Sustainable tourism development of globally important agricultural heritage sites:a case study of "traditional rice-fish agriculture system"

Traditional rice-fish agricultural heritage site in Qingtian County, China, one of the pilot sites of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS）, is of great value in tourism development. This paper aims to explore how to realize sustainable tourism development in agricultural heritage site through identifying current problems in GIAHS site. and making constructive recommendations for coupled development of heritage preservation and economic development. Field survey was carried out and data was collected through field questionnaire surveys of tourists and residents in Longxian Village of Qingtian County, as well as interviews of residents with semi. structured questionnaires for their perceptions and attitudes to tourism development. The following results are got： （1） the tourism industry is still at its early state of Non, tale tourism （enjoy and experience authentic country life- style）, under very limited administrative management; （2） what attracts visitors most are delicious.fish and beautiful natural environment, but not agricultural heritage itself; （3） most tourists eome from adjacent areas and stay. only half day, many of whom pay their visits twice or more; （4） a few local residents take part in the activities of tourism industry, but in very limited manners even if they do. Current patterns of tourism development are casting negative impacts on agricultural heritage. Conservatton of agricultural heritage should be put in the first place for sustainable tourism development.Agricultural heritage, as a key attraction, should be taken as the focus for tourism development. The important thing is to change the present Nongjiale tourism into real heritage tourism, to establish a cooperative mechanism among different stakeholders. and to increase local residents＇ income through engaging in tourism industry.

From Traditional Agriculture to Landscape Agriculture——About the Aesthetics in the Construction of New Socialist Countryside

Characteristics of traditional agriculture were analyzed from the perspective of history and culture,by comparing modern agriculture and traditional culture,it was proposed that modern agriculture focuses more on landscape,the main contents and era features of landscape agriculture were elaborated as well as the significance of constructing new socialist countryside,and relevant suggestions were proposed for building new land-scape countryside.

Conservation of Traditional Rice Varieties in a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS):Rice-Fish Co-Culture

The traditional rice-fish farming system is selected as a ＂globally important agricultural heritage system＂ （GIAHS） by the Food and Agriculture Organization （FAO）,United Nations Development Programme （UNDP）,and Global Environment Facility （GEF）,etc.In Zhejiang Province of China,where the pilot site for this GIAHS farming system is located,we compared the use of traditional rice varieties in rice-fish co-culture and rice monoculture.Further,we determined how traditional rice varieties were performed in this rice-fish system.Only 19% of the farmers who practiced rice monoculture planted traditional varieties while 52% of farmers who practiced rice-fish co-culture planted traditional varieties.Traditional varieties represented 13% of the total land cultivated under rice in the rice-fish system but only 2% in the rice monoculture system.In the rice-fish system,yield was lower for traditional rice varieties than hybrid varieties but application of fertilizers and pesticides was also lower.In a field experiment in the rice-fish system without pesticides,rice planthopper numbers and sheath blight incidence were lower from three traditional varieties than one hybrid variety;yields were 8 to 32% lower from the traditional varieties than the hybrid.Our results showed that traditional rice varieties can be preserved through conserving GIAHS rice-fish co-culture.Our study also indicated that traditional rice varieties can survive in the rice-fish system because these varieties are helpful to the whole system and beneficial to the farmers.

Cultivating New Agricultural Operators to Promote the Transformation and Upgrading of Traditional Agriculture——A Case Study of Nanchong City

In order to provide reference for cultivating new agricultural operators to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional agriculture,the main practices,achievements and problems of cultivating new agricultural operators to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional agriculture in Nanchong City,Sichuan Province were analyzed firstly,and then some measures were proposed.

The Impacts of Climate Change on the TraditionalAgriculture of Ethnic Minority in China

Climate change is affecting the IPLCs (Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities) around the world, including ethnic minorities in China, especially from agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and gathering, which are their main source of livelihoods. At the same time, IPLCs have rich traditional knowledge related to climate and its disasters, especially in their livelihoods. This review work examines the research about traditional knowledge associated to livelihood in monitoring and adapting to changing climatic conditions in ethnic minorities in China. Authors reviewed the research papers and monographs on the traditional agricultural livelihood of ethnic minorities in China, and divided different agricultural types on the basis of literature review. At the same time, authors focused on reviewing the traditional knowledge formed by ethnic minorities in the agriculture, especially the traditional knowledge related to weather and climate information. In authors’ findings authors realized that ethnic minorities are the practitioners of traditional agricultural practices. Their observation and perception come from real life and may not be “scientific”, but they directly reflect the impact of climate change on local livelihoods and contain wisdom to adapt to climate change. Ethnic minorities not only observe and perceive climate change, but also actively adapt to the impact of climate change on traditional livelihoods. In the process of adaptation, traditional knowledge plays a key role. This paper highlights how traditional knowledge can improve understanding of the influence of climate change on livelihood, and provide ideas to develop an equitable and effective plan to adapt the climate change. For the IPLCs, compared with the externally driven adaption options, they are more willing to take the community-based plan, because such plans will enable them to apply their traditional knowledge according to the geographical location and environment of their areas, so that their actions to adapt to climate change will be more effective.

