Introduction In Malaysia, there is a living traditional art where a storyteller develops the oral tradition, otherwise known as oral literature. Oral tradition is the original source of Malay literature and translated into written literature. One of the practitioners of this oral tradition is known as 'Awang Batil'. Apart from specialised storytellers such as Awang Batil, there are other transmissions of oral literature throughout the country, especially in villages through folk stories or stories of elders that are collected, rewritten and made into collections for children to read. Awang Batil Awang Batil is a storyteller who provided entertainment and education to the people, especially to the villagers and local community. Awang Batil entertains and educates the community through many classic stories that he inherited. Through those stories, the community is entertained and educated. Once upon a time, Awang Batil functioned as a story book, novel, radio, television, movie or video as it is now. He would travel from house to house, village to village, state to state including the state of Kedah, Penang and some areas in the Southern Region of Thailand, especially the Setol Region.

As a good safeguarding practice, ‘Ponte… Nas Ondas! (abbreviated PNO)’ of Spain and Portugal was registered on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list in 2022. The PNO initiative is an institution that was developed to safeguard and spread intangible cultural heritage on the Portuguese-Galician border and It’s also an educational project for the transmission of common cultural heritage to the young generation. Ponte nas Ondas originated from World Radio Day in 1995, which merged schools in both countries with the opening of the bridge for the river Miño between the region ‘Salvaterra de Miño’ in Spain and the region ‘Monção’ in Portugal. As 16 schools began communicating via radio waves, Radio broadcasting studios were created in each area. At the beginning of the program, It was broadcast only in Galician and Portuguese. But later, Spanish was also included with spreading to other educational institutions in Argentina, Cuba, Chile and Colombia. PNO initiative now does various projects like making lists of intangible cultural heritage in Galicia-Portugal, presenting the Galician-Portuguese oral tradition, and holding some traditional game meetings. And it also organizes some programs for young generations to induce active participation and offers classes at all levels from basic to higher education. Furthermore, through ‘Escolas nas Ondas’ which is a project for radio and video broadcasting, PNO teaches students at the schools in Galicia-Portugal to produce programs for radio broadcasting under the theme of oral tradition and broadcasts radio and video programs on their website. It has worth as a representative model for traditional culture transmission education.

Human has always lived in harmony with the nature and most of the festivities we celebrate today are still the reminder of that. One of such celebration is the full moon day in Marga Shukla Paskhya according to lunar calendar (which falls in the month of November or December) by different communities within Nepal. This day is celebrated as Udhauli by the Kirat communities as the start of the winter and marks the downward migration from high land to low land. They worship mother nature as a gratitude of the abundant harvest. With the urbanization and modernization, and settlements in the urban areas, traditional migration is not done anymore. But this festival is still celebrated by Kiratis in Nepal, India and in diaspora. Even though modernity has changed some aspect of this ritual, Sakela dance which is a part of Udhauli is still practiced and now even more with much fanfare. Young people now wear traditional attire and accessories to participate in the dances organized in open space in different cities. Similarly, Newa community celebrate this day as a Yomari Punhi festival which is also a celebration of the good harvest. On this day they make a dish from rice flour with filling of molasse and sesame seed paste, and the dish is known as yomari. The name “yomari” itself means the most loved bread. The first offering of yomari is made to the different deities early morning. In the evening farmers communities worship piles of rice which is the harvest of the year with yomari offering. The night of yomari Purnima is also known as the longest night and people really wake up early and do cleaning rituals and make yomari for the worshipping. Children and youth go door to door chanting traditional songs of Yomari Punhi and in return people offer then yomari, rice and money. This tradition of door-to-door visit is not common now days. To give continuity to this tradition many organizations are organizing formal events at least to make aware younger generation of the ancient practices. The dish which used to be made once a year on this day with the flour of new rice is now becoming popular for everyday consumption due to growing food cultures Newa restaurants. This day is an important day for the traditional farming community who are known as Jyapu within Newa community. Since 2004, this day is being also celebrated as Jyapu Diwas (Jyapu Day). Now Newa people go around the city with traditional attire, music and even with large size yomari in vehicles. Even though the farmland of Kathmandu Valley which was excellent for production of rice is now flied with concrete buildings, the tradition of Yomari Punhi is becoming more and more elaborate with added layers. Different groups and communities organize events to make yomari in public places and even sell them. The festival of Yomari Punhi had even spread to Newa people in diaspora. Newa living abroad are making yomari and making competitions as well as continuing the rituals of singing yomari song.

