High resolution participatory satellite imagery interpretation in Southern Etiopia

A SPOT 5 scene was used to explore indigenous land use patterns, pastoral rangeland management and infrastructures with Borana pastoralist, a customary institution in Oromia region, Southern Ethiopia. Video material produced in August 2009. Contribution: Massimiliano Rossi

RROMUEPATSRO: Mapping the Historical-Cultural Space of the Yanesha, Perú

This video is the first in a series titled “Where Our Ancestors Walked: Mapping the Historical-Cultural Space of the Yanesha People,” which was made in collaboration with the Yanesha people in order to preserve their history and its relation with their territory as sacred landscape. Rromuepatsro presents the Yanesha people, located in the eastern slope of the Peruvian central Andes, and explores their vital relationship with their ancestors and the natural landscape. It shows how they have used PGIS, anthropological research and Yanesha oral history to map their historical cultural space and thus reaffirm their millennial link to the ancient world and the civilization of the central Andes.

This video has been produced in Spanish and English by the Instituto del Bien Común (IBC), Lima, Perú.

Reviving our culture, Mapping our future

The story of a special gathering in Venda, South Africa, and a community process in eco-cultural mapping. Indigenous leaders from Altai (Russia) and the Colombian Amazon, and NGO representatives from South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia, accompany Tshidvizhe community as they explore a simple yet powerful way to express the past and present of their territory and livelihoods onto hand-drawn maps. The maps highlight the importance of their culture, sacred sites and territory, and empower them to map the future they need to strive for.

Production: The Gaia Foundation, African Biodiversity Network (ABN), Mupo Foundation and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU (CTA).

Participatory mapping at IFAD

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is implementing the project “Piloting IFAD’s Participatory Mapping Approach for Specific Livelihoods” through innovative twinning arrangements.

The second phase of the project has focused on participatory mapping. As a result IFAD published “Good Practices in Participatory Mapping” and the “IFAD Adaptive Approach to Participatory Mapping”.

The next phase is focusing is participatory monitoring and evaluation of participatory mapping processes.

Below are the main outcomes of the second phase:

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (Corbett J. M.) (2009) “ Good practices in participatory mapping.” The International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome, Italy. 55 pages.

•  Le Fonds international de développement agricole (Corbett J. M.) 2009. Cartographie participative et bonnes pratiques. Le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA), Rome, Italie. 59 pages 

• El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (Corbett J.M) 2009. Buenas prácticas en cartografía participativa. Análisis preparado para el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA). Roma, Italia. 59 paginas

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (Corbett J. M.) (2010) “Adaptive Mapping: IFAD Design and Delivery of Participatory Mapping Projects.” The International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome, Italy. pp. 47

Whose Map? | ¿De Quién Son Los Mapas? | à qui appartiennent les cartes ? English / français/ español

In recent years, changes in participatory methodologies (PMs) may have been even more rapid than those in spatial technologies. Local people's abilities to make maps only became widely known and facilitated in the early 1990s. In this article Dr. Robert Chambers argues that participatory mapping has spread like a pandemic with many variants and applications not only in natural resource management but also in many other domains. With mapping as one element, there are now signs of a new pluralist eclecticism and creativity in PMs. The medium and means of mapping, whether ground, paper or GIS and the style and mode of facilitation, influence who takes part, the nature of outcomes and power relationships. Much depends on the behaviour and attitudes of facilitators and who controls the process. Many ethical issues present troubling dilemmas, and lead to overarching questions about empowerment and ownership. Questions to be asked, again and again, are: Who is empowered and who disempowered? And, who gains and who loses?

Below is the original article published on  EJISDC, an open access journal, and translations in French and Spanish done in the context of the development of the "Training Kit on Participatory Spatial Information Managamant and Communication" soon to be published by CTA and IFAD.

