Problems and Countermeasures for the Protection of Agricultural Heritage in China

With the rapid development of modern agriculture,China has increasingly attached importance to the protection and development of agricultural cultural heritage,but it has encountered severe challenges in reality.By analyzing the connotation and current situation of agricultural cultural heritage,to address the issues faced by China,such as imbalanced theoretical and practical development,difficulty in grasping the boundaries of protection and development,inadequate research and management mechanisms,large funding gaps,lack of talent,and insufficient international influence,targeted solutions are proposed based on relevant information and literature.This aims to strengthen the protection,activation,and inheritance of agricultural cultural heritage.

Agricultural Heritage System应是“农业遗产系统”而不是“农业文化遗产”

联合国粮农组织(UNFAO)的“Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System”(全球重要农业遗产系统,简称GIAHS)项目的核心是“Agricultural Heritage System”(农业遗产系统)。中国政府主管部门与主要学术支持机构却将它译为“农业文化遗产”。这一错译的错误有三:(1)“Agricultural Heritage System”从字面上不可能译为“农业文化遗产”;(2)由世界遗产委员会的文化遗产顾问机构“国际古迹遗产保护理事会”等制定的文化遗产类型中,只有“农业遗产”而无“农业文化遗产”;(3)最重要的是,将“农业遗产系统”改为“农业文化遗产”完全抹杀了GIAHS的特点与特殊保护意义。

Research on the Coupling between Agricultural Heritage and Tourism Industry: A Case Study of Jasmine and Tea Culture in Fuzhou

The integration of agricultural heritage and tourism industry contributes significantly to regional heritage protection,rural revitalization,and cultural inheritance.Based on the coupling coordination degree model,a quantitative research was conducted to study the integration of agricultural heritage in terms of the jasmine and tea culture system in Fuzhou with the local tourism industry.The results showed that both the development of Fuzhou's jasmine and tourism industries have advanced significantly and are currently leading in the country.However,they are not developing at the same pace.The results also showed that the coordination degree between Fuzhou5s jasmine and tourism industries have increased in recent years,with deepened mutual effects and improved coordination.Moreover,the coupling coordination degree has been rising over the past 13 years,with the coupling coordination level transforming from''extreme disorder''to"quality coordination,demonstrating a slow integration progress of Fuzhou's jasmine with the tourism industry at the early stage,but a sound development momentum at the later stage.

Protection and development of agricultural heritage from the perspective of stakeholders

Based on the stakeholder theory,field interviews and surveys were carried out among 332 stakeholders of Shaoxing ancient Torreya grandis groups,including local government,tourists,tourism enterprises,local residents and heritage inheritors.This paper aims to analyze the main demands of various stakeholders,and the cognitive and interest demands,by means of SPSS23,in the process of agricultural cultural heritage protection and tourism development.It is believed that the local resources endowment is favorable,but the tourism development and the protection of agricultural cultural heritage are in a state of separation,or even opposition.Therefore,the corresponding development countermeasures should be put forward from the common interest appeal of the five core interest groups.

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)of China:the challenge of complexity in research

The challenge of researching Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)as complex systems forms the subject matter of this study.Complex adaptive systems are those that combine natural ecological processes with human interactions to produce a mutually supportive agro-ecological system.In China,these highly varied systems have the added dimension of long historical time,in that they have evolved over many centuries and thus add a historical dimension to the natural and human dimensions of complexity.In preparing research on GIAHS,it is clear that seeing GIAHS sites as whole systems is an essential starting and ending point.Examining the adaptive capacity of a GIAHS with its multiple scales and complex interdependencies is a major challenge for researchers accustomed to specialized disciplinary thinking.A GIAHS represents a mature agro-ecological system with human agency as a central component that has been honed over many centuries,and has already adapted to many perturbations and changes.The beauty of the GIAHS is in the integration of custom,knowledge,and practice,and it should be studied for its"wholeness"as well as for its resilience and capacity for"self organization."The agro-ecological approach opens the possibility of researching a system as a whole and of taking its complexity seriously.This study reviews the essential features of the GIAHS as a complex adaptive system where uncertainty is normal and surprise is welcome and,in a case study of Qingtian rice–fish culture system,focuses on new perturbations,namely loss of young people and the introduction of tourism.

Study on the adaptability of traditional architecture in agricultural heritage sites after tourism intervention—a case study of Huzhou Digang Food Street in China

Traditional architecture in agricultural heritage sites(AHSs)embodies the livelihood of local communities and residents,which is an important part of the AHS.However,with the intervention of tourism,some of the traditional architecture in AHSs has gradually transformed into simple use for tourism,without refecting the cultural connotations of agricultural heritage systems,as well as the farming wisdom of the AHS.This paper takes Digang Food Street in Huzhou,China as an example,which is in the core protection area of the Huzhou mulberry-dyke and fsh-pond system,combining comparative analysis and geographical system analysis to explore the adaptive transformation in decoration,structure,spatial layout and functional form of buildings after the development of the tourism industry.The dynamic relationship among traditional architecture,sustainable development of tourism and conservation of agriculture heritage is also analysed,expecting to provide some experience and reference for the conservation of other AHSs.

