing due to shrinkage of grazing areas, successive years of droughts, prolonged dry seasons and increasing stocks. The Engaresero village on the Western shores of Lake Natron has been chosen by the government of Tanzania to exemplify the Maasai pastoral system given its singularity, integrity, high diversity of habitats and biodiversity. The site also has major additional significance, because of the presence of Lake Natron and the volcano Oldonyo L’Engai, which have immense ecological, geological and cultural value. The community has demonstrated a strong resilience in facing threats to their systems, and has maintained associated social and cultural institutions, which ensure its sustainability under prevailing environmental conditions.

See also

• IK Notes on Indigenous Knowledge and Practices
• International Alliance Against Hunger
• Millennium Project
• Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
• Traditional Knowledge World Bank
• The Global Crop Diversity Trust
• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme
• Farmers’ Rights
• UNESCO best practices
• Traditional rainwater harvesting
• Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research

External links

• Official website: http://www.fao.org/nr/giahs/giahs-home/en/
• GIAHS Chiloé website: http://www.chiloepatrimonioagricola.cl/
• Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): extent, significance, and implications for development. Miguel A. Altieri, University of California, Berkeley; Parviz Koohafkan, FAO. PDF
• Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems -An examination of their context in existing multilateral instruments Professor Stuart R. Harrop.2005 PDF
• Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): An Eco-Cultural Landscape Perspective. P.S. Ramakrishnan, School of Environmental Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. PDF
• Apatani Wet Rice Cultivation: an example of a highly evolved traditional agroecosystem. P.S. Ramakrishnan School of Environmental Sciences. Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. PDF

Partners of GIAHS

• CBD -Secretariat (Convention on Biological Diversity)
• CGIAR - The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
• ICCROM (The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)
• IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development)
• IUCN (The World Conservation Union)
• UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification)
• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
• UNEP-Secretariat (United Nations Environment Programme)
• UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
• UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
• The World Bank

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