• Robert Chambers. 2006. Participatory Mapping and Geographic Information Systems: Whose Map? Who is Empowered and Who Disempowered? Who Gains and Who Loses? EJISDC 25, 2, 1-11

• Robert Chambers. 2006. El Mapeo Participativo Y Los Sistemas De Información Geográfica: ¿De Quién Son Los Mapas? ¿Quién Se Empodera Y Quién Se Desempodera? ¿Quién Gana Y Quién Pierde? EJISDC 25, 2, 1-14 - Traducido y publicado por: Centro Técnico para la Cooperación Agricultural y Rural ACP-EU (CTA), 2010. Con la autorización de: EJISDC

• Robert Chambers. 2006. Cartographie participative et systèmes d’information géographique : à qui appartiennent les cartes ? Qui en ressort renforcé, qui en ressort affaibli ? Qui gagne et qui perd ? EJISDC 25, 2, 1-14 - Traduit et publié par le Centre Technique de Coopération Agricole et Rurale (CTA) avec la permission d’EJISDC

Here is a related interview with Robert Chambers subtitled in 10 languages (you can embed this video on your blog or web site!)

Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication in Developing Countries / English / Français / Español

The merging of participatory development methods with geo-spatial technologies has come to be known as Participatory GIS and is now an emergent development practice in its own right. PGIS combines a range of geo-spatial information  management  tools and methods such as sketch maps, participatory 3D models, community-based air photo and satellite imagery interpretation, GPS transect walks and GIS-based cognitive mapping. Participatory GIS implies making GIT&S available to disadvantaged groups in society in order to enhance their capacity in generating, managing, analysing and communicating spatial information.

PGIS practice is geared towards community empowerment through measured, demand-driven, user-friendly and integrated applications of geo-spatial technologies. GIS-based maps and spatial analysis thus become major conduits in the process. A good PGIS practice is embedded into long-lasting and locally driven spatial decision-making processes, is flexible, adapts to different socio-cultural and bio-physical environments, depends on multidisciplinary facilitation and skills and builds essentially on visual language. If appropriately utilized, the practice should exert profound impacts on community empowerment, innovation and social change. More importantly, by placing control of access and use of culturally sensitive spatial information in the hands of those who generated them, PGIS practice can protect traditional knowledge and wisdom from external exploitation.

Effective participation is the key to good PGIS practice. Whilst the focus of traditional GIS applications is often on the outcome, PGIS initiatives tend to emphasize the processes by which outcomes are attained. At times the participatory process can obfuscate systematic inequalities through unequal and superficial participation. For example, PGIS applications may be used to legitimise decisions which in fact were taken by outsiders. The process can also easily be hijacked by community elites. For PGIS practices to be successful, they must be placed in a well thought out and demand-driven process based on the proactive collaboration of the custodians of local and traditional knowledge and of facilitators skilled in applying PGIS and transferring technical know-how to local actors. Participation thus cuts across the process from gaining a clear understanding of the existing legal and regulatory frameworks, to jointly setting project objectives, defining strategies and choosing appropriate geo-spatial information management tools. The integrated and multifaceted nature of PGIS provides legitimacy for local knowledge and generates a great sense of confidence and pride which prepares participant communities in dealing with outsiders. The process is intended to build self-esteem, raise awareness about pressing issues in the community and produce concrete and sustainable spatial solutions.

Below is the original article published on  EJISDC, an open access journal, and translations in French and Spanish done in the context of the development of the "Training Kit on Participatory Spatial Information Managamant and Communication" soon to be published by CTA and IFAD.

• Rambaldi G., Kwaku Kyem A. P.; Mbile P.; McCall M. and Weiner D. 2006. Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication in Developing Countries. EJISDC 25, 1, 1-9 .

• Rambaldi G., Kwaku Kyem A. P.; Mbile P.; McCall M. and Weiner D. 2006. Gestion Participative de l’information Géographique et de la Communication dans les Pays en Développement. EJISDC 25, 1, 1-9. Traduit et publié par le Centre Technique de Coopération Agricole et Rurale (CTA) avec la permission d’EJISDC

•  Rambaldi G., Kwaku Kyem A. P.; Mbile P.; McCall M. and Weiner D. 2006. Manejo y Comunicación de la Información Territorial en Forma Participativa en los Países en vía de Desarrollo. EJISDC 25, 1, 1-9. Traducido y publicado por: Centro Técnico para la Cooperación Agricultural y Rural ACP-EU (CTA), 2010. Con permiso de: EJISDC

A vast freely accessible digital library is available at http://www.iapad.org/bibliography.htm
Selected publications on the subject are available at www.gis4d.com

PPgis.net Open Forum on Participatory Geographic Information Systems and Technologies

PPgis.net serves as a global avenue for discussing issues, sharing experiences and good practices related to community mapping, public participation GIS (PPGIS), participatory GIS (PGIS) and other geographic information technologies used to support integrated conservation and development, sustainable natural resource management and customary property rights in developing countries and among indigenous people worldwide. 

