Why rice terraces

There are two seasons in the area: a long dry period from November to May and a wet season from June to October. This necessarily limits human activities in these areas, and woodcutting is especially prohibited. The people are, however, permitted to harvest forest timber and forest products from the lower mountainous areas down to the terraces.

There are thirteen major water bodies in the Ifugao province, which primarily come from surface run-off water and ground water, and these are used to irrigate the rice terraces and meet domestic water needs.

The unique systems that developed over time to manage water resources for rice cultivation are balanced by carefully managing seepage, evaporation, and rainfall. The seepage from higher elevated paddies is recycled and helps in replenishing the lower paddies.

The Ifugao peoples also retain water by constructing walls and dikes made of compact soils and stones, conserving soil from erosion and creating wet fields for intensive rice cultivation.

Furthermore, these communities have created many rice varieties to meet the different water regimes and temperature conditions of the mountainous landscapes.

Typically, each family plants more than three rice varieties from which they harvest the seeds for the next season. Despite their sustainable management of the rice terraces, 56 percent of the local Ifugao population of , were recognised as poverty-stricken by the national government in The income in most households comes from farm activities including rice, the main crop, supplemented by vegetables and fruits.

They are a representation of the community's social, cultural, economic, religious and political characteristics. Most importantly, their design has provided an example of land use that resulted from a harmonious interaction between people and the environment.

For these reasons, the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in , gradually coming under the international spotlight, and offering tourists a window to know the Philippines through its unparalleled beauty.

What are the cultural elements that best represent Asia? After choosing an ideal location, a pond where water will be retained should be constructed on the highest point of the terrace. Builders then lay down marking stones that act as the foundation for retaining walls that help keep the terraces in tact. Since this technique alters the natural state of the earth, multiple layers of retaining walls backed with gravel support needs to be constructed.

Next, eight to ten inches of earth and topsoil are transported to the newly constructed rice terraces. The soil is then stomped and smoothed to create a flat surface suitable for agriculture. Flooding the land with water marks the completion of a rice terrace. Rice terraces benefit the environment and its inhabitants. Their construction allows for farmers to sow and harvest land otherwise not suitable for farming. Threats and concerns identified when the property was put in the List of World Heritage in Danger in are now being conscientiously and systematically addressed through efforts extended by the Provincial Government and the concerned national agencies.

This will ensure completion of the corrective measures that constitute removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Programs have been established to ensure landscape restoration and conservation through the documentation and continuous physical rehabilitation of deteriorated areas, including the revival of traditional practices that addresses cultural degeneration.

As conservation and management challenges continue to persist in the rice terraces being a living cultural landscape, sustained efforts shall have to be carried out by the government and the concerned national agencies to ensure its long term sustainability and conservation.

This will include the enactment of national government policies and laws for the preservation of natural resources, the adoption of guidelines for conservation and for procedures for Environmental Impact Assessments and infrastructure for the implementation of major projects. Pride of place and culture, including the long term commitment of its indigenous Ifugao stakeholders shall ensure the sustainability and conservation of this living cultural landscape over time.

About us. Special themes. Major programmes. For the Press. Help preserve sites now! Join the , Members. Search Advanced. By Properties. Cultural Criteria: i ii iii iv v vi Natural Criteria: vii viii ix x. Category Cultural Natural Mixed. All With videos With photo gallery. Country Region Year Name of the property.