The mayor of Hadong-gun County, Youn Sang-ki (right), receives a certificate that designates the Traditional Hadong Tea Agrosystem as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS), at the GIAHS international forum in Rome on April 19. (Hadong-gun County)
By Kim Eun-young and Kim Young Shin
The traditional tea agrosystem of Hadong-gun County has been designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on April 20 that the Traditional Hadong Tea Agrosystem in Hwagae-myeon has received official certification as a GIAHS site from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at a GIAHS international forum held in Rome on April 19.
A total of 14 regions in eight countries from around the world, including Korea, received GIAHS certifications that day.
According to the ministry, the agricultural system to grow Hadong’s traditional tea satisfies the requirements to be certified as a GIAHS site, as it uses well-proven traditional methodologies to manage its tea farms, maintains the natural scenery of the farm, and allows the 1,200-year-old community to continue with growing tea.
The Traditional Hadong Tea Agrosystem was designated as the fifth Important Agricultural Heritage System of Korea in 2015, and as a GIAHS in 2017. This is the third time that one of Korea’s agricultural systems has gotten certified as a GIAHS. The other two sites are the Traditional Gudeuljang Irrigated Rice Terraces on Cheongsando Island and the Jeju Batdam Agricultural System.
The FAO launched the GIAHS in 2002 to help with the conservation of traditional agricultural systems and to encourage biodiversity. As of April 2018, a total of 50 locations in 20 countries have been designated as GIAHS sites.
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