Participatory Data: Public or Private?

Participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) is a community-based process centred, which integrates local spatial knowledge with data on elevation of the land and depth of the sea to produce physical 3D models. Residents of a given area assemble a 3D model of the territory they rely on for their livelihoods and cultural practices. P3DM is used for a number of purposes and addresses a range of issues including spatial planning, land tenure, climate change adaptation, intergenerational knowledge exchange, building community identity, documenting local knowledge for advocacy purposes, and more.

P3DM has been used mostly in developing countries in rural areas. A P3DM exercise covering an area of 1000 km2 at a 1:10000-scale lasts approximately 10 days and involves 50-100 knowledge holders. The resulting 3D map stores a huge amount of geo-located data, matching a well-defined legend. The legend - developed by the local communities - includes point, line and polygon data; it reflects local and traditional knowledge of all sectors of society, including women and elders. Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) obtained, data displayed on the 3D model are imported into GIS environments and further analysed and compared with other data sets. Depending on the scale used, a P3DM exercise may generate up to 80 layers of information including land cover, resource use and tenure, social infrastructure, settlements, sites of cultural significance and more. Some data may be considered as sensitive by the knowledge holders and treated as confidential (i.e. removed from the model or stored as classified layers in a GIS). Custodians of data (usually NGOs operating on behalf of communities) should manage these according on ethical principles and agreed procedures.

P3DM works best at 1:5000 – 1:10000 scale or larger. The larger the scale (1:5000 is larger than 1:10,000), the more detailed and diversified the input of the knowledge holders will be. As a consequence, P3DM can be applied on moderately large areas (1000-4000 km2) at a time, although repeated exercises may result in the full coverage of small island nations. In countries covering large portion of the Earth, P3DM can and should be applied on selected “hot spots” to address specific issues.

As a follow-up to the 2006 “Mapping for Change” Conference which took place in Nairobi, the Community of Practice devoted to the improvement of Participatory GIS (PGIS) practice, developed guidelines on “Practical ethics for PGIS practitioners, facilitators, technology intermediaries and researchers” available 12 languages.

Data generation is part of the P3DM process, but not its end. Evidence has proved that as a result of the process, knowledge holders gain a deeper understanding of their bio-physical and social environments, heightened awareness on the importance of sound and climate-smart resource management and more. Data are usually generated to serve the process as the communities (all generations) learn by doing and to empower knowledge holders in interfacing with higher authorities.
Sharing of data is strategic and meant to serve purposes set by the knowledge holders. On the other hand the process allows for traditional and scientific knowledge systems to come together and make use of or build on the best of the two “worlds”.

CTA Open Seminar: "Participatory Data: Public or Private?"

The seminar "Participatory Data: Public or Private? is organised by CTA in anticipation of the forthcoming International Open Data Day

"Within Participatory mapping processes participatory data are usually generated to serve the process itself as the communities learn by doing and to empower knowledge holders in interfacing with higher authorities. Sharing of such data is strategic and meant to serve purposes set (ideally) by the knowledge holders. On the other hand the process allows for traditional and scientific knowledge systems to come together and make use of or build on the best of the two worlds."

When? Wednesday, 21 January,  2015, 10:00 – 12:00
Where? CTA, Agro Business Park 2, 6708 Wageningen, The Netherlands;
What?: get the flyer
Who? all those interested.
How? you are free to join. Here is our location on Google Maps

PGIS / PPGIS Community Growth updates

The PGIS/PPGIS Community of Practice is present on Dgroups since 2003, on LinkedIn since June 2008 and Facebook since May 2010.

Here are some stats about its growth:

DGroups:
# of members on 31/12/14:       2,643
Growth over the year 2014:         +3%

LinkedIn:
# of members on 31/12/14:      2,364
Growth over the year 2014:         +6%

Facebook:
# of Likes on 31/12/14:             1,428
Growth over the year 2014:        +14%

Twitter:
# of followers on 31/12/14:          611
Growth over the year 2014:        +10%

A new PGIS twitter account has been creates to report on PGIS activities run by CTA. You are welcome to follow it as well.

Be reminded that on Dgroups there are four PGIS/PPGIS communities. One for a global audience in English, and language-defined French, Spanish and Portuguese chapters. The above image shows the geographic distribution on members on the global (English) list.

Iligan City Participatory 3D Modelling

A participatory 3D mapping (P3DM) skillshare in Iligan City, Philippines. This is a component of the Greenpeace Climate Crisis Response Project.

Season's greetings to the PGIS / PPGIS community | meilleurs voeux à la communauté SIGP | mejores deseos a la comunidad SIGP | melhores desejos para a comunidade SIGP

Aljazeera reports on P3DM made and used in Samoa to adapt to climate change and mitigate disasters

Participatory 3D Model (P3DM) done by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) in Samoa in the framework of the GEF-Funded "Integration of climate change risk and resilience into forestry management in Samoa (ICCRIFS)" Project now in on Aljazeera news.

Top UN officials Helen Clark and Naoko Ishii praising outcome of P3DM activities in Samoa

During the SIDS Conference which took place in Apia, Samoa, in September 2014, Ms Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and Dr Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO & Chairperson are introduced to the Participatory 3D Model (P3DM) done by representatives from 14 villages in Lauli'i to Falevao area on Upolu Island, Western Samoa in the context of the GEF-Funded "Integration of climate change risk and resilience into forestry management in Samoa (ICCRIFS)" Project.

This short video captures some of their inspiring comments.

Credits for footage and still images: Paulo Amerika, MNRE, Samoa

Related article on the Samoa Observer Ltd.

Nation-wide database based on content generated via Participatory 3D Models

SYDNEY, 19 November 2014. During the World Parks Congress session "A toolkit to support conservation by Indigenous Peoples and local communities: building capacity and sharing knowledge" organised by Colleen Corrigan from UNEP-WCMC, PAFID Executive Director Dave de Vera elaborated on the establishment of a country-wide database based on selected data sourced (FPIC obtained) from more than 150 1:5000 scale participatory 3D models (P3DM) realised by indigenous peoples in the Philippines.



The toolkit produced by United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and launched at the Congress includes 150 tools among which a range of participatory mapping methods including P3DM.  The toolkit is meant to build capacity and sharing knowledge for Indigenous Peoples and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs).

It also includes a case study from Ethiopia which summarizes the outcome of a P3DM exercise facilitated by MELCA-Ethiopia with support provided by CTA.

The toolkit also recommends the "Training Kit on Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication" published by CTA and IFAD in 2012

Mandingalbay Yidinji Traditional Owners mapped their lands in 3 dimensions - Don't miss their feedback at the World Park Congress in Sydney

Australian aboriginal Mandingalbay Yidinjii people have recently completed a P3DM exercise within the ancestral territories (traditional country) in Queensland.

