Sustainable Management of Globally Sustainable Management of Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage

Systems (GIAHS)Systems (GIAHS)

PARVIZ KOOHAFKAN,

GIAHS: Heritage for the futureGIAHS: Heritage for the future

Integrated Agricultural, Forestry, Livestock and Fishery systems Result of co-adaptation and co-evolution of plants, animals, humans and landscape under specific environmental circumstances Managed through highly adapted social and cultural practices and institutions Provide food and livelihood security and social, cultural and ecosystem services Important at local, national and global levels They are under threat

Definition :Remarkable Land Use Systems and landscapes which are rich in

biological diversity evolving from the ingenious and dynamic adaptation of a community/population to its environment and the needs and aspirations for sustainable development (FAO, 2002)

GIAHS are important for their contribution to:

•Food security, health and Food security, health and nutrition of many poor, nutrition of many poor, helpless and isolated peoplehelpless and isolated people•Human kind and its Human kind and its Agri-”cultural” diversityAgri-”cultural” diversity•Biodiversity and genetic Biodiversity and genetic resourcesresources•Agro-ecosystem and Agro-ecosystem and landscape diversitylandscape diversity•Ecosystem services through Ecosystem services through functional diversityfunctional diversity•Products and services Products and services diversitydiversity•Collective and individual Collective and individual Knowledge systemsKnowledge systems•Resilience and adaptive Resilience and adaptive capacity to changescapacity to changes

THEY ARE UNDER THREAT BCAUSE OF: • Inappropriate policy, legal and incentive environments• Neglect of diversified systems and local knowledge• Low priority given to in situ conservation• Low community involvement in decision making • Population pressure and cultural change

Examples:• Rice based traditional farming systems• Maize and root crop based agro-ecosystems • Taro based systems • Pastoral transhumant and nomadic systems • Ingenious irrigation and soil and water management systems of drylands (oasis and qanat)• Multi-layered home gardens and agro-forestry system

NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF GIAHS EXISTS ACROSS THE WORLD

Japan Philippines

Indonesia Madagascar

Peru

The overall objective of the GIAHS Partnership isto establish the basis for the global and national recognition, dynamic conservation and sustainable management of agricultural heritage systems and their associated biodiversity, knowledge systems and cultures

HOW ?

HOW ?At Global levelby identification and selection/recognition and creation of World Agricultural Heritage category

At National levelby capacity building in policy, regulatory and incentive mechanisms to safeguard these outstanding systems and use them as sustainability bench mark systems At Local Levelby empowerment of local communities and technical assistance for sustainable resource management, promoting traditional knowledge and enhancing viability of these systems

Www.Fao.Org/landandwater/giahswww.fao.org/biodiversity

Partners

• GOVERNMENTS, INDIGENOUS NETWORKSNGOS AND PRIVATE SECTOR

• FAO, UNDP, GEF, UNEP, IFAD, UNESCO, ICCROM

• IUCN, IPGRI and ISNAR (& other CGIAR), UNU/PLEC, GTZ, COMPAS; ILEIA; IAC

FAO-Contact: Parviz.Koohafkan@fao.org & David.Boerma@fao.org

GIAHS is not about the GIAHS is not about the past but the futurepast but the future

GIAHS IS BASED ON THE FIVE GIAHS IS BASED ON THE FIVE ASSETS OF RURAL SYSTEMSASSETS OF RURAL SYSTEMS

Financial Capital:money, savings

Natural Capital:nature’s goods and services

(waste assimilation, pollination, storm protection, water supply,

leisure, wildlife)

Social Capital: cohesiveness of people

and societies - trust, reciprocity, rules and norms,

networks and institutions

Physical Capital:infrastructure

Human Capital:the status of individuals - health, skills, knowledge

Farm, Livelihood

or Community

System

With access to and

stocks of:

Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Physical capital

Economic capital

Renewable natural capital

Contextual factors:

agro-ecological

climatic cultural

economic legal

political social

Shaped by: external

institutions and policies

Depletion of:

Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Social capital:

vertical and horizontal

participatory processes Knowledge

and technologie

s

Non-

renewable inputs

Food and other marketed produce

Finance: income, credit, grants

Accumulation of: Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Assets-based model of agricultural systems

Positive Externalities

Negative Externalities

Farm, Livelihood or Community

System

With access to and stocks of:

Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Physical capital Financial capital

Renewable natural capital

Contextual

factors: agro-

ecological climatic cultural

economic legal

political social

Shaped by: external

institutions and policies

Depletion of: Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Social capital: vertical and horizontal

participatory processes

New skills and

technologies

Non-renewable inputs

Food and other marketed produce

Finance: income, credit,

grants

Accumulation of: Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Assets-based model of agricultural systems – flows and outcomes in sustainable systems

Positive Externalitie

s

Negative Externalitie

s

Farm, Livelihood or Community

System

With access to and stocks of:

Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Physical capital Financial capital

Renewable natural capital

Contextual

factors: agro-

ecological climatic cultural

economic legal

political social

Shaped by: external

institutions and policies

Depletion of: Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Social capital: vertical and horizontal

participatory processes

knowledge and

technologies

Non-renewable inputs

Food and other marketed produce

Finance: income, credit,

grants

Accumulation of: Natural capital Human capital Social capital

Assets-based model of agricultural systems – flows and outcomes in industrial agriculture systems

Positive Externalities

Negative Externalities

•Provide best-farmer practices for dissemination to other farmers and areas•Provide detailed local knowledge on productive resources and environment (soils, rainfall conditions, etc)• Provide locally adapted varieties•Provide criteria for technology development (local goals and priorities, gender preferences, etc)•Provide basis for testing new technologies and their goodness-of-fit to local systems and circumstances.•Provide leads for identifying other opportunities for technology development

GIAHS APPROACH

GIAHS DEVELOPMENT GIAHS DEVELOPMENT GOALS:GOALS: Improving understanding of agriculture systems in their Improving understanding of agriculture systems in their

environmental, socio-economic policy and cultural dimensions environmental, socio-economic policy and cultural dimensions

Generating increased recognition of the global significance of Generating increased recognition of the global significance of agricultural systemsagricultural systems

Building the capacity of national and local institutions and Building the capacity of national and local institutions and providing support to promote dynamic conservation and sustained providing support to promote dynamic conservation and sustained viabilityviability

Conservation and sustainable use and, rehabilitation of Conservation and sustainable use and, rehabilitation of agricultural biodiversity and genetic patrimony, ecosystem agricultural biodiversity and genetic patrimony, ecosystem services and landscape diversityservices and landscape diversity

Recognition and safeguarding and of the resilience provided by Recognition and safeguarding and of the resilience provided by the combination of knowledge systems and social organisationthe combination of knowledge systems and social organisation

Mitigating threats of degradation and root causes of dysfunction Mitigating threats of degradation and root causes of dysfunction and enhancing environmental and socio-economic benefits at local and enhancing environmental and socio-economic benefits at local and global levels and;and global levels and;

Adding economic, environmental and cultural value to products, Adding economic, environmental and cultural value to products, artefacts and knowledge systems of GIAHS by supportive policies artefacts and knowledge systems of GIAHS by supportive policies and incentives for their sustainabilityand incentives for their sustainability

What are the best options for the What are the best options for the poorest?poorest?

Which work best for the poorestWhich work best for the poorest great success in past… but still 790 million great success in past… but still 790 million

people are food poorpeople are food poor

Key questions:Key questions:– to what extent can farmers improve food to what extent can farmers improve food

production with low-cost and locally-production with low-cost and locally-available technologies and inputs?available technologies and inputs?

– What impacts do these methods have on What impacts do these methods have on environmental goods and services, and environmental goods and services, and the livelihoods of people relying on the livelihoods of people relying on them?them?

GIAHS and POVERTY REDUCTION:GIAHS and POVERTY REDUCTION:

Biodiversity can be seen a a “life insurance policy for life itself” - Something specially needed in this time of fast-paced global change.

Thank you