LAGAWE, IFUGAO – – The most important step for an office head is to be on the lookout for an opportunity to increase one’s capacity to meet the challenges of the times and harness these for the advancement of the office’s goals. The head of the Ifugao Cultural Heritage Office (ICHO) Nora Luglug saw one and took it by way of a foreign trip, thus, boosting the rice terraces’ rehabilitation program.
Small wonder, Luglug took the task of advancing the cause to protect Ifugao’s endangered rice terraces by heart. Creating easy and realistic goals will make it easier for her to commit the provincial government towards this direction.
The Ministry of the Environment, Jeju Special Self-governing Province and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO gathered stakeholders from all over Asia and Africa to provide inputs for the just-concluded Capacity Building Workshop for Management of Internationally Designated Areas at Jeju City in South Korea.
Jeju is a popular tourist destination. Participants visited its designated sites.
Internationally designated areas, thus far, are major priorities globally as these spots come into the picture via a pattern of strong interests in the public and private sectors. World Heritage Sites, Biosphere reserves, UNESCO Global Geoparks and Ramsar sites comprised these internationally designated areas.
Mrs. Luglug and 19 other Asian and African managers of internationally designated areas joined their thirty South Korean counterparts to discuss provisions related to environmental preservation and sustainable development.
Her trip to South Korea has been hailed by top provincial government officials, calling it another step toward the fulfillment of the dream of saving these rice terraces.
The majestic rice terraces in Banaue, Hungduan, Kiangan and Mayoyao towns are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Heavily damaged portions of these rice terraces are major concerns of the provincial government for several years. Inaction of past administrations contributed largely to the long standing problem.
Government assistance to local governments in maintaining rice terraces in Asian and African countries is the rule rather than the exemption. Even in Vietnam, localities in collaboration with their national government are giving subsidies to rice terraces farmers. The famed Sapa Rice Terraces in this Southeast Asian country is visited annually by about four million tourists.
Luglug, however, remained optimistic as she expects both Governor Jerry Dalipog and Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao to provide all-out support and assistance to the rehabilitation program intended for the province’s four towns where the UNESCO World Heritage Sites are situated.
“Bringing long lasting solutions to the problems of the rice terraces in these four municipalities of Ifugao, is the overarching goal of the Ifugao Cultural Heritage Office and the provincial government,” Luglug said.
“Through some initiatives we hope there will be more blessings to the agriculture sector and the tourism industry,” she added.
That said, even if it entails working in a far-away place through a foreign trip, she was ready to take it just to learn more from experts in safeguarding and rehabilitating Ifugao’s damaged rice terraces. It seems increasingly likely that this problem requires swift and decisive action from the officialdom and the impact of the failure to act on the problem by the local population would have been devastating.
Being an accomplished public servant has given the ICHO head the leeway to move vertically too quick.
At the prestigious four-day workshop, Mrs. Luglug officially joined the big league when she started interacting with well-trained and highly-educated managers and engaged them on key concerns affecting humanity in the Asian and African continents, notwithstanding the challenging political and economic environments.
Luglug mapped out fundamental strategies to present the Philippine case regarding the rice terraces of the Cordilleras and discussed “the changing paradigm which affects the current mood to handle the problems faced by these rice terraces and future plans to address them.”
Mrs. Luglug is widely credited for the gains registered by the ICHO in recent past as its former head. The office then was known as the Ifugao Rice Terraces and Cultural Heritage Office. She has shown utmost selflessness in dedication to public service. Mrs. Luglug previously served as councilor and board member.
During her previous stint at the ICHO in the said capacity, Luglug had done a “good job” on its functions.
Participants said the real measure of achieving the workshop’s objectives should be sharing examples of best practices in the management of internationally designated areas, not competing with each other or among them.
Another strategic thrust of the workshop is to present characteristics of the internationally designated areas and management plans for them.
But when it came to time to time responses, the workshop was more pragmatic, Luglug said.
“The workshop endeavored to show us how to complete application forms and periodic review reports for protected areas,” she said.
Back home, it means raising the Ifugao folks’ state of awareness and consciousness in safeguarding rice terraces in peril due to various reasons. In a larger sense and context, it means upgrading their state of cultural development and appreciation commensurate with their level of aesthetic abilities.
What is the relation of rehabilitating the rice terraces with promoting culture in this part of the country? A lot, and by doing so, it ensures that these rice terraces are presented as a cultural heritage gem over and over again.
The blatant assumption that their rice terraces are not relatively immune from the paradoxes of changes brought by modern technology is open to question.
The fifty managers played a big role in the management capacity and operational competency on their direct involvement in the running of the increasing number of multi-internationally designated sites.
With the Philippine government’s firm commitment for better program to shield the World Heritage Sites and Governor Dalipog’s support for it- which tries to enhance solidarity with other provinces through cooperation on every level- there will be additional opportunities for Asian and African countries to attain cherished goals.
Indeed, the prestigious workshop for managers tasked to oversee these internationally designated areas served as a big opportunity for Mrs. Luglug to engage actively her colleagues in the international arena.
“I have spoken to my counterparts and we’re looking forward to assisting each other on shared concerns,” Luglug told the ZigZag Weekly in an exclusive interview.
Speakers trumpeted the benefits of investing in programs designed to safeguard protected areas not just in Asia and Africa, but throughout the world.
Participants were grateful for the information they received during the workshop. The undertaking was a huge success as smiles were painted on the faces of everyone in attendance.
Again, back in Ifugao, ICHO should be working together with others in the private and public sectors so that the objective of saving the rice terraces can be realistically achieved.
The Capacity Building Workshop on Internationally Designated Areas has proven rather influential in cultivating a shared understanding of various issues and an agenda for action on the field of attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Should the foregoing developments be given weight and implemented, ICHO can see an enlightened Ifugao populace who will rise from a state of timidity to an honored position of speaking out on the worrisome conditions of their rice terraces. It is the purpose of the South Korean trip of Mrs. Luglug to present a kernel of truth to them. Embrace new opportunities! **By Anthony A. Araos
