Today there is widespread awareness of the food challenges posed
by a growing global population and exacerbated by ecological
problems resulting from the industrialization of the world’s
food system and the changing climate. But academics and
policymakers are increasingly finding hope in local knowledge,
looking to ingenious agricultural systems that reflect a
profound relationship with nature and have played a role in the
evolution of humankind. For over a decade, one particular
initiative has been building international will and capacity
around the dynamic conservation and adaptive management of
agricultural biodiversity and traditional knowledge systems
throughout the world. Globally Important Agricultural Heritage
Systems (GIAHS) is an initiative of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that aims to boost food
and livelihood security and agri-“cultural” survival. Since
GIAHS was launched as a Global Environment Facility project in
2002, eight sites were designated as GIAHS, inc