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.

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: my PGIS learning journey – Participatory data extraction and digitization (blog post 5)

Photo credit: Melvin Purzuelo

On July 15, we had another PGIS orientation session. I had the privilege to be a part of the first participatory data extraction and digitisation process which occurred in Barangay Sua. The huge amount of information displayed on the model and therefore the amount of data to be digitised required the REBUILD Project management to allocate additional staff to oversee the digitising work. At least three local government officials from the Municipality of San Dionisio and two leading staff of the REBUILD Project attended the session. The training conducted by Green Forum-Western Visayas focused on the use of QGIS for digitising the data extracted from the 3D model of Barangay Sua. In the course of the digitising process, I realized that most data depicted on the 3D model represent infrastructure and habitats that were destroyed by super typhoon Yolanda. Although no longer present, these were located by the villagers in order to conduct a proper vulnerability assessment. They considered that visualising a complete data-set of the pre-typhoon situation and comparing it with the present conditions would enable them to gain a better understanding of possible courses of action. As an example, they cited the introduction of storm resistant infrastructures and the design of evacuation plans which would reduce risks related to natural calamities.

A total of six P3DM exercises were conducted by the REBUILD Project. It is worth mentioning that in addition to facilitating PGIS processes, the REBUILD Project staff implements livelihood projects.

Related posts by Wilfred Don Dorovoqa :

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: My PGIS learning journey ... 

• Blog post 5: Participatory data extraction and digitization
• Blog post 4: QGIS introduction and P3DM in action
• Blog post 3: Preparations and challenging encounters 
• Blog post 2: My expectations
• Blog post 1: How it all started

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: my PGIS learning journey – QGIS introduction and P3DM in action (blog post 4)

On July 14, I was introduced to the free and open source software (FOSS), QGIS (QuantumGIS) to be used in the PGIS process. The REBUILD Project deploys two facilitators stationed at the San Dionosio office to implement the disaster rehabilitation program and livelihood strategy. Given these circumstances, I had the opportunity to work with the QGIS software for one day. Yet, Melvin was really helpful in teaching me the QGIS essentials and introducing me to a range of FOSS GIS software applications which are available on the web. In the end, my learning process of QGIS was much easier than expected. 

Later in the day, we went to a local fishing village to work with a non-indigenous community in Sua, a Barangay (administrative unit within a municipality) located along the San Dionisio coastline. Here, we conducted a community consultation meeting. While discussing the project with the community, the importance of collaboration and participation was evident. Last June 2014, the community worked together to construct a 3D map of their location. The 3D map was overlaid with a transparent plastic sheet, where information layers were depicted by locals. From the conversations I had, the map clearly indicates an effective medium for participatory discussions. It was nice to see a couple of local Barangay councillors and their secretary, partake in the consultation process with the REBUILD Project and Green Forum-Western Visayas staff. The active participation of the Barangay officials clearly demonstrated that the local government is aware and committed to address the damages caused by the super typhoon Yolanda. The facilitating team, however, pushed for a more direct cross-disciplinary and multi-sectoral participation from those higher up in the government. Furthermore, it was recalled that while constructing the 3D model, the residents of Barangay Sua managed to outline their administrative boundary and to come to an agreement about it with the neighbouring Barangay Tiabas.

Photo credit: Melvin Purzuelo

I was struck by the ease and dynamic use of the 3D model. It did not become redundant or obsolete, even if it had been completed a month earlier. On the contrary, it gained even more relevance as a reliable repository of geo-referenced data generated by and for the community. The enthusiastic reaction demonstrated by the local women to the consultation process was really inspiring. They shared their views and opinions with respect to the need to formulate a Disaster Risk Reduction Plan which could fit well with the Community Climate Change Adaptation Plan. Both plans will be appraised by the Barangay community. The villagers themselves attest that the model will be revisited at regular intervals based on their information needs or at the request of external agencies. From my perspective, the 3D model is a true representation of the communities’ spatial knowledge concerning the entire locality and the livelihoods of the residents. The 3D model enables residents to effectively respond to emerging / changing situations.

In observing the consultation process, I was reminded that strategic decisions must offer some degree of flexibility to avoid becoming irreversible when implemented. Therefore the decision making process should be based on quality data, adequate resources and sufficient time allocation. In my opinion, the P3DM process undertaken by this community met these requirements. During the consultation I noted that the model was constantly referred to when analysing and identifying the risks inherent to their current and future livelihoods and security. The model encourages the planning and distribution of future activities in collaboration with the facilitators.

Photo credit: Melvin Purzuelo

The instances of the consultation process that are so vivid in my memory are those linked to residents showing grief and despair when sharing their stories. They explicitly used the model to describe the impact of super typhoon Yolanda and recall the life-threatening ordeal they experienced. The typhoon caused devastation, loss of property and lives and internal displacement. It severely affected to the habitats essential to the community subsistence, and in general, the existence of a once prideful fishing community. In response to such terrible consequences, the facilitating team from the REBUILD Project used the model to revive some hope in the midst of community’s despair. By autonomously analysing their situation, its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, residents were able to plan a concrete way forward leading to regain to a 'normal' way of life.

