Abolition of terraces task force bucked
April 21, 2002 | 12:00am
The world-famous 2,000-year old Banawe Rice Terraces has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger, unfortunately, no government agency is lifting a finger to reverse the situation. To make matters worse, the agency tasked to manage its restoration has been recently abolished.
On Feb. 11, 2002, the Banawe Rice Terraces Task Force (BRTTF) was abolished by virtue of Executive Order 72, The BRTTF was established in 1999 as a permanent agency to manage and conserve the Philippine Cordilleras World Heritage Site.
This development has caused alarm in the international community, particularly the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Achim Steiner, IUCN director general said that "mismanagement of this World Heritage Site is at a crucial stage, and the abolition of its management body so early in its mandate could be a substantial threat to its future as a site of international and national Outstanding Universal Value."
The Banawe Rice Terraces are extremely fragile, where human land-use has been in balance with mountainous environment for centuries. However, a report by the Reactive Monitoring Mission noted that approximately 25-30 percent of the terraces are currently being abandoned, resulting in a shift in the relationship between human land-use and the environment. The mission also reported unregulated development and erosion that continues to threaten the heritage landscape.
Since 1995, when the Banawe Rice Terraces was inscripted on the World Heritage List, it seems that Philippine authorities have done nothing to implement the necessary comprehensive management plans and corrective measures. This despite the long-standing offer from UNESCO World Heritage Center "to remain at your (Philippine government) disposal to provide every possible support to assist your government in working out a long-term comprehensive conservation plan aimed to ensure a sustainable program for safeguarding this important cultural landscape."
Thus, Steiner is asking the Unesco National Commission of the Philippines to clarify "on the rationale for the abolition of the BRTTF, as well as the intention… to replace it with another management body, or alternately, hand responsibility for the World Heritage Site in Danger to another government department."
Perceived as a major setback in the restorative efforts which has actually been moving at a snail’s space due to bureaucracy, IUCN regional councilor and president of the Ecological Society of the Philippines (ESP) Antonio M. Claparols says that any management body identified to replace BRTTF "must have strong capability in natural resources and environmental management as well as cultural and tourism management." Otherwise, the Philippines might just lose the rice terraces’ claim to World Heritage status.
On Feb. 11, 2002, the Banawe Rice Terraces Task Force (BRTTF) was abolished by virtue of Executive Order 72, The BRTTF was established in 1999 as a permanent agency to manage and conserve the Philippine Cordilleras World Heritage Site.
This development has caused alarm in the international community, particularly the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Achim Steiner, IUCN director general said that "mismanagement of this World Heritage Site is at a crucial stage, and the abolition of its management body so early in its mandate could be a substantial threat to its future as a site of international and national Outstanding Universal Value."
The Banawe Rice Terraces are extremely fragile, where human land-use has been in balance with mountainous environment for centuries. However, a report by the Reactive Monitoring Mission noted that approximately 25-30 percent of the terraces are currently being abandoned, resulting in a shift in the relationship between human land-use and the environment. The mission also reported unregulated development and erosion that continues to threaten the heritage landscape.
Since 1995, when the Banawe Rice Terraces was inscripted on the World Heritage List, it seems that Philippine authorities have done nothing to implement the necessary comprehensive management plans and corrective measures. This despite the long-standing offer from UNESCO World Heritage Center "to remain at your (Philippine government) disposal to provide every possible support to assist your government in working out a long-term comprehensive conservation plan aimed to ensure a sustainable program for safeguarding this important cultural landscape."
Thus, Steiner is asking the Unesco National Commission of the Philippines to clarify "on the rationale for the abolition of the BRTTF, as well as the intention… to replace it with another management body, or alternately, hand responsibility for the World Heritage Site in Danger to another government department."
Perceived as a major setback in the restorative efforts which has actually been moving at a snail’s space due to bureaucracy, IUCN regional councilor and president of the Ecological Society of the Philippines (ESP) Antonio M. Claparols says that any management body identified to replace BRTTF "must have strong capability in natural resources and environmental management as well as cultural and tourism management." Otherwise, the Philippines might just lose the rice terraces’ claim to World Heritage status.
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