News

UNU-IAS and FAO Discussions Highlight Building Back Better from COVID-19 through GIAHS

On 6 November 2020, the UNU-IAS OUIK and FAO organised a webinar “Building Back Better with Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)."

On 6 November 2020, the UNU Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability Operating Unit Ishikawa Kanazawa (UNU-IAS OUIK) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organised the webinar “Building Back Better with Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) from the COVID-19 Pandemic."  The webinar, for the first time ever, gathered GIAHS speakers from various regions around the world to share common challenges faced by GIAHS communities in managing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to discuss the resiliency of GIAHS in such a crisis and the opportunities for recovery from COVID-19.

GIAHS is an FAO programme to designate remarkable traditional agricultural systems that safeguard the livelihoods of small-scale family farmers who practice sustainable agriculture based on local and indigenous knowledge. GIAHS not only produce food, but these time-tested systems also conserve biodiversity, and preserve cultural heritage and centuries-old wisdom that can provide important lessons in building back better.

For a more detailed report on the webinar, please visit the UNU-IAS OUIK website.

Related content

News

Turning Lichens into High-Tech Starts with the Typical Petri Dish

Erika Calla learnt how to cultivate Peruvian lichens to be able to study the secrets to their tolerance to ultraviolet radiation

22 Jan 2026

News

UNU Rector Visits Miyazaki and Kagoshima Prefectures in Japan

Prof. Marwala engaged with local leaders, educators and students on some of the most pressing challenges facing Japan’s education system today.

21 Jan 2026

News

Ruben Olivares Bridged Regional Efforts to Achieve Effectiveness Against Plant Bacterial Pathogens

His fellowship seeks to resolve issues to formulate biocontrol inoculants with local genetic resources against aggressive crop pathogens

21 Jan 2026