You: “How Do You Preserve A Legacy Like The Ifugao Rice Terraces?” FAH: “I Want The Rice Terraces Conserved As The Natural Wonders They Should Be!”

JH Corpus says that from 10-14 Oct in Banaue, the conference “Climate Risk And Resilience At The Rice Terraces Of The Philippine Cordilleras” was sponsored by Preserving Legacies and ICOMOS Philippines, in partnership with National Geographic Society, Climate Change Network, and funded by Manulife (11 Nov 2023, philstarlife.com). This is because, “in the Philippines, we have a highly valued living heritage site listed on UNESCO's World Heritage Site roster, namely, the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras. Sadly, this site is facing the threat of climate change.”

During that conference, Victoria Herrman (see lower image), National Geographic Explorer and Project Director of “Preserving Legacies” said:

[We] firmly believe in the power of [culture] and heritage for climate change. This important project will empower communities and site custodians to protect their heritage from the [ravages] of climate change.

Tina Paterno, Project Director for the Philippines, said:

By working and sharing experiences, this project can better develop and present culture-based solutions to many climate challenges and build more resilient communities. The joint efforts will document, study, and utilize diverse knowledge, skills and practices, inherited and adapted methods of learning and technical know-how to build resilience and transform communities to meet climate-adaptation goals.

“Climate-adaptation goals” –

I have graduated from “Climate Adaptation” to “Climate Amendment” – We must fight the cause of Climate Change and not simply accept and adjust to the bad effects!!

And how do we fight the cause of Climate Change? Via Conservation – in this case, Re-Conservation of Natural Resources, because we have forgotten conservation.

We have forgotten that we should not preserve only the rice terraces but conserve the Entire Ecosystem on which those terraces exist. You don’t know an Ecosystem when you meet one? Just look around the terraces and note the mountainsides where forest species grow and wild animals thrive!

I am a teacher, BSA major in Ag Edu, UP Los Baños 1965, a Civil Service Professional. From hereon, let me refer to all my communications about the environment with this term:

General Regenerative Ecosystem Ameliorations via Old Techniques & New Technologies (GREATT).

Generally speaking, “Techniques” refers to age-old methods of production and reproduction in the fields of agriculture and forestry (AF); “Technologies” refers to science-derived ways and means for restoration and/or strengthening of AF environments

I am now a “GREATT Regenerative Fellow.”

2 years ago, I wrote the essay “Regenerative Thinking… Regenerative Agriculture In The Philippines” (26 Nov 2021, ComDeV, blogspot.com) – Note, at that time I was still calling my blog “Communication for Village Development 2021 (CoVID21); it is now “Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages” (ComDeV²) as you can see above.

And so, let me now reiterate my self-learned position that for the Ifugao rice terraces – not to mention elsewhere in the world – we should go beyond preserving into conserving the natural richness of the place!

GREATT! Conserving means practicing Regenerative Agriculture and forsaking Chemical Agriculture, farm chemicals being the common cause of Farmer Poverty and Climate Change!@517