How Many Rice Terraces Do We Really Have?

HOW MANY RICE TERRACES DO WE REALLY HAVE?

by Antonio C. Antonio

June 12, 2014

Sometime October last year, I was having dinner in a restaurant in Makati City with a group of foreign visitors after a day-long meeting.  One of them casually showed me their itinerary and they apparently had a few “free” days.  The itinerary indicated that they will be visiting Baguio City and the Banaue Rice Terraces.  When asked if I had a better suggestion, I first inquired if they were the “upland-type” or the “coastal-type” of persons… since I had Boracay in the back of my mind.  He said they would prefer to go to the mountains.  So I confirmed that their north-bound route was fine.  A few minutes more of pleasantry exchanges then one of them turned to me and asked: “How many rice terraces do you really have?”  Before I could even answer he added: “I talked to two people yesterday and one said “one” and the other said “five”.”  I finally answered: “Six. We have six of them.”

The tour facilitator who said “five” was probably referring to the “Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras” which were inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.  These are: (1) The Batad Rice Terraces; (2) The Bangaan Rice Terraces; (3) The Hungduan Rice Terraces; (4) The Mayoyao Rice Terraces; and, (5) The Nagacadan Rice Terraces, all located in the Province of Ifugao.  The other tour facilitator who said “one” probably had the “Banaue Rice Terraces” in his/her mind.  The five UNESCO World Heritage sites are under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Banaue but are not referred to as the Banaue Rice Terraces.  In 2012, UNESCO removed the five rice terraces from its list in recognition of our success in improving their conservation.

This information may seem trivial but it is a sad fact that most Filipinos really do not know how many rice terraces we really have.

Just my little thoughts…