They will showcase their work and replicate the population of one section of their 3D model during the World Parks Congress in Sydney They will do this at the WIN and Pacific Community Dialogue Pavilion (Pavilion 2) on 13-15 November. You should pass by and talk to them about their exciting experience.

On Monday, 17 November 8:30 – 12:00 they will officially present their achievements at the WIN & Pacific Community Dialogue Pavilion (Pavilion 2) during the session “Voices and choices: The risks and values of georeferencing traditional and local knowledge”. This session is organised by CTA with support provided by IUCN, UNDP, GEF-SGP and the WTMA.

More on this activity and related events at the Worls Parks Congress is found on this flyer.

Forthcoming P3DM-related activities at the 6th World Park Congress, Sydney 12-19 November 2014

Click to download the flyer

This is to update you about a series of events which will focus on Participatory GIS practice during the forthcoming IUCN World Park Congress. The events we are organising have a common denominator: Participatory 3D modelling (P3DM).

Below is a short description of the 3 events / activities:

Rolling activity (13-17 November),  at the WIN & Pacific Community Dialogue Pavilion (Pavilion #2)

Title: Participatory 3D modelling of the traditional country of the Mandingalbay Yidinji People, Queensland, Australia

Organisers: Wet Tropics Management Authority with support provided by IUCN, CTA and UNDP Equator Initiative with financial support provided by UNDP GEF-SGP

Starting on 13 November and for the duration of the conference, representatives from the aboriginal Mandingalbay Yidinji People will work on a 3D Model reproducing their ancestral territory within the Wet Tropics World Heritage site. The model will be at a 1:10,000 scale and include terrestrial and coastal components. It will be a replica of a larger model completed by a wider representation of the community in Queensland with support provided by the Wet Tropics Management Authority, IUCN and UNDP GEF-SGP. The population of the 3D model with data will occur during the conference within the WIN Communities Dialogue Pavilion. Support in the process will be offered by Partners with Melanesians. The completed model will be presented by Mandingalbay Yidinji People during the Side event “: The risks and values of geo-referencing traditional and local knowledge” which will take in the same pavilion on Monday 17 (see below).

Pavilion event; 17 November 8:30 – 12:00, WIN & Pacific Community Dialogue Pavilion (Pavilion #2)

Title: Voices and Choices: The risks and values of geo-referencing traditional and local knowledge

Organisers: CTA and IUCN

Note: Coffee, tea and cakes will be served to participants by mid-morning

This event focuses on Participatory 3 Dimensional Modelling (P3DM) a method within the Participatory GIS family which enables communities to geo-reference and spatially document their complex systems of traditional land/seascape knowledge. The method benefits from its integration with GIS, multimedia production, Web2.0 and social media and serves multiple purposes, including landscape planning, rights advocacy, inter-generational knowledge transmission, influencing policy-making and enhancing communities’ socio-environmental resilience.

At the onset of Participatory GIS (PGIS) practice, concerns were expressed that the nature of and access to GIS would simultaneously marginalize or empower different groups in society. The practice evolved along different lines and among diverse interest groups. Currently it embraces a blend of applications ranging from Internet-based spatial multimedia to field-based participatory methods with a modest GIS component. In this fast-evolving context, there is a seemingly unstoppable excitement about georeferencing human physical, biological and socio-cultural worlds and making the information publicly available. This embodies both potentials and risks, aspects which need to be taken into consideration by knowledge holders, technology intermediaries/facilitators and researchers.

A physical 1:10,000 scale 3D model completed by the Mandingalbay Yidinji People representing a portion of their ancestral territory within the Wet Tropics World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia will be showcased at the event. Representatives from the community will share their experience in going through the various phases of the process, how they dealt with sensitive data, and their plans on how best to make use of acquired skills, knowledge and completed products (the model and derived maps) in their future endeavours.

Coordinator: Giacomo Rambaldi (rambaldi[at]cta.int)

Session within Stream 7; Tuesday 18 November 2014, 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Title: Knowledge management and technologies: Participatory 3D modelling in Protected Areas, landscapes and seascapes

Organisers: IPACC and CTA, in cooperation with Association des Femmes Peules Autochtones du Tchad, Minorités Pygmées du Gabon, and Yiaku People’s Association of Kenya, Melca Ethiopia and other indigenous peoples and local communities.

Background and summary: IPACC, African Biodiversity Network and other organisations have used Participatory 3 Dimensional Modelling (P3DM) to represent complex systems of indigenous landscape knowledge to themselves and decision-makers. P3DM, a geo-referenced and yet participatory system of knowledge representation serves multiple usages, including landscape planning, rights advocacy, inter-generational knowledge transmission and improving conservation.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) promotes skills transfer in P3DM for indigenous peoples and local communities in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific regions.
Oral knowledge of biological systems emerges through the methodology, associated with resource governance, rights and indigenous values. The tool provides a multi-use medium for negotiating land use, understanding customary use systems, education for sustainability, and empowering indigenous peoples as holders of expert knowledge in conservation and planning.
P3DM case studies describe a broad range of ecosystems and contexts. P3DM provides a valuable tool for intercultural understanding of diverse knowledge and land use systems relevant for Protected Areas.

Coordinators: Nigel Crawhall (nigel.tilcepa[at]gmail.com) and Giacomo Rambaldi (rambaldi[at]cta.int)

The film “The enabling power of participatory 3D mapping among the Saramaccan People of Suriname” launched at CWA2014

Fifty years ago, some 5000 Saramaccan people of Suriname had to leave their traditional lands along the Suriname River due to the construction of a major dam. The wounds of this transmigration are still felt today. Meanwhile, the Saramaccans who live in the Upper Suriname River area face new challenges since their territorial rights are not yet officially recognized and road infrastructure to access the area is improving. Creating a 3D model of the area that tells the inside story of their traditions and land use can help them to overcome their sense of being misunderstood by decision-makers and rediscover their voice.
The 15 min video production “The enabling power of participatory 3D mapping among the Saramaccan People of Suriname” has been launched on October 9 at the 13th Caribbean Week of Agriculture in Paramaribo, Suriname. The launch occurred during the session “Maps as media in policy processes: Bringing the 3rd dimension to the negotiating table” in the presence of representatives from the Saramaccan community.

The launch was followed by reflections done by Saramaccan representatives Mr Godfried Adjako, one of the captains of the village of Kaajapati, and Ms Debora Linga who spent her infancy with her grandparents on their farm on the shores of the Brokopondo Reservoir and later on kept visiting them in Ginginston village along the banks of the Upper Suriname River.

