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Traditional Agricultural System in the Southern Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais
Imagem: João Roberto Ripper
In the Espinhaço Mountain Range of in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, a complex agricultural system has been developed as the result of a long co-evolution between traditional communities, known as the Sempre-vivas flower gatherers, and the surrounding environment. This system is rooted in mountainous highlands whose altitude vary from 600 m to 1400 m offering a unique mosaic of landscapes and ecosystems.
The local communities have developed unique agricultural system and cultural identity based on their profound understanding of natural cycles and ecosystems, and vast knowledge regarding native flora management, achieving a great harmony with the environment and conservation of the biodiversity.
Farmers coordinate various types of agricultural activities well adapted to each differing soil, geographic and climatic characteristics to sustain their lives. They operate agroforestry gardening for their daily needs near the houses, grow a large number of species of crops in larger farmlands, collect naturally grown products, rear animals in the pastures and harvest native flowers in the high mountain areas. This GIAHS [Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems] runs through and composes agro-environments from the highest parts of the mountain to lower land areas.
Nowadays, the sempre-vivas flowers and the whole associated system are part of the local identity that have ensured the landscapes conservation as well as food and livelihood security of the communities.
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems - GIAHS
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage. Located in specific sites around the world, they sustainably provide multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of small-scale farmers.
Unfortunately, these agricultural systems are threatened by many factors including climate change and increased competition for natural resources. They are also dealing with migration due to low economic viability, which has resulted in traditional farming practices being abandoned and endemic species and breeds being lost.
These ancestral agricultural systems constitute the foundation for contemporary and future agricultural innovations and technologies. Their cultural, ecological and agricultural diversity is still evident in many parts of the world, maintained as unique systems of agriculture.
Fonte: Disponível em: http://www.fao.org/giahs/giahsaroundtheworld/designated-sites/ latin-america-and-the-caribbean/semprevivas-minasgerais/en/ >, < http://www.fao.org/giahs/en/ . Acesso em: 26 de maio de 2020. (Adaptado)
Os Sistemas de Patrimônio Agrícola de Importância Global, considerados como sistemas agrícolas ancestrais, constituem a base para inovações e tecnologias agrícolas contemporâneas e futuras, mas, infelizmente, estão ameaçados por muitos fatores.
NÃO constitui ameaça aos Sistemas de Patrimônio Agrícola de Importância Global:
