Traditional food systems of native peoples around the world are critical to cultural identity and customs as well as to the continuation of biological genetic diversity. However, such traditional cuisines are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to the advent of global food systems, agroindustry, and changing lifestyles as well as to shifting preferences and ignorance of original ingredients. Furthermore, territorial transformations and distancing from ancestral lands have led to the loss of knowledge regarding the benefits of diverse ecosystems and their natural resources.

It is imperative that the material development of a country be linked with cultural development. Such cultural development should pave the way to develop an integral citizen with knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes enabling him or her to appreciate and honor others’ traditions and beliefs. If not, material development and the connected technology will create an inhumane and disoriented person bent on disruption. A rejuvenated man from contemporary cultural decadence will be created through proper educational methods, righteous religious philosophy, true mass media application, and appropriate arts and cultural practices and applications. Janakaraliya drama and theater arts program primarily supports the development of a proper education system and application of arts and cultural practices.

One of the largest and earliest flows of culinary cultures and fresh produce to the Indian subcontinent emanated from Portugal. The Portuguese were ardent sailors. Their expeditions to voyage, discover, and conquer brought Western foods to the Eastern world. The Portuguese contributed foods that are now staples in the Indian diet. Goa became the chosen land as the local inhabitants were regular pork consumers, like these visiting sailors. This points to the influence in terms of food and consumerism by colonialists and settlers. The Goan cuisine has been shaped through these assimilations; the story is quintessential to the culinary history of the land.

The scope of intangible cultural heritage related to human well-being is large. Many cultural practices, if not the majority of them, were designed by communities, groups and individuals for well-being purposes, be it physical or mental. Such practices are also intended to ensure the con-tinuity of the society over time and to maintain social order. According to Napier, those practices related to human body and soul are embodied in cultural systems of value (Napier 2014) that overwhelm them. The representations of those two components of the human being, body and soul, are tightly linked in traditional cultures. Thus, many cultural practices were designed for the well-being of both of them. They also mix therapies intended to bring about the relief of each and/or both. \n

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.

A triad of spring festive rites—biye baylau, ayghyr kosu, and kymyz murundyk, identified and documented in Terisakkan Village in the northern outskirts of Ulytau District, Central Kazakhstan—is a testimony to nomadic culture surviving up to today. Regarded by its bearers as the most important annual festive event, it starts in early May with first spring warmth, new grass, flowers, and foals, opening a new year-round cycle of life reproduction and a new season of making koumiss, an ancient sacred drink.

The parent organization of CEE Himalaya is the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), which was established in August 1984. CEE is a national institution with its headquarters in Ahmedabad and has been given the responsibility by the central government of promoting environmental awareness nationwide. It undertakes demonstration projects in education, communication, and development that endorse attitudes, strategies, and technologies that are environmentally sustainable. Based in the city of Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh, CEE Himalaya has been working in the states of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) for over two decades. The mission of CEE Himalaya is to enhance understanding of sustainable development in formal, non-formal, and informal education through its work with schools, higher educational institutions, local and Indigenous communities, policy makers and administration, youth, and the general commu-nity. The primary objective of CEE Himalaya is to improve public awareness and understanding of environmental issues with a view to promote the conservation of nature and natural resources by integrating education with traditional streams of knowledge and cultural expressions. This approach demonstrates and grounds sustainable practices in rural and urban communities and facilitates the involvement of the business and public sectors to respond to the effects of climate change and variability.

In 2017, Tajikistan ratified the 2003 Convention. Two years later, the Tajik government passed a decree and project to take place between 2013 and 2020. The goals of this project were to safeguard ICH from disappearing; reviving traditions; helping and supporting performers and masters; endorsing cultural elements accessible for wide use; studying and preparing books, films, and musical discs; and organizing folk festivals, cultural competitions, and other exhibitions. The festivals have several social and cultural functions due to their continuity. Infestivals, a person experiences his/her membership in society and feels the collective solidarity. Festivals also include didactic elements, mainly structuring the young generation in the task of responsibility among other members of the society; they should follow prescribed social and cultural norms. At the same time, festival also function on a psychological level, giving people a sense of national or ethnic identity and building social integration, solidarity, thus creating an atmosphere of friendship.

The chapter is part of a UNESCO book about intangi- ble cultural heritage (ICH) in relation to the Sustain- able Development Goal 2 (SDG2): Zero Hunger. This chapter starts with an introduction to the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), a Vietnamese organization that ran a project related to ICH and SDG2. The chapter continues with an introduction to the geographical and social context of the project, as well as three case studies describing the effect of the project activities on farmers’ lives. The chapter ends with two essays contextualizing the project in the larger issue of community resilience for climate change, and agrobiodiversity for food security.

The parent organization of CEE Himalaya is the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), which was established in August 1984. CEE is a national institution with its headquarters in Ahmedabad and has been given the responsibility by the central government of promoting environmental awareness nationwide. It undertakes demonstration projects in education, communication, and development that endorse attitudes, strategies, and technologies that are environmentally sustainable.

Nepal is a multiethnic, multilingual, and multicultural country with rich cultural heritage located between India and China. The 2011 census recognized 125 caste and ethnic groups and 123 different languages. The new constitution of the Nepali federal republic has further recognized all the spoken languages as national languages. The National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) recognized fifty-nine indigenous nationalities residing in Nepal in 2002 (NFDIN 2011). However, in the 2011 census only forty-seven indigenous nationalities were reported (CBS 2012). Among them, Tharu is the second-largest indigenous group with a population of 1.7 million residing in various districts of southern Nepal (CBS 2012).

Reflection on the role of ICH as an element of countries’ soft power has developed in recent years (Schreiber 2017, Sargent 2020). While the soft power concept was coined in the Western Hemisphere by Joseph Nye, in the specific context of United States foreign policy in his 1990 book Bound to Lead, it has gained recognition worldwide and influenced cultural policies, programs, and diplomatic strategies in Asia, such as “Cool Japan,” “Incredible India,” and “Discover Korea, your way.”