44 JOURNAL OF WORLD HERITAGE STUDIES・SPECIAL ISSUE 2019・DISASTERS AND RESILIENCE ISSN 2189-4728 Jeferson M. Chua Philippine National Commission for UNESCO, G/F Department of Foreign Affairs Building, 2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 1300 Philippines; +63 (917) 550 7525, jefersonmchua@gmail.com ■ Abstract This essay will explore how the mixed heritage values of Mount Mayon Natural Park (MMNP) can be utlized to craf people-centered disaster mitgaton mechanisms in a mult-hazard context. Apart from frequent volcanic actvity, the greater area of Mayon is also frequented by other disasters. This was exemplifed in the November 2006 disaster involving Typhoon Reming/Durian, where it inundated the slopes of the recently erupted Mayon, causing destructve mudfows that reached towns outside the designated danger zones. While there were disaster risk mitgaton plans in place, the sheer scale of the disaster shows that there are stll gaps in the overall management regime around the site, which can be improved. These gaps can be possibly addressed through the ongoing eforts of nominatng Mayon Volcano as a World Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage Site; specifcally, in adoptng a people-centered approach that looks at nature-culture linkages for heritage conservaton as a tool in crafing innovatve disaster risk reducton mechanisms. KEY WORDS: Mayon, Volcano, Mult-hazard, World Heritage, Mixed Site ■ 1. Introducton 1.1 Overview of the heritage site Rising up to 2,462 meters above sea level, Mayon Volcano, the centerpiece of the Mount Mayon Natural Park, is a classic, conical, Basaltic- Andesitic Stratovolcano, whose natural heritage values have been essential to the cultural fabric of the communities around it. A product of the convergent boundary where the Philippine Mobile Belt subsumes the thinner, but heavier, Philippine Sea Plate, the volcano was formed approximately 20,000 years ago and is part of a cluster of volcanoes lining the subduction zone between the two plates. Because of its placement on a highly restive portion of the Earth’s crust, Mayon follows a cyclical and relatively regular Vulcanian-Strombolian eruption sequence, making it the most actve volcano in the Philippine archipelago, with 50 eruptions since recordings began in 1616. This ensures that new layers of volcanic material constantly replace any natural deformation, common in volcanic landscapes, forming an unusually concave profile indicative of the interplay between creation and destruction The Mixed Heritage Values of Mount Mayon Natural Park: A Case Study on Harnessing a People-Centered Approach to Nature-Culture Linkages Conservaton in a Mult- Hazard Context