Resilience and adaptive capacity of rice landscapes

The rice terraces of the municipality of Banaue, Philippines have been cultivated for several centuries. Over this period of time, the ecological system has been strongly influenced by the indigenous Ifugao people cultivating the rice fields. The culture and social habits of the inhabitants have developed deep ties with the rice terraces. Thus, the two systems have become strongly interrelated and interdependent. The processes and structures in this unique system have evolved for centuries to produce an abundance of ecosystem services and benefits in one of the most impoverished regions of the Philippines. This research aims at assessing the long-term development of ecosystem services and the adaptive capacity of a rice-based cultural landscape. Taking the different pressures into consideration, the book defines a suitable and relevant set of indicators describing the ecological and socioeconomic state of the system. The resilience of the rice terraces and the community living off them is assessed by comparing the result of these indicators with descriptions of the area in the previous literature. Finally, considering the resilience of the system, management options to enhance the adaptive capacity and improve the livelihood of the indigenous people of Ifugao are presented.