On October 31, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held a certificate award ceremony for Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in Rome, Italy. The Fuding White Tea Culture System successfully received the certificate from the FAO, securing the world’s first world-class “golden name card” for white tea.

The representative from Fuding for the “Fuding White Tea Culture System” received the certificate from Godfrey Magwenzi, Deputy Director-General of the FAO, and participated in the exhibition and related activities.

Certificate of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems

The award ceremony, which coincided with the 80th-anniversary celebrations of the FAO, marked a historic milestone as the total number of GIAHS sites surpassed 100. A total of 28 newly designated sites from 14 countries were recognized at the event.

The GIAHS program was launched by the FAO in 2002, aiming to establish a conservation system for GIAHS and their landscapes, biodiversity, knowledge and cultures, and make them the basis for sustainable management of traditional agricultural systems. Each recognized heritage site must meet five criteria set by the independent Scientific Advisory Group, namely: food and livelihood security, agro-biodiversity, local and traditional knowledge systems, cultures, value systems and social organizations, and landscapes and seascapes features.

The “Fuding White Tea Culture System” was officially designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the FAO in May 2025. This agricultural heritage system, with a history of over 1,400 years, supports the livelihoods of nearly 70% of the population in the heritage area and serves as the most important industry for people’s livelihood in the region. It preserves ancient tea tree propagation methods through natural pollination and seeding, as well as a complex agricultural system centered around the “tea-forest-grass” intercropping practice. It has nurtured a rich and diverse ecological and white tea culture, serving as a demonstration for ecological agriculture development in mountainous regions worldwide and providing a reference for the protection and inheritance of important agricultural heritage. With the designation of the Fuding White Tea Culture System as a GIAHS by the FAO, this millennia-old agricultural heritage, embodying the concept of “harmony between man and nature” in traditional Chinese agricultural civilization, has gained widespread international recognition and acclaim.

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To date, there are 102 designated GIAHS sites globally. With 25 sites, China ranks first in the world.