Next Article in Journal
A Reflection on the Implementation of a Waterfront Greenway from a Social–Ecological Perspective: A Case Study of Huangyan-Taizhou in China
Previous Article in Journal
Spatial Suitability Index for Sustainable Urban Development in Desert Hinterland Using a Geographical-Information-System-Based Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Heritage Conservation and Valorization—A Comparative Analysis of the Chinese Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and of the Italian Register of Historical Rural Landscapes

by
Francesco Piras
1,
Yulian Pan
2,3,
Antonio Santoro
1,*,
Beatrice Fiore
1,
Qingwen Min
4,5,6,
Xuan Guo
4,5 and
Mauro Agnoletti
1
1
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Florence, Italy
2
College of Horticulture & Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
3
Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture in Central China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China
4
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
5
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
6
College of Tourism, Beijing Union University, Beijing 100101, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Land 2024, 13(7), 988; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070988 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 14 May 2024 / Revised: 2 July 2024 / Accepted: 2 July 2024 / Published: 4 July 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues)

Abstract

Agricultural heritage systems are receiving increasing attention due to their multifunctional role, their capability to provide ecosystem services, and for representing sustainable development models for rural areas. At the international level, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations launched in 2002 the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Program to identify and safeguard traditional agro-silvo-pastoral systems that are the result of the adaptation of rural communities to the surrounding environments. Following this approach, similar national programs have been developed, among which the Italian National Register of Historical Rural Landscapes and the China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS) initiative stand out. This research compares the China-NIAHS initiative and the Italian Register of Historical Rural Landscapes, highlighting similarities and differences and identifying strengths and weaknesses, to contribute to the development of proper tools for the conservation and valorization of agricultural heritage systems. Both initiatives were established in 2012 and share similar aims and inscription criteria, including historical and current significance, knowledge system and social structure, economic and productive framework, and causes of vulnerability. The main differences are related to the delimitation of the boundaries of the proposed sites and to the inscription process; in addition, while for the Italian National Register spatial analyses of land-use changes and landscape structure are mandatory according to a precise methodology, for the China-NIAHS no specific landscape analyses are required. The main critical issues are the lack of public participation and the lack of a monitoring plan after the inscription. The absence of monitoring is also the main vulnerability of the FAO GIAHS Programme. This research can offer important information for different stakeholders at the international, national, and local levels dealing with agricultural heritage conservation and valorization. In particular, it highlights the need of developing a multidisciplinary monitoring system with a standard methodology based on different indicators that can contribute to maximizing the impact of these initiatives. This research also provides useful information for the countries that are interested in developing a national initiative for agricultural heritage systems’ identification and valorization/conservation or for countries that intend to improve their national programs.
Keywords: agricultural heritage systems; GIAHS; Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems; historical landscape; rural landscape; traditional ecological knowledge; China; Italy agricultural heritage systems; GIAHS; Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems; historical landscape; rural landscape; traditional ecological knowledge; China; Italy

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Piras, F.; Pan, Y.; Santoro, A.; Fiore, B.; Min, Q.; Guo, X.; Agnoletti, M. Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Heritage Conservation and Valorization—A Comparative Analysis of the Chinese Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and of the Italian Register of Historical Rural Landscapes. Land 2024, 13, 988. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070988

AMA Style

Piras F, Pan Y, Santoro A, Fiore B, Min Q, Guo X, Agnoletti M. Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Heritage Conservation and Valorization—A Comparative Analysis of the Chinese Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and of the Italian Register of Historical Rural Landscapes. Land. 2024; 13(7):988. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070988

Chicago/Turabian Style

Piras, Francesco, Yulian Pan, Antonio Santoro, Beatrice Fiore, Qingwen Min, Xuan Guo, and Mauro Agnoletti. 2024. "Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Heritage Conservation and Valorization—A Comparative Analysis of the Chinese Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and of the Italian Register of Historical Rural Landscapes" Land 13, no. 7: 988. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070988

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop