Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

a) Lack of an effective site management authority and adequate legislation;

b) Absence of a finalized strategic site management plan;

c) Development of inappropriate river control structures and irregular construction in the rice terraces;

d) Diminishing interest of the Ifugao people in their culture and in maintaining the rice terraces;

e) Lack of human and financial resources.

• The abandonment of the terraces due to neglected irrigation system and people leaving the area;
• Unregulated development threatening the property;
• Tourism needs are not addressed;
• Lack of an effective management system.

To be further defined through cooperation between the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, including the stabilization of the rice terraces, woodland and water management as well as management, planning, resource and tourism strategies. 

a) Establish a functioning management mechanism at the provincial and municipal levels;

b) Put in place zoning and land-use plans responding to community-based activities and traditional value systems;

c) Provide regulations over tourism and infrastructure developments to encourage community based tourism which benefits the rice terraces and the local communities;

d) Develop a resource strategy at the national, provincial, municipal and village (barangay) levels and put in place a five year plan, according to the management objectives determined in the conservation and management plan, with top priority given to the regular maintenance and stabilisation of the rice terraces and lifeline irrigation systems so as to reverse their deterioration;

e) Establish appropriate development control procedures for development projects in the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, including by designating the World Heritage cluster sites of the rice terraces and their supportive eco-system (i.e. watershed system) as “environmental critical areas”, where an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required for any proposed development projects. Cultural heritage conservation expertise should be also included in the EIA review committee;

f) Strengthen the reforestation programme to include a wider range of endemic trees species to protect the watershed system for the rice terraces and prevent the introduction of exotic species in the private or communal parts of the rice terraces.

On 27 February 2008, the State Party submitted its report to the World Heritage Centre, presenting progress made in implementing the corrective measures.

In its report, the State Party submitted a Statement of outstanding universal value but did not submit a proposed Desired state of conservation for the property. The Statement of outstanding universal value has been reviewed by ICOMOS. This will be examined by the World Heritage Committee under Item 8 of the Agenda (Document WHC-08/32.COM/8B).

The State Party also submitted new information on recent developments with regard to the various corrective measures, as follows:

a) The contract for the Cultural Officer of the Hungduan cluster site has not yet been confirmed for 2008;

b) The Provincial government set up a Project Development Unit (PDU) at the end of 2007 to pursue resources for the conservation of the rice terraces including innovative marketing strategies;

c) The University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) in December 2007 started research into Sustainable Financing for the Conservation of the Ifugao Rice Terraces. This is allegedly meant to facilitate the proclamation/declaration of the rice terraces watershed and forest areas as “environmental critical areas”;

d) A consultation workshop was organised in October 2007 with local leaders and terrace farmers in Mayoyao, as an initial effort to document family and/or clan owners of the terraces;

e) 387 farmers from the Rice Terraces Farmers Cooperative of Kalinga and Ifugao exported 17.5 metric tons of traditional native rice to the US in September 2007;

f) With financial support from the Department of Agriculture of the Ifugao Province, some 42 communal irrigation systems in the four World Heritage sites composing the property were restored or maintained;

g) The Provincial Government of Ifugao has stated that it presently cannot afford to establish storage facilities for a seed bank;

h) The Ifugao Division of the Department of Education conducted a 2-day workshop in November 2007 with school administrators and teachers to develop strategies for integrating indigenous knowledge within courses in secondary and elementary schools. Moreover, the 2nd Hudhud Festival for the promotion of Intangible Heritage was conducted in December 2007 with participation from 17 schools;

i) The proposed mini-power project (see below) is said to fall outside the scope of existing national EIA regulations.

There was no specific mention, in the report of the State Party, as to how the actions relate to the implementation of the 2004 conservation and management plan.

Proposed twinning programme

Based on the findings of previous monitoring missions, the World Heritage Committee had recommended that the feasibility of a twinning programme of exchange and cooperation be explored between this property and the World Heritage property of the Cinque Terre (Italy), which shares similar features with the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordillera.

With financial support from the UNESCO/Italy Funds-In-trust, the World Heritage Centre organized a mission of an Italian expert to attend the ICOMOS meeting on Preserving Traditional Landscapes which took place at the property from 2 to 10 December 2007. As a result of this initiative, a study tour for the site managers of the Rice Terraces to Cinque Terre (Italy) has been proposed.

Proposed Mini-Power project

After being rejected by the local communities of Hungduan and Asipulo, the mini-hydropower plant project, proposed by the Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO) in coordination with the Provincial Government, was accepted by the Kiangan municipality. The Ambangal river and its immediate surrounding areas were identified as a suitable site. The area is agricultural land located in the buffer zone.

Despite some concerns from local people about using their ancestral land and whether water levels in summer are adequate, the project is progressing and consultation meetings were scheduled in February to March 2008. Although it is stated that this proposed project falls outside the scope of current EIA regulations, the State Party acknowledges that EIA procedures “for cultural heritage impact assessment of all infrastructure development projects in World Heritage cluster sites will be useful to prevent irreversible damage and exploration of alternatives that would be consistent with maintaining the integrity of the property”. It is not clear how this will be achieved. As the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordillera have not been officially designated as an “environmental critical area”, as recommended by the World Heritage Committee in 2006, an appropriate EIA, including provisions for cultural heritage impact assessment, is not mandatory for all proposed developments.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider that further details for this project should be submitted, including the benefits to local communities, and that a full EIA should be undertaken, including consideration of alternative locations.