Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) initiative

Chile is one of the six pilot countries of the FAO- Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded global project on conservation and sustainable management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), an initiative launched in 2002. After project approval, a discussion between 2007 and 2009, led by Ministry of Agriculture, regarding GIAHS conservation activities for Chiloé Archipelago follows. These discussions finally led to the designation of the Chiloé Archipelago in Chile as a GIAHS in 2011. The objectives of GIAHS initiative in Chile include (1) to support the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity, its associated cultural and ancestral knowledge, and the goods and services it provides; (2) to develop and implement market strategies that support agrobiodiversity conservation, know-how and sustainable uses while improving local rural livelihoods; and (3) to incorporate conservation principles and agrobiodiversity valuation considerations into public-sector policies and programs. Activities relating to this initiative include capacity and awareness development, community seed banks, value-chain development and other value-creating and cultural activities (e.g. development of tourism) as well as participatory research. Lessons learned include that the sustainability of such initiatives can be enhanced by establishing governance structures that facilitate articulation of the different public and private actors; action plans further contribute to the sustainability.