Climate change presents new threat to Philippines’ UNESCO rice terraces

Published 27 July 2026 · politics

Limited government resources undercut the efforts of the Ifugao people to safeguard their heritage site from the effects of extreme weather. Ifugao, Philippines – At

Limited government resources undercut the efforts of the Ifugao people to safeguard their heritage site from the effects of extreme weather. Ifugao, Philippines – At first light, the village of Batad begins to stir to life beneath the towering cliffs surrounding its amphitheatre-like rice terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Apu Penneng, an Ifugao elder who owns one of the village’s largest tracts of ricefields, struts with youthful confidence along a narrow and steep path in this highland community 1,100 metres (3,608ft) above sea level. Dressed in a traditional loincloth, shawl and headgear, he is heading for the Tanig, an elaborate morning ritual before the harvest begins. At a courtyard next to rows of huts, dozens of village women also gather for the Bullogan chi Munbotoh, the procession to the harvest site. Against the glow of the rising sun, the centuries-old terraces finally come in full view as if cascading from the sky. The fields of Tinawon rice grains, moist from the drizzle the night before, glimmer like morsels of gold ready for picking. But the otherwise majestic landscape is punctuated by the sight of collapsed earth and boulders, right in the middle of the terraces. In November last year, Super Typhoon Fung-wong triggered a landslide that killed two locals and demolished one of the centuries-old canals irrigating the rice paddies. About 2.2 hectares (5.4 acres) of rice fields were damaged, affecting 150 farmers.

“It was the worst we’ve seen here,” Apu Penneng calmly said, as he pointed to a deforested patch of land above the terraces. From afar, it looked like it had been slashed with a giant blade. The wreckage has been an unwelcome reminder for villagers of the destructive nature of extreme weather conditions, which have been increasing in frequency in recent years. Batad was also struck with landslides in 2011, 2023 and 2025. With the emerging threat of this year’s Super El Nino, a climate phenomenon that increases global temperatures and drives more extreme weather and rainfall patterns, the Ifugao people worry about more damage to come. Across the world, 80 percent of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites are facing climate-induced stress, according to an August 2025 study published in the scientific journal Nature. The study found that UNESCO sites in low and middle-income countries receive the least conservation support, making them even more vulnerable to harsh climatic conditions. It added that in tropical monsoon areas, those conditions include record-breaking heatwaves, extended droughts and sudden drenching rainfall – much like what struck Batad in November 2025. “Climate change is really aggravating the situation on the ground,” said lawyer Marlon Martin, head of the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMO). For the rice terraces to stay intact and stable, the soil needs to maintain a certain level of moisture year-round. But because of recent bouts of dry spells, deep cracks have developed, making the terraces prone to erosion, said Martin.