Agricultural Heritage Systems: A Bridge between Urban and Rural Development

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  • 1 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
    2 World Natural Heritage Conservation and Research Center, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Beijing 100835, China;
    3 School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1H2W1, Canada

Received date: 2016-01-22

  Revised date: 2016-03-20

  Online published: 2016-05-25

Supported by

The International Exchange and Cooperation Project of Ministry of Agriculture “Conservation of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in China in 2016”; The Youth Talent Supporting Project of China Association for Science and Technology (2016010103)

Abstract

In the early 1990s, China stepped into the stage of rapid urbanization with a flourishing economy and new technological development. Surplus labor from rural areas flooded into cities and became the main force of urban development. However some severe threats to human survival emerged from urbanization, such as over- extensive urban development, excessive resource consumption, ecological degradation, food security and safety risks and social crises. It has become an imperative to balance urban and rural development to achieve greater harmony between nature and society. This paper firstly tried to focus on public dietary change, agricultural industry development, institutional guarantee, ecological restoration, as well as cultural tourism in urban and peri-urban agricultural heritage sites. Then, it established a development model, balanced the urbanization and urban-supported agriculture. This paper proposed “Agricultural heritage systems” as an entry point for balancing the development of urban areas and rural areas. Agricultural heritage systems can inherit local traditional culture, keep the green and organic agriculture cultivation systems, exploit the distinct landscape tourism, and the like for diversified development; In addition, agricultural heritage systems can take full advantage of abundant funds, firm the institutional guarantee and advanced technologies from the nearby urban complex for regurgitation-feeding of rural enterprises. With the help of these strategies, we can achieve the harmony of “Ecological Urban” and “Garden Countryside”.

Cite this article

SHI Yuanyuan, MIN Qingwen, HE Lu, FULLER Anthony M. . Agricultural Heritage Systems: A Bridge between Urban and Rural Development[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2016 , 7(3) : 187 -196 . DOI: 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2016.03.006

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