Caribbean nationals eager to develop P3DM in their countries: "P3DM a unique, totally new experience"

SCARBOROUGH, 1 October, 2012. Trainers and facilitators took up tools on Monday to begin work on a participatory 3D model of Tobago.   Base maps were prepared by a team from the Engineering Faculty of the University of the West Indies (UWI).  The base map must be precisely done, warns Kail Zingapan, a Participatory GIS expert from PAFID an NGO based in the Philippines, otherwise creating the model will incur some serious delays and the model itself will not be an accurate P3DM.

Adanna Pigot-Henry from CARDI, Tobago is hard at work
tracing the map contour onto the cardboard

The process of creating the model involves tracing single contour lines visible on the base map onto cardboard sheets, cutting these precisely along these lines, and thereby creating layers that represent different elevations.  Each cardboard layer is then glued onto the one representing the lower elevation contour.  Kail likens the layering process to that of stacking pancakes.  Each contour layer is “every point of equal elevation”, she explains.  The elevation model of the island and surrounding waters was developed beforehand by Dr. Bheshem Ramlal of the UWI.  Posters listing the layers to be traced were stuck onto the walls of the workshop area to guide the process.

Kenn Mondiai glues a layer onto  the model

After a number of layers are glued on top of each other, crêpe paper and glue are used to smooth the edges of the single layers so the blank model "looks like a terrain", Kail tells participants at the workshop.  She tells them too, that this part of the exercise must be completed by Wednesday evening to allow the paper to dry so that informants’ data can be added to the model, beginning on Thursday.  The informants are community members - for example, elders, fisherfolk, farmers, hunters, environmentalists and other resource users - who are "traditional custodians of spatial knowledge" and who provide information about their neighbourhood and knowledge of its use to be transferred to the map.

During the planning and introduction workshop last Saturday (September 29), participants developed the legend for the map - symbols (points, lines and areas) - to use during the coding process to locate and depict man-made and natural features on the model.  Members of civil society organizations and experts from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment-Tobago House of Assembly (THA), CANARI and the UWI attended that introductory workshop.

Caribbean participants at the workshop are especially keen to be part of the P3DM  project.  Ingrid Parchment of the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation, which is based in Jamaica, is eager to get community members involved in producing a P3DM of Portland Bight.  She works at Portland Blight which is a protected area.  Ingrid says she is learning a lot from the workshop, as she noted a very helpful video which showed the process of producing a P3DM, step-by-step.

Orisha Joseph (Grenada), Natalie Boodram (Saint Lucia)
and Jacinthe Amyot (Colombia)  working on base map

A papier-mâché of Portland Bight has already been created and Ingrid feels the P3DM would be a step up.  However, she is mindful of the need to have experts involved in the activity.  “Especially a GIS expert”, she emphasizes, with a wink and a smile.

Likewise, Dr. Natalie Boodram who works at the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) - a CARICOM agency with an environmental mandate that is based in Saint Lucia - says that the concept of working with communities to do individual P3DMs is “unique” and a “totally new experience".  She says that the workshop is helping her appreciate the value of community input in creating a 3D model of a given space.

Lessons in facilitation

Farzaana Baksh  explains good facilitator skills on
the "Body map" produced by her group

While precision and attention to detail are crucial to the creation of the P3DM, there are also moments for fun and laughter.   One such moment of light-heartedness was the ‘train the trainers’ session, last Sunday afternoon.   As part of a group exercise, one person laid on a large piece of white paper on the floor and her shape was traced onto the paper.  Her group then ‘mapped’ on different parts of the drawing, the characteristics of a good facilitator.  ‘Body mapping’, as the exercise is called, drew on the lessons the participants learned with the guidance of CANARI’s Senior Technical Officer and workshop coordinator, Neila Bobb-Prescott.

Neila’s sessions helped participants understand the attributes of a good facilitator.  She called the attention to fundamental issues such as “how we dress” and “how we pose” (i.e. body language) and the impact of these issues on how the facilitator is perceived at community level.  She outlined various ways in which good facilitators make every effort to get individuals to express their views.

Lessons in logistics 

Patricia Franco, Administrative Officer at CANARI shares
her insight on logistical planning with workshop participants

Another valuable lesson was taught by CANARI’s Administrative Officer, Patricia Franco.  In introducing Patricia, Neila referred to her as an expert who does detailed coordination and management of information for workshops.  Logistics assist in ensuring the smooth running of an event and therefore every facilitator should have a working knowledge and develop the skill of good logistical planning Neila says.
Pat, as Patricia is fondly called, explained the importance of every component in planning an event.  Using the workshop as an example, she pointed to the many individual activities she had to organize.  These ranged from coordinating participants’ flight plans to housing and feeding participants catering.

Members of the workshop - trainers, students, teachers and experts - are certainly gaining all-round knowledge and skills while working diligently to get the process moving forward.

Thailand: Helping build more resilient communities

BANGKOK, 12 June, 2012 – A new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) documentary demonstrates how a unique approach to community security and social cohesion led to more resilient communities in Northern Thailand.

The film documents the work of a UNDP project in Mae Hong Son, Thailand’s poorest province, with the country’s lowest score on UNDP's Human Development Index. It is home to diverse population, including a large number of displaced people from Myanmar. Economic opportunities can be scarce and access to natural resources and basic services are often inadequate.

Using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and a Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) UNDP, the provincial government and villagers identified a number of issues together, including inadequate water for agriculture, the lack of skills for preserving natural resources, and the extinction of banana from the village forest areas.

Read more >>

Related: Democratic Governance: Sustaining Thailand’s Democratic Practice through Improvement of Inclusive Electoral Process (UNDP)

Participatory 3D Modelling exercise kicks off with much gusto in Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago nationals and their Caribbean counterparts converge for workshop.

SCARBOROUGH, 30 September, 2012. Sixth form students and their teachers from secondary schools across Tobago, members of civil society from Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, along with representatives from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), and the University of the West Indies (UWI) have been merging their skills to construct a 3 dimensional (3D) model of Tobago. The 3D model being constructed will cover an area of approximately 1,152 km² and consist of a 1:10,000-scale version of the island and its waters up to a depth of -100 metres, says CANARI’s Senior Technical Officer, Neila Bobb-Prescott.

