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| Philippine Cordillera | |
|---|---|
| Name | Philippine Cordillera |
| Native name | Cordillera Central |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Cordillera Administrative Region; parts of Ilocos; Cagayan Valley; Central Luzon; Amazon; (note: remove erroneous) |
| Highest | Mount Pulag |
| Elevation m | 2922 |
| Coordinates | 16°30′N 120°50′E |
Philippine Cordillera is a major mountain range in northern Luzon that contains the highest peaks of the island and a mosaic of plateaus, river valleys, and terraces. The range shapes climate, river systems, and human settlement across Luzon and is the ancestral homeland of several indigenous groups with long histories of rice cultivation, craft traditions, and ritual landscapes. It is also a focus of geological research, biodiversity studies, and contested resource management.
The orogeny of the Cordillera involves interactions among the Philippine Mobile Belt, the Eurasian Plate, and the Philippine Sea Plate, producing fault systems such as the Digdig Fault and the Marikina Valley Fault System that influence regional seismicity. Prominent geomorphic features include high summits like Mount Pulag, Mount Data, and Cordillera Central peaks, as well as river systems such as the Agno River, Abra River, and Apayao River that drain into the Sierra Madre and the South China Sea. Glacial and periglacial evidence at high elevations has been studied in relation to Quaternary climate change by researchers associated with institutions like the University of the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, and international partners including the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London. The region’s lithology includes metamorphic schists, ophiolitic complexes tied to the Zambales Ophiolite, and volcanic sequences related to arc magmatism seen at localities studied by the Geological Society of the Philippines.
Archaeological and ethnohistorical records trace human occupation from Pleistocene hunter-gatherers through Neolithic agriculturalists whose ceramic assemblages connect to broader Southeast Asian networks studied by scholars from the National Museum of the Philippines and the Archaeological Studies Program (University of the Philippines Diliman). Historic encounters involved Spanish colonial expeditions such as those led by Juan de Salcedo and administrative policies implemented under the Captaincy General of the Philippines that affected upriver communities. The Cordillera is the ancestral homeland of indigenous confederations and ethnolinguistic groups including the Igorot people, Ifugao people, Kankanaey people, Bontoc people, Ibaloi people, Isneg people, and Kalinga people, each with distinct kinship systems, ritual specialists, and territorial claims adjudicated in modern courts including cases heard at the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Colonial and postcolonial resource projects—such as the contested Chico River Dam Project and hydropower schemes promoted by agencies like the National Power Corporation—provoked movements led by figures linked to organizations like the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and drew attention from national actors including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The Cordillera hosts montane and mossy forests, pine forests dominated by Pinus kesiya and cloud forest remnants that support endemic flora and fauna cataloged by institutions such as the DENR-National Integrated Protected Areas System and researchers at the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Notable species include endemic orchids, the Philippine eagle-associated montane ecosystems, and fauna like the Philippine deer adapted to upland habitats. Biodiversity assessments reference protected areas including Mount Pulag National Park, Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (adjacent comparisons), and landscape corridors connecting to the Ilocos Norte–Cagayan Bay seascapes. Conservation-focused research has involved collaborations with the World Wide Fund for Nature and universities such as Ateneo de Manila University and University of Santo Tomas.
Economies in the highlands integrate swidden and wet-rice agriculture, terraced systems like the Ifugao Rice Terraces—a UNESCO site linked to global heritage frameworks including UNESCO World Heritage Convention—and cash crops such as vegetables sold in markets of Baguio City, La Trinidad, and Tabuk. Mineral resources include deposits of gold exploited historically by companies including Filipinas Mining Corporation and small-scale miners whose activities are regulated by laws like the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. Forestry resources and watershed services supply urban centers including Manila and industrial actors represented in chambers such as the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Infrastructure projects—roads, logging roads, and hydroelectric dams—have been undertaken by state entities like the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and private contractors, often provoking disputes over land rights registered with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.
Highland cultures in the Cordillera maintain rice-centered cosmologies embodied in rituals like the Cañao and seasonal rites presided over by ritual specialists such as the mumbaki and babaylan (local terms in specific groups). Material culture includes woven textiles like the ikat and embroidered garments produced by communities in Benguet, Mountain Province, and Ifugao Province, often traded through markets in Baguio. Oral history and epic traditions recorded by scholars at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts intersect with visual arts produced by artists affiliated with the BenCab Museum and performers in festivals like the Panagbenga. Social institutions center on kinship, customary law upheld via practices recognized under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, and inter-village networks that coordinate irrigation systems for terraces through communal labor practices similar to the bayanihan tradition in other Philippine contexts.
Conservation challenges include deforestation, landslides triggered by typhoons such as Typhoon Haiyan and Typhoon Megi, soil erosion from extractive activities, and debates over protected-area designation involving agencies like the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau and advocacy groups such as the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and Greenpeace Philippines. Legal instruments and litigation—invoking the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 and rulings by the Supreme Court of the Philippines—shape outcomes for ancestral domain claims and environmental impact assessments conducted under the Environmental Impact Statement System. International funding for conservation and sustainable development has involved partners such as the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and bilateral donors, while grassroots initiatives link heritage tourism in places like the Ifugao Rice Terraces with community-based conservation and partnerships with museums and research centers including the Smithsonian Institution and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Category:Mountains of the Philippines Category:Regions of Luzon Category:Indigenous peoples of the Philippines