Benguet [Philippines] vegetable terracing: an environmental curse

This paper was a result of actual ocular inspections/surveys, documentation and informal discussions with several farmers and local officials from the municipalities of Atok and Buguias in the province of Benguet, Philippines. Mankayan, another town of the province was partly covered. Benguet is one of the six province of the Cordillera region in Northern Luzon, Philippines. The Cordillera region serves as the watershed cradle for six important river systems which drain to six different provinces in Regions 1 and 2. It hosts a number of important dams that generate electricity and provide irrigation water. The vegetable industry in Benguet is very vital in the Philippines since it supplies 60-70% of the total sub-tropical vegetables in the country. These vegetables are mostly produced in terraces, the most extensive which are found in the towns of Atok and Buguias. The local practice of vegetable terracing entails cutting down or burning of trees which starts from the sides of the mountains all the way the top. About 70% of the mountains are now estimated to be bereft of trees or permanent vegetation. The terraces are mostly unprotected on beds and on risers making them vulnerable to degradation by the forces of nature. Due to terracing, the rich biodiversity in the province had been greatly compromised endangering many of the endemic plants and animals into extinction. Soil erosion became a certainty and biodiversity suffered genetic scarcity. Despite of all the above negative impact of terracing, people wantonly practice it because it's their only source of livelihood. Terracing became necessary to momentarily sustain communities economically but at the expense of environmental protection. There is a need to safeguard the livelihood of the people tending the vegetable terraces but it must be balanced by sound water and soil conservation measures to protect the environment. To this end, the concerted efforts of all sectors is paramount.