The process of building this model involves a varied mix of actively involved people and so it is termed participatory 3D modelling or P3DM. The P3DM of Tobago is taking place during a workshop held over the period September 28th to October 12th 2012 at the Blenheim Sheep Multiplication and Research Project station in Tobago.

Kail Zingapan leads a session to explain the application of
GIS technology to the model building exercise  

The workshop is facilitated by CANARI and the UWI, with financial and technical assistance from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and the United Nations Development Programme, Global Environment Facility - Small Grants Programme (UNDP GEF-SGP).  The model building exercise is coached by a team of facilitators which includes specialists from as far as the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

The 2-week activity is based on a participatory approach which acknowledges the importance of traditional knowledge and builds on it in making decisions about how to cope with climate change, says Dr. Bheshem Ramlal of the UWI.  He adds that the information generated in the mapping exercise can be used for advocacy and informing policy. The participatory approach focuses on learning by doing, exchange of knowledge and collegial data analysis and verification. Data storage and retrieval “must be done by local people or not at all” notes Geographic Information System (GIS) expert Ms. Kail Zingapan from the Philippines.

Student Participation 

Sorting through the kit of materials needed
for the model construction  

On their first day, the students attended an orientation session at which they were briefed on various aspects of  the P3DM process.  For the next couple of days, they will trace contours and cut cardboard to represent the elevation of the land and the depths of the sea.  The contours will be traced using carbon paper on carton board sheets. These will be cut out and glued on the top of each other paying special attention to their correct geo-location.

Jhon-Pierre of the Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive School and Jaidon Lalla of University of the West Indies Open Campus, both teenage students, are eager  to begin construction of the model. They both agree that creating the 3D model of Tobago is an event of historical significance and would help them to appreciate the natural resources of the island. They also see the model being used as a means of helping all stakeholders shape future uses of the resources of Tobago.
The boys were selected by their peers to be interviewed here after the girls in the groups cheerfully chorus “men must rule again”.  The boys' response -“yea, yea” - to this show of encouragement was not very enthusiastic, but they showed that they quite understood the significance of the project in which they were all engaged.

Facilitator training

Neila Bobb-Prescott from CANARI prepares
for her presentation on facilitation 

A crucial element of the workshop consisted in an initial phase of training of professionals from different areas of the Caribbean to become  P3DM  facilitators; these persons will return to their countries each equipped with knowledge and necessary skills for replicating the activity in their respective countries
During one of CANARI’s training sessions, Neila introduced the trainees to key concepts in participatory approaches to natural resource management; she identified the role of stakeholders and the challenges and benefits of their involvement in the process.

Additionally, Bheshem, Kenn Mondiai of Partners with Melanesians (PwM), an NGO based in Papua New Guinea and Kail shared information on the development of the Participatory GIS (PGIS). “PGIS is a method used to compose peoples’ spatial knowledge of their landscape with the use of GIS tools”, said Kail.

Caribbean flavour

Enjoying the Tobago cuisine! 

Katrina Collins and Shawnaly Pascal from St. Vincent and Grenada, respectively, are happy to be in Tobago at the workshop.  They point out the similarities of the physical landscape of the three islands.  Their interests include Tobago’s gourmet cuisine.  Katrina calls for buss-up shot and roti, cocoa tea and coconut bake.  Shawnaly smiles and adds, “Any food I don’t get at home, I want to eat” (sic).  Neila politely smiles and indicates she will try her best to please.  In keeping with the spirit of camaraderie permeating the workshop, the women were advised, by Tobago participant, Adanna Piggott-Henry, of the need to consume fresh cuisine or face dire gastronomical consequences!

Naming the activity in Tobago

The theme, ‘She becomes more beautiful: Capturing the essence of Tobago today for a better tomorrow’, emerged as the winning title to the P3DM activity after a brainstorming session among workshop participants during the introduction and planning workshop.  The first part of the theme, ‘She becomes more beautiful’ is particularly relevant to Tobago as it is the motto for the island’s annual Heritage Festival, and depicts a naked pregnant woman of African descent.  The P3DM exercise will certainly capture where Tobago’s development is taking place and will provide an effective platform on which to plan  community actions and policy development in  the future.

Recognising and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities

Recognising and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities is a new Publication to be released at CBD’s 11th Conference of Parties (Oct 8-19th) in Hyderabad, India

Published by the CBD Secretariat, based on a study undertaken by the ICCA Consortium, coordinated by the Indian NGO Kalpavriksh

Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) contain significant levels of biodiversity and related cultural diversity. This publication provides details of the range, extent and values of such sites, the threats they face, and the efforts being made by governments and civil society at recognizing and supporting them. Drawing lessons from 19 country case studies (covering all continents), and a range of other documentation, it offers lessons on how best to provide recognition to ICCAs.

The knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities have contributed greatly to conservation of ecosystem, species, and genetic diversity. It is likely that as much of the world’s area as is under officially designated protected areas (about 13%), if not more, is under ICCAs.

In 2010, at the 10th Conference of Parties to the CBD (Nagoya, Japan), governments committed to a Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2012-20. This included a set of 20 targets (‘Aichi Targets’), covering aspects such as integrating biodiversity into economic development, enhancing the coverage of protected areas and other forms of effective conservation, alleviating poverty and providing secure livelihoods.

This publication shows how ICCAs can help all countries to meet many of these targets, including Target 11 of expanding global protected area coverage to 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas. ICCAs can also help meet commitments under other global agreements such as the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This publication stresses that, in order to maintain and enhance the values of ICCAs, indigenous peoples and local communities governing them need adequate and appropriate recognition, including:

• Clear rights to territories and natural resources, in both terrestrial and marine areas 
• Recognition of their institutions of collective governance 
• Rights to exclude destructive activities like mining
• Respect of diverse cultures, lifestyles, economic systems 
• Recognition of ICCAs as protected areas or other effective conservation areas 

The publication shows that several countries are moving substantially in these directions. For instance, in Australia, Indigenous Protected Areas make up about 30% of the official protected area estate, while in the Philippines legislation relating to ancestral domain rights is providing backing to indigenous peoples in their efforts to conserve and sustainable manage their territories. However, many countries are still weak in their recognition of indigenous peoples and local communities in general, and of ICCAs in particular. In most, serious threats from extractive industries and large infrastructure projects, imposition of inappropriate land uses, and lack of recognition are the key challenge.