Mr Godfried Adjako recalled that in the process of populating the 3D model the community, especially the youth, learned a lot from the elders. “The map now shows our life, the Earth we live on, the Earth we walk on, the Earth without which we cannot live.” “We can use the map to take decisions on where to locate future developments”, he added. Both men and women contributed to the map. “Women know a lot about the surrounding of the villages, while men who use to go hunting, know the most about far away areas.”

Mr Adjako stated that when developing the legend ahead of the mapping exercise, the community decided to omit sensitive and confidential information. Therefore the data contained in the model and currently being digitised by Tropenbos International Suriname (TBI) should be considered as publicly available.

The P3DM process has been a discovery journey for young Debora. “In the 60’s my grandparents had to resettle because their village had been submerged by the rising waters of the Brokopondo Reservoir. They resettled along the Upper Suriname River in a village called Ginginston where I grew up. I could not understand the reason why my grandfather kept on navigating a long way along the river to reach the shores of the lake where he was growing watermelon” she said. “I discovered the reason while chatting with an elder who explained to me that transmigrating families were welcome by Saramaccan villages uphill the lake, but were granted limited access to resources. In fact they were sort of borrowing the land from people who occupied it for generations. Thus they only had access to small farming areas. In Saramaccan this is how you feel: they were living on somebody else’s land.”

Additional references:

• Saramakan’s forests: watercourses at the core of a Participatory 3D Modelling exercise along the Upper Suriname River
• CTA-funded 3D map helping tribe document and articulate their traditional knowledge
• Multi-scale modeling of ecosystem services and land-use scenarios in the upper Suriname River basin

Farmers and Indigenous Peoples in Palawan denounce controversial oil palm business

A web-press release by CALG (Coalition against Land Grabbing)

What development, for whom and what purposes, how and where, and with what implications? These are only some of the many questions raised by the people affected by oil palm development in Palawan's UNESCO declared Man and Biosphere Reserve, the most valuable ecological sanctuary in the entire Philippines.  

On 29 September, a delegation composed of farmers’ and indigenous peoples’ has handed over to Palawan Vice-Governor Dennis Socrates, a petition signed by more than 4,200 individuals calling for a moratorium on oil palm expansion province-wide.

The group belonging to the newly established Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) said that, in addressing  rural poverty, the Government of Palawan should focus on concrete and sustainable plans to improve production on farmers’ land, rather than pushing for massive oil palm plantations.   As oil palm expansion continues unabated, the household economy of small farmers and indigenous peoples is now breaking apart.  “We are being strangled by huge debts with both Agumil Philippines, Inc (the major oil palm company) and the LandBank  (the key financer) and our land titles are being withhold by the bank  as a collateral” says Welly Mandi (CALG’s secretary).

“The expansion of oil palm plantations in Palawan is a blatant example of companies defying international law, state laws and the rights of communities through the connivance of unscrupulous and short-sighted government officials” says Marivic Bero (CALG’s Secretary General).  One can only speculate why the Government of Palawan remains passive while huge expanses of land, forest and fertile grounds of the “last Philippine Frontier” have been given  away for agribusinesses. But, at least, we know the official explanation: oil palms are only planted on ‘idle’ and ‘abandoned’ land to enhance the province’s economy while increasing job opportunities and transforming unused areas in productive plantations.

But are such lands really ‘idle’ and ‘abandoned’?  A recent study carried out by ALDAW (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch) with the support of the Non-Timber Forest-Exchange Programme  and the Broederlijk Delen, has clearly proven the contrary. The study argues that most of these so called 'idle' and 'unproductive' lands include areas that have been used since time immemorial by IPs societies.   “The removal of natural vegetation and of previous agricultural improvements by oil palm plantations is leading to the total collapse of traditional livelihoods, thus fostering communities’ impoverishment and increasing malnutrition” says Dr. Dario Novellino, an anthropologist of the Centre for Biocultural Diversity of the University of Kent (UK) who has lived in Palawan over a period of almost 30 years.

He sustains that what the Government has failed to consider is that most of the so called ‘idle’ and ‘underdeveloped’ lands include areas that are being utilized by the rural and indigenous populations for different purposes (gathering of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), medicinal plants, swidden cultivation, etc.  He believes that a direct relationship exists between oil palm expansion, the impoverishment of people’s diet, the progressive deterioration of traditional livelihood and the interruption of cultural transmission related to particular aspects of people’s local knowledge.

ALDAW - NTFP-EP supported reesearch  shows that the disappearance of useful plant species due to oil palm expansion is extremely alarming.  For instance, in one particular area of Barangay Iraan (Municipality of Rizal), local indigenous informants claim that, because of oil palm development, at least 145 species have completely disappeared from the areas where these were traditionally gathered.  The study also indicates that, in some oil palm impacted communities, the most common plant species used in basketry have dramatically declined. Overall, if massive land conversion for oil palm plantation will be allowed to continue, this may cause the additional exhaustion of plant material and fibers which are essential to sustain people’s cultural practices, artistic expressions and daily needs.

The research suggests that the depletion of useful wild palms is directly connected to land conversion into oil palm plantations.  Palms yield multiple types of products and provide both food and cash income.  Palawan indigenous communities exploit wild plants for their edible cabbages (the tender meristematic region found in the growing tip and enclosed by leaf bases). Calamus spp. and Daemonorops spp. yield very little, but Arenga spp. and Oncosperma spp. might provide buds up to two-three kilograms. Certain palms such as bätuq (Caryota mitis), bätbat (Arenga undulatifolia), busniq (Arenga brevipes),and nangäq have been traditionally exploited for their edible starch.  Dr. Novellino argues that palm food in Palawan may still play an important role in view of the dramatic changes that people is experiencing in their livelihood (e.g. increasing crops’ failure due to attack of pests and unpredictable weather patterns).  He suggests that “there are evidences that during various El Nino events, several Palawan communities have been able to counter famine and crop failures through increasing collection of starch from both wild and cultivated species”.  It may then be anticipated that the alarming decline of starch palms caused by oil palm expansion could further deprive entire Palawan communities from an important emergency food (palm starch), thus leaving them with no food options during periods of food shortage and crops failure.

Surprisingly as it is,  oil palm expansion and massive land conversion in Palawan is taking place with no serious monitoring being done by the concerned authorities and in the absence of existing maps. This makes it is impossible to systematically determine the ownership, elevation, land classification, etc. of the areas in which oil palms are being planted. “Pushing for oil palm expansion, without a single map being produced, is an indication of the lack of commitment and concerns by both government agencies and oil palm companies” says Motalib Kemil, the Chairman of the newly established Palawan-based Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG). So far, oil palm plantation have covered an area of about 6,000 ha. across six Municipalities in Southern Palawan and their aim is to expand to a total target area ranging between 15,000 to 20,000 hectares.

