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News and events Traditional Irrigation inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Traditional Irrigation inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The extensive knowledge regarding Traditional Irrigation became part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. A multinational nomination of Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland was inscribed on the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" during the eighteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Kasane, Botswana.

Eighteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Kasane, Botswana, 2023. © CAG.

The multinational cooperation started in 2020. Practitioners and bearers from seven states have prepared this multinational nomination together with experts, NGOs, natural parks and public bodies in order to make the extensive knowledge, cultural significance and social practices associated with traditional irrigation visible on an international level. A workshop held in Zams, Austria in 2021 brought together, for the first time in person, participating communities, representatives from various irrigation regions, experts from the scientific community and NGOs (such as the CAG), as well as representatives from national UNESCO commissions and cultural ministries. The intensive work for the nomination was continued until March 2022 when the candidature of "Traditional Irrigation: knowledge, technique and organization" was submitted to UNESCO for inclusion in the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".

Group photo of the workshop meeting in Zams, Austria, 2021. © Weitblickfilm

Traditional irrigation is a type of agricultural irrigation that relies on the strategic use of gravity and manually constructed systems such as canals and ditches to deliver water from natural occurring sources to the fields. Practitioners select specific periods of time (often determined by specific regulations) to divert water from the canals to the fields. To irrigate the fields, small ditches are temporarily dug or the water is dammed which creates an overflow. To use this method sustainably and efficiently, an extensive knowledge of the landscape, water flow, and weather conditions is required. Traditional irrigation is a community-based, sustainable, energy-independent, and biodiversity-focused solution for agricultural water supply. It is of great importance to the practitioners themselves, as well as to the wider society, and the environment. 
The important locally anchored significance attributed to traditional irrigation has already been recognized through the inscription of the practice on the "National Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage" in all 7 participating states. Now, the inscription made this tradition more visible on an international level.

Eighteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Kasane, Botswana, 2023. © CAG

This inscription is the result of an intense and international process, but above all an important recognition of a sustainable, energy-independent and biodiversity-oriented solution for water supply in agriculture. Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) can indeed  play an important role in reducing biodiversity loss and water shortages due to climate change, focusing on local water management, as the first results of the project ‘Water and Land’ prove. 

Want to know more about the CAG and its ICH-projects? In October we celebrated 20 years of UNESCO 2003 Intangible Heritage Convention.

Presentation of our international project Water & Land in Kasane, Botswana, 2023. © CAG

Congratulations dr. Lathouwers!

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