List of ICH Festivals applied for the Silk Roads Living Heritage Network Membership

The shrinking of the Aral Sea has been named “perhaps the biggest ecological disaster of our time,” one showing that “humans can destroy the planet” (Guterres, 2017), and “one of the planet’s most shocking disasters” (Ban, 2010). The shrinking has had significant negative consequences on all aspects of life in Central Asia, including the ecosystem, public health, and the economy. I have personally witnessed the dramatic changes in the region, and the tragic consequences it has had on the local community. Thus, my awareness of this ecological disaster and the suffering of the region’s people comes not solely from news outlets, articles, books, documentaries, and other related materials, but also from my personal experience of visiting the site and talking with the local people.

Water, as we all know, makes life possible on Earth. Thus, the accessibility and availability of water sources have historically decided the rise and fall of civilizations around the world. Scientific research has shown that the Kathmandu Valley once contained a great lake, and it only became habitable once the lake was drained. Buddhist narratives place the agency behind the draining with Manjushri, while later Hindu accounts place it with Krishna (Slusser, 1982). The fertile alluvial soil present in the valley adds to the argument of the valley once being a lake. In addition, there are many water sources in the valley, including rivers, small lakes, ponds, wetlands, wells, springs, and stone waterspouts.

According to official information, Kyrgyzstan is the only country in Central Asia where water resources are almost completely generated on its own territory, which boasts various hydrological features and advantages. These significant water and hydropower resources (see www.water.gov.kg) are one of the main aspects of national wealth.

Water management has long been the most necessary agricultural activity for Korean farmers, who typically make their living through rice cultivation. This is why if rain is scarce or water management is wrong, it can ruin farming for the year and farmers will struggle to provide for themselves and their families. Whether the practices are traditional or modern, agriculture is fundamentally dependent on nature. Therefore, people prayed for rain to the gods who they believed were in the sky or the sea to prevent drought in rites that were common in Korea. While they still rely on nature, farmers have always sought to increase their resilience in the face of natural disasters by continuously innovating with irrigation solutions suitable for the local environment. This chapter introduces two types of irrigation facilities that are typical examples of the water-management system in rice-farming areas from the perspective of traditional knowledge.

Water puppetry is identified widely as an artistic form that has sprung from the characteristics of particular landscapes and the lives and shared stories of their communities. In the Red River Delta (RRD) in Vietnam, it is documented as having developed in the rice-growing area in the tenth/eleventh century (Dunning, [1996] 2021; Gaboriault, 2009), with the first physical evidence of performance held in the Th ầy Temple, Hà Tây Province, during the Late Lê (Ly) Dynasty (1428–1778). The inscription on the Sùng Thiên Diên Linh stone stele (tablet) of 1121 at the Doi San ̣Pagoda, Duy Tien District (around 50 kilometers from Hanoi), provides evidence of water puppetry based on stories that reflect local lives and livelihoods and mythical creatures such as the golden tortoise, fairies, and flocks of birds and animals singing and dancing (Hai, 2006). Water puppet performance is a collaboration between puppeteers, musicians, the audience, and, importantly, the character of the staging and spatial context of the performance within water landscapes. Today, performances generally consist of a series of short vignettes based on stories of traditional delta life and livelihoods, commonly interspersed with folk tales and mythological characters.

Venerated from a time before antiquity as life-giver, water has been held in the highest esteem in all cultures and eras. Water-related mythologies show as much the divine character associated with it, as its qualities that lie beyond the material. In our time, the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and traditional knowledge that surround water still give us an entryway to a fuller understanding of the great life-giver.

The climate crisis is increasing the number of dangerous weather events that are occurring all over the world with challenges such as floods and droughts, wildfires and heat waves; these phenomena are getting more serious every year. It is important to note that most of these events are related in some way to rainwater. For example, by collecting rainwater near the place it falls, the risk of flooding will be reduced, and the collected rainwater can later be used to mitigate drought. By collecting rainwater on the ground and making the land surface wet, forest fires can be prevented and the chances of heat waves occurring can be reduced. Therefore, good rainwater management can overcome the water- and heat-related challenges that arise during times of climate crisis.

Jeju Island, the largest island located south of the Korean Peninsula, is famous for striking natural features created by volcanic activity. Jeju has gained international recognition as a treasure trove of environmental assets through achievement of UNESCO’s coveted triple crown “Biosphere Reserve,” “World Natural Heritage,” and “Global Geopark.” Among the various natural assets in Jeju, groundwater is the most valuable resource due to the distinctive hydrogeological features of the island. Even though Jeju Island receives the highest quantity of rainfall in Korea, there is no ephemeral stream that flows all year long on the island because of the highly permeable volcanic rock and soil. Due to the lack of surface water, Jeju is highly dependent upon groundwater. Owing to the hydrogeology of Jeju Island, which differs from the mainland, groundwater recharge and sustainable yield is of supreme importance. This is why groundwater is recognized as the “Water of Life” on Jeju.