Global cooperation is needed to enable all countries achieve recognition of ICCAs, to enhance their contribution to conservation, livelihood security, and cultural sustenance. The publication provides pointers on how this can be done through legal, administrative, social, financial, advocacy, networking and other forms of recognition and support.

Citation: Kothari, Ashish with Corrigan, Colleen, Jonas, Harry, Neumann, Aurelie, and Shrumm, Holly. (eds). 2012. Recognising and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved By Indigenous Peoples And Local Communities: Global Overview and National Case Studies. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, ICCA Consortium, Kalpavriksh, and Natural Justice, Montreal, Canada. Technical Series no. 64, 160 pp.

For further details, contact Ashish Kothari.

ICTs for Climate Change Adaptation: Introduction of innovative technologies in the Caribbean

Starting at the end of this week Tobago will host a very interesting event. Close to 200 residents of the island will come together in a two-week workshop to build a physical three-dimensional model of Tobago.  The process will contribute to formulating responses and develop action plans addressing the impacts of climate change and extreme climatic events.

The 3D model will cover a total area of 1,188 sq km at a 1:10,000 scale.  Once completed, the model will display a wide range of terrestrial and marine features and landmarks which will help communities articulate their concerns, needs and aspirations in terms of development and disaster risk reduction.  In the process, facilitators will use methods known as Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) and Participatory Video (PV) which will help in documenting and adding value to the input of local and traditional knowledge from communities.

The workshop will take place at the Blenheim Sheep Multiplication & Research Center in Tobago (29 September - 11 October, 2011). 

View Participatory 3D Modelling Workshop in Tobago in a larger map

The activities will culminate in the presentation of an impressive relief model (measuring 4.9 m x 2.4 m) and a participatory video by representatives of the local communities and project facilitators at a handing over ceremony which will take place on Friday 12th October 2012 at the auditorium of the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute - Tobago campus (by invitation only).

P3DM of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Photo credit: J. Hardcastle

The project will pilot, for the first time in the region, the use of P3DM. P3DM is a participatory mapping method that can be used across the Caribbean islands to facilitate effective participation by local communities and other stakeholders in the identification of general policy priorities, as well as specific policies and actions needed on the ground at the landscape and site level to address land management issues, including the impacts of climate change and extreme climatic events.  This method will allow inclusion of relevant local and traditional knowledge, increase capacity, facilitate coordination and collaboration across sectors, and build buy-in for implementation of plans for resilience to climate change and extreme climatic events.

Twenty-two trainees from the region (including five from Tobago) will be trained to facilitate P3DM and PV processes in this project, and nearly fifty observers from the region will visit during the construction of the model.

The process is facilitated by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), the University of the West Indies (UWI), the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Division of Agriculture, Marine Affairs, Marketing and the Environment (DAME) and the Partners with Melanesians (PwM). Funding and expertise is provided by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP).

In the forthcoming months CTA will support capacity building in the domain of Web 2.0 and social media. In the forthcoming months, CTA will support capacity building in the domain of Web 2.0 and social media.  In addition, CANARI has secured funding from the Federal Republic of Germany to facilitate the production of a civil society agenda addressing climate change issues in the island as a follow-up activity to this project.

If you are interested in having a look at "work in progress" please contact Mrs. Neila Bobb-Prescott (e-mail: neila@canari.org; phone: 001-868-789-9917 or 001-868-302-3739 to get more information.

Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge: Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in Theory and Practice

The phenomenon of volunteered geographic information is part of a profound transformation in how geographic data, information, and knowledge are produced and circulated. By situating volunteered geographic information (VGI) in the context of big-data deluge and the data-intensive inquiry, the 20 chapters in this book explore both the theories and applications of crowdsourcing for geographic knowledge production with three sections focusing on 1).  VGI, Public Participation, and Citizen Science; 2). Geographic Knowledge Production and Place Inference; and 3). Emerging Applications and New Challenges.

This book argues that future progress in VGI research depends in large part on building strong linkages with diverse geographic scholarship. Contributors of this volume situate VGI research in geography’s core concerns with space and place, and offer several ways of addressing persistent challenges of quality assurance in VGI.

This book positions VGI as part of a shift toward hybrid epistemologies, and potentially a fourth paradigm of data-intensive inquiry across the sciences. It also considers the implications of VGI and the exaflood for further time-space compression and new forms, degrees of digital inequality, the renewed importance of geography, and the role of crowdsourcing for geographic knowledge production.

Daniel Sui (Editor), Sarah Elwood (Editor), Michael Goodchild (Editor)

Publisher: Springer; 2013 edition (August 9, 2012)

ISBN-10: 9400745869 | ISBN-13: 978-9400745865 | Edition: 2013

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.

Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops: Carbon & Culture

The Surui Cultural Map shows the Surui tribe of the Amazon's vision of their forest, including their territory and traditional history. To create this map, Surui youth interviewed their elders to document and map their ancestral sites, such as the site of first contact with western civilization in 1969, places where the tribes battled with colonists in the 1970s, as well as places of interest, like sightings of jaguars, capybaras and toucans. To preserve their forest and their livelihood, the Surui are entering the Carbon Credit marketplace with software called Open Data Kit to measure carbon and monitor any illegal logging in their forests using Android smartphones.

Tobagonians will build a participatory 3D model of Tobago to plan for impacts of climate change and extreme climatic events

Over 200 residents of Tobago will come together in early October 2012 to build a three-dimensional model of Tobago. The process will contribute to formulating responses and develop action plans addressing the impacts of climate change and extreme climatic events.

The process will be facilitated by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), the University of the West Indies (UWI), the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Division of Agriculture, Marine Affairs, Marketing and the Environment (DAME) and the Partners with Melanesians (PwM).  The project is funded by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP).

The project will pilot, for the first time in the region, the use of participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM).  P3DM is a tool that can be used across the Caribbean islands to facilitate effective participation by local communities and other stakeholders in the identification of general policy priorities, as well as specific policies and actions needed on the ground  to address the impacts of climate change and extreme climatic events.  P3DM will allow the recognition of the value of traditional knowledge, increase capacity, facilitate coordination and collaboration across sectors, and build buy-in for implementation of plans for resilience to climate change and extreme climatic events.

