Dr. Maryam Shahbazi, faculty member of the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University, and one of the main authors of the nomination dossier for the global registration of the Qazvin Traditional Garden System (Baghestan), attended the Official Award Ceremony of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) held by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 31 October 2025 (9 Aban 1404) at FAO Headquarters in Rome.
In recent years, there has been growing global attention toward traditional agricultural systems as living examples of the interaction between humans and nature. Through the GIAHS Programme, FAO identifies and designates remarkable agricultural systems that integrate food production, biodiversity conservation, water and soil management, and the preservation of cultural identity within sustainable local livelihoods.
Iran, with its rich history in agriculture and traditional resource management, has so far registered six agricultural systems in the global GIAHS list, ranking fourth in the world in terms of the number of designated sites. The Qazvin Traditional Garden System (Baghestan), as the most recent Iranian designation, represents over a thousand years of heritage, based on indigenous flood irrigation knowledge. The system not only sustains agricultural productivity but also plays a vital role in groundwater recharge, flood control, soil conservation, and dust mitigation.
The nomination process of Baghestan was developed in accordance with FAO’s GIAHS guidelines through a multi-year collaboration between the Qazvin Provincial Agricultural Organization, the National GIAHS Secretariat at the Iranian Agricultural Planning, Economic and Rural Development Research Institute (APERDRI), and the Urban Life Development Association. After five years of continuous work, Baghestan was officially recognized in March 2024 (2023) as an outstanding example of “climate-resilient agriculture in arid regions.”
The award ceremony in Rome gathered representatives from member countries, local communities, and site stakeholders, serving as an opportunity for knowledge exchange, networking, and promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods. During the event, 28 new sites from 14 countries were officially added to the GIAHS global network.