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As someone who calls Los Angeles home and whose research has made Ifugao a second home, I’ve come to understand the complex and deeply personal relationships people have with the land. The current wildfires raging across Los Angeles are a bleak and immediate reminder of the precarious balance between human activity, environmental management, and nature’s raw power.
As flames consume thousands of acres, destroy homes, and claim lives, the devastation highlights how wildfire season has become a grim fixture of life here. These fires are often described as natural disasters, yet living in Los Angeles has taught me that they are also part of a larger ecological rhythm, one that we have disrupted through urban expansion, climate change, and our attempts to control nature rather than coexist with it.
This same tension resonates in Ifugao, where my work has shown me how Indigenous communities have long managed forests in ways that sustain both biodiversity and cultural resilience. The muyong system — a traditional agroforestry practice that integrates forest management with the famous rice terraces — and uma (swiddening) (or kaingin in other parts of the country), a rotational farming system, demonstrate how fire and forest clearing, when carefully managed, can nurture rather than harm the land. In uma, fields are cultivated for a few years and then left to fallow, allowing the soil and vegetation to regenerate. The process includes creating “fire lines” to prevent uncontrolled fire spread during burning, a practice deeply rooted in ecological understanding.
The irony is that modern policies in both places have often undermined these time-tested practices. In California, fire suppression policies aimed at protecting the environment have instead created the conditions for devastating wildfires, with forests overloaded with dry fuel. In the Philippines, the imposition of a total log ban disrupted the muyong system, criminalizing uma practices that had successfully balanced conservation with resource use for generations. Thankfully, Ifugao was later exempted from the ban, allowing Indigenous practices to continue and proving that traditional knowledge is key to sustainable forest management.
Living between these two worlds has made it clear to me that Indigenous knowledge is indispensable. In Los Angeles, integrating controlled burns could minimize the chance of wildfires in fire-prone landscapes. In Ifugao, the muyong and uma systems offer a model of how conservation and human activity can coexist, maintaining the health of the environment while supporting communities.
Learning from indigenous practices
For millennia, Indigenous communities in California have understood fire not as a destructive force but as a vital part of the land’s regenerative cycles. Cultural burns, or low-intensity fires intentionally set by Indigenous practitioners, cleared underbrush, promoted the growth of specific plants, and maintained healthy ecosystems. Certain plants, such as native grasses and wildflowers, rely on fire to release seeds or stimulate growth, while others thrive in the nutrient-rich ash left behind. These practices reflect a profound ecological knowledge that views fire as an essential partner in fostering biodiversity and sustaining the long-term vitality of the landscape.
This relationship between fire and regeneration was deeply cultural as well as ecological. Indigenous fire management was tied to ceremonies, community life, and a holistic approach to stewardship that recognized humans as integral participants in the ecosystem. Through controlled burns, Indigenous peoples created mosaic landscapes that enhanced habitats, supported diverse species, and ensured sustainable resources for their communities. For thousands of years, this balance prevented the kind of large-scale, destructive wildfires that are now alarmingly frequent.
However, modern policies have muted this wisdom, sidelining Indigenous practices in favor of fire suppression strategies. Throughout the 20th century, forest management focused on extinguishing every blaze and enforcing strict controls to “protect” forests from human activity. While well-intentioned, these approaches disrupted natural cycles. The absence of controlled burns allowed forests to become overgrown with dry vegetation and flammable debris, turning them into tinderboxes. Compounding this, rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and erratic weather patterns driven by climate change have created ideal conditions for massive, uncontrollable wildfires that threaten both land and lives.
The consequences of these policies are now devastatingly clear in California, where fires have grown larger, hotter, and more destructive. Decades of misguided management, coupled with climate change, have exacerbated the crisis. To address these challenges, it is imperative to embrace Indigenous fire knowledge as a cornerstone of modern forest management. This means reviving cultural burns and empowering Indigenous practitioners to lead these efforts. By integrating these time-tested practices into contemporary policy, we can restore balance to fire-prone ecosystems and mitigate the devastating impacts of wildfires.
The Ifugao muyong system and uma (swiddening) (kaingin in other parts of the Philippines) illustrate the sophisticated interplay of sustainable land management and Indigenous knowledge in the Philippines. The muyong, a communal agroforestry practice, combines reforestation, water cycle maintenance, and biodiversity conservation, serving as a backbone for the region’s iconic rice terraces. Complementing this is the uma, or swiddening, a regenerative agricultural system where fields are cultivated and then left to fallow for several years, allowing natural recovery. Essential steps in swiddening include creating “fire lines” to prevent uncontrolled fire spread during the burning phase, highlighting its carefully managed approach.
Both systems prioritize selective harvesting and environmental stewardship: muyong maintenance requires clearing underbrush to reduce fire risk, while harvested resources are replenished to ensure sustainability. Despite its ecological benefits, uma faces legal challenges due to broader bans on kaingin across the Philippines, often ignoring the nuances of traditional, controlled practices.
Historically, external interventions have disrupted the harmony of these systems. The late 20th-century nationwide logging ban criminalized sustainable harvesting critical to the muyong’s balance. Persistent advocacy eventually secured an exemption for the Cordillera region, underscoring the value of Indigenous practices in conserving both culture and the environment. Integrating the muyong and uma exemplifies how Indigenous communities adapt to their landscapes, balancing immediate agricultural needs with long-term ecological health.
Both California’s cultural burns and the Ifugao muyong and uma highlight the importance of recognizing and reviving Indigenous ecological knowledge. These practices offer not only practical solutions to contemporary crises but also insightful lessons about living in harmony with the land. By respecting and integrating these approaches, we can address the complex challenges of climate change, land management, and biodiversity conservation with strategies that honor both nature and culture.
Toward a balanced future
The wildfires in Los Angeles and the disruptions in the Cordillera illustrate the consequences of ignoring Indigenous knowledge and the transformative potential of embracing it. Across the globe, Indigenous communities offer solutions rooted in their experience with nature—solutions we can no longer afford to overlook.
For me, this is personal. When I see smoke rising over Los Angeles or walk through the forests of Ifugao, I’m reminded of the profound connection between people and the land. The way forward requires not only listening to indigenous voices but actively creating space for their leadership.
Whether in California or the Philippines, the wisdom of those who have lived in balance with the land for generations offers a path toward a more sustainable and equitable future. – Rappler.com
Stephen B. Acabado is professor of anthropology at the University of California-Los Angeles. He directs the Ifugao and Bicol Archaeological Projects, research programs that engage community stakeholders. He grew up in Tinambac, Camarines Sur. Follow him on bluesky @stephenacabado.bsky.social.