In this regard, 15 trainees from the Caribbean region (including five from Tobago) will be trained to facilitate the building of the model. Nearly 50 observers from the region will visit during the construction of the model.  Lessons learned and experiences will be documented and shared using a variety of media including participatory video, blogs and policy briefs.

P3DM produced in Boe Boe, Solomon Islands
Image courtesy of Javier Leon, University of Wollongong

The physical output of the workshop will consist in a 1:10,000-scale 3D model of the entire island of Tobago and its surrounding waters up to a depth of -100 meters. The model will cover an area of approximately 1,152 km2.



Once the model will be completed island'a representatives will produce a civil society agenda to tackle among others climate change issues in the island.  This activity consisting in a 3-day workshop will be facilitated by CANARI, through the support of grant funding from the Federal Republic of Germany.

CTA will further provide capacity building in the domains of Web 2.0 and Social Media to enhance Information, Communication and Knowledge Management (ICKM) among local stakeholders. 

On 5 and 6 September 2012, UWI, DAME and CANARI will host mobilisation meetings in east and south-west Tobago to sensitise the residents in Tobago about the project and to confirm participation of civil society groups in the exercise.

For further information, please contact: Neila Bobb-Prescott - Manager, Forest, Livelihoods and Governance Programme, Caribbean Natural Resources Institute.

Note: The initiative is supported by CTA in the context of the project "Promoting participatory ICTs for adding value to traditional knowledge in climate change adaptation, advocacy and policy processes in the Caribbean and the Pacific". For information on this project you may contact Giacomo Rambaldi, Sr. Programme Coordinator, ICT4D, CTA


Video collection of P3DM initiatives: http://vimeo.com/channels/pgis
P3DM worldwide: www.p3dm.org

Les éleveurs recherchent l’eau et la paix au Tchad : compte-rendu d’un exercice participatif de cartographie au Sahel

BAÏBOKOUM, TCHAD : Du 31 juillet au 11 août 2012, l’Association des Femmes Peules Autochtones du Tchad (AFPAT), en collaboration avec le Secrétariat du Comité de Coordination des Peuples Autochtones d'Afrique (IPACC, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee), a dirigé une formation sur la modélisation tridimensionnelle participative dans la région de Baïbokoum, dans le Logone oriental, dans le sud du Tchad.


Dialogue à trois sur le changement climatique from CTA on Vimeo.

Le projet de cartographie tchadien mettait l’accent sur la formation d’éleveurs activistes de différentes parties du Tchad, ainsi que de pays voisins et d’Afrique de l’Est, pour les initier aux bases de la cartographie et leur apprendre comment mener un exercice de cartographie participative en 3D (CP3D) avec des peuples autochtones M’bororo nomades et semi-nomades dans la région de Baïbokoum.

La population rurale de Baïbokoum est confrontée à des défis liés à la concurrence pour les ressources similaires à ceux d’autres parties d’Afrique. Ils comprennent les changements dans l’utilisation de la terre, notamment l’empiètement par des exploitants sédentaires, la perte de la biodiversité résultant de la modification de l’utilisation de la terre, l’impact des industries extractives et les impacts du changement climatique. Tous ces facteurs contribuent à l’accroissement de la vulnérabilité des populations, à la dégradation des sols et de la biodiversité, à l’insécurité alimentaire et à des risques de conflit.

Le projet Baïbokoum s’inscrit dans le prolongement de l’atelier qui s’est déroulé en novembre 2011 à N’Djamena, au Tchad, où des éleveurs de l’AFPAT et du réseau IPACC ont rencontré l’Organisation météorologique mondiale, l’UNESCO, le CTA et les services météorologiques du Tchad, pour débattre de l’adaptation au climat et des risques encourus aujourd’hui par les communautés nomades en Afrique. L’atelier de N’Djamena a mené à la Déclaration de N’Djamena sur le savoir traditionnel et l’adaptation au climat présentée à la 17e Conférence des Parties à la Convention-Cadre des Nations Unies sur les Changements Climatiques.

Les membres de la communauté nomade et semi-nomade des villages du district ont ensuite passé trois jours à coder la carte avec le savoir traditionnel autochtone, montrant l’utilisation des terres, l’itinéraire traditionnel de la migration du bétail, les caractéristiques de l’écosystème et les informations relatives à la biodiversité. Les stagiaires sont venus à Baïbokoum en provenance de cinq régions différentes du Tchad, ainsi que du Niger, du Cameroun, du Kenya, de la Tanzanie et de l’Ouganda. Le soutien technique et la formation ont été fournis par M. Barthelemy Boika du Réseau des Ressources Naturelles de la République Démocratique du Congo. Le Secrétariat de l’IPACC (Afrique du Sud) a également contribué à la formation et donné des conseils.

Les stagiaires ont réalisé des travaux pratiques avec des cartes provisoires, une formation aux compétences GPS, le choix d’une légende dans une langue locale (dans ce cas, le fufulde), et se sont initiés aux bases de la cartographie, de la mise à l’échelle et du géoréférencement. Ils ont passé quatre jours à élaborer une maquette 3D géoréférencée à échelle de Baïbokoum et de ses environs (24km x 20 km ; échelle 1:10 000).

La maquette en 3D qui en a résulté possédait quelques caractéristiques notables, dont l’accent mis par les éleveurs sur les différents types d’eau de surface – saisonnière, permanente, marécageuse et vive. Les éleveurs ont également pu identifier six espèces d’arbre protégées par la loi coutumière M’bororo. Ces six espèces d’arbre ont toutes des propriétés médicinales et une utilité dans l’écosystème et ne peuvent donc être ni coupées, ni endommagées. Elles servent également de repères lors des déplacements depuis des générations.

Les éleveurs se souciaient principalement de l’expansion des exploitants sédentaires qui ont bloqué les routes traditionnelles de transhumance le long desquelles le bétail pouvait accéder à l’eau potable. Les éleveurs accusaient les exploitants de brûler leurs champs, nuisant ainsi à la biodiversité, y compris des espèces d’arbres protégées depuis des temps immémoriaux. Les éleveurs ont remarqué que l’on creusait maintenant des puits de pétrole dans le territoire voisin, ainsi qu’un pipeline, mettant la pression sur eux des deux côtés. De brusque changements de temps et de climat, avec à la fois des sécheresses et des inondations, les ont rendus plus vulnérables et a renforcé le risque de conflit armé dans la région.

