‘We are our land’— Ogiek of Mount Elgon, Kenya: securing community tenure as the key enabling condition for sustaining community lands

Published in Oryx – the international journal of conservation – this open access article also highlights how this community control is under constant threat until and unless national law and practice recognizes the collective tenure rights of such communities.

"We outline how securing the community tenure rights of forest peoples can create a rapid, rights-based route to the effective and sustainable conservation of their forests. We draw on the different skillsets and experiences of the authors (long-term fieldwork, mapping and monitoring, and a lifetime of experience) to identify the conditions that enable the Ogiek of Chepkitale, Mount Elgon, Kenya, to sustain and be sustained by their lands. 

We also identify the conditions that drive the disruption of this sustainable relationship through an appropriation of Ogiek resources by external interests that threaten to degrade, alienate and destroy their ecosystem. It is increasingly recognized that securing sustainable conservation outcomes can be best achieved through the deep knowledge, connection and commitment that ancestral communities have regarding their lands. 

Evidence from Mount Elgon and more broadly shows that Indigenous Peoples are better guardians of their forests than international or state protection agencies. This challenges the idea that evicting forest peoples is the best way to protect forests. Other studies, including those conducted by the Kenyan governmental Taskforce on Illegal Logging, highlight the way Kenyan state agencies such as the Kenya Forest Service have been responsible for the severe depletion of Indigenous forests. 

We examine how de facto collective community control can enable decisions to be made in line with taking care of community lands over the long term, but also highlight how this ability is under constant threat until and unless national law and practice recognizes the collective tenure rights of such communities."

 

Congrats to the #Yanesha people of #Peru for completing a fascinating #participatory 3D map of their communal reservation, part of the #Biosphere Reserve Oxapampa Ashaninka. Supported by @IUCN & @iapad, the #P3DM exercise helped documenting & reviving #traditional #knowledge pic.twitter.com/uXd0rkMtFk

— Hindou (@hindououmar) May 19, 2023

Evaluating Participatory Mapping Software

Evaluating Participatory Mapping provides a framework for evaluating geospatial software for participatory mapping. The evaluation is based on ten key indicators: ethics, cost, technical level, inclusiveness, data accuracy, data privacy, analytical capacity, visualization capacity, openness, and accessibility (i.e., mobile friendly or offline capabilities). 

Each application is evaluated by a user and cross analyzed with specific case studies of the software’s real-world application. This framework does not discriminate against assessing volunteered geographic information (VGI) applications, as a form of participatory mapping, in circumstances that its application is spearheaded by underrepresented groups with the intent to empower and spark political or behavioral change within formal and informal institutions. 

Each chapter follows a strict template to ensure that the information within the volume can be updated periodically to match the ever-changing technological environment. 

The book covers ten different mapping applications with the goal of creating a comparative evaluation framework that can be easily interpreted by convening institutions and novice users. 

This will also help identify gaps in software for participatory mapping which will help to inform application development in the future and updates to current geospatial software.

Saamaka People in Suriname suffer from illegal logging within their land

Stand with the Saamakans from Federico Rambaldi on Vimeo.

The Saamaka tribe is an Afro-descendant community that has inhabited the Suriname river watershed for over 300 years. They have a deep spiritual and cultural connection with the land and have preserved it through their customary laws and traditions.

However, over the past 30 years, Saamaka communities have struggled to defend their land against intrusive logging and gold mining activities. In the 1990s, the Government of Suriname granted logging concessions to multinationals in their territory without consulting them. For almost a decade, the forest was exploited, causing the destruction of agriculture fields and pollution of drinking water sources.

In the year 2000, the Saamaka decided to stand up and defend their territory against these threats and fights for the legal recognition of their land rights. They organized themselves into the Association of Saamaka Authorities and filed a petition to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The petition asked for support to stop human and land rights violations in their territory. This led in November 2007, to the issuance of a binding judgement by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in favor of the Saamaka people, known as ‘Saamaka judgement’. It required the State of Suriname to legally recognize their land rights and stop any logging and infrastructure development inside the Saamaka territory and fully apply Free Prior Informed Consent procedures.

However, 15 years have passed since the ruling of the court, and the Government of Suriname still does not comply with the Saamaka judgment. On the contrary, their land rights are still not legally recognized, and logging concessions continue being granted without Free Prior Informed Consent.

Moreover, the issuance of community forest concessions is another violation of Saamaka rights. These areas, granted to individuals from the communities, are presented by the government as a way to legitimate Saamaka people's rights to the forest. However, in practice, these forest concessions delegitimize and violate Saamaka communal systems of property, creating internal conflicts, elite capture, and internal corruption.

Since one year ago, Saamaka communities have been struggling again to protect their land against a new destructive intrusion. A logging company has gained access to their concession on the east side of the Saamaka territory. Despite opposition from the Association of Saamaka Authorities, the logging company, with the support of few Saamaka individuals, who disregard the community’s stand, has built a pontoon to mobilize heavy machinery across the river and has begun road work without obtaining the Saamaka’s Free Prior Informed Consent.  As a result of this access, thousands of valuable logs are exploited illegally. This road poses now a significant threat to the livelihoods and sustainable use of forest resources maintained by the Saamaka. More importantly, the forest itself has customary and spiritual value for them. The road would facilitate access for illegal gold miners and more loggers, causing widespread habitat destruction.

With human and recurrent land rights’ violations, the Saamaka people are taking fresh action to advocate for the legal recognition of their ancestral land rights and demand that the Government of Suriname fully complies with the ‘Saamaka judgment’. 

As stewards of more than one million hectares of tropical rainforest, the Saamaka people ask the international community to support their efforts to protect their land.

Managing Natural Resource Conflicts with Participatory Mapping and PGIS Applications (English Edition)

This book integrates spatial analysis into the study and management of conflicts, and offers a model in conflict studies that incorporates theoretical explanations of conflict, its causes, and impacts, with a geospatial strategy for intervening in disputes over allocation and use of natural resources (connects theory and practice). Alongside a theoretical analysis of resource conflicts and an account of Participatory Mapping and PGIS development, this book provides a case study of GIS applications in conflict mediation. 

The book also lays out a practical and straightforward demonstration of PGIS applications in conflict management using a real-world case study, and traces the Participatory Mapping and PGIS movements evolution, compares PPGIS and PGIS practices, and makes distinctions between traditional GIS applications and PGIS practice. The approach embodies the enhanced use of spatial information and media, sets of tools for analysing, mapping, and displaying spatial data and a platform for participatory discussions that enhances consensus-building. 

The book, therefore, contributes to the search for novel approaches for managing current and emerging conflicts. With this book, resource managers, development practitioners, students, and scholars of Participatory Mapping and PGIS applications and conflict studies will be equipped with the principles, skills, and the tools they need to manage non-violent resource conflicts and keep the disputes from slipping into violence. The book will also be a valuable text for basic and advanced studies in Participatory Mapping and PGIS applications, Conflict Resolution and Conflict Management.

How mapping changed behaviour

A study of the Samoan experience of participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM), a practice which has been widely promoted by CTA, has shown that it has led to better natural resource management, helped local communities become more resilient to climate change and brought about significant changes in the relationship between governments and local communities.

P3DM is a mapping progress which enables local communities to ‘populate’ geo-referenced relief models with their own knowledge about physical features, such as rivers and villages, and the way in which their territory is used, for example for hunting, fishing and growing crops. The maps help to enhance a sense of belonging and local knowledge and many communities have used them to assert their rights, identify resources and opportunities, and devise new strategies for managing the land.

Giacomo Rambaldi, who has led CTA’s work on P3DM, was contacted in 2016 by Barbara Dovarch, a PhD candidate from the University of Sassari, Italy. She was keen to look at the effectiveness of P3DM and Rambaldi suggested she carry out her fieldwork in Samoa. Here, a 5-year project funded by the Global Environment Facility and carried out by the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, had used P3DM to sensitise local communities to climate change. Rather than being initiated by the local communities and their partners, as normally happens, P3DM was introduced by a government department as a way to reach communities and gain their trust.

Dovarch found that prior to the introduction of P3DM, community representatives tended to adopt a very passive attitude during consultations with the authorities. “Government officials usually adopted a lecturing style in meetings with community members, using PowerPoint presentations and information leaflets, often without success,” noted Dovarch in her report. However, the P3DM process provided local communities with the opportunity to express their own understanding about their land and take a more active role in resource management. The building of the models also enabled young and old people to talk to one another and exchange knowledge about nature, culture and history.

According to community members who spoke to Dovarch, the process encouraged the government to change the way it behaved towards local people. Now it is much more willing to ‘listen’ rather than ‘teach’. Government officials moved away from ‘consultations’ towards active participation, which helped to build trust on both sides. As far as the government officials were concerned, the P3DM process – in Dovarch’s words – “completely changed the attitude and approach of communities towards their own environment and land management.”

The government of Samoa was initially exposed to P3DM techniques through CTA’s ICT4Ag activities. Since then, it has not only contributed to the development of 19 P3DM models over a 4-year period, but also committed itself to playing an important role in popularising the technique in other parts of the Pacific region, beginning with Tonga. Dovarch described her findings in a CTA working paper in the ICTs for agriculture series, Participatory 3D modelling in Samoa: Triggering behavioural changes in climate change resilience.

An innovation from the Philippines: Light-Based Participatory 3D Mapping for Disaster Risk Reduction

In 2004, four consecutive typhoons brought disruption to coastal provinces in the Philippines, including Aurora. Havoc suffered by the province caused massive displacement of indigenous groups residing in the mountainside, such as the Dumagats. In the face of such vulnerability, the need for participatory disaster risk management and improvement of spatial awareness through community-centred innovations is direr now than ever before.

The Prod.Jx, a collective of professionals and artists coming from multiple disciplines – social sciences, environmental sciences, design and the arts; and the Dumagats of Dinggalan, Aurora developed the LIGTASPAD – a Light-Based Participatory 3D (P3D) Mapping Project.



While P3D Mapping is an existing methodology practised by geographers, Prod.Jx employed a rather unique take to further innovate their product – integrating the community’s language for learning, leveraging on its team members’ technical capacities and life experiences, as well as consistently improving their design for local adaptability.

This is from the experience of TUKLAS Innovation Labs which is implemented by Plan International, Action Against Hunger, CARE Philippines, and the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center. TUKLAS is part of the Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme Innovation Labs managed collaboratively by Start Network and CDAC Network, and funded by UK Aid.

The TUKLAS Central and Southern Luzon Lab is led by CARE Philippines.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/y4mw2m5z  

Suriname / Guyana Participatory Coastal Resource Management Project embraces P3DM practice

The four-year EU-funded “Promoting Integrated and Participatory Ocean Governance in Guyana and Suriname: the Eastern Gate to the Caribbean” project commenced in early 2017 and was officially launched in July 2017.

This project covers the coastal and marine areas of Suriname and Guyana.

The project is implemented through a partnership between WWF Guianas, Green Heritage Fund Suriname (GHFS), Guyana’s Protected Areas Commission (PAC) and the Nature Conservation Division (NCD) of the Suriname Forest Service (‘s Lands Bosbeheer).

The project aims to significantly enhance the governance and protection of marine and coastal resources of Guyana and Suriname through collaborative processes with all ocean stakeholders, improved knowledge of the coastal and marine environment, enhanced capacity of key stakeholders and informed marine spatial management. It will contribute to substantial progress towards achieving Aichi targets 4, 6, 10, 11 and 14 under the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).

 This project will use a participatory approach to develop comprehensive and visually appealing spatial data that will fill critical information gaps, and facilitate informed decision-making regarding marine management and protection. This participatory approach to marine decision-making will increase the knowledge of the marine environment and related human uses of the marine environment amongst all participating stakeholders by allowing information to be available to everyone.

An Equivalence-Gap Analysis for indigenous peoples (IP) and gender will ensure equity and participation of these marginalized groups, and that their needs are explicitly addressed in the decision-making process of this project. The participatory approach in its entirety builds stakeholder capacity and highlights the important role stakeholders can and should play in marine governance.

Increased marine protection and strengthened governance through participatory spatial planning, targeted capacity building, and compelling data, will demonstrate that MSP can produce “win-win” outcomes that conserve biodiversity and enhance food security, protect livelihoods and support socio-economic development compatible with ocean health.


A major component of the project is the implementation of a coastal and marine Participatory Three Dimensional Modelling (P3DM). P3DM is a community-based and stakeholder based process, which integrates local spatial knowledge with topographic data to produce a physical 3-D model assembled by mapping participants.

 The value of a marine P3D Modelling process is grounded in the engagement of stakeholders from the beginning of the planning process, which may result in more effective, transparent and durable interventions and can foster a collective decision-making process that may engender ownership of spatial planning processes. A marine P3D Model may constitute a powerful communication and negotiation tool for an actor-led marine spatial planning. This approach will enable information that is only available with certain stakeholders to become available with everyone, greatly increasing the knowledge of all participating stakeholders, but also with the government and general public.

To learn more about P3DM consult www.iapad.org

Préparer un avenir meilleur

Les personnes qui ont un faible niveau d’éducation et d’alphabétisation ont du mal à se faire entendre. C’est particulièrement vrai pour les communautés autochtones. Leurs connaissances ancestrales et leurs droits sont souvent ignorés par les gouvernements, les sociétés d’exploitation de minerais et d’autres qui souhaitent exploiter leurs terres. Toutefois, cette situation n’est pas inéluctable. En collaborant avec des partenaires locaux, le CTA a contribué à faire d’eux des pionniers dans un processus – baptisé Modélisation participative en 3D – qui aide les communautés locales à documenter les régions dans lesquelles elles vivent, mais également à influencer la façon dont les décisions sont prises concernant l’utilisation et l’occupation des sols.

 «Traditionnellement, les cartes étaient réalisées par les gouvernements, qui contrôlaient également les données», explique Giacomo Rambaldi du CTA. «Mais un énorme changement a eu lieu récemment, à mesure que les groupes de la société civile ont acquis la capacité de réaliser leurs propres cartes et vidéos.» Ils ont bénéficié de l’accès à Google Earth et YouTube ainsi qu’à la modélisation participative en 3D, qui leur ont permis de créer des cartes exactes et géo-référencées.

Le premier exercice de modélisation soutenu par le CTA dans le Pacifique a eu lieu aux Fidji, en 2005. Cet événement de 11 jours à Lavuka s’est concentré sur l’île d’Ovalau, où les communautés locales souffraient d’une surexploitation de leurs zones de pêche, en particulier par des flottes étrangères. Au cours des trois premiers jours, trente étudiants de l’enseignement supérieur et six enseignants ont créé un modèle en 3D de l’île avec l’aide de quinze animateurs et stagiaires. Quatre-vingt-dix hommes et femmes de 26 villages ont ensuite «peuplé » le modèle de montagnes, de routes, de rivières, de zones de pêches, de terres agricoles, de sites culturels et d’autres caractéristiques. Lorsqu’ils ont eu terminé, le modèle comptait 79 caractéristiques et 83 lieux revêtant une importance culturelle.

Le modèle a ensuite servi de base pour un plan de gestion à l’échelle de l’île et trois plans de gestion de districts. Le processus a identifié seize zones «taboues » dans lesquelles une protection complète de la faune marine est à présent assurée. Les autochtones ont également commencé à dégager des parcours cérémonieux qui avaient été envahis par la végétation. En trois années de recherche, le Musée des Fidji n’avait réussi à identifier que vingt lieux revêtant une importance culturelle – soit un quart du nombre de lieux identifiés par les villageois pendant le processus de modélisation.

À bien des égards, le processus est aussi important que le résultat obtenu. «Il aide les gens à visualiser et à localiser leurs connaissances spatiales, ce qui est très motivant », explique Giacomo Rambaldi. « Et, bien sûr, il leur permet de défendre leur cause de façon plus persuasive. » Dans le passé, les communautés autochtones pouvaient produire des croquis cartographiques en faisant valoir des revendications pour leurs terres, mais les décideurs n’en tenaient guère compte. Les modèles en 3D fournissant des détails complexes sur les caractéristiques du paysage sont beaucoup plus difficiles à ignorer.

À travers le Pacifique

Kenn Mondiai, qui dirige l’ONG «Partners with Melanesians », basée en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, fait partie des qui bénéficiaires d’une formation aux Fidji. Depuis lors, il a joué un rôle important dans la promotion de la modélisation participative en 3D à travers le Pacifique. Avec le soutien de la Banque mondiale, il a aidé les communautés locales du Plateau de Managalas en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, qui abrite 150 clans, à créer un modèle en 3D de leurs terres ancestrales. Ce modèle a servi comme élément de preuve pour promouvoir la Zone patrimoniale de Managalas (Managalas Conservation Area), dont la reconnaissance officielle est prévue au moment de la mise sous presse.


Mapping Land, Sea and Culture: an Award-winning Participatory 3D Modelling Process in Fiji from CTA on Vimeo.

En 2011, l’organisation de protection de l’environnement The Nature Conservancy a engagé Kenn Mondiai afin de diriger des formations dans les îles Salomon. Les exercices de modélisation dans le village côtier de Boe Boe se sont concentrés sur le changement climatique et ses répercussions possibles. Le modèle présentait l’étendue du dernier tsunami en 2007 et le niveau des récentes marées hautes qui avaient inondé certaines parties du village. La communauté a ensuite utilisé le modèle pour discuter de l’impact potentiel de la hausse du niveau des mers et d’autres événements liés au climat.

« Le modèle a montré à la jeune génération que nous devions réfléchir au changement climatique », a fait remarquer Winifred Piatamama après l’exercice. «Il est important de prendre conscience que, dans quelques années, le niveau de la mer ne sera pas le même qu’aujourd’hui. » Après avoir débattu, les villageois ont décidé qu’au lieu de construire le long de la côte, comme ils l’avaient fait jusqu’à présent, ils se tourneraient vers les terres plus élevées, à l’écart de la mer. En résumé, le modèle les a aidés à concevoir des plans qui les aideront à s’adapter au changement climatique.

Selon Winifred Piatamama, le processus de modélisation a été particulièrement important pour les femmes de la communauté. « Au début, c’était un peu difficile pour les femmes, parce qu’elles n’expriment pas leurs préoccupations, elles sont généralement silencieuses », a-t-elle déclaré. Toutefois, le processus de modélisation les a encouragées à faire part de leurs points de vue plus ouvertement. « Lorsque tous contribuent au modèle, ils partagent fierté et propriété », explique Gabriel Kulwaum, de l’organisation TNC (The Nature Conservancy) dans un petit film sur l’exercice de Boe Boe. « Ce n’est pas TNC ou le gouvernement qui en a la propriété. » C’est la communauté.

Formation aux Caraïbes

Le CTA était très désireux d’encourager une modélisation participative en 3D dans les Caraïbes, mais était obligé d’importer l’expertise d’ailleurs. En octobre 2012, le premier exercice de modélisation a eu lieu à Tobago, sous l’égide de l’Institut des ressources naturelles des Caraïbes (Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, Canari) et animé par Kenn Mondiai. Cela a donné lieu à des ateliers de suivi de modélisation sur l’île de l’Union et à la Grenade.

Sous La Surface ~ Cartographie de l'île d'Union ~ un exercice MP3D en 2013 from CTA on Vimeo.

Local voices in climate change adaptation - Union Island, Caribbean - Trailer from CTA on Vimeo.

Pour Gillian Stanislaus, du ministère des Ressources naturelles et de l’environnement de Trinidad-et-Tobago, le modèle en 3D de Tobago aidera les autorités à gérer plus efficacement les futurs développements. « Grâce au processus de modélisation, nous avons une connaissance bien plus approfondie de la façon dont les terres sont utilisées et de leur importance pour les habitants », affirme-t-elle.

Terrence Phillips a participé à l’un des ateliers de modélisation – qui portait sur l’adaptation au changement climatique – en tant que représentant du Mécanisme régional des pêches des Caraïbes. Il a été impressionné. « Je pense qu’il s’agit d’un outil très utile », confie-t-il. « Les communautés étaient en mesure de décrire ce qui était arrivé à leurs ressources maritimes dans le passé et l’état des ressources à l’heure actuelle. » La modélisation les a encouragées à prendre en considération l’impact éventuel de la hausse du niveau des mers et du changement climatique et à concevoir des stratégies d’adaptation. L’exercice de modélisation a contribué à l’instauration d’un dialogue constructif entre le gouvernement et la communauté locale, garantissant leur collaboration efficace à l’avenir.

La première en Afrique

L’organisation du premier exercice participatif de cartographie en 3D en Afrique a pris 10 mois. Cet exercice, qui s’est tenu dans le village de Nessuit, dans le comté de Nakuru au Kenya, était géré par Systèmes de cartographie et d’information en recherche environnementale en Afrique (Environmental Research Mapping and Information Systems in Africa, ERMIS-Africa), avec le soutien financier et technique du CTA. Pendant 11 jours, en août 2006, quelque 120 hommes et femmes appartenant à 21 clans Ogiek ont construit un modèle en 3D du complexe oriental de la forêt de Mau.


The Voice of the Ogiek from CTA on Vimeo.

La forêt de Mau a souffert pendant des décennies de l’exploitation commerciale et de l’envahissement par des cultures. Ces activités ont détruit une grande partie du paysage ainsi que bon nombre de sites culturels ogiek et, pendant quelques années, les Ogiek ont tenté de faire valoir en justice leurs droits sur ces terres. « Les procédures juridiques traînaient en longueur, sans aucune solution véritable », déplore Julius Muchemi, directeur d’ERMIS-Africa. « Ce dont les Ogiek avaient besoin, c’était de preuves concrètes venant soutenir leurs revendications ; et l’exercice de modélisation les a aidés à fournir ces preuves. »

Les preuves ont été suffisamment persuasives pour convaincre le gouvernement du droit des Ogiek sur les terres et de la nécessité de protéger la région de nouvelles dégradations. Lorsqu’un processus de préservation a été lancé en 2007, tous ceux qui occupaient la forêt en dehors des Ogiek ont été expulsés. Depuis lors, ERMIS-Africa et ses partenaires ont produit l’Atlas des territoires ancestraux des peuples Ogiek (Ogiek Peoples Ancestral Territories Atlas). Cet atlas présente la description la plus détaillée à ce jour de la culture Ogiek et de leurs liens avec la terre.

Parmi les organisations qui ont soutenu l’exercice de cartographie, citons le Comité de coordination des peuples autochtones d’Afrique (Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee, Ipac). Selon son directeur, Nigel Crawhall, il s’agit d’un événement majeur dans la vie de l’IPacC. L’exercice de cartographie et le soutien apporté par le CTA à l’organisation ont mené à une série de développements importants pour le peuple autochtone, et notamment à l’engagement de l’IPacC à la Convention-cadre des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques et le lancement d’un programme de formation multinational sur l’atténuation et l’adaptation au changement climatique.

Dans une synthèse écrite concernant l’impact du CTA, le Dr Crawhall a expliqué : « D’un point de vue professionnel, les relations avec le CTA ont apporté d’importants changements, de nouveaux outils et opportunités [...] L’exposition et le partenariat avec le CTA ont transformé le travail, les pratiques et les connaissances du seul réseau régional des peuples autochtones d’Afrique, exercé une incidence sur la vie des personnes dans plus d’une douzaine de pays et créé de nouvelles opportunités de carrière et de sensibilisation pour les leaders autochtones et m’ont ouvert de nouveaux horizons sur le plan professionnel. »

Depuis l’exercice de cartographie de la forêt de Mau, le CTA a soutenu des initiatives similaires en Éthiopie, au Gabon, au Tchad et en Ouganda. Soutenus par un manuel électronique publié en anglais, en français, en espagnol, en portugais et en amharique, ainsi que par une communauté en ligne dynamique, des exercices de modélisation ont également eu lieu dans d’autres parties du Kenya, au Ghana, au Maroc et en République démocratique du Congo et de nombreux autres pays, comme indiqué sur la carte ci-dessous.

Modelling a brighter future

People with low levels of education and poor literacy skills have difficulty making themselves heard. This is particularly true for indigenous communities. Their ancestral knowledge and rights are often ignored by governments, mineral companies and others who wish to exploit their lands. However, it needn’t be like this. Working with local partners, CTA has helped to pioneer a process, known as Participatory 3-D Modelling, which is helping local communities not only to document the areas where they live, but influence the way decisions are made about land-use and tenure.

“Traditionally, maps were made by governments, and the data was controlled by governments,” says CTA’s Giacomo Rambaldi. “But there has been a huge change recently as civil society groups have acquired the ability to make their own maps and videos.” They have benefited from access to Google Earth and YouTube and participatory 3-D modelling as a way of creating accurate, geo-referenced maps.

The first CTA-supported modelling exercise in the Pacific was held in Fiji in 2005. The 11-day event in Lavuka focused on Ovalau Island, where local communities were suffering from the over-exploitation of their fishery grounds, especially by foreign fleets. During the first three days, 30 high-school students and six teachers constructed a 3-D model of the island with the assistance of 15 facilitators and trainees. Ninety men and women from 26 villages then ‘populated’ the model with mountains, roads, rivers, fishing grounds, croplands, cultural sites and other features. By the time they had finished, the model had 79 features and 83 places of cultural significance.

The model was subsequently used as a basis for an island-wide management plan and three districts management plans. The process identified 16 ‘taboo’ areas in which there is now total protection of marine life. Local people have also begun to clear ceremonial pathways which had become overgrown. During the course of three years of research, the Museum of Fiji only managed to identified 20 places of cultural significance – a quarter of the number identified by villagers during the modelling process.

In many ways, the process is as important as the finished article. “It helps people to visualise and localise their spatial knowledge, and this is very empowering,” says Giacomo. “And, of course, it enables them to make their case more persuasively.” In the past, indigenous communities might produce sketch maps laying claims to their land, but decisions-makers seldom took much notice. The 3-D models providing intricate details of landscape features and resource use are much harder to ignore.

Across the Pacific

Kenn Mondiai, who runs Partners with Melanesians, an NGO based in Papua New Guinea, was among those to benefit from training in Fiji. Since then he has played an important role in promoting participatory 3-D modelling across the Pacific. With support from the World Bank, he helped local communities on PNG’s Managalas Plateau, home to around 150 clans, to create a 3-D model of their ancestral lands. This was used as part of the evidence to promote Managalas Conservation Area, whose official recognition is anticipated around the time of going to press.


Mapping Land, Sea and Culture: an Award-winning Participatory 3D Modelling Process in Fiji from CTA on Vimeo.

In 2011, The Nature Conservancy hired Kenn to conduct trainings in the Solomon Islands. The modelling exercise at the coastal village of Boe Boe focused on climate change and its possible impact. The model showed the extent of the last tsunami in 2007 and recent king-tide levels that had inundated parts of the village. The community then used the model to discuss the potential impact of rises in sea-level and other climate-related events.

“The model showed the younger generation that we need to think about climate change,” reflected Winifred Piatamama after the exercise. “It’s important to realise that in a few years time the sea level won’t be the same as it is now.” Following discussions, the villagers decided that instead of building along the coastline, as they have done in the past, they would look towards the higher land further from the sea. In short, the model helped them to devise plans which will help them adapt to climate change.


Modelling the Future in Boe Boe Community, Solomon Islands from CTA on Vimeo.

According to Winifred, the modelling process was particularly important for the women in the community. “At the beginning it was a bit challenging for women, because they don’t raise their concerns, they are generally quiet,” she said. However, the modelling process encouraged them to share their views more openly. “When everyone contributes to the model, they share pride and ownership,” reflected Gabriel Kulwaum of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in a short film about the Boe Boe exercise. “TNC or the government don’t own it.” The community does.

Training in the Caribbean

CTA was keen to encourage participatory 3-D modelling in the Caribbean, but was obliged to import expertise from elsewhere. In October 2012, the first Caribbean modelling exercise was held in Tobago, hosted by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) and facilitated by Kenn Mondiai. This led to follow-up modelling workshops on Union Island and Granada.


Local voices in climate change adaptation - Union Island, Caribbean - Trailer from CTA on Vimeo.

According to Gillian Stanislaus of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Trinidad and Tobago, the Tobago 3-D model will help the authorities manage future developments more efficiently. “Because of the modelling process, we have a much greater depth of knowledge about the way in which the land is used and its significance for local people,” she says.

Terrence Phillips attended one of the modelling workshops – its focus was on adapting to climate change – as a representative of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism. He was impressed. “I think this is a very useful tool,” he says. “The communities were able to describe what had happened to their marine resources in the past and the state of the resources now.” The modelling encouraged them to consider the possible impact of sea-level rises and climate change, and devise strategies to help them adapt. The modelling exercise helped to create a constructive dialogue between the government and the local community, ensuring that they work together effectively in future.

Africa's first

Africa’s first participatory 3-D mapping exercise took some 10 months to organise. Held in the village of Nessuit in Kenya’s Nakuru County, it was managed by Environmental Research Mapping and Information Systems in Africa (ERMIS-Africa), with financial and technical support from CTA. Over the course of 11 days in August 2006, some 120 men and women belonging to 21 Ogiek clans constructed a 3-D model of the Eastern Mau Forest Complex.


The Voice of the Ogiek from CTA on Vimeo.

The Mau Forest had suffered from decades of commercial logging and encroachment. These activities had destroyed much of the landscape, as well as many Ogiek cultural sites, and for some years the Ogiek had been attempting to assert their rights to the land in court. “The court cases had been dragging on, with no real resolution,” explains Julius Muchemi, director of ERMIS-Africa. “What the Ogiek needed was concrete evidence to support their claims, and the modelling exercise helped to provide that.”

The evidence was persuasive enough to convince the government of the Ogiek’s right to the land, and the need to protect the area from further degradation. When a conservation process was launched in 2007, all those occupying the forest apart from the Ogiek were evicted. Since then, ERMIS-Africa and its partners have produced the Ogiek Peoples Ancestral Territories Atlas. This provides the most comprehensive description to date about the Ogiek’s culture and their links to the land.

Among the organisations which supported the mapping exercise was the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC). According to its director, Nigel Crawhall, this was a key event in the life of IPACC. The mapping exercise, and CTA’s support for the organisation, led to a series of important developments for indigenous people, including IPACC’s engagement with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the launching of a multi-country training programme on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

“From a professional perspective,” said Dr Crawhall, in a written summary about the impact of CTA, “the relationship with CTA has brought important changes, new tools and opportunities... Exposure and partnering with CTA has transformed the work, practice and knowledge of Africa’s only regional indigenous peoples network, it has touched the lives of people in more than a dozen countries, it has created new career and advocacy opportunities for indigenous leaders, and it has opened new horizons for me professionally.”

Since the Mau Forest mapping exercise, CTA has supported similar initiatives in Ethiopia, Gabon, Chad and Uganda. Supported by an e-handbook published in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Amharic, and a vibrant online community, modelling exercises have also taken place in other parts of Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Morocco and many other countries as shown on the map below.

Joyful visualisation of urban P3DM by the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation

One of the key components of Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF)’s Community Resilience Program is the Participatory 3-Dimensional Mapping (#P3DM). In partnership with the Philippine Geographical Society, it is a multi-sectoral & community mapping activity. 

Urban Participatory 3D Model of Barangay, Quezon City, Philippines

Urban Participatory 3D Model (P3DM) of the Barangay Bagubayan, Quezon City, Philippines done on 23-24 July 2018 assembled by local communities in the context of the USAID-funded project "Strengthening Public-Private Partnership on Disaster Risk reduction to Build Resilient Communities". Facilitation support provided by the the Philippine Geographical Society.

Participatory 3D modelling for disaster risk reduction in the Philippines

Participatory 3D Model (P3DM) of the  Municipality of Paracale in Camarines Note in the Philippines produced by local communities with support provided by the Center for Disaster Preparedness Foundation (CDP) and the Philippine Geographical Society in the framework of a UNICEF funded project.

The Iwokrama International Centre recently released this video recording of the participatory three dimensional mapping (P3DM) exercises conducted by the village of Fair View in the Iwokrama Forest in Guyana. The three dimensional map of Fair View builds on inputs from the residents and Iwokrama, and was refined through the knowledge of the elders. The 3D model represents all the important features of Fair View which covers 22,000 sq km, including the residential, protection, harvesting, wells and other areas. Iwokrama is grateful to the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and Tropenbos International Suriname (TBI Suriname) for their technical advice and assistance, and to Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) for financial support.

UAS or drone mapping versus conventional methods - cost and benefit analysis - two cases in Africa

The use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in aerial mapping applications is increasingly being used as an appropriate surveying method in many sectors, particularly for agriculture.
Since the use of sUAS is new to many agricultural sector players, it is useful to reflect on the costs and benefits, and related technical and operational challenges, as well as the advantages that present themselves in the practical implementation of this technology.

Download full publication: http://bit.ly/2rFD26M

Author(s): Volkmann, Walter
Published: 2017
Series: CTA Working Paper
Publisher(s): CTA www.cta.int
Type: Technical publication 

UNICEF support to the deployment of P3DM practice in the Philippines

Through the efforts of the Philippine Geographical Society (PGS), UNICEF Philippines and its partner NGOs across the country (A2D in Cebu, CDRC in Northern Samar, and TABI in Masbate), 12 barangays were able to make their own Participatory 3D Maps (P3DMs) from January to April in 2016.

Participatory 3D Modelling for disaster risk reduction in DRC

"River partners: Managing environment and disaster risk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" is a video report on the disaster risk reduction project funded by the EU and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Government of DRC and local communities, with the support of the European Union.



Flooding and soil erosion are major hazards that threaten the Lukaya River basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Located in the outskirts of Kinshasa, this basin is an important source of water supply for the capital. This pilot project will demonstrate how ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (eco-DRR) can be integrated into watershed development planning. Upstream and downstream river users are brought together to tackle disaster risk and development planning in a more integrated manner.

Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) has been the core activity which ensured the active participation of local stakeholders.

How participatory maps can inform national policy making: The Tampakan Copper-Gold mine case

On September 23, 2011, Sagittarius Mines, Inc., a joint venture between global giant Glencore, Australia's Indophil Resources, and Filipino firm Tampakan Group of Companies, organised a public consultation in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, Philippines, to present the results of a series of feasibility studies including the results of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and inherent “safety, merits and sustainability” of the planned US$5.8-billion Tampakan Copper-Gold mining Project.

The final overall mine area was estimated at around 10,000 ha located within the boundaries of four provinces, namely South Cotabato, Sarangani, Davao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat, mostly forested and including a substantial portion in the Indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains. The open pit of 500 has would have been dug to a depth of 785 meters while the topsoil stockpile and pit ore stockpile would have covered areas of 5 ha and 49 ha, respectively. The company’s EIA estimated that 5,000 people, mostly of indigenous origin, were to be directly affected, and would have required re-settlement. The mining project would have had direct impact on five watersheds, around 4,000 hectares of old-growth forest and five indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains.

Consultants and executives of the company shared the finding of their studies using figures, charts and images all presenting the “expected benefits” of the proposed mining project, the largest of its kind in the Philippines and among the largest copper mines in the world to a an estimated 10,000 people crammed in the Koronadal City plaza.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Philippine Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) supporting the cause of Indigenous Peoples and local minorities, prepared a geo-referenced and scaled relief map of the area, to translate the technical and complex information available on the reports produced by the company via a visual and tactile interface. Building on the data provided by the mining company itself (e.g., potential stockpiles of mine tailings and wastes), the physical 3D visualisation of the mining complex - once unveiled - would have shown a different, less rosy scenario.  In the early morning before the start of the public consultation, the 3D map was sneaked into the plaza covered with a cloth.

The company’s experts - who included British, Australian and Filipino mining executives, were the first to present the results of the feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments and more, under the flashlight of local and national media, radio and TV operators.

When given the floor to react to the presentations, PAFID representative, Ms Kail Zingapan, unveiled the Participatory 3D model (P3DM) to the surprise of the mining executives, the large audience crowding the plaza and the local media.



Benefiting from the same media coverage as the mining executives, Ms Zingapan illustrated the actual and future scenarios of the Koronadal Valley and the Tampakan watersheds, where the mining operations would have taken place.

“This is the people’s map. We did not invent this,” she told the audience after unveiling the relief model. “Residents of the area showed us where their lands are located and we just plotted them on the 3D map,” Zingapan said. “We showed them the potential impact of the mining activities on the landscape and they saw that the mine development area would have included their ancestral lands. It appears that not all of them were consulted or correctly informed about the impact of the operations and the risks involved.”

According to local accounts, the audience was struck as Mr Zingapan further elaborated using the 3D map as a visual reference. She pinpointed that the company planned to build its tailings dam on an area, which is considered as sacred by the indigenous peoples. The location is also the headwater of the Mal River, which is the source of fish, of fresh water for home use and for irrigating crops. “This is your land where you live and get your food and other daily needs. It is up to you now if you want to see this land wasted and taken away from you or not,” she told the people in their local language. Her spoken words and image were amplified and accessible to the entire audience via the sophisticated multimedia system installed by the mining company for the occasion.

The visualisation of the pre and post scenarios offered by the 3D map were graphic, easy to understand and powerful, and underpinned public arguments contesting the company’s plans to mine copper and gold through the open-pit method.

The consultation ended, South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy declared that he was duty-bound to implement the Province’s 2010 environment code, which bans open-pit mining. The mining company contested the “constitutionality” of the Province’s environment code and insisted that open-pit mining is the “safest method.” In 2014 the case, presented by the Europe-Third World Center (CETIM), was debated 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

In 2016, Philippine Environment Secretary Regina Lopez stated that “There will be no Tampakan mine operations under my term.” “I will never ever allow this because it’s immoral. It’s socially unjust to allow companies to put the lives of all the farmers and indigenous people at risk,” Secretary Lopez said.

On 27 April 2017, Secretary Lopez further stated that she will ban open-pit mining in the country, toughening a months-long crackdown on the sector she blames for extensive environmental damage. Among others, the ban would halt the $5.9 billion (£4.59 billion) Tampakan copper-gold project, the nation's biggest stalled mining venture. Tampakan failed to take off after the province where it is located banned open-pit mining in 2010, prompting commodities giant Glencore Plc to quit the project in 2015.

In interfacing with the press, Secretary Lopez used the same P3DM used in 2011 by Ms Zingapan to astound the audience in Koronadal City, and kick-start a process with is likely to lead to fundamental changes in the policy governing open pit mining in the Philippines.

Sec @iamGinaLopez shows the media, the proposed open pit mine in Tampakan. #MiningPH pic.twitter.com/lo9wP2CVeI

— DENR (@DENR_Official) April 27, 2017

Sources:

• Jee Y. Geronimo. 2017. DENR bans 'prospective' open-pit mines. https://goo.gl/HGX9xu 
• Reuters. 2017. Philippines bans open-pit mining as minister toughens crackdown. https://goo.gl/A55pm9. Thu Apr 27, 2017
• Louise Maureen Simeon. 2016. DENR thumbs down Tampakan mine project.  The Philippine Star. Updated July 28, 2016. https://goo.gl/I41U88
• ________2016. Philippines: Details of the Tampakan project challenged. https://goo.gl/w9Tyln
• CETIM. 2014. The Tampakan Copper-Gold Project and Human Rights Violations in the South Cotabato, Philippines, https://goo.gl/aYuWEZ presented at the 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council, 2014
• Tebtebba via the Rights and Resources Initiative. 2012. Community maps can empower indigenous peoples to assert land rights https://goo.gl/JhNyHx

Reminder:

#ConfirmSecGina 

Participatory 3D Modelling in Western Samoa triggers behavioural changes and climate change resilience

Since 2012 the local government together with local communities in Western Samoa have carried out a total of 19 participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) exercises in the context of agroforestry management, water management and tourism development.

A participatory research was conducted between February and April 2016 to explore the effectiveness and potential of P3DM in the region. The study was done by Barbara Dovarch, PhD candidate at the Department of Architecture Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, Italy, sociologist and independent researcher, in partnership with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE).

This participatory impact evaluation involved diverse members of local communities and MNRE technical staff. It focused particularly on the capacity of P3DM to generate deep-seated and long-lasting behavioural changes.

The results of the study demonstrates that P3DM contributes to natural resource management and climate change resilience and showed the transformative power of the process at various levels, such as community, NGO and governmental level.

Through the P3DM process, meaningful interactions between government representatives and community members resulted in greater collaboration and mutual learning. While government representatives have changed the way they approach local communities – from ‘teaching’ to ‘listening’ – communities have also changed their attitude towards land management and development.

Download the full report via: http://bit.ly/p3dm-ws

Participatory 3D modelling as a socially engaging approach in ecosystem service assessments among marginalized communities

Land use decision making in the Suriname Upper Suriname River area knows a history of dis-

empowerment and marginalization of the Saamaka communities inhabiting the area. Non-recognition of land rights is at the origin of this problem. This is aggravated by the increasing over-exploitation of timber resources by powerful stakeholders and the unfair distribution of timber benefits. This has left Saamakans marginalized, causing distrust and opposition among themselves and towards outsiders. Furthermore, as a result of deforestation, Saamakans face detrimental changes in the ecosystem services (ES) that support their traditional livelihoods, with important effects for their well-being.

This environment of distrust, opposition and marginalization makes it difficult to assess these concerns. Hence, an ES assessment approach that would generate salient ES knowledge while generating trust, communication among stakeholders and local capacity building was needed. In this paper we evaluate whether Participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) is an effective approach for ecosystem services assessments in such disabling environments. We evaluate this by using empirical data from an ES assessment in the Saamaka region using a P3DM approach. Results show the efficient identification and evaluation of 36 ES representing provisioning, cultural and regulating service categories with crops, fish, wild meat, timber and forest medicines identified as most important.

The authors of this paper found a decrease in the demand and supply of crops, fish and wild meat associated with ecosystem degradation, out-migration and changes in lifestyles. Further, the findings of the research show an increasing demand and decreasing supply for timber related to over-exploitation. The research provided evidence of the usefulness of P3DM to foster multi-functional landscape development among a range of communities.

In the paper the authors discuss the usefulness of the approach and the conditions needed for the P3DM process to address the needs of the local communities as well as the need for a broader P3DM implementation strategy beyond the engagement, screening, and diagnostic phases of ES assessments when the aim is to enhance ES outcomes for marginalized communities.

Download PDF version of the paper

Related posts:

• Saamaka peoples upscale the use Participatory 3 Dimensional Modelling along the Upper Suriname River, 8 August 2015
• Suriname - 15 July, 2015. Mapping the livelihoods of the Saamaka people.
• Saramakan’s forests: watercourses at the core of a Participatory 3D Modelling exercise along the Upper Suriname River
• The enabling power of participatory 3D mapping among the Saramaccan Peoples of Suriname (Video, final version)
• The film “The enabling power of participatory 3D mapping among the Saramaccan People of Suriname” launched at CWA2014