DA funds P20M reforest ofBatad, Ifugao terraces

By Vency D. Bulayungan

BANAUE, Ifugao --The Department of Agriculture has funded the reforestation program of the Batad Rice Terraces in this tourist town amount of P20,000,000.

Avelino Lunag, assistant provincial officer of Agriculture Environment and Natural Resources Office said the program seeks to restore and preserve the beauty and grandeur of the Batad Rice Terraces for economic and tourism purposes and maintain its outstanding value as UNESCO World Heritage Site and as national cultural treasure of the country.

Lunag said this program involves restoration of the damaged Batad Rice Terraces since this is the prime rice production areas and the main tourism product of this community.

To successfully accomplish this, Lunag said there are other factors that need to be addressed since rice terraces restoration is not an isolated case.

“The challenges would include among others, environmental protection and management, culture preservation, infrastructure support, institutional strengthening, toruirsm and livelihood activities,” Lunag said.

The program will also restore eroded rice terraces that would result to increased level of food sufficiency of the households and the community in general.

It will rehabilitate irrigation systems to ensure adequate water supply of rice paddies for farmers to fully utilize the production areas; to reforest denuded watershed areas and increase forest cover of 12 hectares of “pinugo” or clan owned forest and conserve the remaining flora and fauna of the community, and establish one barangay nursery as source of planting materials.

The project will improve the Batad main road for agriculture, trade and commerce, tourism and social services and construct and rehabilitate other infrastructure facilities to facilitate agricultural, social and tourism activities.

It also aims to intensify information, education, campaign as a means to increase knowledge and develop appropriate skills and attitudes of the community thorugh barangay and tourism councils and rice terraces owners organizations to take lead roles in the development activities.

The Batad rice terraces 0in Banaue are part of the World Heritage Sites declared by the UNESCO in 1995 as a “Living Cultural Heritage of the world.”

It is also part of the Banaue Rice Terraces declared under Presidential Decree 260 as National Cultural Treasure of the country.