Plus de soixante membres de la communauté M’bororo ont participé à la cartographie, ainsi que les stagiaires, des villageois et des enfants scolarisés. Les dirigeants de la communauté se sentaient confiants et pensaient que la carte pouvait contribuer à résoudre les conflits naissants dans la communauté. L’événement a été clôturé officiellement le 10 août par Son Excellence le Gouverneur du Logone oriental, le Président de 5% Revenue from Oil Exploration, le Préfet et le Sous-préfet de Baïbokoum et des représentants de la Gendarmerie nationale et des Ministères de l’Élevage et de l’Agriculture et du Département en charge du changement climatique.

Le Gouverneur a immédiatement proposé de jouer le rôle de médiateur dans un processus de négociation entre les communautés sédentaires et nomades pour rouvrir les couloirs de transhumance afin que les éleveurs puissent de nouveau accéder à l’eau. Les participants ont indiqué que ces communautés pouvaient entretenir des relations de symbiose et de soutien. La résolution des conflits et l’adoption d’une approche préventive pour éliminer la concurrence vis-à-vis des ressources constituent un aspect fondamental de l’adaptation au climat et du développement des zones rurales.

La Coordinatrice de l’AFPAT, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a salué le gouvernement et la communauté pour leur volonté d’explorer de nouvelles voies de coopération. Elle a souligné l’importance que les hommes et les femmes M’bororo accorde depuis des siècles à la conservation de la nature et a entamé des discussions avec le Président de 5% oil revenues pour examiner comment les éleveurs M’bororo pourraient être davantage impliqués dans la protection des espaces forestiers menacés dans les montagnes environnant Baïbokoum.

Le processus de cartographie, l’étude des questions conflictuelles et l’établissement de la paix ont été documentés par Jade Productions qui a réalisé un film qui sera diffusé pour la première fois à la 18e Conférence des Parties à la Convention-Cadre des Nations Unies sur les Changements Climatiques prévue à Doha, au Qatar. Les médias nationaux ont réalisé des reportages radiodiffusés tout au long de l'atelier puis une émission de télévision, à l'issue de l'événement protocolaire de clôture.

L’atelier a été organisé pendant le mois saint du Ramadan, ce qui a conféré une dimension supplémentaire car les enseignements et les valeurs religieuses peuvent également encourager les personnes à coopérer, même dans des circonstances où elles ne partagent pas la même langue. Pendant les deux semaines qu’a duré l’atelier, les éleveurs autochtones du Kenya, du Cameroun et du Niger se sont joints à leurs homologues tchadiens pour les prières et le jeûne.

L’événement a bénéficié de la générosité du Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale ACP-UE (CTA), avec un appui financier supplémentaire de Bread for the World, Norwegian Church Aid et Misereor. Des documents, photographies et vidéos peuvent être consultés sur www.ipacc.org.za/fr


Crédits pour le texte et les photos : Nigel Crawhall, IPACC

Pastoralists seek water and peace in Chad: Account of a participatory mapping exercise in the Sahel

BAÏBOKOUM, CHAD: 31 July to 11 August 2012, the Association des Femmes Peules Autochtones du Tchad (AFPAT), in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), conducted a training course on Participatory 3 Dimensional Modelling in the area of Baïbokoum, Logone Oriental, in southern Chad.

The Chadian mapping project focused on training pastoralist activists from different parts of Chad, as well as from neighbouring countries and East Africa in the basics of cartography and how to conduct a Participatory 3D Modeling (P3DM) exercise with nomads and semi-nomadic M’bororo indigenous people in the Baïbokoum area.


Three-way dialogue on climate change from CTA on Vimeo.

Baïbokoum’s rural population is faced with competing resource challenges similar to other parts of Africa. These include changes in land use, notably encroachment by sedentary farmers, loss of biodiversity as a result of land use change, the impact of extractive industries and climate change impacts. All of these factors contribute to increasing human vulnerability, soil and biodiversity degradation, food insecurity and risks of conflict.

The Baïbokoum project followed on the November 2011 workshop in N’Djamena, Chad where pastoralists from AFPAT and the IPACC network met with the World Meteorological Organisation, UNESCO, CTA and the meteorological services of Chad to discuss climate adaptation and the risks experienced by nomadic communities in Africa today. The N’Djamena workshop led to the N’Djamena Declaration on traditional knowledge and climate adaptation which was presented at the 17th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Nomadic, semi-nomadic community members from the villages in the district then spent 3 days coding the map with the indigenous traditional knowledge; showing land use, traditional routes of cattle migration, ecosystem features, and biodiversity information. 

Trainees came to Baïbokoum from five different regions of Chad, as well as from Niger, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Technical support and training was provided by Mr Barthelemy Boika from the Réseau des Ressources Naturelles in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Additional training and guidance was provided by the Secretariat of IPACC, from South Africa.

Trainees did practical work with ephemeral mapping, GPS skills training, elicitation of a vernacular language legend (in this case in Fufulde), and orientation on the basics of cartography, scaling and georeferencing.

They spent four days constructing a scaled, geo-referenced 3D model of Baïbokoum and environs (24km x 20 km; 1:10 000 scale).

The resulting Participatory 3D Model (P3DM) had some notably features, including the emphasis placed by pastoralists on different types of surface water – seasonal, permanent, swampy and flowing.

Herders also were able to identify six tree species which are protected under M’bororo customary law. The six species of trees, all of them with medicinal and ecosystems functions, may not be cut or damaged, and serve as navigation reference points over generations.

Herders’ main concerns revolved around the expansion of sedentary farmers who have blocked traditional transhumance routes that allow cattle access to potable water. Herders accuse the farmers of burning their fields, thus killing off biodiversity and including long protected tree species. Herders noted that there were now oil wells being dug in the adjacent territory and a pipeline that are creating pressure on them from both sides. Sudden shifts of weather and climate, including both droughts and floods have made them more vulnerable and increased the risk of armed conflict in the region.