Staring from 2010 ALDAW has  used geotagging technologies to determine the impact of deforestation caused by agribusiness enterprises such as Agumil, PPVOMI, Sant Andres and CAVDEAL, a road construction company which has recently included oil palm plantations in their business.  AGPI  is 75 percent Filipino-owned and 25 percent Malaysian and works hand in hand with its sister company, the Palawan Palm and Vegetable Oil Mills Inc. (PPVOMI) that is 60 percent Singaporean and 40 percent Filipino-owned.

ALDAW geo-referenced photographs have provided clear evidence of large forest clearing perpetrated by oil palm companies (see photo 5). On 23 January 2014, in the course of joint field visit carried by ALDAW and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) it has been ascertained that natural forest found within 19,21 ha of Alienable and Disposable Land and  within 2,69 ha of timberland has been clear cut, allegedly by Agumil in Barangay Sandoval, Municipality of Bataraza.

GPS surveys carried out by CENRO itself  have further established that oil palm plantations have encroached on virgin forest found on Alienable and Disposable Land (94.2930 ha) and on Timberland (185.2398 ha) in the Municipalities of Quezon and Rizal. Forest conversion into oil palm plantations has also occurred in other municipalities.  Interestingly enough, Agumil Philippines Inc and its sister company PPVOMI have never received  ‘tree cutting permits’  from the DENR  and thus their operations have flagrantly violated the DENR forestry code and, in particular Executive Order no.23 (the nationwide ban on the cutting of trees in natural and residual forest).

“All of this has allowed to happen because widespread [...], lack of coordination between agencies of government, failure and incompetence of government officials to ensure laws compliance, lack of accountability and transparency of agribusiness enterprises” says Marivic Bero, CALG’s Secretary General.  It would appear that Agumil and other oil palm enterprises have  bypassed, with impunity, the Strategic Environment Plan (SEP), the very law which should ensured sustainable development and environmental protection in Palawan.  This law further mandates that no development project should take place unless the proponents secure the so called SEP clearance, being issued by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). Furthermore, according to a Memorandum of Agreement between PCSD and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) signed on December 29, 1994, the latter shall not issue an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) without the project promoter having secured a SEP clearance first.  However, as far as concerning oil palm development, evidence indicates that DENR did in fact issue several ECCs to PPVOMI  prior to SEP clearances.  The latter, instead, were never secured by PPVOMI except for a SEP clearance issued for its nursery and oil mill area (about 13 hectares only). Surprisingly, there are no SEP clearances released for the remaining thousands of hectares being converted into oil palm plantations. In so doing, the DENR has overstepped the bounds of the law that it mandates to uphold, placing Palawan’s natural and cultural heritage at great risk.

“A major problem we face” says John Mart Salunday (ALDAW activist) “is that oil palm development schemes have been highly supported by the provincial government.  As a result no government agency or department dares to openly contradict and challenge the decisions made at the level of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Government)”.  It must be pointed out that the Governor himself (a well-known supporter of agro-industry) is a member of the same family which logged Northern Palawan forest in the eighties and he is also chairing the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).  Clearly as it appears, the absence of a credible and committed political class in Palawan (and in the Philippines as a whole)  is one of the root causes of environmental destruction and of the ongoing socio-economic marginalization experienced by  indigenous peoples and the rural masses.

Oil palm development in the Philippines is bound to  become a major issue.  The country, in fact, aspire to become one of the key exporters of oil palm kernels and palm oil in Southeast Asia, after Malaysia and Indonesia. Indeed, this is not such a remote possibility, considering that, recently, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje has proposed the conversion of some 8 million hectares of ‘idle’, denuded and unproductive lands across the country into oil palm plantations.

The present trend suggests that more land conversion into oil palm plantations will lead to decreasing households food self-sufficiency and increasing malnutrition.  In this respect, Sofronio Espanola Municipality provides a clear example.  This Municipality has the highest percentage of land (over 45%) covered by oil palm plantations. Nevertheless it is a 4th class municipality and it is also one of the 100 poorest municipalities in the country. However, “if public-private partnership had been based on fairness and transparency, it could have play an important role in supporting our farmers in Palawan who have no capital to develop their land” says CALG’s secretary Welly Mande. Instead, local food  security is being sacrificed in the name of oil palm development.   “If the government is serious about ensuring the welfare of its constituents” adds Mande “ it should enhance the capability of small holding farmers to compete and produce enough food, rather than becoming indebted with the Agumil company and  Landbank”.

A cursory look at the so called Production Technical Marketing Agreement (PTMA) entered between farmers’ cooperatives and the Agumil shows the enormous  asymmetry of power between the former and the company.  For instance PTMA Section 1.14 recites that: If the cooperatives mismanage the operation they shall “…hand over the management to AGPI…".  A former cooperative chairman explains that 'mismanagement' must  be interpreted here as the inability of farmers to produce the required quantity of fresh fruit bunches per hectare, e.g. as the failure to meet  the company's own production expectations and projections. In short ‘underproduction’ and partial crop failure are regarded by Agumil as sufficient reasons for taking over the management of the land and for taking away from cooperatives all decision-making power.

When agri-business enterprises enter indigenous territories, local communities have no capacity to deal with such forces which are powerful and invasive.  Many indigenous communities, due to lack of background knowledge, tend to believe in the corporations’ promises of a prosperous future (e.g. free medical assistance, livelihood projects,  big and quick profits. etc) and they simply sign what they should never sign.  However, in recent months, indigenous peoples and farmers in Palawan have learned about the dark side of oil palm development (also with reference to Malaysia and Indonesia) through advocacy videos being shown to them by members of the Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW).  “Thanks to the support of our partner, Rainforest Rescue, we have been able to travel for months from one community to the other sharing with people videos on the adverse impact of oil palm development”  says an  ALDAW activist, “the people we have mobilized have become aware of the risks, and we hope they will refrain from entering into future memorandum of agreements with oil palm firms”.

For more information:

ALDAW Network aldaw.indigenousnetwork@gmail.com and the Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) calgpalawan@gmail.com

Une carte en 3D financée par le CTA aide une tribu à consigner et à articuler son savoir traditionnel

Les Saramaca installés le long du Haut Suriname espèrent qu'un système d'information géographique proposé par Tropenbos International et le CTA leur permettra de surmonter le traumatisme provoqué par la perte de leurs terres historiques voilà cinq décennies, dont les effets se font sentir aujourd'hui encore. Lors de l'édition 2014 de la Semaine caribéenne de l'agriculture, Godfried Adjako, l'un des chefs des Saramaca, a parlé de l'expérience de son peuple à l'occasion d'un séminaire présenté le jeudi par Giacomo Rambaldi du Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale ACP-UE (CTA) et Rudi van Kanten de Tropenbos International, sur le thème de la cartographie participative en 3D (CP3D).

