The Potential and Contradictions of Geographical Indication and Patrimonization for the Sustainability of Indigenous Communities: A Case of Cordillera Heirloom Rice in the Philippines

Kae Sekine

doi:10.3390/su13084366

Abstract

In the Montane areas of Cordillera, the Philippines, the IP (indigenous people) have cultivated native rice for generations on their rice terraces, which were designated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Cultural Heritage site in 1995 and a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) World Agricultural Heritage site, Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in 2011. This heirloom rice was registered as a collective trademark in 2018 and will be registered as a sui generis geographical indication (GI) in the coming years. Based on the author’s interviews with the stakeholders in heirloom rice production conducted in the Philippines in 2019, this article aims to analyze whether GI and patrimonization contribute to the sustainability of the IP communities in Cordillera. This paper demonstrates that GI and patrimonization exhibit both potential and contradictions in ecological, socio-cultural, and economic dimensions of sustainability in the communities, and the compatibility of these dimensions is challenged. The paper concludes that public policies need to pay particular attention to accompanying IP communities when GI and patrimonization are designed to protect them from over-development of the designated area and over-commodification of their certified agri-food products.

Highlights

Heirloom rice produced in the CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) in the Philippines receives international recognition thanks to the designation of the rice terraces in the region as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Cultural Heritage site and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) (Globally Important Agricultural HeritageSystems) by the UN FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization)
This feature of the heirloom rice shows high potential to be recognized as geographical indication (GI) and simultaneously the risk related to the commodification of subsistence and IP spiritually symbolic crops
The contradictions inherent in the very processes of GI and patrimonization implementations will be difficult to be completely overcome. If these schemes are considered to be viable policy options among stakeholders in the given social context, what lessons can be drawn from the case of heirloom rice in the CAR, Philippines?

Summary

Introduction

Heirloom rice produced in the CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) in the Philippines receives international recognition thanks to the designation of the rice terraces in the region as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Cultural Heritage site and GIAHS (Globally Important Agricultural HeritageSystems) by the UN FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization). Heirloom rice produced in the CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) in the Philippines receives international recognition thanks to the designation of the rice terraces in the region as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Cultural Heritage site and GIAHS The heirloom rice varieties grown on their rice terraces have been passed down from one generation to another for several centuries, together with traditional knowledge well adapted to the local ecosystem. To revitalize the heirloom rice production, associated traditional knowledge, the endemic ecosystem, and indigenous culture, GI (geographical indication) is viewed as a promising solution by regional, national, and international institutions. These positive effects of GI are not automatically guaranteed

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