ABSTRACT
Generations of farmers, herders, pastoralists, hunters, gatherers and fisherfolk have developed and managed complex, diverse and locally adapted livelihoods and agroecological systems using combinations of techniques, knowledge and practices that have frequently led to community food security, sustainable natural resource management, high levels of unique biodiversity and the preservation of cultural identity, human dignity and equity. Such systems usually comprise cooperative traditional social relations, cultural beliefs and rituals, local languages, knowledge, and technologies that have developed over long time frames and that have become institutionalized or built into the fabric of these societies. These act to manage the inter-related sets of resources and habitats, while ensuring that they meet the cultural and material needs of local peoples.
