Conservation for Whom? Archaeology, Heritage Policy, and Livelihoods in the Ifugao Rice Terraces

Stephen Acabado (), Adrian Albano and Marlon Martin
Additional contact information
Stephen Acabado: Department of Anthropology, University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Adrian Albano: College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Los Baños 4031, Laguna, Philippines
Marlon Martin: Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement, Inc., Kiangan 3604, Ifugao, Philippines

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: Heritage landscapes endure not through the preservation of fixed forms but through the capacity to adapt to changing social, political, economic, and environmental conditions. Conservation policies that privilege static ideals of authenticity risk undermining the very systems they aim to protect. This paper advances a model of shared stewardship that links conservation of heritage to support for livelihoods, functional flexibility, and community authority in decision-making. Using the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordillera as a case study, we integrate archaeological, ethnographic, spatial, and agricultural economic evidence to examine the terraces as a dynamic socio-ecological system. Archaeological findings and oral histories show that wet-rice agriculture expanded in the 17th century, replacing earlier taro-based systems and incorporating swidden fields, managed forests, and ritual obligations. Contemporary changes such as the shift from heirloom tinawon rice to commercial crops, the impacts of labor migration, and climate variability reflect long-standing adaptive strategies rather than cultural decline. Comparative cases from other UNESCO and heritage sites demonstrate that economic viability, adaptability, and local governance are essential to sustaining long-inhabited agricultural landscapes. We thus argue that the Ifugao terraces, like their global counterparts, should be conserved as living systems whose cultural continuity depends on their ability to respond to present and future challenges.

Keywords: heritage conservation; rice terraces; cultural values; UNESCO; Ifugao; Philippines (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/9/1721/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/9/1721/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:9:p:1721-:d:1732147

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().