Over sixty M’bororo community members participated in the mapping, as well as the trainees, villagers and school goers. Leaders in the community felt confident that the map could help alleviate simmering conflicts in the community.

His Excellency, the Governor of Logone Orientale

The event was formally closed on 10 August by His Excellency, the Governor of Logone Orientale, the President of the 5% Revenue from Oil Exploration, the Prefect and Deputy-Prefect of Baïbokoum, and representatives of the national Gendarmerie and Ministries of Livestock, Agriculture and the Department responsible for climate change.

The Governor immediately offered to mediate a process between sedentary and nomadic communities to restore transhumance corridors for herders to be able to access water again. Participants noted that sedentary and nomadic communities could have symbiotic and supportive relationships. Resolving conflicts and having a preventative approach to resolving resource competition is a fundamental aspect of climate adaptation and development of rural areas.

AFPAT Coordinator, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim praised the government and community for their willingness to explore new avenues of cooperation. She noted the traditional importance placed by M’bororo men and women on nature conservation and has opened discussions with the President of the 5% oil revenues to look at how M’bororo herders can be more involved in protecting the threatened forest spaces in the mountains outside Baïbokoum.

The mapping process and examination of issues of conflict and peace building was documented by Jade Productions as a film to be released for the 18th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Doha, Qatar. National media reported throughout the workshop on radio and then broadcast a television report after the closing protocol event.

The workshop took place during the holy month of Ramadan, which added an extra dimension of how religious teachings and values can also encourage people to work cooperatively, even in circumstances where they do not share a language between them. Indigenous herders from Kenya, Cameroon and Niger all joined their Chadian partners during the prayers and fasting during the two week workshop.

The event was generously supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), with additional financial support from Bread for the World, Norwegian Church Aid and Misereor. Documents, photographs and videos can be seen on www.ipacc.org.za

Credits for text and images: Nigel Crawhall, IPACC

Making Rangelands Secure - First issue of the Bulletin published

In 2010 the International Land Coalition (ILC) with partners IFAD, IUCN-WISP, Procasur and RECONCILE established a learning initiative for sharing experience and practice in making rangelands secure for local rangeland users. A number of activities have been developed to enable this process. In February 2012 a learning route took place between Nairobi and Arusha, visiting four host communities and/or organisations who shared their own experience of securing rights to their land and resources, in different land tenure and politicial and/or social contexts. Twenty-four participants joined the learning route from around the world, and in particular from East and Horn of Africa. The learning route is being repeated in September 2012, with a large participation from government representatives from Sudan, and in particular Darfur state.

The learning initiative is also working with a number of other partners including Oxfam GB, ILRI, USAID-funded programmes and national governments in the region to further develop and document lessons learnt and influence developing land tenure policies and their implementation. The experiences are being discussed and documented in different forums and through a range of publications. The Making Rangelands Secure Bulletin is one such publication, that provides up-to-date information and news on important and relevant issues, processes and activities taking place in order to better secure rights to rangelands.

Articles provide discussion and information on village land use planning in Tanzania; shared experiences on securing of livestock corridors in West Africa and Sudan; implications of Kenya's Constitution on rangelands; the securing of rights for hunter-gatherers in Tanzania; the development of policy and legislation related to rangelands in Uganda; as well as news from members and partners of the learning initiative.

Palawan - our struggle for nature and culture

The struggle to save Palawan (known as the Philippines’ Last Frontier) is not only about saving trees and rare species. It is also about nourishing the Filipino cultural heritage, so powerfully represented by those indigenous communities that - after escaping Spanish and American colonization (while resisting the new ‘mining imperialism’ now) - continue to represent the 'living roots' from which all Filipinos originate. Therefore, environmental plundering by mining companies is not only a crime against nature but it is also a crime against culture, a sort of genocide that annihilates the most profound roots of the Filipino's history and ultimately plunders the cultural heritage of the whole nation! In this movie, Kawali, the mythical ancestor depicted by Batak narrators emphasises humility and trust towards the supernal beings in charge of animals and plants. On the contrary, the attitude of Kawali’s brother-in-law comes to represent the epitome of inappropriate behaviour, such as the lack of respect towards the mystical keepers of animals and - here specifically - towards the “father of bees”: a relationship that contemporary Batak continues to restore though the lambay ceremony. The sudden switch between the narration of the Batak myth and the threats posed by mining companies serves to introduce the work of ALDAW, a local network of indigenous peoples struggling for the protection of their ancestral land against large-scale corporations.

PLA 65 on Biodiversity and culture: exploring community protocols, rights and consent now online

Participatory Learning and Action 65 on Biodiversity and culture: exploring community protocols, rights and consent is now online.

This issue is guest edited by Krystyna Swiderska (IIED), Kanchi Kohli (Kalpavriksh, India), Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice), Wim Hiemstra, (COMPAS, Netherlands), Maria Julia Oliva (Union for Ethical Biotrade)

This special issue of PLA explores two important participatory tools that indigenous peoples and local communities can use to help defend their customary rights to biocultural heritage, natural resources and land:  Community protocols – or charters of rules and responsibilities – in which communities set out their customary rights to natural resources and land, as recognised in customary, national and international laws; and free, prior informed consent (FPIC) processes, in which communities decide whether or not to allow projects affecting their land or resources to go ahead, and on what terms.

The issue reviews the experiences of communities in Asia, Latin America and Africa in developing and using these tools in a range of contexts. It also looks at some government experiences of
establishing institutional processes for FPIC and benefit-sharing. It identifies practical lessons and guidance based on these experiences and aims to strengthen the capacity of a range of actors to
support these rights-based tools effectively in practice. It aims to provide guidance for those implementing the Nagoya Protocol and other natural resource and development practitioners, and
to raise awareness of the importance of community designed and controlled participatory processes.

Hard copies available on request on subscribe to PLA at www.planotes.org

Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops: Carbon & Culture

The Surui Cultural Map shows the Surui tribe of the Amazon's vision of their forest, including their territory and traditional history. To create this map, Surui youth interviewed their elders to document and map their ancestral sites, such as the site of first contact with western civilization in 1969, places where the tribes battled with colonists in the 1970s, as well as places of interest, like sightings of jaguars, capybaras and toucans. To preserve their forest and their livelihood, the Surui are entering the Carbon Credit marketplace with software called Open Data Kit to measure carbon and monitor any illegal logging in their forests using Android smartphones.

Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) for Peoples' Advocacy vis-a-vis Extractive Industries

This video documents how a participatory 3D model (P3DM) has been effectively used for advocacy purposes in the framework of the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines. In response to the results of an environmental impact assessment produced by consultants hired by the mining company, activists and community members used a P3DM process to harness local expertise to rebut the experts' findings and present the peoples point of view regarding the mining project.

Using the 3D model as the medium, a future scenario was added to the current situation: The pit hole, tailing dam and expected stock pile were visualised on the 3D model as if the mining operation would be running at full capacity. The impact of the visualisation was very strong since the public hardly knew which towns and villages would be affected, and was not aware of the actual impacts of the operations which had been minimised by the consultants in their presentation.


Source: PAFID, Philippines

Mapping is Power

Set in the Altai Republic of Russia in southern Siberia, Mapping is Power follows cultural specialist Maya Erlenbaeva and shaman Maria Amanchina as they visit sacred sites near Kosh Agach. Indigenous people are mapping their sacred sites to protect them. This scene is a preview of Standing on Sacred Ground, a 4-part series produced by the Sacred Land Film Project, which will profile sacred land struggles around the world. www.sacredland.org

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

Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge: Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in Theory and Practice

Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge: Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in Theory and Practice to be released in August 2012.

The phenomenon of volunteered geographic information is part of a profound transformation in how geographic data, information, and knowledge are produced and circulated.

By situating volunteered geographic information (VGI) in the context of big-data deluge and the data-intensive inquiry, the 20 chapters in this book explore both the theories and applications of crowdsourcing for geographic knowledge production with three sections focusing on (i) VGI, Public Participation, and Citizen Science; (ii) Geographic Knowledge Production and Place Inference; and (iii) Emerging Applications and New Challenges.

This book argues that future progress in VGI research depends in large part on building strong linkages with diverse geographic scholarship. Contributors of this volume situate VGI research in geography’s core concerns with space and place, and offer several ways of addressing persistent challenges of quality assurance in VGI.

This book positions VGI as part of a shift toward hybrid epistemologies, and potentially a fourth paradigm of data-intensive inquiry across the sciences. It also considers the implications of VGI and the exaflood for further time-space compression and new forms, degrees of digital inequality, the renewed importance of geography, and the role of crowdsourcing for geographic knowledge production.

The power of information: Map Kibera uses GIS, SMS, video and the web to gather community data

The Map Kibera project works with young people from one of Africa’s biggest slums. They use GIS, SMS, video and the web to gather data and make it available to the community, where it can be applied to influence policies related to the area.

Located just five kilometres from the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, the residents of Kibera have grown accustomed to the many foreign experts visiting their community to conduct surveys and ask questions for yet another data collection initiative. As one of the largest slum areas in Africa, it draws staff from development organisations, research institutes and NGOs from all over the world.

As all these organisations and researchers generate more and more documents and project reports about Kibera, very little of the information gathered is ever made available to the 250,000 people who live there. Access to the data would give the people of Kibera the chance to present their own view of the living conditions in the community. They would be able to influence public policy to achieve improvements to the facilities that they believe are important.

In 2009, Erica Hagen, a specialist in the use of new media for development, and Mikel Maron, a digital mapping expert, started Map Kibera to help residents use mapping technology to gather information about their community. For the initial phase of the project, they recruited 13 local young people, aged between 19 to 34, including five women and eight men, from each village in Kibera.

The participants received two days training on how to use handheld GPS receivers to gather location data, and an introduction to using the specialised software in a computer lab. The team was supported by five GIS professionals from Nairobi who had volunteered their time. The participants then spent three weeks walking along the roads, pathways and rail tracks with their GPS receivers recoding the location data. They collected more specific information on water and sewage locations, education, religious and business locations, as well as anything else the participants deemed useful.

Collaboration

Rather than create a stand-alone map, the location data gathered by the project was added to the open source project OpenStreetMap, which is a crowdsourced map made by volunteers around the world. Map Kibera contributed to filling their part of OpenStreetMap, which would also make the information available to more people, and help to raise the profile of the project.

The team also wanted to add a multimedia aspect to the maps, by including video footage of points of interest from around Kibera, and uploading them to YouTube. Three members of Carolina for Kibera (CFK), affiliated with the University of North Carolina, assisted with the filming and helped to document the map making process using small camcorders.

The young people involved in the project developed a sense of achievement as they learned the new skills, and gained confidence in using new technologies. They also began to see the value of the information they were collecting and to understand the impact it could have on their community. However, it was not so easy to convince other residents.

There was a lot of cynicism in the local community caused by the NGOs who had previously come to Kibera but never shared their information. People were, therefore, reluctant to be filmed and photographed. Although the GPS data gathering was less intrusive, the technology presented other difficulties.

The lack of reliable power and inadequate internet access in Kibera were major challenges, especially when it came to uploading large video files to the web, which can take a long time. The slow internet connection also made it difficult to update security software on the computers, leaving them vulnerable to damaging viruses.

These were challenges that could be overcome in time, but for the project to be a real success, it would have to show that it could provide useful information to the community. The mapping project was, therefore, expanded to incorporate public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) to gather information on specific issues affecting the residents of Kibera.

The group focused on collecting detailed data on four sectors: health, security, education, and water and sanitation. In February 2010, Map Kibera developed a partnership with UNICEF and added a fifth topic: mapping girls’ security. The aim here was to get the girls’ views on possible threats to their security, along with location information, for use in compiling data on their vulnerability to HIV/Aids.

Nine mappers collected data on the five topics using paper forms, gathering, for example, details of the costs and services offered at clinics and chemists in the area. To further encourage community involvement and get feedback on the information gathered, the team produced printed versions of maps for each area and placed transparencies on top so that residents could make changes and additions as necessary. Map Kibera also involved other interested organisations working in the health and security sectors in the area, including African Medical and Research Foundation and a women's group called Kibera Power Women.

Positive picture

As well as making the maps and multimedia available online, Map Kibera looked for other ways for the community to use the information gathered. For instance, the video material filmed as part of the mapping exercises could also be used to present news stories of the area. This idea expanded and the team worked with two youth from Kibera, who already had film-making experience.

