Two new sites are added to the World Agricultural Heritage List

Ginseng cultivation with a system based on a symbiotic relationship between nature and farming techniques of 1,500 years ago (FAO photo)

Traditional culture Ginseng in the Republic of Korea and olive groves in the Umbria region of Italy have been included in the list of Global Systems of World Heritage Importance (GIAHS), managed by FAO.

Both sites were added at a meeting of the GIAHS Scientific Advisory Group in Rome that took place this week (2-4 July). This is the first time that one site in Italy is designated and the fourth in the Republic of Korea

The traditional farming system of Geumsan – Chungcheong del Sur province – has been recognized as being based on a relationship symbiotic between nature and Farmers use a rotation system of 15 to 20 years in which the land is left fallow or used for other crops after harvest. In this way, the "energy" of the earth is restored. The surrounding forests and rivers contribute to the control of the local microclimate and the shading structures – built with natural materials – help to reproduce the conditions that allow the development of wild ginseng.

"It's not just about the past, it's about the future," said Yoshihide Endo, who coordinates FAO's GIAHS program, "Becoming a GIAHS site," he added, "encourages conservation. from a long tradition of agricultural practices, but also recognizes the benefits for future generations of conserving these sustainable systems, promotes the exchange of knowledge and potential of agrotourism and encourages young people to s & # 39; 39; involve in agriculture. "

Olive groves in the hills of Umbria

Hills between the Italian cities of Assisi and Spoleto (Assisi, Spello, Foligno, Trevi, Campello Clitunno sull and Spoleto), where olives are grown since the Etruscan era, are today one of the main areas of olive production in Umbria and in Italy. Italy. The area has been designated by the ingenious way in which natural resources and human needs have been combined to create livelihoods and mutually sustainable ecosystems.

Even today, olive trees are cultivated with traditional knowledge and practices. including the use of different types of terraces, farming techniques and genetic varieties supported by local communities for centuries. This area also offers a valuable landscape of olive trees fruit of the centuries-old interaction of farmers with nature.

Keeping the Heritage alive

The SIPAM inscription highlights the authentic way that rural communities have maintained their cultures for generations in harmony with nature, to create ways to subsistence and mutually sustainable ecosystems. This process has often resulted in landscapes of remarkable beauty.

The selection criteria of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) include that sites are of global interest, have a public good value in terms of support for food security and livelihoods, with their agricultural biodiversity, knowledge systems, adapted technologies and cultural values, and exceptional landscapes.

SIPAMs can help conserve valuable site badets, while increasing demand and prices for agricultural products, while promoting tourism and job creation.

The two new additions increase the total number of sites on the GIAHS list to 52 in 21 countries.

Other notable landscapes already recognized include Hani's rice terraces in Chi na, the Mbadai pastoral system in Kenya and Tanzania, the ghout system of oases in Algeria, the production of wasabi in Japan, the Salt exploitation in the Salinas de Añana in Spain, the agrosilvopastoral system in the region of Barroso, Portugal, and the cultivation of Chinampas in Mexico City, heir to the oral transmission of traditional agricultural techniques dating back to the Aztec civilization.

Swisslatin / FAO news (06.07.2018)