Philippine E-Journals

National Policies and Local Ordinances on Ifugao Rice Terraces

Dinah Corazon M. Licyayo

Discipline: Ecology

 

Abstract:

The Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT) was declared by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site. It was known to the foreigners, particularly the Spaniards in the latter years of 1800s and to the Americans during the early 1900s. Articles and photographs further popularized Ifugao to foreign countries, opening the doors to tourism. The government of the Philippines formally recognized the Ifugao Rice Terraces in 1972 as a national cultural treasure having a high value of world culture. Several national and local policies were enacted for the preservation and restoration of the IRT while maintaining it as a tourism destination. However, the implementation of these policies remains a big challenge, calling for a more determined political among the national and local leaders most especially that the IRT is deteriorating due to man-made and natural factors, which led to the declaration of the IRT as a world heritage in danger.