48 the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.”231 Other international instruments including the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural Heritage, Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Convention Concerning the Protection of theWorld Cultural and Natural Heritage, Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, among others, recognize the importance of cultural rights. In the Philippines, the Constitution mandates the State to protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social and cultural well-being,232 while Republic Act No. 7356233 recognizes that “culture is a manifestation of the freedom of belief and of expression and is a human right to be accorded due respect and allowed to flourish.”234 The preservation of culture, however, is in danger because of the impacts of climate change. Indeed, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights235 warns that “the cultural identities and traces of entire nations may be at risk, facing the threat of cultural extinction, including through the total disappearance of human settlements and related ancestral cultures.”236 Katherine Lofts testified that climate change particularly impacts cultures closely connected with the natural environment. Traditional livelihoods and ancestral traditions of many indigenous peoples’ communities which are dependent on natural resources are threatened or may even be extinguished by climate change. Furthermore, she also maintained that climate change related displacement and migration also infringe upon the right to culture. Cultural practices and social cohesion are disrupted when communities are dispersed and forced to relocate.237 231 ICCPR, supra note 19, art 27. 232 Phil. Const. art. XII, § 5. See also Phil. Const. art. II, § 22. 233 An Act Creating the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Establishing a National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts, and for Other Purposes [Law Creating the National Commission for Culture and the Arts], Republic Act No. 7356 (1992). 234 Id. Title I, § 2. 235 Karima Bennoune, Report of the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights, A/75/298 (Aug, 10 2020) [hereinafter Report on Cultural Rights]. 236 Id. at 11. 237 T.S.N. of the Fourth Inquiry Hearing dated 27-28 September 2018, at 54.