Par le biais de son interprète Debora Linga, Adjako a expliqué que depuis que Tropenbos a encouragé les Saramaca à produire une carte P3D de leur propre territoire, en début d'année, ce peuple dépossédé de ses terres retrouve espoir. Les Saramaca ont été déplacés contre leur gré lorsque le gouvernement du Suriname a lancé la construction du barrage d'Afobaka dans les années 1960 : avec la création du réservoir de Brokopondo, ce sont toutes leurs terres qui ont été inondées, les forçant à déménager de leur forêt équatoriale vers d'autres villages saramaca. Linga explique que ce départ subi « nous affecte quotidiennement... encore aujourd'hui. Les Saramaca ne cessent d'en parler. »

Le projet de carte participative en 3D, promu entre autres par le CTA, a été achevée le mois dernier. Elle repose sur le savoir géographique du peuple indigène. Elle présente clairement tous les points importants : en prenant les ruisseaux et les rivières comme principaux points de repère, elle situe les terres de chasse, les fermes, les routes, les villages, les forêts et d'autres infrastructures des Saramaca. Cette carte ne repose pas sur des données scientifiques, mais sur le savoir local traditionnel.

Van Kanten a expliqué que cette carte a ensuite été « géoréférencée et numérisée pour être utilisée lors des prises de décision. » Il précise que la carte permet d'expliquer aux personnes extérieures comment les Saramaca exploitent la forêt, en donnant des informations qui pourront être utilisées à des fins de développement local, notamment pour raccorder les villages à l'électricité et à l'eau courante, ou pour créer des dispensaires et des écoles. En évoquant l'histoire et les traditions des Saramaca, la carte sert également à transmettre le savoir aux nouvelles générations.

La carte « modélise les conséquences du changement sur les biens et les services de l'écosystème et sur les moyens de subsistance dans la forêt », ajoute-t-il, ce qui peut aider les membres du gouvernement qui prévoient des programmes de développement économique dans la région.

Rambaldi est un pionnier de la cartographie participative en 3D. Après l'avoir fait découvrir au CTA, où il travaille désormais, il l'utilise aujourd'hui dans le monde entier. Rambaldi a expliqué que dans les PEID, la modélisation gagne en popularité dans les stratégies d'adaptation au changement climatique. En plus d'aider à atténuer les risques de catastrophes naturelles, elle permet de mieux gérer et de résoudre les conflits territoriaux. Enfin, elle offre aux peuples indigènes une certaine autodétermination vis-à-vis de leurs terres.

Pour autant, cette carte ne mentionne pas toutes les informations importantes pour le peuple Saramaca. Adjako a expliqué que la carte n'indique pas les cimetières sacrés par exemple, pas plus qu'elle ne situe les réserves aurifères, a précisé Linga.

Cette dernière a expliqué que le peuple Saramaca souhaite que cette carte puisse être utilisée par les personnes et les entités intéressées par la région, et qu'il valait donc mieux ne pas divulguer des informations aussi sensibles. Rambaldi a précisé qu'aux Philippines, certains peuples indigènes qui avaient révélé toutes les informations les concernant sur leur carte en 3D ont été victimes de voleurs et d'individus mal intentionnés. « Il est important de faire un choix quant aux informations qui seront rendues publiques », déclare-t-il.


Auteur : Jewel Fraser

CTA-funded 3D map helping tribe document and articulate their traditional knowledge

Saramaccans settled along the Upper Suriname River have expressed the hope that a form of Geographical Information Systems introduced by Tropenbos International and CTA will ensure they will better cope with the trauma provoked by their relocation from their traditional lands five decades ago, the effects of which are still being experienced. Saramaccan chief Godfried Adjako was sharing their experience on Thursday with an audience at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2014, during a seminar on Participatory 3D Mapping (P3DM), led by Giacomo Rambaldi of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and Rudi van Kanten of Trobenpos International.

Speaking through an interpreter, Debora Linga, Adjako told the audience that Trobenpos' intervention earlier this year to encourage the Saramaccan people to produce a P3D map of their territory had brought hope to a people who had lost all their lands. They were forcibly resettled after the Surinamese government built the Afobaka Dam in the 1960s, which created the Brokopondo Reservoir, flooding miles of rainforest where they had formerly lived and forcing them to move to other Saramaccan villages.

Linga said this forcible resettlement "on a daily basis...still affects our lives. Saramaccan people talk about it very often."

The P3D map, work on which was co-sponsored by CTA and completed last month, is based on the indigenous people's knowledge of their territory. It clearly plots all important points of interest, using creeks and rivers as the main markers and showing where things like hunting grounds, farms, roads, villages, forests and other infrastructure of the Saramaccan are located. It is not a scientific map but based on local, traditional knowledge.

Van Kanten explained that this map was then "geo-referenced and digitized so that it can be used in decision making." He said the map explains the Saramaccan's use of the forest to others and provides information which can then be used for planning local development, including the introduction of electricity, running water, medical posts and schools. It also serves as a means of transferring knowledge to the younger generation of Saramaccans about their people's history and traditions.

The map "models the impact of change on ecosystem goods and services and the forest livelihood," he added, which can help government officials when they are considering plans for economic development of the region.

Rambaldi is a pioneer of P3D mapping. He introduced it to the CTA where he now works and has used it in various regions around the world. Rambaldi told the audience the model mapping is increasingly used in climate change adaptation planning among SIDS. It is also used in disaster risk reduction, and the management and amelioration of territorial conflicts. It also helps indigenous people enjoy self-determination with regard to their lands.

Nevertheless, the map does not contain all important information pertaining to the Saramaccan people. Adjako explained that sacred burial grounds are not included on the map. Linga added that the location of gold reserves in the area are likewise not mapped.

She explained that the Saramaccan people thought it wise to withhold some sensitive information even though they wish to make the map widely available to others interested in the area to use. Rambaldi pointed out that in the Philippines, where some indigenous people had given full disclosure of all data available on their 3D map, they had suffered losses to thieves and others with bad intentions. "It is important to decide what information should be made public or kept confidential," he said.

