What happened to Banaue Rice Terraces?

What happened to Banaue Rice Terraces?

Often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao province covers 1, 670 hectares of agricultural land. Now, recent data revealed that a total of 600 hectares have been abandoned and need to be restored. Add to that, the loss of interest among the younger generations to farming.

What is the environment of Ifugao?

Ifugao terraces have shaped a characteristically landscape in the Mountains between 800 and 1500 meters. Indeed, they were previously forested areas while others are presumably grasslands. It is however, the availability of water that dictates the Ifugaos to build terraces and allowed them to create this system.

What are the Ifugao culture?

Ifugao culture revolves around rice, which is considered a prestige crop. There is an elaborate and complex array of rice culture feasts inextricably linked with taboos and intricate agricultural rites, from rice cultivation to rice consumption.

What is the history of 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.

Is Banaue rice terraces under threat?

The rice paddies that fall in terraces down the steep mountain sides of the Philippine island of Luzon are crumbling under the combined onslaught of worms and a rapidly shrinking rural population. Worms began proliferating about 10 years ago in the paddies of Banaue in Ifugao Province.

Are rice terraces good for the environment?

Terraces slow the flow of water – the driver of erosion – allowing it to trickle from platform to platform, limiting topsoil loss. It also serves as flood control, giving water a chance to infiltrate rather than runoff. This water sticks around as an underground reservoir for current and future crops.

How will you describe the rice terraces?

The Banaue Rice Terraces (Filipino: Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) are terraces that were carved into the mountains of Banaue, Ifugao, in the Philippines, by the ancestors of the Igorot people. It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand.

What values do the Ifugaos have about marriage and family life?

Monogamy is the norm, but the wealthy sometimes practice polygyny. The incest prohibition extends to first cousins; more distant cousins may be married only on payment of livestock penalties. Ifugao courtship takes place in the girls’ houses ( agamang ).

What are Ifugaos known for?

The Ifugao (Ifugaw, Ipugao, Ypugao, Hilipan, Quiangan) are world-famous for their spectacular rice terraces especially in Mayaoyao and Banaue where entire mountainsides are sculpted like giant steps. The national population is over 167,369 (NSO 1990).

What is the meaning of rice terraces?