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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ecosystem service tradeoff between traditional and modern agriculture： a case study in Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, China

Besides crops, agriculture supplies all three major categories of ecosystem services （ES）. However, agriculture also supplies an array of ecosystem dis-services （EDS） that may harm other ecosystems. The flows of ES and EDS are directly dependent on the management of agricultural ecosystems. The traditional method of Chinese agriculture, which supports sustainable agriculture, has been proven to increase ES and reduce EDS. However, there is a lack of a detailed understanding of the ES and EDS associated with traditional agriculture, and also of differences between traditional and modem agriculture. In this study, an investigation was conducted on the ecosystem services （ES） and ecosystem dis-services （EDS） of traditional and modem agriculture in Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, China. Afterwards, the economic values of ES and EDS were quantified experimentally and calculated based on the market price. The results show that： the net economic value of traditional rice-fish agriculture was 3.31 x 104 CNY.haI （6.83 CNY = 1 USD as of July, 2009） and that of rice monoculture was 1.99 x 104 CNY.ha ~. Significant differences existed between traditional rice-fish and rice monoculture fields for their economic values of some ES or EDS. A benefit and cost analysis （BCA） model was used to adjust the conflict between the economic income and environmental loss from traditional and modem agricul- ture. The BCA model not only calculates the net income but also monetizes the EDS of the agricultural systems. The results showed that the net income of rice-fish agriculture was 1.94x 104CNY.ha-1 higher than that of rice monoculture. However, the benefit to cost ratio （BCR） of rice-fish agriculture was lower than that of rice monoculture, indicating that the traditional agricultural model was not the most optimized choice for farmers. The value of the rice-fish agriculture was much higher than that of the rice monoculture. Thus, when considering the benefits that rice-fish agriculture contributes to the large- scale society, these agricultural methods needs to be utilized. Furthermore, the labor opportunity costs were calculated and the comprehensive value of rice mono- culture was negative. Finally, the compensation standard was calculated based on the comprehensive benefit analysis. The lowest level was 1.09×103 CNY.ha-1, and the highest level was 1.21 × 104 CNY.ha-1.

Biocultural Diversity of Sarangani Province, Philippines: An Ethno-Ecological Analysis

This paper discussed effects of lowland-associated influences on upland ecology, food security and biocultural diversity in the Sarangani farming communities of the Philippines. In the uplands of Sarangani Province, the conservation of traditional rice varieties, the centrality of rice in tribal life, and the continued observance of planting rituals attest to its cultural significance and convey a common desire for cultural preservation and community solidarity. Economic and socio-political pressures had transformed tribal communities, although vestiges of traditional farming systems are still being practiced in remote sitios（villages）. Changing land use patterns had also resulted in shrinking farm sizes and consequently in food insecurity in the Sarangani uplands. Extractive industries（i.e. logging, mining and charcoal making） and swidden farming were observed to cause widespread environmental degradation, while modern agriculture had undermined the capacity of indigenous peoples to survive because of their complete dependence on lands and resources. With the reality that cultural and biological diversities are inextricably linked, trans-disciplinary strategies coupling indigenous knowledge systems with scientific knowledge should, therefore, be instituted to save the Sarangani upland ecosystem, the indigenous peoples and their tribal resources.

Changes in Agricultural Biodiversity: Implications for Sustainable Livelihood in the Himalaya

Himalayan mountain system is distinguished globally for a rich biodiversity and for its role in regulating the climate of the South Asia. Traditional crop-livestock mixed farming in the Himalaya is highly dependent on forests for fodder and manure prepared from forest leaf litter and livestock excreta. Apart from sustaining farm production, forests provide a variety of other tangible and intangible benefits, which are critical for sustainable livelihood of not only 115 million mountain people, but also many more people living in the adjoining plains. Extension of agricultural land- use coupled with replacement of traditional staple food crops by cash crops and of multipurpose agroforestry trees by fruit trees are widespread changes. Cultivation of Fagopyrum esculentum, Fagopyrum tataricum, Panicum miliaceum, Setaria italica and Pisum arvense has been almost abandoned. Increasing stress on cash crops is driven by a socio-cultural change from subsistence to market economy facilitated by improvement in accessibility andsupplyofstaplefoodgrainsatsubsidizedpriceby the government. Farmers have gained substantial economic benefits from cash crops. However, loss of agrobiodiversity implies more risks to local livelihood in the events of downfall in market price/demand of cashcrops,terminationofsupplyofstaplefoodgrains at subsidized price, pest outbreaks in a cash crop dominated homogeneous landscape and abnormal climate years. Indigenous innovations enabling improvement in farm economy by conserving and/enhancing agrobiodiversity do exist, but are highly localized. The changes in agrobiodiversity are such that soil loss and run-off from the croplands have dramatically increased together with increase in local pressure on forests. As farm productivity is maintained with forest-based inputs, continued depletion of forest resources will result in poor economic returns from agriculture to local people, apart from loss of global benefits from Himalayan forests. Interventions including improvement in traditionalmanureandmanagementofon-farm trees, participatorydevelopmentofagroforestryindegraded forestlandsandpoliciesfavoringeconomicbenefitsto local people from non-timber forest products could reduce the risks of decline in agricultural biodiversity and associated threats to livelihoods and Himalayan ecosystems.