Written by Jewel Fraser

Case study on the use of P3DM to facilitate effective contribution of civil society in the Caribbean islands in planning for action on climate change

This case study documents CANARI’s experience in
piloting the use of P3DM in the Caribbean and identifies
lessons learnt and recommendations on how it can be used to strengthen the capacity of CSOs in the islands of the
Caribbean to play a larger and more effective role in
biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
The case study was written as part of the CANARI project
Consolidating the role of civil society in biodiversity
conservation in the Caribbean islands, funded by the John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Citation: Bobb-Prescott, N. 2014. Case study on the use of participatory three dimensional modelling to facilitate effective contribution of civil society in the Caribbean islands in planning for action on climate change. CANARI Technical Report 401, Laventille.

Related video production: She becomes more beautiful: Capturing the essence of Tobago Island for a better tomorrow

Les forêts des Saramaca : les cours d'eau au coeur d'un exercice de modélisation participative en trois dimensions le long du Haut Suriname

JAW JAW, SURINAME, le 6 septembre 2014. Depuis Atjoni (Suriname), il faut 40 minutes en pirogue à moteur pour atteindre Jaw Jaw, village parsemé sur les rives du puissant fleuve Suriname. Environ 17 000 Afro-Surinamais, membres de la tribu des Saramaca, vivent dans cette région. Leurs moyens de subsistance sont la culture itinérante, la pêche, la chasse, la récolte de produits sylvicoles, les services de transport fluvial, les programmes d'emploi du secteur public et les aides envoyées par des proches.

Pendant 10 jours, une centaine de représentants de 14 villages (totalisant environ 5 000 habitants) situés le long du fleuve Suriname, en aval du village de Lespansi, ont participé à l'assemblage d'une impressionnante maquette, à l'échelle 1:15 000, d'une zone couvrant environ 2 160 km2. Des jeunes (principalement des filles) du village de Jaw Jaw ont assemblé la maquette vierge d'après les conseils de représentants de Tropenbos International Suriname et du Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale (CTA). Des hommes et des femmes saramaca de tous les âges ont complété cette maquette avec 38 types de repères qu'ils estiment utiles à leur orientation, leur subsistance et leur culture.

Avec l'autorisation libre, préalable et éclairée des représentants des villages, les ensembles de données ont été archivés sous forme de photographies numériques haute résolution, qui seront importées dans un environnement SIG de confiance par Tropenbos.

Lors de l'ajout des repères à la maquette, il est apparu qu'en l'absence de caractéristiques géographiques visibles comme des collines ou des montagnes (la zone est relativement plate), les Saramaca utilisent les cours d'eaux pour s'orienter sur la carte. C'est pourquoi ils ont commencé par obtenir un consensus sur l'emplacement et le nom de tous les cours d'eaux des zones concernées. Ils ont ainsi identifié cinq types de cours d'eau, qu'ils distinguent selon leur largeur, leur caractère navigable et leur accessibilité saisonnière par bateau.

Le samedi 6 septembre 2014, des représentants des villages ont présenté leur travail à des représentants d'agences gouvernementales (le Ministère du développement régional, le Ministère de l'agriculture, de l'élevage et de la chasse, la Commission sur l'exploitation aurifère au Suriname [OGS] et la Fondation pour la gestion et le contrôle de la production des forêts [SBB]), du CTA, de la Fondation pour le développement de l'arrière-pays (FOB), d'organisations non gouvernementales (WWF-Guianas, Tropenbos International Suriname, Amazon Conservation Team [ACT], l'Association des chefs de villages indigènes du Suriname [VIDS]), d'organisations locales (Wan Mama Pikin et l'Association des autorités saramaca [VSG]), du secteur privé (les propriétaires de gîtes du Haut Suriname [LBS]) ainsi que des médias nationaux (DWT et Surinaamse Televisie Stichting [STVS]).

Les représentants des villages ont présenté la maquette et expliqué le processus de définition, d'affinement et d'actualisation de sa légende, tout en décrivant les débats animés qui ont conduit à l'installation des repères sur la maquette vierge. Non sans fierté, ils ont indiqué que le modèle sera exposé dans l'un des villages facilement accessible depuis l'extérieur, afin de faciliter les processus de négotiation et de planification. Aux yeux des villageois, la maquette est désormais un outil qui leur permettra de planifier leur propre développement et favorisera les interactions avec les promoteurs, les investisseurs et les décideurs.

M. Erwin Fonkel, chef du village de Jaw Jaw, a rappelé un point essentiel lors de l'entretien qu'il a accordé à STVS TV : « Cet exercice de cartographie me semble essentiel : par le passé, nous nous étions essayés à la cartographie mais en omettant de nombreuses informations. Nous avons élaboré nous-mêmes cette maquette, et avons davantage fait entendre notre voix lors de la définition de son contenu. Auparavant, les cartes omettaient de nombreux lieux primordiaux, des rivières, des lieux où trouver des ressources et générer des revenus. »

Le programme de paysagisme productif de Tropenbos International Suriname et la Stratégie de renforcement des compétences pour la planification de l'aménagement territorial au Suriname de WWF Guianas utilisera la maquette pour impliquer les parties prenantes dans l'élaboration de scénarios d'aménagement territorial et procéder à des évaluations participatives des services écologiques. Comme l'avaient prévu plusieurs chefs locaux, la maquette, désormais confiée au peuple saramaca, sera utilisée pour formuler des propositions d'investissements en matière d'infrastructures locales et de développement durable, par exemple pour des raccordements électriques et du tourisme vert.

Remarque : cette activité s'est déroulée dans le cadre du projet « Modéliser les compromis entre les scénarios d'aménagement territorial et les services écologiques dans la région du Haut Suriname ». La composante participative de la cartographie avait pour vocation d'autonomiser les villages afin de faire entendre leur voix et leur donner un rôle actif, autant dans la gestion de leurs terres et de leurs ressources naturelles que dans les processus de prise de décision dont ils dépendent.

Read the English version

Saramakan’s forests: watercourses at the core of a Participatory 3D Modelling exercise along the Upper Suriname River

JAW JAW, SURINAME, 6 September 2014. From Atjoni, Suriname, it takes 40 minutes by motorised longboat to reach Jaw Jaw, a village sprinkled along the shores of the mighty upper Suriname River. This area is home to approximately 17,000 Afro-Surinamese people belonging to the Saramakan tribe. These people survive on shifting cultivation, fishing, hunting, harvesting of timber and non-timber forests products, boat transport services, government employment and remittances from outside the area.

Saramaka Peoples populating the 3D model
with recollections from memory

Over a 10-day period some 100 representatives from 14 villages (representing a population of approximately 5,000 people) bordering the Suriname River downstream of the village of Lespansi worked together to assemble a stunning 1:15,000 scale three-dimensional (3D) physical map of an area covering approximately 2,160 km2. Youngsters (mainly girls) from Jaw Jaw village assembled the blank model under the guidance of representatives from Tropenbos International Suriname and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA). Saramakan adults (men and women), including elders, populated the model with 38 types of feature they consider relevant for their orientation, livelihoods and culture.