Related posts by Wilfred Don Dorovoqa :

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: My PGIS learning journey ... 

• Blog post 5: Participatory data extraction and digitization
• Blog post 4: QGIS introduction and P3DM in action
• Blog post 3: Preparations and challenging encounters ()
• Blog post 2: My expectations
• Blog post 1: How it all started

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: my PGIS learning journey – Preparations and challenging encounters (blog post 3)

On July 11, I arrived in the Philippines, after a series of flights.

View Don's Journey in a larger map

I was welcomed at the Iloilo Airport by Melvin Purzuelo coordinator of the Green Forum-Western Visayas (my local mentor) and driven to my accommodation. I was briefed on the following day about the upcoming activities. On July 13, we went to the REBUILD Project Implementation Centre in San Dionisio. However we had to adjust our travel plans due to ensure travellers safety in an area which has been affected by super typhoon Yolanda. Recent past has witnessed a couple of incidents along the San Dionisio and Estancia Highway, involving armed robberies that included loss of lives. The locals believe that displaced people affected by the super typhoon Yolanda who are dispossessed and resort to illegal activities to sustain their living. We therefore were advised to be vigilant at all times and take the necessary precautions while travelling within the devastated area. Yet, the PGIS activities were maintained as planned.

While working with Melvin, I took the opportunity for preparing the base map for organising a similar 3D modelling exercise to the one back home in Solomon Islands. We discovered that the topographic maps of Solomon Islands are the work of the US air force, the same as in the Philippines. Considering that these maps were made decades ago, we realised that we had to improve them to be suitable for use in a P3DM process. I am exploring possibilities for establishing a long term partnership between our organisation in Solomon Islands and Melvin’s NGO in terms of PGIS activities.

Related posts by Wilfred Don Dorovoqa :

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: My PGIS learning journey ... 

• Blog post 5: Participatory data extraction and digitization
• Blog post 4: QGIS introduction and P3DM in action
• Blog post 3: Preparations and challenging encounters 
• Blog post 2: My expectations
• Blog post 1: How it all started

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: my PGIS learning journey - My expectations (blog post 2)

What I expect to gain from the Philippines P3DM / PGIS process

My overall expectations for attending the Philippines PGIS are vast. However, I shall limit the list to the following:

1. Gain practical knowledge and skills on how to facilitate and organise stakeholders into a participatory process and to know when and how to hand over the spatial information generating process to the concerned groups.
2. Acquire practical skills on how to select and procure appropriate inputs for the manufacture of a physical 3D map.
3. Gain hands on experience in the process of capturing and digitizing data displayed on the model and their processing for desired outcomes.
4. Discover appropriate approaches to assess, manage spatial data and strategise on how to use them to help concerned communities achieve their objectives 
5. Learn how to present the output to external agencies for various purposes including, e.g. policy making, disaster recovery, land use planning, land-based conflict management, climate change adaptation.
6. Acquire facilitator skills – maintain a collaborative, neutral presence (not too dictatorial) when populating spatial information on the model map
7. Align, impact and measure the outcome of a P3DM on the intended scenario.
8. Improve and advance my capacity on the use of Web 2.0 and Social Media. 

During my participation, I believe that my theoretical knowledge on the subject will be enriched by practical experience and best serve an eventual replication of the P3DM process in Solomon Islands.

Follow the learning journey of Wilfred Don Dorovoqa, a member of the Padezaka tribe in Solomon Islands. 

Supported by CTA, Wilfred Don has embarked in a journey which will bring him from Sasamuqa Village to Estancia in the Philippines where he will participate in a participatory mapping exercise. Green Forum – Western Visayas, Inc. (GF-WV) in partnership with Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the Rebuild Project is facilitating the implementation of a  Participatory 3-Dimensional Modelling (P3DM) process in an area which was severely affected by Supertyphoon Haiyan in November  2013. GF-WV is using the P3DM as an ICT tool for allowing communities to analyse their vulnerabilities and assist them in planning for reconstruction.

Related posts by Wilfred Don Dorovoqa :

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: My PGIS learning journey ... 

• Blog post 5: Participatory data extraction and digitization
• Blog post 4: QGIS introduction and P3DM in action
• Blog post 3: Preparations and challenging encounters
• Blog post 2: My expectations
• Blog post 1: How it all started

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: my PGIS learning journey - How it all started (blog post 1)

My name is Wilfred Don Dorovoqa. I am a member of the Padezaka tribe in Solomon Islands. I am about to embark on a challenging learning journey and I thought it would be interesting to document and share it with people having similar interests and aspirations.

This is my first blogpost. More will follow.

I left Sasamuqa Village (S 7°02’18.49” E 156°45’54.33”) in the early hours of June 16, 2014 by OBM boat and arrived at Gizo (S 8°06’12.99” E 156°50’27.80”) that same day, a three to four hour journey by boat.  From there, I took a passenger boat for a two day journey to Honiara (S 9°25’52.13” E 159°57’33.57”), where I am today waiting for the trip to the Philippines.

How it all started: Embarking on the P3DM / PGIS learning journey

In 2009 I came across the concept of P3DM on the Internet, while I was searching customizable mapping resources for local spatial data entry that derived from non-technical / non-machine readable formats. I was captivated by the distinct nature and approach of the P3DM process, taking into account that at that time I was already familiar with the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) concept. I assisted in a contracted PRA activity that aimed to identify and further develop livelihood measures for a localized World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conservation project based on four indigenous land owning groups of Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, where I was holding a position as secretary for one of the groups. The conservation efforts were funded by the European Union , and led by the Ministry of Forestry in Solomon Islands.

Simultaneously, the Padezaka tribe, pursued its land based conservation initiative under a separate NGO in Solomon Islands called ‘Live and Learn’. The Padezaka tribe was eventually very fortunate to become a selected recipient of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – Small Grants Programme funds coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office based in Honiara, the capital city of Solomon Islands. As a member of the Padezaka tribe, I have very strong land and blood ties with the local community, and have been heavily involved in most of their conservation activities. The network of local protected areas attempts to conserve 17 percent of the highest priority terrestrial ecosystem of the Choiseul Island in adherence to the convention on biodiversity to which Solomon Islands is a signatory.

My search for mapping resources on the web was motivated by the fact that three conservation land units were under WWF conservation initiatives, including the Padezaka tribal land. Here, the conservation land units were all situated in the same segment of a significant freshwater system, locally known as the Kolobangara River. Major logging activities authorised by government, occurred further upstream while  government-endorsed WWF conservation initiatives were concentrated downstream. Indeed, upstream deforestation posed a significant threat to the livelihoods of local communities. It was a counteractive measure to monitor and moderate critical changes to the natural environment. Currently, all stakeholders involved need to come to an agreement to implement an alternative measure. One possible alternative is to produce a collaborative map with detailed land use that covers the entire watershed of the Kolobangara River.

Given this, my research eventually landed me on the front steps of the local provincial planning advisor’s house, an expatriate from New Zealand working for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Solomon Islands Office. The planning advisor assisted the Choiseul government in provincial-wide planning, project implementation and monitoring. He was very helpful and promised to update me on any available opportunities that need expert assistance for a future P3DM exercise comprising the concerned land area. In anticipation, the Padezaka Tribe submitted a budget under the GEF-Small Grants Programme fund for a P3DM project in the Padezaka bio-diversity protected sites; to generate a well defined land use plan, consult, invite and include the contiguous land owning tribes for broad holistic land-based planning activities. This of course, will work if there is an environment conducive to collaborative planning that can systematically and coherently tackle the issue of the endangered watershed areas by creating a sectoral land and resource management plan in advance. We estimated that the availability of the P3DM opportunity would coincide with the disbursement and implementation of the external fund.

Our desire for P3DM does not materialise the Padezaka Conservation Project funds. These included GEF-Small Grants Programme funds that were mismanaged by the implementing NGO, which ceased to be operational whilst subjected to that same timeframe. WWF also closed its doors to the other four local land groups, perhaps due to the lapse of the funding contract. However, the Choiseul provincial advisor was true to his word and invited me to attend a P3DM introductory workshop in May 2012. It was jointly organized by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), TNC and UNDP held in the Capital of the Solomon Islands. During this organised workshop, I repeatedly called on our provincial leaders in attendance to convene an extensive P3DM of the whole Island of Choiseul but was adhered not to.

Fundamentally, this is the dominant culture in PGIS practices found in some areas of the Southern hemisphere. In the Northern hemisphere, I believe the public is more proactive in using PGIS to enhance, empower and improve their way of life. At the very structure of our society there is a lack of proactive dimensions needed to engender a collaborative planning process that measures collective growth. This weakness is inherent to those tribes whose land comprises the noted watershed area. Furthermore, the National River Act was very ineffective in dealing with large scale natural resource extractions, because it had no clear provisions for specific social and natural environment safeguards. However, I am also fully aware of the fact that some methodologies and techniques incorporated into the PRA approach have limitations for discovering effective solutions in the midst of the large scale emergence of this environmental threat.

Related posts by Wilfred Don Dorovoqa :

From Solomon Islands to the Philippines: My PGIS learning journey ... 

• Blog post 5: Participatory data extraction and digitization
• Blog post 4: QGIS introduction and P3DM in action
• Blog post 3: Preparations and challenging encounters ()
• Blog post 2: My expectations
• Blog post 1: How it all started

Community Mapping of Cultural Heritage in the Solomon Islands

In the Solomon Islands, a place of rich cultural heritage, there are many threats to historical cultural sites including logging, climate change and sea-level rise. Solomon Island local community members joined a training workshop in 2011 run by Professor Richard Walter of The University of Otago (New Zealand), and learned the skills required to recognise, identify and map out and document their cultural heritage to preserve these special places for the future.

Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM): five years after receiving the World Summit Award

In collaboration with national and regional partner organisations, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA) is supporting the dissemination and adoption of P3DM practice in ACP countries. The practice is now well established in Africa and the Pacific. Its introduction to the Caribbean  is planned for October 2012 via a partnership with CANARI and the University of the West Indies.

Since 2007 WSA award winning Participatory 3D Modelling P3DM (P3DM) in Fiji, the P3DM practice has been adopted in many parts of the world including Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, East Timor, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, India, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Thailand, Vietnam, and many other countries.

In Kenya, Indigenous Peoples employed the practice to document their biophysical and cultural landscapes, enhance inter-generational knowledge exchange.  They also found it to add value and authority to local knowledge, improve communication with mainstream society, improve spatial planning and address territorial disputes.




In Ethiopia P3DM has been taken up by farmers to plan out community-based land reclamation and sustainable management of resources.



The Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), a pan-African network, has been spearheading the adoption of P3DM in the continent to improve awareness at policy-making level on the relevance of location-specific knowledge in climate change adaptation processes. As an example, the use of P3DM by pygmies in Gabon allowed them to gain visibility and establish peer-to-peer exchanges with local government institutions.



In 2012 Pastoralist Mbororo People in Chad practiced P3DM to manage spatial conflicts with farming communities.

In Solomon Islands coastal communities benefitted from P3DM to analyse issues related to climate change and identified ways to adapt to it.


UNESCO, IFAD and other development agencies have created resource materials (publications) making specific reference to the method.

In collaboration with IFAD, CTA has developed a training kit http://pgis-tk.cta.int supporting the spread of good practice in generating, managing, analysing and communicating spatial information. The kit includes a module on P3DM.

Risks of Mapping Indigenous Lands, Ep 2 - Giacomo Rambaldi, CTA

Giacomo Rambaldi from CTA discusses participatory mapping including the benefits and risks during the "Participatory Mapping and Community Empowerment for Climate Change Adaptation, Planning and Advocacy workshop" held in Solomon Islands on 21-26 May 2012.

Video by TNC, Kat Gawlik

Mapping Indigenous Lands, Ep 1 - Dave De Vera, Philippines

Dave De Vera, executive director of PAFID is an advocate in rights based approaches and expert in participatory mapping (in particular participatory three dimensional modelling or P3DM). In this short interview Dave discusses the ethical considerations during the "Participatory Mapping and Community Empowerment for Climate Change Adaptation, Planning and Advocacy workshop" held in Solomon Islands on 21-26 May 2012.

Video by TNC, Kat Gawlik

Day 6: Participatory Mapping and Community Empowerment for Climate Change Adaptation, Planning and Advocacy

26 May, 2012 HONIARA - It is early morning when representatives from UNDP, CTA, TNC, and from NGOs from PNG and the Caribbean region travel to Naro village to transport the 3D model and officially hand it over to the community.  Ms Winifred Pitamama, from Boeboe village, is among the group.

Squeezed between the blue sea and the lush hillside forest, the coastal road winds across coconut plantations, patches of grassland and some secondary forest.  The road crosses river beds and offers astonishing views of marches and mangroves.

From time to time it sides small villages where stilt houses are prevalent and makeshift markets where - under the shade of huge trees - women sell fruits and vegetables and occasionally grilled fish and rice wrapped in banana leaves.

When the delegation arrives in Naro the sun is already high in the sky. The P3D model is unloaded from the pickup and displayed in a shaded area at the centre of the village.

The first to come are Naro’s representatives that worked on the 3D model during the workshop in Honiara. Then, gradually, other men come forward, followed by children and finally by women. Two elderly ladies join the group. Once a small crowd has gathered around the model, Jacob Zikuli, AF-SWoCK Project Manager, introduces the objectives of the visit to community members.  He recalls the work carried out during the week by the students in manufacturing the blank model and by Naro villagers in developing the map legend and consequently in populating the model using colour-coded pushpins, yarns and paint. He shared his perception on the efficacy of the participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) process to collectively plan the management of natural resources and to strategise on climate change adaptation.

Thereafter Jacob invites Joseph Salima to describe the legend items displayed on the model on behalf of Naro representatives that participated in the work. Joseph provides a detailed explanation of the areas, line and point features. He refers to the legend to indicate the codes used and names all features in vernacular and English language, while pin-pointing to them on the model.

After his presentation, Ms Winifred Pitamama is invited to share her experience in manufacturing a P3D model in Boeboe, Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. She took part in such an exercise in February 2011.

Winifred reports about the participation of women and children, the lessons learned by working on the P3D model and on how the community is making use of it at present. According to Winifred the model served to foster people’s awareness about their landscape, to identify mining areas within the territory and to provide evidence of the impacts of Climate Change on their lands. As the consciousness about these issues increased, villagers were able to collectively reflect on the long-terms effects of mining and on the potential impacts of Climate Change, such as those related to the raising of the sea level along the coasts, and take informed decisions to deal with them. Furthermore, as a teacher, Winifred underlines the value of the P3DM as an educational tool to be used in the school. Thanks to the model children were able to learn new facts about their territory, recognizing contour lines and landscapes. The model also contributed to raise awareness on Climate Change and environmental issues among the youngest generations. When Winifred concludes her speech, villagers seem to be more comfortable with the model displayed in front of them. Indeed, peer-to-peer sharing is always a powerful way to ensure good communication and learning among people.

The initial reluctance of the villagers gradually gives place to curiosity. Men, women and children start getting closer to the model and touching it. Through the physical act of touching, people could internalise the landscape more easily, and perceive themselves as the owners of the model. One elderly lady, who lived in the uplands, starts questioning the position of some feature-points, providing further information about the presence of additional landmarks up in the mountains that younger villagers did not know. From this moment, the community takes control over the model: adults call the children around the map to show the position of rivers, tracks, logging areas and protected areas.

The model offers the reference base for adults to transfer their spatial knowledge to young people, fostering the inter-generational transmission of local knowledge. It is a very exciting moment, that makes delegates fully understand one of the statements made by Giacomo Rambaldi at the opening of the workshop, namely that “participatory mapping is more than making a map”.

Indeed, participatory 3D models can be important tools to raise people’s awareness about their land, to identify the gradual impacts of climate change on traditional territories and to help to envisage possible future scenarios and take informed decisions. However, the “human side” of mapping is not less important. P3D Modelling can in fact be a way to bond community’s relationship, to elicit tacit spatial knowledge, making people aware of the fact that they know and that their knowledge is valuable, to strengthen inter-generational transmission of local knowledge and to revitalise vernacular language.

Now, it is time for the community to take the lead and to decide how to best make use of the model to serve their purposes. After agreeing on follow-up activities, the delegation leaves Naro village. Driving back to Honiara city, everyone feels happy. From today, Naro’s people have a new channel to make their voice heard.

Credits for the Honiara blogposts:
Authors: Giulia Pedone and Giacomo Rambaldi
Pictures by Giacomo Rambaldi

Location of Naro village:

View P3DM Where ? in a larger map 

Read more:

• Day 01 blogpost
• Day 02 blogpost
• Day 03 blogpost
• Day 04 blogpost
• Day 05 blogpost
• Day 06 blogpost

An initiative supported by:

Day 5: Participatory Mapping and Community Empowerment for Climate Change Adaptation, Planning and Advocacy

25 May, 2012 HONIARA -The last day of the event participants split in six working groups depending on specific interests including provincial / national / regional lines. Using the logical framework approach, each group was assigned the task of developing a project profile which would allow their governing authorities to consider integrating PGIS/P3DM activities in their broader project / programme interventions.

Each group nominated a chair and a rapporteur. Brainstorming lasted for the whole morning. Each group reported back to plenary in the afternoon.

The first group to present was composed by Solomon Islands representatives of government institutions (e.g. Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) and national NGOs. Their project proposal focused on developing a series of P3D Models in environmentally sensitive areas on Savo Island. The group considered P3DM as a tool for raising awareness among communities about climate risks and for enhancing community resilience to vulnerability. The project would involve the 10 main villages of the island and be implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment.

The Caribbean working group presented a 2-3 year project having regional ramifications. Its main objective being increased engagement of stakeholders to adopt Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to influence climate change adaptation policy processes in the Caribbean region. To achieve that, the group presented a series of well-coordinated and sequenced activities stating with a stakeholder analysis, going through the participatory mapping of the entire island of Tobago at 1:10,000 scale  and culminating with the sharing of lessons learned at regional and international fora. Capacity building of local and regional stakeholders and actors in the use of PGIS and Web 2.0 applications characterises the proposal.  Main implementers would be CANARI, UWI and TNC Caribbean and their partner organisations. Follow-up activities were already included in the proposal. These accounted for Initiating next P3DM in the Caribbean in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada (TNC, At Waters Edge - Climate Change Resilience Demonstration Sites Grenada/SVG;  Grenadines Marine Zoning (Spatial Planning) Project; and Union Island SVG, Wobun Clarke Court Bay MPA in Grenada)

Representatives from the Integration of Climate Change Risk and Resilience into Forestry Management, Samoa (ICCRIFS) project focussed their action plan on the adoption of P3DM for integrating climate change risks and resilience into forestry management and conservation strategies. With the principal objective of increasing awareness of rural communities in participating in sustainable faming and water conservation practices, the P3D Model would be employed as a tool to best plan natural resource management activities and increase communities participation. The selected pilot area to be covered by the P3D Model at 1:10,000 scale would be of 9 km X 5 km.

The working group covering the Choiseul Province included representatives from a range of agencies (Local communities, the provincial government, UNDP, SPREP, TNC, etc. ). Tim Carruthers Coastal and Marine Adviser at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) reported back on behalf of the working group stressing the need for the various agencies active in the province to thoroughly coordinate and to assist the provincial government in the task.

Considering the daunting task of producing a 1-10000/1:15000 scale model of the province which is approximately 200 km in lengths the working group proposed to consider dealing with hot spots on a case to case basis. The discussion following Tim’s presentation pointed in the direction of manufacturing a 3D model at a 1:50 000 scale for permanent display and use for coordination and monitoring purposes. Such a model would be in permanent display and ready for use during region-level meetings and would help in spatial decision making and for monitoring on-going projects thus supporting overall coordination of projects / programmes and other economic activities including logging and mining concessions. Information displayed on the 3D model would be linked to a GIS data repository.

In the frame of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC), representatives from Palau expressed their interest in using P3DM practice to increase community resilience and elaborate guidelines to enhance food security in the country. Also in this case, the model would serve as a visual aid to help communities in long-term planning. The presenter, Ms. Madelsar Ngiraingas, stated that her team would like to carry out the first pilot project within the 3rd quarter of 2012 and follow up with the remaining fifteen states (until 1984 called municipalities) in Palau.

Mr. Jone Waka working for the the Ministry of Agriculture in Fiji and attached to the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) project, presented on behalf of the Fiji Working including also representatives from the Secretariat of the Pacific Commission (SPC). In his presentation Jone stated the interest of his agency to increasingly involve ordinary citizen in decision making / planning and management processes concerning existing drainage systems recently heavily affected by torrential rains. Through his participation in the workshop he understood that P3DM can be the channel through which such participation could be achieved.

After the presentations delivered by the various working groups, Mr. Giacomo Rambaldi facilitated the continuation of the exercise “hopes and fears” though which participants set the expectations on day 1. By the use of a matrix and stickers participants were asked to score if their hopes had materialised and their fears been addressed. The outcome of the exercise indicated that most hopes materialised and fears fully or partially overcame.

As the sun was closing towards the horizon, the workshop came to an end with special remarks by the organizers and the distribution of attendance certificates to participants.

As Giacomo remarked, the workshop was about to close, but the follow-up work had just begun for all participants! All would go back home with added knowledge and learning’s to share, with concrete action plans to present to their organizations and with a new gained enthusiasm for mainstreaming PGIS/P3DM within their own projects.

Finally the organisers had a short brainstorming in view of delivering the 3D model to the community in Naro.

View P3DM Where ? in a larger map 

The story is still ongoing. … keep on following us !

An initiative supported by:

Read more:

• Day 01 blogpost
• Day 02 blogpost
• Day 03 blogpost
• Day 04 blogpost
• Day 05 blogpost
• Day 06 blogpost

Feedback on the P3DM experience in Boeboe, Solomon Islands, through the eyes of a woman

25 May, 2012 HONIARA - We asked Ms. Winifred Piatamama who took part in a participatory 3D modelling exercise which took place in February 2011 in Boeboe village, Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands to share with us her experience and lessons learned. Below is her account.

"I’m Winifred Piatamama of Boeboe village, Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. I’m a teacher. On behalf of the people of Boeboe, specifically the women and children, I feel honoured to have this great and unique opportunity to stand in front of you very resourceful co-partners who are present at this workshop, to share our experience about the Participatory 3D Model that has been done in my village in February 2011.

I will report about the participation of women and children at the start, about their reaction once the model was completed, about what they learned from the model, what their experiences were in relation to the P3D Model with regards of the environment and mining, my view as a teacher and what are some of the measures we should take as far as climate change are concerned.

When this P3D Model was done, the women and children were so excited and spent much time on making the model. They did not want to get back to their houses, nor have lunch. Some of them continued even up to 3:00 am, that was early in the morning. By doing this we managed to complete the P3D Model of our village, knowing nothing about the importance it would have for us.

But after the model was finished, we could see the real picture of our home land. We were so happy, because not all of us knew how to read a map or even about the contour liness. And so we learned a lot from making and looking at the 3D simple map. It gives us new information such as the landscape, streams and rivers, swampy mangroves, cultural sites, the conservation area and more. Even the prospected areas mining mining! It gives the value of our place.

However, we also noticed the effects of Climate Change in regards to the environment. We realised that most places where the edible shells are living, as we depend very much on marines resources, had now been covered by the sea water, and its raising. We can also see, some areas which had been dried, now they are getting in touch with the raising sea leve . The women and children now understand that the Climate Change is taking its course. It is because of human activities.

Therefore, we need to look very carefully about mining, especially at its long-term effects. We can predict that if mining will take place, our resources especially in terms of food, will be at risk. Not only that. Our forests and cultural sites should also be respected. Otherwise, we will loose everything!

With that, our children in school need to be informed about the P3D Model. And so, as a Social Science Teacher, this model has been so helpful in my lessons about the contours lines and landscapes and even the Climate Change. I have been helping my students to take this information seriously, because we need development, so that everyone has access to raise their standards of living. And so, the people in my village are starting to move away from the coastal areas to higher lands, but it takes time and money for such resettlement.

However, when there is a will, there is a way out.

With those few remark,
Thank you!"

Day 4: Participatory Mapping and Community Empowerment for Climate Change Adaptation, Planning and Advocacy

24 May, 2012, HONIARA - The morning of day 4 opened with a presentation on the potentials of Web 2.0 applications and social media for remote collaboration, social development and advocacy by Giacomo Rambaldi.  An highly socio-technologically defining video on Web 2.0 realised by professor Michael Wesch, Kansas University, USA, introduced the main characteristics of Web 2.0 applications, drawing attention to the shift from the old way to understand and use the Web (passive use of somebody else’s content) to the active participation and interaction among users reached today through Web 2.0. Applications such as Wikis, social networks, social bookmarking, on-line mapping, among others, enable the exercise of the “human dimension of technology”, allowing people’s active participation in the production of online content, the sharing of information, the creation of communities of practices and the development and nurturing of networks for social and professional purposes. In the frame of development initiatives, Web 2.0 applications offer powerful and easily accessible platforms that can be used by development actors in diverse contexts and for a range of purposes including disaster risk management, and other climate change related issues.

The presentations which followed addressed the integration of traditional and scientific knowledge systems, providing examples of participatory approaches and initiatives carried out in the Solomon Islands and in the Caribbean. In the frame of the development of climate resilient integrated resource management system in Western Solomon, Dr. Simon Albert from Queensland University presented positive examples of how best to incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into scientific programmes on marine conservation, while, at the same time, promoting the integration of science into community planning. Among these experiences, the training of community members in monitoring sea level, conducted in 40 provinces, proved to be effective in offering a rapid method for flood risk assessment. Monitoring datasheets were compiled in vernacular language. The initiative actively involved the youth in capturing data, contributing to raising awareness on environmental issues.

Professor Bheshem Ramlal from the University of West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad and Tobago addressed the issue of merging TEK and scientific knowledge in Caribbean, presenting the case of a turtle conservation project. This included training on turtle watching, compilation and dissemination of information on environmental practical strategies and the development of community development plans. The project was successful in integrating local knowledge with scientific tools, increasing the level of awareness and empowering the community.

Both speakers agreed on the fact that TEK provides unique historical, and frequently offers ecosystem linkages that science can not. However, for being based on repetitive observation, trial and error, TEK might have a limited ability to detect and deal with rapid changes, such as those related to the impacts of climate change. Therefore, the need to bridge the gap between local knowledge and science becomes urgent to find sustainable solutions for ecosystem management and adaptation to climate change. If, on the one hand, the incorporation of TEK into scientific tools (such as GIS) can provide an useful platform to document and give value to TEK in contemporary contexts, on the other hand the development of easy-to-use scientific tools for communities can enhance people’s engagement in the conservation activities, increasing their self-resilience, specially in those countries where government capacity is limited.

In the meantime villagers had completed the 3D model which accounted for a wealth of information manifest by a total of 39 data layers including 18 area, 6 line and 15 point features.

Joseph Salima from the village of Naro, presented the 3D model to the workshop participants on the behalf of the village representatives: “The model is now done. You can see the blue lines These are rivers; dark blue lines indicate streams”, he explained while finger-pointing to the features. “Some cross the main road because during flooding the water runs over the road. The yellow line indicates the main road. Within the model there are two mountains covered by dense forest where our ancestors used to practice sacrifices.  These are the places were our ancestors lived before the Christianity came. They lived there (upland) because of hunting. The brown lines are the tracks people used to follow during hunting. (…) White areas are flood areas. 

The brown colour signify coconut plantations, that are along the coast. The area outlined by the red yarn  is our Marine Protected Area (MPA)”.  When questioned on the reason why the locally managed protected area is located in front of the village he replied: “Our place is here so we have the full sight on the protected area. We could not establish it elsewhere because people from other villages could have had something to say. We want to protect this area because the population in the village is growing and we are experiencing shortage of resources” he specified. Joseph continued by identifying other landmarks and areas, including home gardens, coconut plantations, households, the school, springs¸, swamps and mangrove areas.“ The area painted dark green with light green points indicates the area were logging took place. The logging concession has come to an end and the forest is recovering. We hunt wild pigs there” he added.

P3D Model gave villagers the opportunity to visualise and further their understand their land and resources “we discovered there are slopes we never saw before that could not be used for agriculture; now with this model we can see them”.

Looking back two days when Joseph and his village mates were standing around the blank model feeling challenged by the task one could clearly see a transformation. He looked confident when presenting all feature on the model. What happened during the process to make this change possible? Joseph was asked. “Filling up the information on the model”, he replied “we could locate yourselves vis-a-vis the map, and we could recognizing the whole model. The 3D model is much more clearer than a topographic map because here we can see the slopes and where the rivers are. It is much more close to reality”, Joseph stressed.

On day 6 the organisers have planned to transport the model to Naro and officially hand it over to the local community. The community itself will decide to what uses it will put it in addition to participatory spatial planning. Considering the fact that the area is prone to natural disasters such as flooding, it is likely that it will be used to also to strategise on climate change adaptation.

“It is my responsibility to get the people together and share with them about this model and its uses. With this model you can easily locate where primary and secondary forest are, where hunting tracks are. With this model we can make decision. This is a live model” Cornelius Nulu concluded.

Villagers stressed the need to further involve elders in the identification of other landmarks and features that they might do not know. “This model is maybe 90% correct; it is quite clear but we needed somebody as my father, or somebody from the village that used to hunt wild pigs everyday for a long time” Joseph highlighted. “If elders were involved in populating the model it is likely that up to 50 layers could have been identified so far” commented Dave de Vera. Village representatives also expressed their intention to extend the model involving other parts of the marine and forest conservation areas.

Back to the plenary session, Nate Peterson GIS geek working for TNC, explained how to capture data via digital photography and he provided a practical demonstration of data extraction and geo-referencing, using a high resolution image of the completed 3D Model. He also cross-checked peoples’ data against official datasets and could demonstrate how accurate and precisely geo-located some features entered by community members were.

His demonstration was followed by a presentation delivered by Ms. Antonella Piccolella from CTA. She provided clear insights on internal and external factors that may affect participatory mapping processes, in both a positive or negative manners. Ms Piccolella called the attention on the existence of an enabling climate change policy environment for fostering grassroots engagement in climate related decision making processes. The National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPAs) framework is based on the idea that affected communities should identify the causes of their vulnerability and propose possible solutions. However, she emphasised that to date only few NAPAs explicitly refer to traditional knowledge and grassroots participation and suggested that NAPAs provide definitely an opportunity to look at.

Afterwards, Jimmy Kereseka addressed the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for community based planning and information sharing. He provided an overview of participatory tools that can be used for land use and climate change adaptation planning at community, provincial an national level, including participatory mapping and participatory video.

The experience of the Chivoko community in using P3DM and participatory video (PV) was shared by Mr Kiplin, chief of the village. “It is a privilege of be here today on behalf of my community”, he said. “Comparing with other communities, my community was the first in to use P3DM. Two of the main issues we are facing here in Solomon Islands are logging and mining. Mining is recent while logging has been practiced since a long time (…). From a village perspective, making a PV has been a useful experience since it gave us the opportunity to portray a real picture of the logging activities undertaken in our area. In making a video everybody can see the reality of the community” he pointed out.

The last presentation of the day was given by Jonathan Tifiariki, Deputy Director of the National Disaster Management Office. He provided orientation about the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) and raised the issue of potential applications for the integration of P3DM practice into NDMP. In this framework, P3DM could be employed to identify high risk areas to include into a Disaster Risk Reduction strategy; the model would help to  best plan tailored solutions for risk reduction, disaster preparedness, disaster response, recovery and rehabilitation. In this sense, the use of P3DM in areas facing climate change challenges could serve not only to generate extra data but to also to strengthen the capacity of the people to respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change, raising awareness on those issues and promote a long-term engagement of the communities to adopt sustainable management practices, fostering participation and the take of responsibilities.

At the end of the day, Giacomo Rambaldi drove the attention on the purpose of the workshop from CTA’s  perspective. The event, in fact, is framed within a broader series of interventions supported by different agencies. All interventions deal with climate change adaptation and building resilience at community levels. CTA focus is on supporting grassroots in making their spatial knowledge more authoritative and in  having their voice heard in climate change adaptation policy development processes. He recalled that the next P3DM activity supported by CTA will be held in Trinidad and Tobago during the months of August 2012.  He anticipated that in 2014, CTA will lead the organisation of an international conference with focus on the Small Islands Development States (SIDS) with the objective of sharing lessons learned in SIDS when adopting PGIS/P3DM practices and herewith raise further awareness among policy makers on the need of inclusiveness.  He also reported on the interest expressed by some organizations including the National Geographic and Museon in documenting P3DM processes.

At dawn Jacob Zikuli from UNDP Solomon, thanked the representatives of Naro Village for their contribution in the workshop and confirmed UNDP SWoCK support for the implementation of further activities in the area.

The day closed with the delivery of the certificates to Naro representatives.

An initiative supported by:

Read more:

• Day 01 blogpost
• Day 02 blogpost
• Day 03 blogpost
• Day 04 blogpost
• Day 05 blogpost
• Day 06 blogpost