Ecological footprint analysis on the traditional rice-fish agricultural area:a case study of Qingtian County,Zhejiang Province,China

Qingtian County of Zhejiang Province, China has maintained the traditional rice-fish agriculture for about 2,000 years and formed exceptional cultural heritage based on this kind of production mode, so it was ed by FAO as a pilot site for the rice-fish agricultural heritage systems in 2005. This research has applied the indicators of ecological footprint and biocapacity to monitor the environmental conditions of Qingtian County, aiming to find the impact that the traditional agricultural production mode and the local inhabitants lifestyle have placed on the local environmental conditions as well as the role they have played in maintaining ecological balance, cultural inheritance and regional sustainable development. Results show that Qingtian County is characterized by a nearly breakeven total ecological balance, as opposed to Zhejiang Province, the world and other agricultural regions. However, compared with another rice-fish agricultural region, Congjiang County which enjoys a considerable ecological reserve, Qingtian County has consumed a greater amount of environmental resources. Specifically, about half of the ecological footprint of Qingtian County can be attributed to the cropland （50.8%） while the CO2 area only accounts for 11.2%, which is dramatically different from that of the modern industrialized regions. And a vast of percentage of energy is caused by the combustion of fuelwood which not only requires the land to absorb the CO2 emission it has generated but also occupies the forest where it has been chopped.

Study on Agricultural Intellectual Property Protection and High-Quality Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Ginseng

Agricultural intellectual property has the functions of carrying forward agricultural cultural heritage,encouraging agricultural scientific and technological innovation,cultivating the brand of agricultural products and so on. The protection and application of agricultural intellectual property rights can enhance the vitality,innovation and competitiveness of agricultural economy,and promote the strategy of high-quality agricultural development and rural revitalization. Ginseng is a traditional medicinal variety with superior characteristics in Northeast China,and it is one of the most famous " three treasures" in Northeast China. This paper introduces ginseng( Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.) and its medicinal value,analyzes the traditional knowledge,biological genetic resources,new plant varieties,patents,geographical indications,trademarks and other agricultural intellectual property resources of ginseng,studies the traditional Chinese medicine GAP certification and certification of " Three Agricultural Products" and the construction of the dominant area of agricultural product( Fusong ginseng) with Chinese characteristics,and explores the rural revitalization strategy and traditional Chinese medicine development strategy,ginseng agricultural intellectual property protection and high quality development strategy.

An Agent-Based Assessment of Land Use and Ecosystem Changes in Traditional Agricultural Landscape of Portugal

This paper presents an assessment of land use changes and their impacts on the ecosystem in the Montado, a traditional agricultural landscape of Portugal in response to global environmental change. The assessment uses an agent-based model (ABM) of the adaptive decisions of farmers to simulate the influence on future land use patterns of socio-economic attributes such as social relationships and farmer reliance on subsidies and biophysical constraints. The application and development of the ABM are supported empirically using three categories of input data: 1) farmer types based on a cluster analysis of socio-economic attributes;2) agricultural suitability based on regression analysis of historical land use maps and biophysical attributes;and 3) future trends in the economic and climatic environments based on the A1fi scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Model sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are carried out prior to the scenario analysis in order to verify the absence of systematic errors in the model structure. The results of the scenario analysis show that the area of Montado declines significantly by 2050, but it remains the dominant land use in the case study area, indicating some resilience to change. An important policy challenge arising from this assessment is how to encourage next generation of innovative farmers to conserve this traditional landscape for social and ecological values.

