Resilience and adaptability of rice terrace social-ecological systems: a case study of a local community’s perception in Banaue, Philippines

Abstract

. 2016. Resilience and adaptability of rice terrace socialecological systems: a case study of a local community's perception in Banaue, Philippines. Ecology and Society 21 (2) ABSTRACT. The social-ecological systems of rice terraces across Southeast Asia are the result of centuries of long-term interactions between human communities and their surrounding ecosystems. Processes and structures in these systems have evolved to provide a diversity of ecosystem services and benefits to human societies. However, as Southeast Asian countries experience rapid economic growth and related land-use changes, the remaining extensive rice cultivation systems are increasingly under pressure. We investigated the long-term development of ecosystem services and the adaptive capacity of the social-ecological system of rice terrace landscapes using a case study of Banaue (Ifugao Province, Northern-Luzon, Philippines). A set of indicators was used to describe and assess changes in the social-ecological state of the study system. The resilience of the rice terraces and the human communities that maintain them was examined by comparing the current state of the system with results from the literature. Our findings indicate that, although the social-ecological system has not yet shifted to an alternative state, pressures are increasing and some cultural ecosystem services have already been lost.

Conceptualizing the Socio-Ecological Resilience of the Chaya Rice Terraces, a Socio-Ecological Production Landscape in Mayoyao, Ifugao, Luzon Island, Philippines

“…As expected, some of the determinants of resilience (Table 2, column 3) agree with the indicators used by Castonguay et al (2016) and Castonguay (2014) in assessing the resilience of Banaue rice terraces. These are pinuchu system (Fig.…”

“…However, with the influx of giant earthworm and climate-related disturbances such as strong typhoon, the stone walls and "ofhob" are seriously at risk. The giant earthworm has been documented since the early 1980's (Conklin, 1980) and yet until now there are still no available effective measures developed to control the giant earthworm (Ngidlo, 2013a;Castonguay et al, 2016). That is why farmers opted to use pesticides to eradicate this invasive species which is alarming since this practice contradicts their preference for organic farming.…”

“…This study selected the rice terraces of Chaya, a village in Mayoyao, Ifugao because to date, there is limited information on the resilience of rice terraces located in the remote areas. Resilience studies are mostly concentrated in the well-known rice terraces of Banaue, Ifugao (Castonguay et al, 2016). To fill this gap, a study was conducted using Barangay Chaya was selected as the study area for it has been considered the most resilient SEPL among Central Mayoyao Rice Terraces and can be a model of adapted agricultural system.…”

Heirloom rice in Ifugao: an ‘anti-commodity’ in the process of commodification

“…For example, the rice terraces are now widely infested with an invasive species of snail, for which no traditional remedies existed, and an invasive rat species which is drawn to the aromatic heirloom varieties (Castonguay et al 2016). The rat problem is partly a consequence of a breakdown in the pre-Green Revolution practice whereby farmers used to synchronise the planting of aromatic rices across an area, which made rat predation more diffuse and therefore less serious for individual farmers.…”

“…The Ifugaos have been incorporated into the cash economy and engage in income-generating activities and economic migration. This dynamic is creating demographic changes and new types of agriculture and land management in the mountains, signified in the spread of vegetable gardens and associated changes in the management of watersheds and woodlots (muyongs), alterations in the distribution of water through the landscape, and the neglect, abandonment or conversion of rice terraces (McKay 2003;Acabado 2012a;Castonguay et al 2016;Bantayan et al 2012;Dizon et al 2012).…”