Heritage agriculture as a solution

CLIMATE CHANGE

- QU DONGYU

Thailand's first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System is the Thale Noi Wetland Buffalo Pastoral Agro-Eco-System in Phatthalung, recognised by FAO in 2022. FAO

In the 18th century, a series of volcanic eruptions turned the fertile fields of Lanzarote, the easternmost of Spain’s Canary Islands, into a desert of black ash. Instead of abandoning the land, farmers adapted.

They carved hollows in the volcanic gravel to guard their crops from wind and layered them with fine ash to capture moisture and enrich the soil. Generations later, the same techniques sustain Lanzarote’s vineyards, producing grapes with minimal irrigation in one of Europe's driest regions and showing that traditional knowledge can be a powerful tool for climate resilience.

Lanzarote’s story is not unique. Around the world, communities have developed similar systems — innovations born from hardship that have endured for centuries. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognises 102 of them as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). As the world scrambles for climate solutions, they are a resource hiding in plain sight. From rice terraces to traditional fisheries and agroforestry landscapes, these heritage practices show that adaptation is rooted in generational knowledge that has conserved biodiversity and sustained the land for centuries, offering lessons no high-tech fix alone can provide. Looking back is essential to moving forward on climate adaptation.