Understanding Changing in Traditional Agricultural Landscapes： Towards a Framework

Since the second half of the 20th century in Italy, following farming conversion or abandonment, many traditional agricultural systems and the connected landscapes along with them have disappeared. We discuss a conceptual framework to understand and describe changing in agricultural landscapes. According to us, the traditionality of the agricultural landscape is an expression of the local coevolution between the social project of the farmer and the constraints made by the natural system. The paper focuses on defining a spatial-temporal analytical model based on both the morphological recognition of different typologies of elements which contribute to the environmental landscape mosaic and the dynamic observation of the transformations of the mosaic itself. We identify the natural, social and economic driving forces involved in defining the agricultural space using a transdisciplinary approach so that ecological, agronomics and socio-economical information must be integrated as a basis for land use planning and management. The research approach and the methodology are applied to a couple of case studies.

Drivers of Change, Threats and Barriers to the Conservation of Biodiversity in Traditional Agricultural Systems

People and nature are working in tandem to reduce the integrity of traditional agricultural systems. The paper highlighted the drivers of change acting on traditional agricultural landscapes including the threats and barriers hindering biodiversity conservation. The drivers of change are： modem agriculture, tourism, education and outmigration and climate change. The threats are encroachment and land-use change, pollution, replacement of traditional varieties and erosion of indigenous knowledge systems and practices. The barriers to biodiversity conservation include the incapacity of farmers to respond to pressures affecting their traditional farming systems, absence of methodologies for integrating traditional and modem knowledge in biodiversity conservation and the multi-functionality of traditional agriculture not fully captured by the market. The conservation framework to guide stakeholders for in-situ management of biodiversity includes niche market development, revenue generation and cultural restoration. The study made use of data collected during the series of workshops conducted in 2005-2007 covering the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippines. Secondary data from other traditional agricultural systems were integrated to enrich the discussion and write-up of this paper.

Productivity status of traditional agrisilviculture system on northern and southern aspects in mid-hill situation of Garhwal Himalaya,India

The productivity of traditional agrisilviculture system(agricultural crops + trees) was investigated in the northern and southern aspects of mid-hill situation in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India during the 2004?2006.A total of 19 tree species were studied in both northern and southern aspects, out of which 17 tree species were selected in northern aspect and 12 tree species in southern aspect for phytosociological characteristic analysis of trees in agrisilvicultural system.The most dominant tree species are Grewia optiva, Celtis australis and Melia azedarach and successively grown under traditional agrisilviculture system.The results show that the annual productivity of all tree species was 3 775 kg·ha-1·a-1 in northern aspect(site-N) and 3 101 kg·ha-1·a-1 in southern aspect(site-S).G.optiva had the highest productivity in both site-N and site-S among the tree species, followed by M.azedarach, Quercus leucotrichophora and C.australis.The dominant agricultural crops were Eleusine coracana in summer cereals, Phaseolus vulgaris in summer pulses-oilseeds and Triticum aestivum in the winter season in the area.The average biological productivity of agricultural crops in northern aspect was about 16% higher than that in southern aspect under traditional agrisilviculture system.The sole agricultural crop productivity(without trees) in northern aspect was also higher than that in southern aspect.An obvious difference in annual productivity of trees and agriculture crops was observed between northern aspect and southern aspect.The overall productivity in traditional agrisilviculture system(crop + tree) was 24%(in northern aspect) and 21%(in southern aspect) higher than that in sole cropping system.

Productivity status of traditional agrisilviculture system on northern and southern aspects in mid-hill situation of Garhwal Himalaya, India

The productivity of traditional agrisilviculture system （agricultural crops ＋ trees） was investigated in the northern and south- ern aspects of mid-hill situation in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India during the 2004-2006. A total of 19 tree species were studied in both northern and southern aspects, out of which 17 tree species were selected in northern aspect and 12 tree species in southern aspect for phytosociological characteristic analysis of trees in agrisilvicultural system. The most dominant tree species are Grewia optiva, Celtis australis and Melia azedarach and successively grown under traditional agrisilviculture system. The results show that the annual produc- tivity of all tree species was 3 775 kg.ha-1.a^-1 in northern aspect （site-N） and 3 10! kg.ha^-1.a^-1 in southern aspect （site-S）. G. optiva had the highest productivity in both site-N and site-S among the tree species, followed by M. azedarach, Quercus leucotrichophora and C. australis. The dominant agricultural crops were Eleusine coracana in summer cereals, Phaseolus vulgaris in summer pulses-oilseeds and Triticum aestivum in the winter season in the area. The average biological productivity of agricultural crops in northern aspect was about 16% higher than that in southern aspect under traditional agrisilviculture system. The sole agricultural crop productivity （without trees） in northern aspect was also higher than that in southern aspect. An obvious difference in annual productivity of trees and agriculture crops was observed between northern aspect and southern aspect. The overall productivity in traditional agrisilviculture system （crop ＋ tree） was 24% （in northern aspect） and 21% （in southern aspect） higher than that in sole cropping system.

