Climate change presents new threat to Philippines’ UNESCO rice terraces

Ifugao, Philippines – At archetypal light, the colony of Batad begins to disturbance to beingness beneath the towering cliffs surrounding its amphitheatre-like atom terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Apu Penneng, an Ifugao elder who owns 1 of the village’s largest tracts of ricefields, struts with youthful assurance on a constrictive and steep way successful this highland assemblage 1,100 metres (3,608ft) supra oversea level.

Dressed successful a accepted loincloth, shawl and headgear, helium is heading for the Tanig, an elaborate greeting ritual earlier the harvest begins. At a courtyard adjacent to rows of huts, dozens of colony women besides stitchery for the Bullogan chi Munbotoh, the procession to the harvest site.

Against the glow of the rising sun, the centuries-old terraces yet travel successful afloat presumption arsenic if cascading from the sky. The fields of Tinawon atom grains, moist from the drizzle the nighttime before, glimmer similar morsels of golden acceptable for picking.

But the different majestic scenery is punctuated by the show of collapsed world and boulders, close successful the mediate of the terraces.

Village elder Apu Penneng, who is regarded arsenic the custodian of his family’s immense atom paddies successful Batad, heads to the harvest tract during this year’s Tinawon atom harvest festival [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]

In November past year, Super Typhoon Fung-wong triggered a landslide that killed 2 locals and demolished 1 of the centuries-old canals irrigating the atom paddies. About 2.2 hectares (5.4 acres) of atom fields were damaged, affecting 150 farmers.

“It was the worst we’ve seen here,” Apu Penneng calmly said, arsenic helium pointed to a deforested spot of onshore supra the terraces. From afar, it looked similar it had been slashed with a elephantine blade.

The wreckage has been an unwelcome reminder for villagers of the destructive quality of utmost upwind conditions, which person been expanding successful frequence successful caller years.

Batad was besides struck with landslides successful 2011, 2023 and 2025. With the emerging menace of this year’s Super El Nino, a clime improvement that increases planetary temperatures and drives much utmost upwind and rainfall patterns, the Ifugao radical interest astir much harm to come.

A wide ace marking the way of a deadly landslide successful November 2025 remains disposable successful the precocious near country of the terraces, arsenic dozens of pistillate residents of Batad articulation successful the Bullogan chi Munbotoh, the accepted procession to the harvest tract [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera] 

Across the world, 80 percent of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites are facing climate-induced stress, according to an August 2025 survey published successful the technological diary Nature.

The survey recovered that UNESCO sites successful debased and middle-income countries person the slightest conservation support, making them adjacent much susceptible to harsh climatic conditions. It added that successful tropical monsoon areas, those conditions see record-breaking heatwaves, extended droughts and abrupt drenching rainfall – overmuch similar what struck Batad successful November 2025.

“Climate alteration is truly aggravating the concern connected the ground,” said lawyer Marlon Martin, caput of the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMO).

For the atom terraces to enactment intact and stable, the ungraded needs to support a definite level of moisture year-round. But due to the fact that of caller bouts of adust spells, heavy cracks person developed, making the terraces prone to erosion, said Martin.

“When abrupt bursts of rainfall occur, the h2o would seep into the cracks excessively abruptly, resulting successful erosion” and adjacent ungraded collapse, helium added, informing that the Super El Nino could lone mean much occupation ahead.

Batad nonmigratory Joel Langihon, 52, arranges piles of rocks and mud to fortify a damaged information of his family’s atom paddy that was washed retired arsenic a effect of Super Typhoon Fung-wong past November [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]

According to Steve Baccay, caput of Ifugao’s Provincial Agriculture and Environment Office, an equivalent of $500,000 is needed for the restoration enactment successful Batad pursuing past November’s landslide.

Since the disaster, Batad residents themselves person travel unneurotic a fewer times to bash voluntary communal enactment called bachang to hole the demolished irrigation canal.

The societal payment and labour departments person besides extended exigency nutrient and currency assistance to affected farmers. However, further nationalist authorities assistance is improbable until the adjacent fiscal year.

Climate alteration is thing new, and for centuries radical successful Ifugao person adapted to the changes utilizing Indigenous engineering techniques to support the terraces, said Martin. But for Batad to withstand much predominant and much utmost weather, nationalist involution is needed, helium added.

Batad colony president Romeo Heppog (standing left) said it is important for the Philippine authorities to allocate capable funds to velocity up the repair of the atom terraces [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]

For Batad colony main Romeo Heppog and his family, the atom terraces are not conscionable a root of their livelihood, but portion of their individuality and their mode of life.

Organising the yearly atom harvest festival is his mode of honouring their ancestors and renewing their “sacred oath” to sphere the terraces for the generations to come, helium said.

At the Tanig pre-harvest ineffable ritual, Heppog watches intimately alongside Apu Penneng arsenic Apu Buy-a Nadyug, Batad’s main Indigenous clergyman known arsenic Mumbaki, leads the harvest rituals, including the pouring and drinking of caller atom wine.

Tinawon, meaning ‘once a year’, is Batad’s heirloom integrated atom harvested lone erstwhile annually [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]

Hunched connected the crushed adjacent to a brace of woody Bulul, which embody invisible spiritual beings of the Ifugaos, the octogenarian Apu Buy-a Nadyug recites verses seeking blessings and extortion for the harvest.

With the assistance of different colony elder, Apu Penneng past leads the slaughter of chickens arsenic a symbolic offering to Ifugao ancestors and the spiritual beings.

In 1 of the last acts of the hour-long ineffable ritual, Mumbaki Apu Buy-a Nadyug past scrutinises the guts of the chicken, and pronounces different twelvemonth of “bountiful harvest”.

Apu Penneng and Heppog past pb the banging of gongs signifying merriment and the commencement of the joyful harvest.

Apu Buy-a Nadyug [centre], the main Indigenous clergyman of Batad, joins 2 different colony elders during the Tanig, a blessing ritual earlier the commencement of the harvest festival [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]

For a moment, the worries of the villagers of Batad are drowned retired by the large rhythmic dependable that has been passed from procreation to generation.

Apu Penneng past proceeds to his ricefield for the harvest.  Amid the uncertainties for his community, his look beams with pridefulness arsenic helium gazes astatine the panoramic presumption of Batad.

From a distance, the 2,702 metres (8,865ft) Mount Amuyao, the country’s 10th highest peak, towers implicit Batad, arsenic if guarding it from the threats of nature.

“We volition get done this,” said Apu Penneng.

Marlon Martin, caput of the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement, said Batad farmers request regular subsidies to promote them to proceed farming portion besides financially sustaining their families [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]