The village representatives populated the map with features they consider as relevant for their orientation, livelihoods and culture. The final map legend account for a total of 38 features depicted as points (21), lines (9) and polygons (8). With free prior and informed consent obtained from community representatives, the datasets were captured using high-resolution digital photography and will be digitised and imported into a GIS environment held in trust by Tropenbos.

In the process of populating the 3D model with information, it appeared that – in the absence of outstanding landmarks like hills or mountains  (the mapped area is relatively flat) – the Saramaka used water courses to orient themselves on the map. Hence, they first had to discuss and reach general consensus on the location and names of all watercourses in the areas they were concerned with. This led them to identify five types of watercourses, differentiated according to width, navigability and seasonal accessibility by boat.

Participants in the closing ceremony

On Saturday, 6 September 2014, representatives of the local communities presented their work to representatives of government agencies (the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, the Commission on Ordering of the Gold Mining Sector in Suriname [OGS] and the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control [SBB]), CTA, the Foundation for Development of the Hinterlands (FOB) and non-governmental organisations (WWF-Guianas, Tropenbos International Suriname, Amazon Conservation Team [ACT], the Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs in Suriname [VIDS]), community-based organisations (Wan Mama Pikin and The Association of Saramaka Authorities [VSG]), the private sector (Lodgeholders upper Suriname River [LBS]) and the national media (DWT and Surinaamse Televisie Stichting [STVS]).

The local community representatives presented the 3D map and explained the process that led to the formulation of the map legend and its fine-tuning and updating and described the animated discussions that led to the population of the blank model. Proudly, they stated that the model will be hosted within one of their villages that is easily accessible to outsiders to facilitate negotiations and planning processes. The villagers now consider the 3D model as a tool for planning their own development and interacting with developers, investors and policy makers.

The head of Jaw Jaw village, Mr Erwin Fonkel, made a key point in his interview with STVS TV: “I find this mapping exercise very important, because in the past we did some mapping but failed to include a lot of information. Now we have elaborated the map ourselves and we had a stronger voice on defining its content. In maps produced in the past several important locations, creeks and places where you can find resources and generate income, were not included.”

The Productive Landscape Programme of Tropenbos International Suriname and the Capacity Building Strategy for Land Use Planning in Suriname of WWF Guianas will use the 3D model to involve stakeholders in elaborating land-use scenarios and conducting participatory assessments of ecosystem services. As anticipated by several local captains, the 3D model, now under the custodianship of the Saramaka people, will be used to elaborate proposals for investments in local infrastructure and sustainable development such as electrification and ecotourism.

View of the Upper Suriname River at Jaw Jaw

Jaw Jaw village around the community meeting point where the
3D model was manufactured

Note: This activity took place in the context of the project “Modelling trade-offs between land-use scenarios and ecosystem services in the upper Suriname River area”. The CTA-funded participatory mapping component  was conceived to empower local communities to have a voice and play an active role in managing their land and natural resources and decision-making processes that affect these.

Participatory 3D mapping for DRR in Jelapan, Sindumartani, Sleman, Indonesia

As the most active volcano in Indonesia, Merapi Volcano has been threatened the life of people surrounding its slope either by primary hazard in form of pyroclastic flow and secondary hazard in form of debris flow. Therefore, disaster risk reduction (DRR) effort become an important thing to be done in the area. Integrating different stakeholders is one of the most pressing contemporary needs for enhancing disaster risk reduction. The participation of such a large range of actors in DRR allows for the integration of local and scientific knowledge as well as top-down and bottom-up actions.
Methods that used for this research is participatory three dimensional mapping (P3DM). P3DM provided a tool of dialogue between local people, scientists and local government. All stakeholders were able to contribute their knowledge on the same tool. P3DM is credible to both locals, who build the map and plot most of the information and to scientists and government representatives who can easily overlap their own data and plans. In the process, NGO/academic partners served as facilitators and moderators. Such a dialogue resulted in concerted actions including both bottom-up and top-down measures to enhance disaster risk reduction.

Results showed that from the three dimensional (3D) map, participants which consist of local community and representative of local government, could identify all aspects which needed to enhance disaster risk reduction in the study area. Those aspects are affected area, distribution of vulnerable group which consist of children, old people, people with disability, and pregnant woman, also meeting point for each neighborhood system and evacuation route which can be used to evacuate when the pyroclastic and debris flow from Merapi volcano reach the area. Those aspects were displayed in the 3D maps using clear symbol and legend which are depicted in push-pins (points), yarns (lines), and paint (polygons).

Read full paper: on ScienceDirect

Les forêts des Saramaca : les cours d'eau au coeur d'un exercice de modélisation participative en trois dimensions le long du Haut Suriname

JAW JAW, SURINAME, le 6 septembre 2014. Depuis Atjoni (Suriname), il faut 40 minutes en pirogue à moteur pour atteindre Jaw Jaw, village parsemé sur les rives du puissant fleuve Suriname. Environ 17 000 Afro-Surinamais, membres de la tribu des Saramaca, vivent dans cette région. Leurs moyens de subsistance sont la culture itinérante, la pêche, la chasse, la récolte de produits sylvicoles, les services de transport fluvial, les programmes d'emploi du secteur public et les aides envoyées par des proches.

Pendant 10 jours, une centaine de représentants de 14 villages (totalisant environ 5 000 habitants) situés le long du fleuve Suriname, en aval du village de Lespansi, ont participé à l'assemblage d'une impressionnante maquette, à l'échelle 1:15 000, d'une zone couvrant environ 2 160 km2. Des jeunes (principalement des filles) du village de Jaw Jaw ont assemblé la maquette vierge d'après les conseils de représentants de Tropenbos International Suriname et du Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale (CTA). Des hommes et des femmes saramaca de tous les âges ont complété cette maquette avec 38 types de repères qu'ils estiment utiles à leur orientation, leur subsistance et leur culture. 

Avec l'autorisation libre, préalable et éclairée des représentants des villages, les ensembles de données ont été archivés sous forme de photographies numériques haute résolution, qui seront importées dans un environnement SIG de confiance par Tropenbos. 

Lors de l'ajout des repères à la maquette, il est apparu qu'en l'absence de caractéristiques géographiques visibles comme des collines ou des montagnes (la zone est relativement plate), les Saramaca utilisent les cours d'eaux pour s'orienter sur la carte. C'est pourquoi ils ont commencé par obtenir un consensus sur l'emplacement et le nom de tous les cours d'eaux des zones concernées. Ils ont ainsi identifié cinq types de cours d'eau, qu'ils distinguent selon leur largeur, leur caractère navigable et leur accessibilité saisonnière par bateau. 

