Sustainable Management of Agricultural Traditional Systems : Guidelines for a Dynamic Conservation and Governance of Heritage Agriculture (Sustainable Development Goals Series)

In an era where traditional agricultural communities face unprecedented challenges, this book explores dynamic conservation and presents strategies for preserving and governing these invaluable systems. Highlighting Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), it integrates traditional knowledge with development and conservation efforts.

Aligning with SDG2: Zero Hunger, this book provides guidelines for supporting small-scale food producers and promoting sustainable, resilient agricultural practices. It emphasizes traditional knowledge and genetic diversity, promoting sustainable agriculture, enhancing food security, and improving nutrition globally. The book assesses heritage agroecosystems and suggests practical methodologies for local action plans. Case studies from four continents will reveal governance insights for preserving our agricultural heritage. Finally, the volume includes discussions on the sustainable management of heritage agroecosystems as nature-based solutions, insights into Indigenous knowledge and its resilience in addressing climate and food challenges, as well as step-by-step guides to developing and evaluating dynamic conservation strategies.

Essential for anyone passionate about sustaining traditional agricultural communities, this book blends theoretical insights and practical guidance, pointing the way for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient practices that maintain our rich agricultural heritage.

Chapter 1. Introduction: Why Dynamic Conservation Matters.- Part I: Basic Concepts.- Chapter 2. Dynamic Conservation of Traditional Agroecosystems.- Chapter 3. Introducing the GIAHS Program: An Interdisciplinary Perspective.- Chapter 4. The Role of Commons in Agricultural Heritage Systems.- Chapter 5. Our Future Is in Our Past: Traditional Farming System.- Chapter 6. Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems in the Context of Other Global Systems for the Preservation of Agricultural Heritage.- Part II: Methods.- Chapter 7. Geographic Information Systems Applied to GIAHS: Concepts, Tools, and Open Data.- Chapter 8. Dynamic Conservation and Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework.- Chapter 9. Co-Designing Conservation Pathways: Participatory Approaches for the Future of GIAHS. The Case of Horta de València.- Chapter 10. Exploring Resilience in Agricultural Heritage Systems: A GIAHS Perspective.- Chapter 11. Rethinking GIAHS Monitoring: Insights From China s Practice.- Chapter 12. Beyond GIAHS Recognition: Labeling and Branding Strategies as Tools for Sustainable Heritage and Agri-Food Systems Resilience.- Chapter 13. Nature-Based Solutions and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems in Sustainable Tourism Research: A Bibliometric Approach.- Part III: Commented Case Studies.- Chapter 14. Gender Challenges in the Governance of the Chiloé GIAHS Site.- Chapter 15. How Industrial Integration Development (Iid) Improves Smallholder Farmers Livelihood and Food Security of GIAHS Sites in China?.- Chapter 16. The Sustainable Management and Efficient Operation of the Jeju Haenyeo Fishery Heritage System.- Chapter 17. Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) Region: A Biodiversity Perspective.- Chapter 18. Dynamic Conservation of Maasai Pastoral Systems in Kenya Under the GIAHS Framework: Resilience in the Face of Climate Change.- Chapter 19. The Mountains of León GIAHS Site: A Model of Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Sustainability.- Chapter 20. Traditional Hay Milk Farming in the Austrian Alpine Range.

José-María García-Alvarez-Coque is a Professor of Applied Economics at the Universitat Politècnica de València-UPV, Spain. His research spans from conducting global-scale policy assessments to the local analysis of small-scale farmers socio-economic characteristics, and practices of collective farming. He is also interested in urban and peri-urban food systems. Between 2022 and 2025, he has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) Program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). García-Alvarez-Coque coordinated a project that led to the recognition of the irrigation system of La Huerta de Valencia as a GIAHS.

Nobuyuki Yagi is a Professor at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo, Japan, and a Member of the Science Council of Japan. His research focuses on the socio-economic aspects of small-scale fishery and marketing analysis on food products. He was an expert member of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) from 2014 to 2018. Yagi also served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) Program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from 2019 to 2023, and as Chair of the GIAHS Scientific Advisory Group in 2022.

Clelia Maria Puzzo has occupied different positions at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), acting between 2014 and 2024 as a Program Specialist at the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS), Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment. She holds an MSc in International Relations focusing on rural development from the University of Rome La Sapienza , Italy.

Norat Roig-Tierno is a Professor of Applied Economics at the Universitat Polit&