“A living cultural landscape of unparalleled beauty”

BANAUE RICE TERRACES

Banaue rice terraces, system of irrigated rice terraces in the mountains of north-central Luzon, Philippines, that were created more than 2,000 years ago by the Ifugao people. Although located in several villages, they are collectively known as the Banaue rice terraces. In 1995 various sections of the terraces were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, described as “a living cultural landscape of unparalleled beauty.”

The rice terraces are situated in the Cordilleras of Luzon Island. The remote area—some 220 miles (350 km) from Manila—has long been home to the Ifugao, wet-rice agriculturalists who began building the terraces about the 1st century CE. Despite possessing only basic tools, the Ifugao created an engineering marvel: a vast network of rice terraces sustained by an elaborate irrigation system. According to reports, the terraces—which resemble steps carved into the mountainside—cover some 4,000 square miles (10,360 square km), and their total length is estimated at approximately 12,500 miles (20,100 km), roughly half the Earth’s circumference. While the rice terraces were important to the Ifugao economy, they also served a cultural function, requiring intensive cooperation among the people.

By the early 21st century, however, the number of Ifugao in the area had greatly diminished as many migrated to more urban centers. As a result, a significant portion of the terraces began to deteriorate. Six years after sections have designated a World Heritage site in 1995, the terraces were added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in Danger.

 In addition to neglect, officials raised concerns about unregulated development in the area and the lack of strong management. Major restoration and conservation efforts were subsequently undertaken and in 2012 the terraces were removed from the list. During this time officials also began promoting sustainable tourism, as the terraces became an increasingly popular attraction, especially those in the village of Batad.

The five inscribed clusters are; (i) the Nagacadan terrace cluster in the municipality of Kiangan, a rice terrace cluster manifested in two distinct ascending rows of terraces bisected by a river; (ii) the Hungduan terrace cluster that uniquely emerges into a spider web; (iii) the central Mayoyao terrace cluster which is characterized by terraces interspersed with traditional farmers’ bale (houses) and alang (granaries); (iv) the Bangaan terrace cluster in the municipality of Banaue that backdrops a typical Ifugao traditional village; and (v) the Batad terrace cluster of the municipality of Banaue that is nestled in amphitheatre-like semi-circular terraces with a village at its base.

The Ifugao Rice Terraces, which follow the natural contours of the mountains, only enhance the region’s rugged natural beauty. They also epitomize a harmonic, sustainable relationship between humans and their environment. These fields, and the knowledge to farm and sustain them, have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.

The structures' original builders used stone and mud walls to carefully carve and construct terraces that could hold flooded pond fields for the cultivation of rice. They also established a system to water these plots by harvesting water from mountaintop forests. These incredible engineering feats were done by hand as was (and is) the farming itself.

The rice terraces have long been central to the survival of the Ifugao peoples but they also occupy a central importance within their culture. Entire communities cooperate on cyclical, seasonal systems of planting, pest control, and harvest, which are tied to lunar cycles and sometimes accompanied by religious rituals.