Members of the network are able to share information and lessons learned, post questions and announcements and upload and download resource documents which are relevant to the practice. 

 

The site is an online gateway for accessing discussion lists in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, all dealing with participatory mapping.

Mapping Indigenous Lands / Mapeo de tierras indígenas / Cartographier les territoires autochtones

We have just completed the translation of this important publication by Mac Chapin & colleagues.
Here are the links to the documents.

• Mac Chapin, Zachary Lamb, and Bill Threlkeld. Mapping Indigenous Lands. Annual Review of Anthropology 34 (2005) : 619-639
• Mac Chapin, Zachary Lamb, and Bill Threlkeld. Mapeo de tierras indígenas. Annual Review of Anthropology 34 (2005) : 619-639 - Traducido y publicado por el Centro Técnico de Cooperación Agrícola y Rural (CTA), con autorización de ―Annual Review of Anthropology‖
• Mac Chapin, Zachary Lamb, and Bill Threlkeld. Cartographier les territoires autochtones. Annual Review of Anthropology 34 (2005) : 619-639 - Traduit et publié par le Centre Technique de Coopération Agricole et Rurale (CTA) avec la permission de « Annual Review of Anthropology »

Participatory Action Research Approaches and Methods: Connecting People, Participation and Place

Participatory Action Research (PAR) approaches and methods have seen an explosion of recent interest in the social and environmental sciences. PAR involves collaborative research, education and action which is oriented towards social change, representing a major epistemological challenge to mainstream research traditions. It has recently been the subject of heated critique and debate and rapid theoretical and methodological development.

This book captures these developments, exploring the justification, theorisation, practice and implications of PAR. It offers a critical introduction to understanding and working with PAR in different social, spatial and institutional contexts. The authors engage with PAR’s radical potential, while maintaining a critical awareness of its challenges and dangers. The book is divided into three parts. The first part explores the intellectual, ethical and pragmatic contexts of PAR; the development and diversity of approaches to PAR; recent poststructuralist perspectives on PAR as a form of power; the ethic of participation; and issues of safety and well-being. Part two is a critical exploration of the politics, places and practices of PAR. Contributors draw on diverse research experiences with differently situated groups and issues including environmentally sustainable practices, family livelihoods, sexual health, gendered experiences of employment, and specific communities such as people with disabilities, migrant groups, and young people. The principles, dilemmas and strategies associated with participatory approaches and methods including diagramming, cartographies, art, theatre, photovoice, video and geographical information systems are also discussed. Part three reflects on how effective PAR is, including the analysis of its products and processes, participatory learning, representation and dissemination, institutional benefits and challenges, and working between research, action, activism and change.

The authors find that a spatial perspective and an attention to scale offer helpful means of negotiating the potentials and paradoxes of PAR. This approach responds to critiques of PAR by highlighting how the spatial politics of practising participation can be mobilised to create more effective and just research processes and outcomes. The book adds significant weight to the recent critical reappraisal of PAR, suggesting why, when, where and how we might take forward PAR’s commitment to enabling collaborative social transformation. It will be particularly useful to researchers and students of Human Geography, Development Studies and Sociology.

Choosing a participatory mapping method versus another

PGIS practitioners make use of a range of low and high tech geographic information technologies for acquisition, validation, analysis, representation and sharing of geo-spatial information. There are a number of factors that influence the choice of one method over another or the combination of more than one method. Factors include the ‘purpose behind the initiative’, the ‘resources available’ and the ‘institutional setting or environment’.
The choice of method should emanate predominantly from within the community . Participatory maps often represent a socially or culturally distinct understanding of land and seascapes and include information that is excluded from mainstream maps. These usually represent the views of the dominant sectors of society. Participatory maps can pose alternatives to the languages and images of the existing power structures and become a medium of empowerment by allowing local communities to represent themselves spatially.

For this reason, participatory maps should be made through an inclusive process at community level. The higher the level of participation by all members of the community, the more beneficial the outcome because the final maps, and related outputs like multimedia, will reflect the collective knowledge, concerns and aspirations.

In September 2010, CTA and IFAD will launch a Training Kit dedicated to “Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication” and having the specific objective of supporting the spread of good practice in generating, managing, analysing and communicating spatial information. More information on the training kit will be made available on the Internet and on this blog.

Participatory Video Validates Geo-Tagging Evidences on Mining Threats to Palawan Ecology and Indigenous Livelihoods

A field update from the ALDAW Network (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch)
May 2010

Between July and September 2009, a mission organized by the Philippines-based Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW) and the Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD) at the University of Kent demonstrated how the ecological balance and the survival of vulnerable indigenous communities on Palawan Island (a “Man and Biosphere Reserve” program of UNESCO) is being threatened by the ongoing mining rush. The mission’s actual ‘matching’ of collected GPS data to photographs shows that the Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA) of mining firms, such as MacroAsia and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporations, overlap with precious watersheds and the so called “core zones” of maximum protection. During the mission indigenous communities were engaged in the making and editing of participatory videos.




Today the voices of these isolated Palawan communities are available through the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ALDAWpalawan
http://vimeo.com/aldawnetwork

ILO Convention on indigenous and tribal peoples: a manual

This is an easy-to-use manual to ILO Convention No. 169. It helps to understand the Convention, and how it can be used to gain recognition, promotion and protection of indigenous and tribal peoples' rights.
The manual - dated 2003 - does not explain each article of the Convention. It focuses on key concepts such as, for example, human rights, culture,land, development, education and health.
Nor does it strictly follow the structure of the Convention. It is divided into different sections. Each section deals with a key concept.
For easy reference, the manual has included the article or articles of the Convention which are being discussed. There is a descriptive explanation of each article. Concepts are introduced by using examples and experiences from indigenous and tribal peoples. This is to demonstrate the articles of the Convention in a practical way. ILO also included diagrams and photographs which highlight and explain some important elements of the articles.

Rethinking the Power of Maps

A contemporary follow-up to the bestselling Power of Maps, this book takes a fresh look at what maps do, whose interests they serve, and how they can be used in surprising, creative, and radical ways.

In Rethinking the Power of Maps, Denis Wood describes how cartography facilitated the rise of the modern state and how maps continue to embody and project the interests of their creators. He demystifies the hidden assumptions of map making and explores the promises and limitations of diverse counter-mapping practices today.

Thought-provoking illustrations include U.S. Geological Survey maps; electoral and transportation maps; and numerous examples of critical cartography, participatory GIS, and map art.

Power of Maps: (Counter) Mapping for Conservation

This paper considers what is at stake in defining and mapping protected areas for conservation. The authors link issues of power in cartography to themes from political ecology, social natures, and conservation biology literatures to extend our understanding of maps as reflective of, and productive of, power. Reviewing insights from these literatures to consider power asymmetries common to conservation practice, they highlight ways that mapping practices and products reinforce and contribute to such dynamics.

The authors argue that in doing so enriches consideration of the power geometries of conservation cartographies by inviting fuller consideration of diverse species and landscapes, as well as enabling discussion of other representational and productive effects of conservation mappings. Once determined, how might conservation maps serve to naturalize certain spaces or boundaries as fixed, or contribute to certain socio-psychological understandings of conservation possibilities or outcomes?

In the closing sections, the authors invoke the idea of ‘counter-mapping’ to explore strategies that might redress these concerns. Possibilities range from efforts to adapt the form of protected areas to more critical approaches that question the appropriateness of territorial focus and mapping practices for conservation goals.

In conclusion, Harris and Hazen argue that theorizing power in human, other-than-human, and inter-species contexts is essential to understanding the power geometries of conservation mapping.

Citation: Leila M. Harris and Helen D. Hazen, 2006. Power of Maps: (Counter) Mapping for Conservation. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 4 (1), 99-130

Geographic Information Technology and local spatial knowledge

Louis Liebenberg, founder and developer of CyberTracker technology shares his views on the importance of maintaining local knowledge at the forefront and to beware of the fact that technology may seduce users at the cost of dis-empowering local knowledge holders. Louis further highlights the role of the "Training Kit on Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication" in empowering the grassroots.

Palawan, Voices from the lost frontier

In March 2006, the Philippines’ President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called for a revitalization of mining nation-wide. The future of Palawan, known as the Philippines’ “Last Frontier” is now under serious threat. The island was declared a “Man and Biosphere Reserve” by the UNESCO and it is also the home of vanishing and isolated indigenous communities. Despite the numerous policies and laws establishing the entire province as a protected area, Palawan is becoming one of the most attractive mining investments destinations. This documentary is the outcome of a joint effort of indigenous communities, farmers, local NGOs and international institutions.

Biocultural Diversity Conservation: A Global Sourcebook

Biocultural Diversity Conservation:
A Global Sourcebook

By Luisa Maffi and Ellen Woodley

Publication date: 19th February 2010

'All of the world's cultures are utterly dependent upon the biodiversity among which they live. Each culture has developed ways of adapting to their biodiversity, drawing on nature for goods, services, inspiration, mythology, and much else besides. Biocultural Diversity Conservation is a treasure trove of the many approaches that have been taken by the world's diverse cultures to maintain the biological systems upon which they depend. This invaluable resource will certainly find great utility in all parts of the world and among many disciplines. '
Jeffrey A. McNeely, Senior Science Advisor, IUCN

'Here is a treasure trove of a book, one that will truly make a difference in the world. It represents a key milestone in our global understanding of the profound and inextricable links between cultural and biological diversity. Written by two of the leading lights in this new and growing field, it is filled with important information, case studies and analyses on a global scale.'
Nancy J. Turner, University of Victoria, Canada

'At long last: an authoritative guide to biocultural conservation. This is a splendid illumination of the intermingled diversity of culture and nature ... revealing and revolutionary.'
Thomas E. Lovejoy, Biodiversity Chair, The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, USA

The field of biocultural diversity is emerging as a dynamic, integrative approach to understanding the links between nature and culture and the interrelationships between humans and the environment at scales from the global to the local. Its multifaceted contributions have ranged from theoretical elaborations, to mappings of the overlapping distributions of biological and cultural diversity, to the development of indicators as tools to measure, assess, and monitor the state and trends of biocultural diversity, to on-the-ground implementation in field projects.

This book is a unique compendium and analysis of projects from all around the world that take an integrated biocultural approach to sustaining cultures and biodiversity. The 45 projects reviewed exemplify a new focus in conservation: this is based on the emerging realization that protecting and restoring biodiversity and maintaining and revitalizing cultural diversity and cultural vitality are intimately, indeed inextricably, interrelated.

Ethics are central to community-based mapping processes

Dr. Nigel Crawhall, Director of Secretariat at the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), a pan-African network, elaborates on the value of ethics in the context of participatory mapping processes.

More on practical ethics in PPGIS/PGIS practice is found here.

Mapping the Sea - Improving Livelihoods

In 2005, when the Tsunami hit Banda Aceh in Indonesia, it killed many of the elderly fishermen. Much of the traditional knowledge about the waters surrounding Banda Aceh was lost with them. Traditionally this precious knowledge was transferred from generation to generation. In the post-Tsunami vacuum, this community-led initiative was able to retrieve and document some of that endangered knowledge.

This video documents the efforts done in one community, where traditional authorities coordinated the mapping of the coastal waters including the sea floor. So far 460 km of coastline have been mapped including previously unmapped features like four seamounts, four geologic faults and eighteen coral areas. In addition to the physical data, the community documented key biodiversity areas including shark nurseries, nesting beaches, spawning grounds. Data will be used to support the development of coastal resources and fisheries management plans.

According to Sumatra Konservasi Alam this project was completed at minimal cost (less than 10% of the cost of a conventional survey) and in less than one year. More information on the initiative is found at http://www.konservasi.org

Ogiek Indigenous Peoples Mapping their Lands

Julius Muchemi, Executive Director of ERMIS Africa, an NGO based in Kenya, reports on a Participatory 3D Modelling exercise which occurred in Nessuit, Kenya in August 2006. In the course of the exercise - attended by representatives from 21 Ogiek clans - an area of 52,800 ha was mapped at a scale 1:10,000. participants included close to 120 representatives from the different clans, men and women. Elders populated the model with their memories dating back to 1925 and reconstructed the landscape as it was at that time. The model displays 64 data layers including different types of areas, points and lines. In 2008 the Ogiek people expanded the coverage of the model to include further 40,000 ha.

Read more ...