Biodiversity constitutes an essential element in our global ecosystems and provides the foundation for agricultural practices and food production. It is essential to our well-being and food security, but it is often threatened by our activities. In some places, however, farmers have learned to work in harmony with the environment and use knowledge passed down over centuries to implement sustainable practices and protect the biodiversity in their surrounding ecosystems. These farmers and rural communities have envisaged and implemented ingenious ways to conserve, preserve and sustainably use biodiversity while safeguarding their livelihoods and the unique landscapes in which they live.

Through the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme, FAO helps preserve the agricultural heritage that safeguards the biodiversity essential to our environment while providing livelihoods for rural communities.

Here are just four examples of GIAHS sites that are helping to conserve and preserve biodiversity: