Support local activities to conserve the 2,000 year-old Ifugao rice terraces World Heritage Site.
In 1995, UNESCO registered the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras as a World Heritage Site. The World Heritage Committee described the rice terraces as “outstanding examples of living cultural landscapes. They illustrate the traditional techniques and a remarkable harmony between humankind and the natural environment.”
Deforestation, modernisation and climate change, however, threaten to destroy the rice terraces. Hence, in 2001, confronted with the deterioration of the rice terraces and citing deficiencies in conservation planning for the rice terraces, UNESCO placed them on the list of World Heritage in Danger.
In keeping with its mission to address electricity issues and promote sustainable development, the e8 proposed to the Philippine authorities the development of a 200 kW run-of-river hydropower project that would generate sustainable revenues allocated to the conservation of the rice terraces. The Republic of the Philippines is blessed with abundant hydropower resources that can help address climate change, while providing a model of local sustainable energy-based development, regional vitalization and heritage conservation.
After several years of pre-feasibility, feasibility and environmental studies, including extensive public consultations, and a 10-month construction period, the mini-hydropower plant on the Ambangal river was inaugurated on January 25, 2010. With the dual objective to maintain and improve the quality of life for local communities engaged in rice-terrace farming and rehabilitate the Ifugao Rice Terraces World Heritage Site in the Philippines, the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership undertook the development of a mini-hydropower plant (200kW) on the Ifugao province’s Ambagal River, coupled with the establishment of a rice terrace conservation fund to be financed by the revenues resulting from the power sales.
Central to this project was the establishment of the Rice Terrace Conservation Fund. All proceeds from the power generated by the 200 kW Ifugao-Ambangal Mini-hydro Power Plant, except for those needed for the operation and maintenance of the plant, will go to terraces conservation purposes: maintenance and stabilisation of the rice terraces, and irrigation systems to reverse their deterioration.
Ifugao-Ambangal Project - PDF
