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SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT
VOL.5 ISSUE 84 • JUNE 29 - 30, 2012
EDGEDAVAO
Rice terraces officially removed from heritage sites ‘danger list’
This file photo shows a general view of rice terraces in Bontoc, the Cordillera mountain region of the northern Philippines.
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He Banawe Rice terraces is officially off the list of world heritage sites in danger, the United nations Information Center in manila said Wednesday. Quoting the World Heritage Committee, UnIC said the Rice terraces—a picturesque stairs of rice paddies built by Ifugao ancestors some 2,000 years ago—has been removed from the “list of World Heritage in Danger.” Apart from the Rice terraces, Pakistan’s Fort and shalamar Gardens had been taken off the danger list, added UnIC.
“the World Heritage Committee commended the Philippines and Pakistan for the conservation measures that were successfully implemented in the respective sites,” the Un statement added. “the preservation of the Rice terraces required better management and development plus the country also needed increased national and international support. Both actions were successfully undertaken, leading to the conservation of the remote high rice fields,” UnIC added. In 1995, the Rice terraces was included in the
The “Bakoko”. From Palawan Council for Sustainable Development
World Heritage list “as an outstanding cultural landscape” but was put on the Danger list in 2000, “following a request from the Philippine government.” the Un educational, scientific, and Cultural organization (UnesCo) had said Ifugao Rice terraces have become endangered because of earthworms and rats that burrow along the walls of the rice paddies. typhoons have also contributed to the destruction. mining activities in the area also posed threats, senator loren legarda said in march.
Forest turtle ‘Bakoko’ in danger of extinction
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He world noted the passing of lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise, this week. Few know, however, that a species of turtle living in a small area in Palawan is facing the same danger that lonesome George did. the Philippine Forest turtle, locally known as “bakoko”, was thought extinct until the 2000s, when specimens were
found in pet markets in the Philippines. specimens were found in the wild in 2004 but researchers report they have become rare. According to a 2009 report by the Philippine Freshwater turtle Conservation Project (PFtCP), the turtle’s “rediscovery triggered a high demand for the international pet market. Just months after the rediscovery was published, the species was available on the international pet markets of europe, Japan and the UsA.” earlier this month, 18 baby Philippine Forest turtles--a critically-endangered species and the most endangered turtle species in the Philippines-were released into the wild. some of them had been earlier hidden in a bag and smuggled to Hong Kong with other rare amphibians in February but returned home in April and were handed over to the Katala Foundation Inc., a non-government organization that the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau has authorized to head the PFtCP. “the repatriation of these turtles is very meaningful. not only does it raise public awareness about the status of the species and illegal collec-
tion and trade, it is also a sterling example of improving law enforcement. Hopefully, the knowledge that they have such a special species, will instill pride among the people of Palawan,” Dr. sabine schoppe, KFI’s director for PFtCP said, when the turtles were returned. Dwindling numbers What is clear is that the Philippine Forest turtles were poached from somewhere in northern Palawan, and that poaching poses a danger to their continued existence. once common in Palawan, “the species is facing a combination of threats nowadays,” the PFtCP report said. “In addition to local consumption, habitat destruction and exploitation for the international pet trade are threatening the survival of the species,” it also said. Wildlife trade monitoring network traffic noted that had the turtles rescued in Hong Kong reached pet markets, they would have fetched more than the HK$8,000 (43,655 pesos) fine imposed on the smuggler who hid them in his luggage. traffic also noted that although “poached largely for the exotic pet trade, this turtle is also threatened by demand for exotic meat and medicine.”