Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

• 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

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4102

Adopted, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/1077

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

On 18 February 2016, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722/documents and presents the progress in addressing the conservation issues highlighted by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

• The Rice Terraces Master Plan 2015 to 2024 was adopted on 15 April 2015. The Master Plan defines major programmes to ensure a balanced ecosystem and sufficient income for the rice terraces farmers, to restore and to sustain the rice terraces, and to ensure adequate support towards the conservation of the rice terraces by providing sufficient financial, technical, infrastructural and institutional support. It further outlines the processes for the approval and implementation of relevant and appropriate interventions and requests the establishment of a rice terraces database system;
• The “Community-based land use planning and zoning implementation program” has been included in the Master Plan in order to preserve the rice terraces through the proper delineation of land use and the identification of protected rice terraces and buffer zones. A number of measures have been undertaken in that respect: advocacy for the concept of community land use management to community members; preparation of community land use plans for rice terrace areas that are not part of the World Heritage property; adoption of zoning ordinances for rice terrace communities with no zoning ordinances; assessment of the implementation of community-based land use plans; and recommendations for the updating of land use plans and the implementation of zoning laws;
• In the process of putting together the new 10-year Master Plan for the property, the previous 2003-2012 Master Plan was reviewed and consultations involving communities both within and outside of the World Heritage property were held in order to evaluate the situation and identify problems in the conservation of the rice terraces. The draft Master Plan was adopted by the Provincial Development Council and endorsed by the Provincial Board. Upon approval, copies were distributed to the local municipal governments in the province.

It should be noted that the State Party has sustained its efforts to address the conservation issues highlighted by the Committee at its previous sessions, which has resulted in the overall improvement of the property’s state of conservation and management. The grassroots approach to the protection of the property will take longer to become fully functional, given that consultation and engagement with a diverse range of communities and stakeholders is a time-consuming process. This process is critical, however, in securing the long-term sustainability of the management arrangements, as it ensures that people who live within the property and/or have their livelihoods connected to it can embrace the management system and contribute to its successful implementation. In this regard, it is recommended that the Committee welcome the finalisation of the updated Master Plan, notably as it ensures a degree of 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 recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to continue to provide adequate human and financial resources to actively support the implementation of measures that have been included in the Master Plan and concern not only the tangible conservation of the property, but also the Ifugao practices and intangible cultural heritage associated with them.