They trained 18 young people to use small ‘ultra-portable’ Flip video cameras and the software to help them share their efforts on the web. This led to Kibera News Network (KNN), a citizen journalism initiative to present features and news stories affecting Kibera, showing positive aspects of the area and providing accurate coverage of negative events.

Mainstream media often focused on the misery and negativity in Kibera. The only events certain to attract mainstream media attention were clashes with the police or when the trains that run along the area’s peripheries were disrupted. Map Kibera attempts to change the perception of Kibera by allowing people to create and share their own stories.

The KNN teams edit the videos themselves and post them on YouTube – giving them a direct and immediate link to a global audience. The videos are also available on the Voice of Kibera, a community news website that also hosts the digital map. Residents can even post their own geo-located stories to the map using SMS.

Map Kibera used the open source tool, Ushahidi, to make the contributions via SMS possible. Ushahidi was initially developed after the 2008 Kenyan elections, to track reports of violence. It is a tool for crowdsourcing information using, e-mail, Twitter and the web as well as SMS. When someone in Kibera contributes an article, an SMS gateway filters the incoming texts according to keywords. Messages with the keyword ‘Kibera’ are fed into the Voice of Kibera website, where they are mapped using GPS coordinates, and approved by the editor before finally appearing on the site.

In 2010, the team founded the GroundTruth Initiative to support Map Kibera and other future projects. In the same year, UN Habitat awarded Map Kibera with a youth fund grant to expand its work to other parts of Nairobi, leading to co-operation with the community in another slum, Mukuru. A group in Mathare Valley, the second-largest slum in Nairobi, was also interested in creating a similar project, and, through funding from Plan International, a team is now collaborating on a participatory development programme there.

The Map Kibera Trust, which has a core membership of 30 young people, is working with similar communities in other parts of Kenya, and in Tanzania. A core aim of the Trust is to not only make people aware of openly available technology and information, but also to train local people to use them to benefit the community. The information now available to the residents of Kibera has caused a shift in power, providing them with reliable data to present their own case, and enabling to directly influence the policies that affect their lives.

By Erica Hagen and Mikel Maron
Article re-published with permission from ICT Update

Erica Hagen is a freelance writer, photographer, videographer and specialist on new media for development.
Mikel Maron is co-director of GroundTruth Initiative, and board member of OpenStreetMap Foundation

Related links

• Map Kibera
• Voice of Kibera
• Kibera News Network
• OpenStreetMap

Climate Change and African Political Stability dynamic mapping tool released

The Strauss Center’s Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) program and AidData recently released a dynamic mapping tool that allows for analysis of climate change and conflict across Africa, plus development assistance in Malawi. The mapping tool uses Esri’s ArcGIS platform to enable users to select and layer combinations of CCAPS data onto one map. It also shows how conflict dynamics are changing over time and space. This tool provides an interactive medium for researchers to explore how climate change vulnerability and conflict interact, and in Malawi, to see how aid is distributed across different areas.

CCAPS climate security vulnerability data provides information on four sources of vulnerability: physical exposure to climate-related hazards, population density, household and community resilience, and governance and political violence. Chronic climate security vulnerability is located where these four sources of vulnerability conjoin.

Handbook on Participatory Land Use Planning Methods and tools developed and tested in Viengkham District, Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR

“This approach puts the keys of development in the hands of local communities and avoids engaging them into endless assistance programs”; District Governor - Viengkham - 2011

Securing land tenure rights for village communities through participatory land use planning is a hot topic for policy makers, researchers and development practitioners. In Lao PDR, the government policy aimed at turning land into capital may well turn to land grabbing wherever local communities are not informed about their rights and are not involved in land use planning. PLUP is an empowerment process for villagers who get trained as land use negotiators. They learn the real value of their land and labor. The proposed PLUP method helps them to visualize land related issues, to assess the potential impact of alternative scenarios before they make decision.

While local people know well their own situation they often do not know how to collectively design a better future for the whole village through land use planning. ‘PLUP fiction’ is a learning device for land zoning and local development planning. Based on a virtual village territory visualized on a board, members of the village land management committee learn how to make informed decisions about land zoning according to the needs of different stakeholders. Using the method learned during the landscape simulation game, they negotiate their own land use zoning on the 3D model representing their village landscape. They first design their current land use by using colored pins and string on the 3D model. Then, land zones are digitized, analyzed and compared to the needs expressed by the villagers in their village action plan, i.e. village economic development, labor force availability, rice sufficiency, livestock carrying capacity, preservation of ecosystems services.

New land use plans are designed successively until all the committee members are satisfied. The iterative zoning process is facilitated by the use of a GIS software (QGIS) and an Excel based tool. On completion of the PLUP exercise, the 3D model painted with the new land use plan remains with the community.

The purpose of this PLUP Handbook is to provide practical tools and methods for PLUP implementation based on experiments conducted in Viengkham District, Luang Prabang Province. Lessons drawn from this experience have been gradually incorporated into the tools and procedures described in this Handbook and Toolbox as a reference guide for PLUP practitioners.


Publisher: National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), May 2012

A short history of the method development

At the end of 2009, a manual for Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) was published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the National Land Management Authority (NLMA) to provide a common basis for PLUP implementation in Lao PDR. This manual determined the important principles of PLUP implementation, especially in relation to community participation in the process. A diagnostic study conducted a few months later in a project implementing PLUP along the new guidelines showed that on-the-ground PLUP implementation was still problematic as some tools and methods had not been detailed in the PLUP Manual.

In 2010, participatory action-research conducted by the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI, Laos) together with relevant district line agencies (District Land Management Authority (DLMA) and the District Agriculture and Forestry Offices (DAFO) with the support of the Institute of Research for Development (IRD, France) and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR, Indonesia) led to an innovative PLUP method adapted to the local situation in Viengkham District, with landscapes dominated by subsistence-based shifting agriculture. The main challenge was to insure participation of the villagers and their full understanding of the planning process.

In 2011, through partnership with Agrisud project on food security and rural development the participatory approach was further improved, adding village monograph and Village Action Plan (VAP) as to prepare follow-up extension activities.

Download the handbook.