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Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)

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Scientific Advisory Group (SAG)

In order to ensure a scientific rigor and to develop new tools and orientations of the GIAHS, our Programme relies on a group of nine experts from the different field of expertise.

These experts are selected, one for each continent, by our Director General for a mandate of two years. During this time, the experts will gather in FAO headquarters several times a year to :

  • understand, analyse and evaluate the provided information for each received proposals
  • lead field visits for each potential sites to confront proposals information and reality in the site
  • elaborate technical documents in order to improve the understanding of the programme for potential applicant countries
  • provide wide orientations and scientific inputs to mainstream the Programme.
Experts
Josema
José-María García-Alvarez-Coque (SAG Chair)

(He/His) is a professor of applied economics at the Universitat Politècnica de València-UPV. With 35 years of experience as an agronomist and agricultural economist, he has focused on agri-food policies, family farming, and the values of rural systems. He has worked with European institutions, such as the European Commission and Parliament, to evaluate agricultural policies. His research spans from global policy assessments to local studies of small-scale farmers, collective farming practices, and land abandonment. He is also interested in urban and peri-urban food systems esand coordinated the project that led to the Huerta de Valencia being recognized as a GIAHS.

 

Catherine
Catherine Tucker  (Vice Chair)

(She/Her) is an Economic and Environmental Anthropologist at the University of Florida, jointly appointed in the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Latin American Studies. She has been working nearly all her professional life at the area of human-environment interactions. She has a long experience with community-based natural resource management approaches with a focus on forests, watersheds, and agroforestry. Her main areas of interest are now directed to the ability of farmers to adapt to climate change. She co-founded the Mountain Sentinels Network, and has served on the Mountain Research Initiative’s Scientific Leadership Council.

Aicha
Aïcha Bammoun

(She/Her) is a consultant specializing in Conservation of Biodiversity, Science, Technology, Innovation, and the implementation of SDGs. With extensive experience in agricultural research, she has contributed significantly to cereal breeding programs addressing drought stress, salinity, and climate change. Dr. Bammoun has also led initiatives in agro-biodiversity conservation and food security. As a former focal point for the International Plant Genetic Resource Institute-Central West Asia and North Africa region (IPGRI/CWANA) in Central West Asia and North Africa, she successfully transferred global biodiversity conservation projects to regional and national levels. Her work is characterized by her expertise in coordinating multidisciplinary teams, advancing scientific research, and building the capacities of public institutions and civil society in sustainable development.

Agnes
Agnes Wakesho Mwangómbe

(She/Her) is a professor emeritus of Plant Pathology at the University of Nairobi and the Chair of the Seed Enterprise Management Institute (SEMIS). She holds a PhD. in Plant Pathology and has over 30 years of experience in agriculture, focusing on sustainable rural development, crop disease management, and biodiversity conservation. Prof. Mwang’ombe has played a key role in strengthening the private seed sector in Sub-Saharan Africa and has served on numerous international committees and boards. As a consultant for organizations like FAO and the World Bank, she has contributed to sustainable development and has been actively involved in advancing women agribusiness entrepreneurs.

Ali
Ali Kiani Rad

(He/His) is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and the Head of the Agricultural Planning, Economic and Rural Development Research Institute (APERDRI). His expertise spans agricultural and food value chains, sustainable agriculture, and rural and food tourism. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics with a focus on Agricultural Production, Economics and Management. With over 10 years of experience in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). He played a crucial role in the designation of all six GIAHS sites in Iran. His research supports policymakers by providing innovative methods to enhance income diversity and improve livelihoods for agricultural stakeholders.

Wanju
Wenjun Jiao

(She/Her) is an associate professor at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS-IGSNRR). Her research focuses on the environmental effects of resource utilization in socio-ecological systems and enhancing their resilience. She participated in the FAO/GEF project on GIAHS and developed a monitoring and evaluation system for its conservation in China. Since 2015, she has been the secretary-general of the East Asia Research Association for Agricultural Heritage Systems (ERAHS), organizing conferences to promote exchanges on GIAHS between China, Japan, and South Korea. She also works on GIAHS knowledge dissemination, publishing popular science books to expand its audience in China.

Norma Ruz Varas

(She/Her) is a Chilean architect living in Mexico. She holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in Public Administration, with concentration in territorial planning and land management. She worked as a territorial planning and land management expert for several public and private institutions on issues regarding rural, urban, and environmental planning. She is currently working as a consultant for local and federal agencies advising on topics related to agricultural systems. She has coordinated the research project that led to the designation of the first GIAHS site in Mexico, namely the Chinampas Agricultural System in Mexico City; she has also contributed to the identification of the second potential GIAHS site in Chile and to the development of the first GIAHS proposal in Costa Rica.

Tania
Tania Eulalia Martinez-Cruz

(She/Her) is an Ëyuujk Indigenous interdisciplinary researcher from Mexico with over 15 years of experience in climate action, the water-food-energy nexus, gender, and Indigenous Peoples’ issues. Her extensive background brings the perspective of Indigenous peoples and strengthens the aspect of traditional knowledge in the SAG. She is actively involved in and supports the Coalition on Indigenous Peoples Food Systems, which emerged after UNFSS21, and whose secretariat is held at WFP. Tania holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from Wageningen University and combines both international experience and experience at community level.

Tiziano
Tiziano Tempesta

(He/His) is an Agricultural Economist serving as Full Professor at Padova University, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry. He served as a member of the National Observatory of Rural Landscape, agricultural practices and traditional knowledge of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture supporting, among other, the Italian GIAHS proposals. Throughout his career, he has achieved research activities with reference to landscape: factors affecting visual quality of landscape, relationship between landscape and economy with specific reference to agritourism, food and local market.