Le samedi 6 septembre 2014, des représentants des villages ont présenté leur travail à des représentants d'agences gouvernementales (le Ministère du développement régional, le Ministère de l'agriculture, de l'élevage et de la chasse, la Commission sur l'exploitation aurifère au Suriname [OGS] et la Fondation pour la gestion et le contrôle de la production des forêts [SBB]), du CTA, de la Fondation pour le développement de l'arrière-pays (FOB), d'organisations non gouvernementales (WWF-Guianas, Tropenbos International Suriname, Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), l'Association des chefs de villages indigènes du Suriname (VIDS), d'organisations locales (Wan Mama Pikin et l'Association des autorités saramaca (VSG), du secteur privé (les propriétaires de gîtes du Haut Suriname (LBS)) ainsi que des médias nationaux (DWT et Surinaamse Televisie Stichting (STVS)). 

Les représentants des villages ont présenté la maquette et expliqué le processus de définition, d'affinement et d'actualisation de sa légende, tout en décrivant les débats animés qui ont conduit à l'installation des repères sur la maquette vierge. Non sans fierté, ils ont indiqué que le modèle sera exposé dans l'un des villages facilement accessible depuis l'extérieur, afin de faciliter les processus de négotiation et de planification. Aux yeux des villageois, la maquette est désormais un outil qui leur permettra de planifier leur propre développement et favorisera les interactions avec les promoteurs, les investisseurs et les décideurs. 

M. Erwin Fonkel, chef du village de Jaw Jaw, a rappelé un point essentiel lors de l'entretien qu'il a accordé à STVS TV : « Cet exercice de cartographie me semble essentiel : par le passé, nous nous étions essayés à la cartographie mais en omettant de nombreuses informations. Nous avons élaboré nous-mêmes cette maquette, et avons davantage fait entendre notre voix lors de la définition de son contenu. Auparavant, les cartes omettaient de nombreux lieux primordiaux, des rivières, des lieux où trouver des ressources et générer des revenus. » 

Le programme de paysagisme productif de Tropenbos International Suriname et la Stratégie de renforcement des compétences pour la planification de l'aménagement territorial au Suriname de WWF Guianas utilisera la maquette pour impliquer les parties prenantes dans l'élaboration de scénarios d'aménagement territorial et procéder à des évaluations participatives des services écologiques. Comme l'avaient prévu plusieurs chefs locaux, la maquette, désormais confiée au peuple saramaca, sera utilisée pour formuler des propositions d'investissements en matière d'infrastructures locales et de développement durable, par exemple pour des raccordements électriques et du tourisme vert.   

Remarque : cette activité s'est déroulée dans le cadre du projet « Modéliser les compromis entre les scénarios d'aménagement territorial et les services écologiques dans la région du Haut Suriname ». La composante participative de la cartographie avait pour vocation d'autonomiser les villages afin de faire entendre leur voix et leur donner un rôle actif, autant dans la gestion de leurs terres et de leurs ressources naturelles que dans les processus de prise de décision dont ils dépendent. 

Saramakan’s forests: watercourses at the core of a participatory 3D modelling exercise along the upper Suriname River

JAW JAW, SURINAME, 6 September 2014. From Atjoni, Suriname, it takes 40 minutes by motorised longboat to reach Jaw Jaw, a village sprinkled along the shores of the mighty upper Suriname River. This area is home to approximately 17,000 Afro-Surinamese people belonging to the Saramakan tribe. These people survive on shifting cultivation, fishing, hunting, harvesting of timber and non-timber forests products, boat transport services, government employment and remittances from outside the area.

Over a 10-day period some 100 representatives from 14 villages (representing a population of approximately 5,000 people) bordering the Suriname River downstream of the village of Lespansi worked together to assemble a stunning 1:15,000 scale three-dimensional (3D) physical map of an area covering approximately 2,160 km2. Youngsters (mainly girls) from Jaw Jaw village assembled the blank model under the guidance of representatives from Tropenbos International Suriname and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA). Saramakan adults (men and women), including elders, populated the model with 38 types of feature they consider relevant for their orientation, livelihoods and culture. 

With free prior and informed consent obtained from community representatives, the datasets were captured using high-resolution digital photography and will be digitised and imported into a GIS environment held in trust by Tropenbos. 

In the process of populating the 3D model with information, it appeared that – in the absence of outstanding landmarks like hills or mountains  (the mapped area is relatively flat) – the Saramaka used water courses to orient themselves on the map. Hence, they first had to discuss and reach general consensus on the location and names of all watercourses in the areas they were concerned with. This led them to identify five types of watercourses, differentiated according to width, navigability and seasonal accessibility by boat. 

On Saturday, 6 September 2014, representatives of the local communities presented their work to representatives of government agencies (the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, the Commission on Ordering of the Gold Mining Sector in Suriname (OGS) and the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control (SBB),CTA, the Foundation for Development of the Hinterlands (FOB) and non-governmental organisations (WWF-Guianas, Tropenbos International Suriname, Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), the Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs in Suriname (VIDS), community-based organisations (Wan Mama Pikin and The Association of Saramaka Authorities (VSG), the private sector (Lodgeholders upper Suriname River [LBS]) and the national media (DWT and Surinaamse Televisie Stichting (STVS). 

The local community representatives presented the 3D map and explained the process that led to the formulation of the map legend and its fine-tuning and updating and described the animated discussions that led to the population of the blank model. Proudly, they stated that the model will be hosted within one of their villages that is easily accessible to outsiders to facilitate negotiations and planning processes. The villagers now consider the 3D model as a tool for planning their own development and interacting with developers, investors and policy makers. 

The head of Jaw Jaw village, Mr Erwin Fonkel, made a key point in his interview with STVS TV: “I find this mapping exercise very important, because in the past we did some mapping but failed to include a lot of information. Now we have elaborated the map ourselves and we had a stronger voice on defining its content. In maps produced in the past several important locations, creeks and places where you can find resources and generate income, were not included.” 

The Productive Landscape Programme of Tropenbos International Suriname and the Capacity Building Strategy for Land Use Planning in Suriname of WWF Guianas will use the 3D model to involve stakeholders in elaborating land-use scenarios and conducting participatory assessments of ecosystem services. As anticipated by several local captains, the 3D model, now under the custodianship of the Saramaka people, will be used to elaborate proposals for investments in local infrastructure and sustainable development such as electrification and ecotourism.

This activity took place in the context of the project "Modelling trade-offs between land-use scenarios and ecosystem services in the upper Suriname River area". The participatory mapping component was conceived to empower local communities to have a voice and play an active role in managing their land and natural resources and decision-making processes that affect these.