Traditional irrigation is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. After years of preparation, the extensive knowledge surrounding Traditional Irrigation became part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage on 5 December 2023. The multinational nomination of Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland bore fruit at the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Kasane, Botswana, in the ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.
This award under the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage recognises the value of this centuries-old tradition. The focus is on the traditional knowledge of the people, their handling of local resources and conditions as well as the tradition, which in this case is lived out in a very vivid and varied way, also within the framework of local communities such as communities, water associations, co-operatives, etc. These have often contributed for centuries to the fertilisation of meadowland, higher groundwater levels, flood protection, the promotion of local landscape diversity, biodiversity, etc. Since 2022, those involved in the UNESCO candidacy have also been formally networked and integrated internationally via the International Centre for Traditional Irrigation in Europe IZTB (www.iztb.org) - based in the monastery complex of St. Urban LU. Both the local organisations and those responsible for the IZTB are delighted and many positive effects are expected.
At the beginning of November 2023, IZTB co-initiator Prof Dr em. Christian Leibundgut was able to witness the ‘Traditional Irrigation’ application being recommended by the Evaluation Body for inclusion on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as an example of how to deal with nature and the universe in preparation for the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Kasane, Botswana. Christian Leibundgut died on 20 November 2023 in Ehrenkirchen, Germany.
More on intangible cultural heritage according to UNESCO
UNESCO. Traditional irrigation: knowledge, technique, and organization
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-irrigation-knowledge-technique-and-organization-01979
Image of the certificate of inscription of Traditional Irrigation on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List (5 December 2023)