The Emergy-based Ecological Footprint (EEF) of Traditional Agricultural Areas in China: A Case Study of Congjiang County, Guizhou Province

Traditional agricultural systems are under severe threat from modernization, technological and economic changes, while substitution of traditional agriculture with so-called modern agriculture has caused serious non-point source pollution. Ecological footprint, though an approach to measure ecological sustainability, fails to reveal the true environmental condition of the traditional agricultural areas. This paper attempted to establish an enhanced emergy-based ecological footprint （EEF） which could include all the flows of ecosystem services that the local inhabitants had consumed, thus making EEF a better indicator of the regional sustainability. This new approach was then applied to evaluate the sustainability of Congjiang County in Guizhou Province, a typically traditional agricultural area in China. Results showed that the local biocapacity could only meet 64% of the total consumption needed by the local inhabitants, leaving an ecological deficit of 5.2327 gha per capita. This analysis was contrary to earlier findings obtained through the conventional method that Congjiang County was characterized by a small ecological reserve. Disaggregated analysis revealed that the consumption of waste treatment and erosion control services occupied a considerable proportion of the local ecological footprint, indicating that regional sustainability was under serious threat from waste discharge and soil erosion.

Agricultural Heritage Research in China: Progresses and Perspectives

One of the legacies of the time honored agricultural development in China has been varied farming practices that adapt well to different natural conditions. These old but still functioning farming systems continue to inspire us to find solutions to various environmental problems caused by so-called modern agriculture. This paper reviewed the studies on agricultural heritage in China, including two categories： document-based researches and practice-oriented researches on dynamic conservation and adaptive management of these traditional agricultural heritages. Studies on the history and archaeological findings about the Chinese traditional agricultural heritage have laid a solid foundation for any further study. Dynamic conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritage was promoted by the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS） project initiated by FAO in 2002. Until now, researches on the conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritages have touched on many aspects of the issue, including theoretical consideration of agricultural heritage, agrobiodiversity characteristics of agricultural heritage, multi-values of agricultural heritage dynamic conservation, substitutive industries, legislation and institutionalization for the conservation of agricultural heritage. We conclude the paper with an agenda for future studies on agricultural heritages, including the broadening of the research scope, innovative research methodologies and methods and the development of strategies that combine conservation and utilization of agricultural heritages.

Analyzing Environmental Stress Counter-measures in Agricultural Heritage Sites in China

In recent years, with climate change, many agricultural systems are facing severe environmental stress, which are seriously threatening the food security and sustainable development of agricultural system. Although mainstream agro-system can effectively reduce the adverse agro-production effect rapidly by using modern technology, but many of them bring serious ecological crisis at the same time. For the sustainable development of agro-systems, the stress mitigation options must give full consideration to ecological protection. The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS） sites, relying on its unique land use, water conservancy facilities, traditional crops, etc., form unique production system creating a better match with local natural conditions. Based on disaster mitigation system theory and practice, this paper analyzes environmental stress counter-measures of several GIAHS sites in China. The water requirement of milet, a drought-tolerant crop in Aohan Dryland Farming System （recognized as a GIAHS pilot site in 2012）, has a better match with local water conditions. By reducing vulnerability of crops, agriculture survived healthily in semi-arid regions. Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System （recognized as a GIAHS pilot site in 2010）, relying on the unique land and water use patterns, has successfully reshape disaster inducing environment, and effectively reduce the risk/effects of droughts. Besides, due to the high price, rich crop diversity and variety of income channel, the Agricultural Heritage sites can ensure the economic income and agro-system health when facing environmental stress. Stress counter-measures of traditional agricultural systems make full use of the regulation and spontaneity ability of the natural system, which is an important way to achieve sustainable development of ecological agriculture.

Ten Years of GIAHS Development in Japan

Approximately ten years have passed since Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)was introduced to Japan in 2011,with 11 GIAHS sites designated so far.The Japan Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(J-NIAHS),which considers resilience,multi-stakeholder participation and sixth industrialization,was subsequently established in 2016,and has designated 15 J-NIAHS sites.GIAHS sites can be classified into three major types:Landscape,farming method,and genetic resource conservation types,and most Japanese GIAHS sites are of the landscape type.Since there is almost no national subsidy for GIAHS or J-NIAHS,designated sites are expected to secure funding for conservation from their own efforts.For this reason,a voluntary network of the Japanese GIAHS sites has been active in promoting cooperation on GIAHS conservation.The priorities of the Japanese GIAHS have focused on raising public awareness about GIAHS and J-NIAHS,improving livelihoods,as well as fostering the international exchange of experience and knowledge regarding Agricultural Heritage Systems,especially among Japan,China and Korea.

Comparative Study on Conservation of Agricultural Heritage Systems in China,Japan and Korea

The paper compares the agricultural heritage conservation schemes of China,Japan and Korea and,in particular,the national programs and their implementation under Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations（FAO）＇s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems（GIAHS）.This comparison allows an understanding of the background of developments,designation criteria,application procedures and implementation structures of GIAHS and of the respective domestic programs in terms of the differences in national circumstances of Japan,China and South Korea.The sequence of implementation of GIAHS and the national program differs in each of the three countries.China introduced a national program after GIAHS designation,Japan has GIAHS but no national program,and Korea implemented a national program before its GIAHS designation.Thus GIAHS candidate sites in China and Korea are now selected from among their respective pools of national agricultural heritage sites.On the other hand,commonalities can be seen in the perspectives of the three countries with regards to agricultural heritage conservation through the common emphasis placed on the designation criteria：historical significance,cultural value,fostering partnerships,rural revitalization and biodiversity conservation associated with the agricultural heritage systems etc.Thus,the cooperation between China,Japan and Korea and the perspectives they have will contribute to proposals for improvements to the FAO designation criteria for GIAHS.These will be comprehensively applicable to both developing and developed countries.