EDITORIAL - Saving a national treasure

Banaue is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, thanks mainly to its terraced rice paddies. The rice terraces in Ifugao province — the most extensive in the world — were carved out of the mountainside some 2,000 years ago and have been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

In 2001, the terraces were included in the UNESCO’s list of Heritage Sites in Danger after it was learned that some 30 percent of the terraces had been abandoned. The problem worsened over the years as Cordillera youth left home to find work in urban centers. The lack of farmers has been aggravated by periodic infestations of giant worms that have eroded the mud walls of the terraces, which occupy some 10,000 square kilometers. Insufficient irrigation has also led to lower rice yields, further driving the younger generations to find other sources of livelihood elsewhere.

Now a nonprofit group of 10 electric power producers has pooled resources to build a $1-million hydroelectric power plant that will supply electricity in Ifugao. Revenue from the power plant, estimated at $70,000 a year, will go to a conservation fund for the rice terraces. The Canada-based group, called e8, is composed of companies from the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Russia. The other day, e8 turned over the power plant to the Department of Energy.

The Philippines should do its part in conserving a national treasure. The best way to protect the terraces is by making the people of Ifugao responsible stakeholders. As caretakers of this treasure, they should be able to make a decent living from growing rice in difficult terrain. Agriculture experts should assist the farmers in producing improved, high-yield rice varieties. The people of the Cordilleras also need help in marketing their mountain rice.

Ifugao province, with its unique culture, can also use an additional boost in tourism promotion. Other provinces have prospered from eco-tourism, giving residents added impetus to protect their natural riches. Prospects of better earnings from tourism can ease the urban migration of Cordillera youth, creating more stakeholders in the conservation of a national treasure.