Expansion of traditional land-use and deforestation:a case study of an adat forest in the Kandilo Subwatershed,East Kalimantan,Indonesia

Deforestation issues are more problematic when indigenous(adat) communities,living within a forest,have lived there for many generations.These adat communities,who employ traditional land-use,are frequently accused of encroaching on the forest.To understand existing and future trends in the spatial patterns of the expansion of traditional land-use and deforestation,we conducted a case study in the Kandilo Subwatershed using mixed methods with image interpretation,spatial modelling and sociocultural surveys to examine the interrelationships between physical conditions,community characteristics and traditional land-use expansion.We investigated community characteristics through household interviews,communication with key informants,and discussions with focusgroups.By using an area production model,we were able to analyze the effect of improved farming systems,policy intervention and law enforcement on traditional land-use expansion and deforestation.Based on our examination of a 20-year period of traditional land-use activities in adat forests,the evidence indicated that the steeper the slope of the land and the farther the distance from the village,the lower the rate of deforestation.Our study found that customary law,regulating traditional land-use,played an important role in controlling deforestation and land degradation.We conclude that the integration of land allocation,improved farming practices and enforcement of customary law are effective measures to improve traditional land productivity while avoiding deforestation and land degradation.

Traditional Agrodiversity Management:A Case Study of Central Himalayan Village Ecosystem

Environmental, biological, socio-cultural and economic status variation existing in the Central Himalaya have led to the evolution of diverse and unique traditional agroecosystems, crop species and livestock, which facilitate the traditional mountain farming societies to sustain themselves. Indigenous agroecosystems are highly site specific and differ from place to place, as they have evolved along divergent lines. For maintenance of traditional agrodiversity management the farmers of the Central Himalaya have evolved various types of crop rotations in consonance with the varied environmental conditions and agronomic requirements. In irrigated fiat lands two crops are harvested in a year with negligible fallow period but in rainfed conditions if a cropping sequence is presumed to be starting after winter fallow phase then four major cropping seasons can be identified namely first kharif season （first crop season）, first rabi season （second crop season）, second kharif season （third crop season） and second rabi season （fourth crop season）. Highest crop diversity is present in kharif season in comparison to rabi season. Traditionally the fields are left fallow after harvest of the second kharif season crop. Important characteristics of agrodiversity management are the use of bullocks for draughtpower, human energy as labour, crop residues as animal feed and animal waste mixed with forest litter as organic input to restore soil fertility levels. Women provide most of the human labour except for ploughing and threshing grain. The present study deals with assessment of traditional agrodiversity management such as （i） crop diversity, （ii） realized yield under the traditional practices and （iii） assess the differences of realized yields under sole and mixed cropping systems. It indicated that crop rotation is an important feature of the Central Himalayan village ecosystem which helps to continue the diversity of species grown, as are the distribution of crops in the growing period and the management of soil fertility. The cropping diversity existing and the sequences practiced by the traditional farmers seems to have achieved high degree of specialization and thus even when the yield/biomass variations are about 6o%, the farmers continue to practice these sequences as they need to maintain diversity and synergistic relationships of crops in addition to manage the food and labour requirements for crop husbandry. Crop yields are generally higher in irrigated systems than rainfed systems and in sole cropping as compared with mixed cropping. However, gross biological and economic yields are higher in mixed cropping than sole cropping systems.

A study on the allocation of productive factors of Chinese agriculture

Chinese agriculture is undergoing a transformation process from traditional agriculture into modern agricultrue.This article discusses how land. labor, fertilizer, machinery etc. are used in agricultural production of different regions. reveals the influence of natural conditions and economic level on the utilization of modern agricultural factors. It proposes a system of allocation hoes of regional agricultural productive factors and points out the development stage and tendency of allocation of agricultural productive factors in different regions.

