NBS Knowledge Lab Webinar: Terroir in Peril: Sustainable Geographical Indications

On 31 March 2026, the NBS Knowledge Lab hosted a webinar on “Terroir in Peril: Sustainable Geographical Indications (GIs)”. Moderated by Associate Professor Althaf Marsoof (Nanyang Business School), the session featured Dr Paula Zito (University of Adelaide), Dr Roshan Rajadurai (Hayleys Group PLC, Sri Lanka), and Mr Kiran Mainali (FAO, Nepal). The speakers examined how environmental change, labour pressures and market dynamics are reshaping place-based products and the legal regime that protect them. 

Key Takeaways for GI Stakeholders 

• GIs depend on a legally essential product–place nexus that links quality, reputation and characteristics to specific local conditions. 

• Climate change, environmental degradation and shifting labour patterns threaten this nexus, with cascading effects on product quality, rural livelihoods and legal protection. 

• Sustaining GIs will require coordinated value-chain governance, adaptive legal frameworks and stronger consumer awareness of the true cost of sustaining terroir. 

GIs, Terroir and the Law 

Prof Marsoof introduced terroir as the combination of climatic, environmental, and human factors that give products like Ceylon tea, Basmati rice, or Indonesian batik their distinctive identity. Dr Zito then outlined how the WTO TRIPS Agreement defines GIs: an indication may qualify only where a product’s quality, reputation, or other characteristics are essentially attributable to its geographical origin. This product–place nexus distinguishes GIs from trademarks, which may reference place without guaranteeing any substantive link. Many countries, she noted, use both certification/collective marks and dedicated GI laws (particularly for wines and spirits) to protect this nexus in line with TRIPS obligations. 

Ceylon Tea as a GI Case Study 

Drawing on Ceylon tea, Dr Rajadurai illustrated terroir in practice. Sri Lanka’s tea sector, more than 150 years old, directly or indirectly supports over 10 per cent of the population and exports about 95 per cent of its output, often at some of the highest auction prices globally. This premium rests on specific agroecological conditions, hand-plucking, orthodox batch processing, and microclimatic “quality seasons” that shape flavour. At the same time, the industry is labour-intensive and socially embedded: around 60 per cent of export value flows back to field workers, and estates provide housing, health, and welfare services. Existing certifications (such as the Lion logo and various sustainability standards) and forthcoming GI protection aim to capture and protect this complex product–place relationship. 

Value Chains, Climate Pressures and Adaptation 

From a governance perspective, Mr Mainali described GIs as collective endeavours sustained by coordinated value chains and strong producer organisations. Codes of practice, quality control, and shared branding efforts ensure that farmers, processors, and marketers preserve and communicate the product’s identity. Climate change, however, is introducing “disharmony”: erratic rainfall, new pests, and extreme events disrupt yields and supply, while labour shortages and outmigration erode traditional skills. These shocks fall most heavily on smallholders at the base of the chain, even as exporters and traders seek to maintain volumes and markets. 

Evolving Frameworks for Sustainable Gis  

Responding to participant questions, Dr Zito characterised GIs as a “mixed blessing”: the strict link to place and tradition protects heritage but can constrain adaptation when terroir itself is changing. She argued that GI frameworks must remain anchored in the product–place nexus yet allow carefully managed evolution of specifications – such as revised methods or varieties – developed through collaboration among producers, associations and regulators. Both Zito and Rajadurai stressed that additional compliance burdens and sustainability standards carry real costs for producers. Without more equitable value sharing and greater consumer recognition of the effort behind GI labels, there is a risk that cherished terroir-based products – and the communities that sustain them – may struggle to endure in a changing climate. 

Conclusion 

The webinar underscored that GIs are not only legal tools but living systems built on fragile ecologies, communities and traditions. Protecting terroir means simultaneously safeguarding local environments, enabling producers to adapt, and cultivating consumers who value origin-based products beyond price alone. In an era of accelerating climate change, the long-term survival of iconic GIs will depend on how effectively law, policy, business practice and public awareness can evolve together. 

Watch the webinar here: