UN rules on rice terraces hamper Ifugao growth, says gov

EIGHTH WONDER Ifugaos appreciate the recognition its rice terraces have gotten for decades, but the province’s officials believe too much restriction aimed at protecting the heritage sites have been stifling the development and economic growth of local communities. EV ESPIRITU/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BAGUIO CITY—The rice terraces in Ifugao province have been hailed as a World Heritage Site, but regulations imposed to protect them have gotten in the way of improving people’s lives, the province’s top official said.

The rice terraces in the villages of Batad and Bangaan in the capital town of Banaue, Mayoyao in Mayoyao town, Nagacadan in Kiangan town and Hapao in Hungduan town have been inscribed as internationally protected areas by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

But Unesco has prescribed restrictions on how the terraces and the communities these serve are to be treated, Ifugao Gov. Denis Habawel said.

Hungduan, for instance, could be served well by a tramline to transport crops had Unesco not prohibited such engineering solution to ease the lives of farmers there, Habawel said.

The community rejected the tramline for fear it would cause Unesco to remove the town from the list of World Heritage Sites.

“Even without Unesco prescription, we already are the Eighth Wonder of the World. Even without its restrictions, we Ifugaos are duty-bound to conserve our terraces,” he said.

Unesco described the Ifugao terraces as a “living cultural landscape,” which, Habawel said, should allow communities some flexibility in developing their economies.

“The Ifugao rice terraces are not museum pieces. The terraces change through time,” he said.

Banaue Mayor Jerry Dalipog, in a separate interview, said there are other rice terraces in his town, apart from those found in Batad and Bangaan.

But he said Banaue does not want the other sites to be inscribed because of the restrictions that plague the communities in the heritage sites.

“Unesco rules practically do not allow us to touch our terraces without its permission. We need to ask permission even for [a] simple [task such] as fixing eroded rip-raps,” he said.

Dalipog had been hounded by criticisms for undertaking a parking building project, which some residents claimed would block the view to the terraces.

However, Habawel said the Unesco guidelines are enforceable only on inscribed terraces and do not affect the area where the town government is putting up the parking building.

He said the parking building would solve the town’s traffic problems, which have worsened even without the influx of tourists. “Where would locals park their vehicles? Can they hang them on trees?” he said.