The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has recognized two Satoyama areas in Japan – located in the Niigata Prefecture and the Ishikawa Prefecture – as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites.
30 June 2011: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) recently recognized two Satoyama areas in Japan as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites. The GIAHS initiative aims to safeguard and support ecologically valuable, traditional farming systems and agricultural practices that conserve biodiversity and the natural landscape.
The sites were recognized at the International Forum on GIAHS, held in Beijing, China, on 11 June 2011. The recognized Satoyama sites, which promote the sustainable management of forests through local agricultural communities, are located in the Niigata Prefecture and the Ishikawa Prefecture. In addition to the sites in Japan, eight farming systems, including “Rice-Fish Agriculture” in China, “Ifugao Rice Terraces” in the Philippines, and “Andean Agriculture” of Peru, have been designated as GIAHS sites.
The UN University Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP), working with the UNU Institute of Advanced Studies and the Hokuriku Regional Agricultural Administration Office of the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, gathered the data and information required to recommend the Satoyama sites as GIAHS candidates. [UNU News]