The Agricultural Heritage Value of the Polder System in Gaochun,Nanjing

Polder is a unique form of reclaimed farmland steeped in human history of long-term adaptation to nature.It embodies traditional agricultural technologies,water conservancy technologies and the culture of the agricultural society,providing great value in terms of agricultural heritage.The polder system in Gaochun,Nanjing was born out of the exploitation and use of the lakeside intertidal zone and is a typical example of Jianghuai polders in the Yangtze River delta region.However,because of neglect of its heritage value,the Gaochun polder system is facing the impact of farmland modernisation,and it is urgent to affirm its value and implement dynamic protection.This research explores the historical development and spatial features of the Gaochun polder system,and evaluates its heritage value within the framework of GIAHS(Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems)from aspects of(1)food and livelihood security;(2)agro-biodiversity;(3)local and traditional knowledge systems;4)cultures,value systems and social organisations;and 5)landscapes features.Based on our recognition of the agricultural heritage value of the Gaochun polder system,we put forward suggestions for its dynamic conservation and adaptive management while maintaining its productive functions.

Protection and Development of Traditional Villages Rich in Agricultural Cultural Heritage Resources:A Case Study of Nihegou Village in Jiaxian County

Firstly,the composition and value of heritage in Nihegou Village having the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS) were analyzed,and then dilemmas,challenges and opportunities for the protection and development of the village were studied.Finally,ways of sustainable development of the vil age were discussed.

Regional landscape transformation and sustainability of the rural homegarden agroforestry system in the Chengdu Plain,China

Traditional rural homegarden agroforestry system in the Chengdu Plain of China,called“Linpan”in Chinese,integrates the ecological functions of the landscape with human production activities.Studying the driving mechanisms of rural landscape changes in the Chengdu Plain is of great significance from stakeholders’perspective.Taking the Pidu Linpan Farming System(PLFS)in the suburban area of Chengdu(designated as one of China-Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems in 2020)as a case,this study combined remote sensing image analysis,oral history interviews,and focus group interviews to elucidate the driving forces of landscape changes in the PLFS.The results show that tourism development,traffic accessibility,economic demand,and agricultural heritage protection measure are the main driving forces promoting the stability and maintenance of the traditional homegardens.In contrast,population ageing,land circulation,centralized residence,climate change,and living and recreational need are the forces leading to adverse changes in the traditional homegardens.In addition,these driving forces have led to the gradual abandonment of traditional agricultural activities and critical issues related to rural landscape planning and management.The current research indicates that infrastructure construction and increased traditional agricultural income are considered as the best practices of local stakeholders,promoting the development of the protected homegardens of heritage sites and tourist destinations.Finally,we put forward some suggestions to improve and maintain the traditional rural landscape:(1)establishing a benefit-sharing mechanism;(2)establishing a training system with traditional technology and culture;(3)strengthening infrastructure construction;(4)promoting the development of the agricultural industry;(5)improving the cultural quality of farmers;and(6)establishing a management system with legal effects.This research can provide a basis for the formulation of rural landscape planning and the orderly and healthy development of agricultural heritage in Chengdu Plain.

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.

Sustainable Development of Wannian Rice Cultivation Culture System

Based on the research on the relevant background and significance of the sustainable development of agricultural cultural heritage,taking Wannian rice cultivation culture system as an example and its natural environment,traditional agricultural production activities,unique cultural patterns,socio-economic development and protection,and protection and development approach as the basis for evaluation,an evaluation index system for the sustainable development of Wannian rice cultivation culture system was constructed.Each index was quantified and standardized,and their weight was determined through the analytic hierarchy process to obtain the comprehensive evaluation value of the sustainable development of Wannian rice cultivation culture system.The evaluation value was analyzed to propose the main issues in the sustainable development of Wannian rice cultivation culture.

中国重要农业文化遗产的空间分布特征及其差异性管理策略

Climate change and rapid urbanization pose significant challenges to the conservation and management of agricultural heritage systems,including decline in agricultural land,loss of labor,and ecosystem degradation.Although existing studies have proposed general strategies with theoretical guidance and specific strategies for particular systems to promote the conservation of agricultural heritage systems,there remains a large knowledge gap in effective and differentiated management strategies at the regional level.This is especially so in China because of the clear regional differences in the natural and socioeconomic conditions of the widely distributed China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(China-NIAHS).In this study,we integrated multi-source data and spatial analysis to reveal the distribution characteristics of existing China-NIAHS and proposed differentiated management strategies.Results show that there are four clustering distribution zones of China-NIAHS,i.e.,the northwest clustering zone west of the Heihe-Tengchong Line(ZoneⅠ),the clustering belt with‘Northeast-Hebei-Shandong'as core(ZoneⅡ),the Yangtze River Delta clustering zone(ZoneⅢ),and the Hunan-Chongqing-Yunnan-Guizhou clustering zone(ZoneⅣ).Different management strategies are proposed for the China-NIAHS in each clustering zone.Specifically,ZoneⅠshould focus on maintaining their ecological functions and services,while ZoneⅡshould aim for livelihood supply,sustainable resource use,and ecological protection.For ZoneⅢ,rapid urbanization could become a positive driving force for China-NIAHS conservation through sustainable tourism and reasonable urban zoning.ZoneⅣshould emphasize the mutual support between characteristic product development and the brand effect of the China-NIAHS.These findings will help establish regional and targeted management strategies for China-NIAHS and provide a reference for the conservation of agricultural heritage systems in other countries.