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Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

Philippines
Factors affecting the property in 2014*
  • Changes in traditional ways of life and knowledge system
  • Financial resources
  • Human resources
  • Illegal activities
  • Legal framework
  • Management activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Society's valuing of heritage
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Lack of sustainable funding for the functioning management agencies;
  • Implementation of the Conservation and Management Plan through operational arrangements;
  • Implementation of Community-Based Land Use and Zoning Plan;
  • Need for an integrated tourism Management Plan and mechanisms to control tourism related infrastructure developments;
  • Vulnerability to natural disasters.
Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger
Corrective Measures for the property
Timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2014

Total amount provided to the property: 20,000 USD under Italy Funds-in-Trust for study tour; 47,000 USD under the UNESCO Participation Programme for emergency assistance following typhoon Emong in May 2009; 40,600 USD, Netherlands Funds-In-Trust, emergency stabilization and restoration for the Rice Terraces after typhoon Juaning in July 2011. 

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2014
Requests approved: 4 (from 1994-2001)
Total amount approved : 153,200 USD
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2014

The State Party submitted state of conservation reports on 1 January 2013 and 5 March 2014 (available at the following address: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722/documents), which note progress on the following:

  • Interventions on terraces: Funding for restoration of typhoon-damaged rice terrace paddies and communal irrigation systems was secured. Interventions have not only addressed decay factors and stabilization measures, such as the construction of protection walls, but also benefited rice terrace farmers by securing livelihoods. A project is under consideration for developing a “Living Cultural Landscape Model” to encompass sustainable tourism, heritage, agriculture and cultural industries.
  • Safeguarding cultural identity and heritage of the Ifugao: Two ordinances were approved at the provincial level, one on tourism code and another on the Ifugao Cultural Code. The Cultural Code ordinance underlines the principles and guidelines for safeguarding tangible and intangible heritage of the Ifugao. The Tourism Code seeks to guide activities related to the tourism industry in the province. Six projects on safeguarding non-material culture were implemented and capacity building was continued in relation to living traditions.
  • Management arrangements: The Provincial Legislative Council is discussing the guidelines for the property and its buffer zones and the Re-organization Plan for the Provincial Government. The guidelines include mapping to inform planning and decision-making. Drafting of the 2014-2023 Ifugao Rice Terraces Master Plan began with community consultations. The Provincial Government has endorsed the Muyung System concept as a tool for Forestland Management Projects. In regard to the requirement of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for development projects, this is now requested with the Provincial Ordinance “Environmental Code of the Province of the Ifugao”. The possibility of the adoption of national legislation to declare the property an Environmentally Critical Area is continuing.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2014

The State Party has indeed sustained its efforts and this has translated into improvement of conservation and management conditions at the property. The grassroots approach to the protection of the property takes longer to become fully functional, given consultation and engagement with a diverse range of communities and stakeholders. This process is critical, however, in securing the long-term sustainability of the management arrangements, by ensuring that those people who live within the property and/or have their livelihoods connected to it will embrace the management system and contribute to its successful implementation.

It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to continue to actively fund and support the implementation of corrective measures that have been previously identified which are related not only to the physical conservation of the fabric, but also to the practices and intangible heritage associated with them. Efforts also need to be made in finalising the update of the Master Plan to ensure that there is consistency between the main planning tool and the different provisions that are being adopted through legal processes at the national and provincial levels, such as bills and ordinances. It is also important that community based land use and zoning plans are integrated into formal planning tools to ensure their validation and enforcement. The State Party should continue with the broad dissemination and consultation process for development of planning and regulatory tools.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2014
38 COM 7B.20
Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (Philippines) (C 722)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.29 adopted at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012),
  3. Recognizing the continued progress achieved, welcomes the commitment of the State Party in sustaining conservation and management efforts at this vulnerable property;
  4. Encourages the State Party to continue with its actions based on the corrective measures identified for the property, with particular attention to the following:
    1. Integrating community based land use and zoning plans into the Master Plan to inform decision-making on the ground,
    2. Finalise the planning process for the updating of the Master Plan through a broad consultative process, and integrate provisions from adopted Ordinances and Legal Bills, and submit an electronic and three printed copies of the revised Master Plan for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies,
    3. Ensure broad dissemination of the results of the Master Plan and the provisions and regulations applicable for the protection and safeguarding of tangible and intangible heritage;
  5. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.
Draft Decision:   38 COM 7B.20

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B,

2.  Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.29 adopted at its 36th session (Saint-Petersburg, 2012),

3.  Recognizing the continued progress achieved, welcomes the commitment of the State Party in sustaining conservation and management efforts at this vulnerable property;

4.  Encourages the State Party to continue with its actions based on the corrective measures identified for the property, with particular attention to the following:

a)  Integrating community based land use and zoning plans into the Master Plan to inform decision-making on the ground,

b)  Finalise the planning process for the updating of the Master Plan through a broad consultative process, and integrate provisions from adopted Ordinances and Legal Bills, and submit an electronic and three printed copies of the revised Master Plan for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies,

c)  Ensure broad dissemination of the results of the Master Plan and the provisions and regulations applicable for the protection and safeguarding of tangible and intangible heritage;

5.  Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.

Report year: 2014
Philippines
Date of Inscription: 1995
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)(iv)(v)
Danger List (dates): 2001-2012
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2014) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 38COM (2014)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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