Traditional agricultural systems can sustain biodiversity and conserve genetic resources for food and agriculture, building resilence to climate change while respecting and promoting rural livelihoods and knowledge systems.

It was to identify, support and safeguard these systems that FAO launched the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme.

An event starting today in Batumi, Georgia, aims to kick-start the discussion on this programme in Europe and Central Asia and to facilitate GIAHS applications from countries throughout the region. Participants from eight countries – Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Spain and Tajikistan – will learn of the advantages of GIAHS recognition.