Soil chemical properties under modern and traditional farming systems at Khagrachari,Chittagong Hill Tracts,Bangladesh

Land degradation in Chittagong hill tracts has been taking place due to shrinkage of forest cover, policy weakness, population explosion, and inappropriate hill farming system. Modem farming system in the Chittagong hill tracts like Sloping Agricultural Land Technology （SALT） is practiced to provide a new strategy for developing lands for economic productivity and bio-diversity conservation through establishment of ecological community rather than traditional shifting cultivation which is no longer sustainable according to the carrying capacity of ecosystem of Chittagong hill tracts. This study is to find out changing trends of soil chemical properties of sites under modem and traditional farming systems at Khagrachari district of Chittagong hill tracts. The result of the research shows that Sloping Agricultural Land Technology has significantly higher capacity of production due to the presence of the highest percentage of organic carbon, organic matter, compared with shifting cultivated site. The study recommends that shifting cultivation may be changed into a relatively stable semi-permanent farming system through developing participatory integrated farming systems to establish stable production environment in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Traditional agroecological knowledge and practices:The drivers and opportunities for adaptation actions in the northern region of Ghana

Agroecological practices are promoted as a more proactive approach than conventional agriculture to achieving a collective global response to climate change and variability while building robust and resilient agricultural systems to meet food needs and protect the integrity of ecosystems.There is relatively limited evidence on the key traditional agroecological knowledge and practices adopted by smallholder farmers,the factors that influence smallholder farmers’decision to adopt these practices,and the opportunities it presents for building resilient agricultural systems.Using a multi-scale mixed method approach,we conducted key informant interviews(n=12),focus group discussions(n=5),and questionnaire surveys(N=220)to explore the traditional agroecological knowledge and practices,the influencing factors,and the opportunities smallholder farmers presented for achieving resilient agricultural systems.Our findings suggest that smallholder farmers employ a suite of traditional agroecological knowledge and practices to enhance food security,combat climate change,and build resilient agricultural systems.The most important traditional agroecological knowledge and practices in the study area comprise cultivating leguminous crops,mixed crop-livestock systems,and crop rotation,with Relative Importance Index(RII)values of 0.710,0.708,and 0.695,respectively.It is reported that the choice of these practices by smallholder farmers is influenced by their own farming experience,access to market,access to local resources,information,and expertise,and the perceived risk of climate change.Moreover,the results further show that improving household food security and nutrition,improving soil quality,control of pest and disease infestation,and support from NonGovernmental Organizations(NGOs)and local authorities are opportunities for smallholder farmers in adopting traditional agroecological knowledge and practices for achieving resilient agricultural systems.The findings call into question the need for stakeholders and policy-makers at all levels to develop capacity and increase the awareness of traditional agroecological knowledge and practices as mechanisms to ensure resilient agricultural systems for sustainable food security.

Characteristics and Value of Traditional Lotus Culture System in Guangchang,Jiangxi Province

Jiangxi Guangchang traditional lotus culture system was selected into the fourth batch of China's important agricultural cultural heritage in 2017.The system consists of three parts:lotus,lotus cultivation techniques and lotus culture.It has notable characteristics of ancient origin,regional distribution,system complexity,biodiversity,advanced technology and extensive influence,and has ten kinds of value,i.e.,edible value,medical value,economic value,social value,ecological value,cultural value,tourism value,popular science value,scientific research value and educational value.

Preliminary Understanding of ＂Agriculture is Permanent Petroleum of Sudan＂

＂Agriculture petroleum＂ theory was put forward by the Sudanese President, Mr. Bashir. To thoroughly understand his theory it is necessary to identify which countries＇ agriculture performed best in the world before and after the advent of petroleum. Reviews and international cooperation results conclude that the Chinese traditional agriculture was considered as one of the most sustainable agriculture in the world before petroleum and based on its experience of traditional agriculture updated with modem technology and equipment, China＇s modern agriculture achieves world famous accomplishment. Unlike in China, agriculture, especially conventional petroleum based agriculture causes problems all over the world. In contrast to petroleum, agriculture is a permanent industry, and if managed properly, it could bring sustainable prosperity to a country. Relying on unique natural resources, agriculture could bring Sudan permanent development and prosperity by learning from China＇s traditional agriculture experience and modern agriculture achievements. To introduce good and rapid agriculture development in Sudan, potentials and opportunities are analyzed, six suggestions are proposed： attracting foreign direct investment （FDI）, strengthening international cooperation, developing irrigated scale farming, paying high attention to planning, practicing the four combinations and changing views.

The Protection of Chinese Traditional Villages and Construction of Beautiful Countryside in the Wuling Mountain Area

Chinese traditional villages have the characteristics of both intangible and tangible cultural heritage,and are the largest cultural heritage left by farming civilization in China. Under the synchronous propulsion of new four modernizations and the coordinated development of urban and rural areas,the important issues we face are to protect the Chinese traditional villages,inherit the agricultural heritage,and develop the farming culture resources. There are 60 Chinese traditional villages in the Wuling Mountain area. This article introduces the Chinese traditional villages in the area,analyzes its Chinese traditional village protection and beautiful village construction,and puts forward corresponding recommendations.