The Kanazawa University of Japan together with the Faculty of Management and Development Studies, UP Open University (UPOU) and the Ifugao State University (IFSU) organized the RP-Japan Forum on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): Current Scenario, Challenges and Future Development. The forum was held at the Ifugao State University, Lamut, Ifugao on January 14, 2012.
The forum served as a venue for discussing research, management, and governance of GIAHS. It also provided a platform for the academe and its stakeholders in sharing and exchanging information on the current state of the Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT) which is the first GIAHS site in the Philippines, and Noto’s Satoyama and Satoumi, and Sados’ crested ibis which are the GIAHS sites in Japan.
The Philippines and Japan are among the seven countries identified by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) GIAHS Initiative as pilot sites in developing and implementing adaptive conservation and management of agricultural systems and their components.
Two Japanese speakers attended the forum: Prof. Koji Nakamura, Deputy President of the Kanazawa University and Chair of the Organizing Committee, who presented a paper on Noto’ssatoyama and satoumi as GIAHS; and Mayor Koichiro Takano, Mayor of Sado, Japan who talked about Sado’ssatoyama in harmony with the Japanese crested ibis (Sado’s GIAHS Project).
Other paper presenters included the following:
• Dr. Mary Jane Dela Cruz of FAO-Rome on GIAHS: Rationale and Future Directions;
• Ms. Maribel Bimohya of the Ifugao Province Local Government Unit on IRT: Current Problems, Issues and Concerns;
• Dr. Dinah Licyayo of IFSU on National Policies and Local Ordinances on IRT;
• Dr. Sylvano Mahiwo of the Asian Center, UP Diliman on Sociocultural Dimension of IRT;
• Ms. Eulalie D. Dulnuan of the Department of Tourism Banaue on IRT Tourism: Status, Problems and Concerns;
• Dr.Inocencio E. Buot, Jr. of UPOU on GIAHS and the Satoyama-like landscapes in the Philippines;
• Dr. Robert T. Ngidlo of IFSU on IFSU Researches on IRT: Current Scenario, Gaps and Future Directions;
• Mr. Marlon Martin of the Save theIfugao Terraces Movement (SITMo) on NGO Initiatives in Research and Management of IRT; and
• Dr. Kazem Vafadari Mehrizi of the Asia-Pacific University on Tourism Applications of GIAHS in Ifugao and Noto.
Other paper presenters included the following:
• Dr. Mary Jane Dela Cruz of FAO-Rome on GIAHS: Rationale and Future Directions;
• Ms. Maribel Bimohya of the Ifugao Province Local Government Unit on IRT: Current Problems, Issues and Concerns;
• Dr. Dinah Licyayo of IFSU on National Policies and Local Ordinances on IRT;
• Dr. Sylvano Mahiwo of the Asian Center, UP Diliman on Sociocultural Dimension of IRT;
• Ms. Eulalie D. Dulnuan of the Department of Tourism Banaue on IRT Tourism: Status, Problems and Concerns;
• Dr.Inocencio E. Buot, Jr. of UPOU on GIAHS and the Satoyama-like landscapes in the Philippines;
• Dr. Robert T. Ngidlo of IFSU on IFSU Researches on IRT: Current Scenario, Gaps and Future Directions;
• Mr. Marlon Martin of the Save theIfugao Terraces Movement (SITMo) on NGO Initiatives in Research and Management of IRT; and
• Dr. Kazem Vafadari Mehrizi of the Asia-Pacific University on Tourism Applications of GIAHS in Ifugao and Noto.
A total of 90 participants from various institutions and regions attended the forum. Eleven poster papers were presented during the forum. The forum’s proceedings will be published in a scientific journal. (Joane Serrano).
