State’s Technical Cartography and Social Cartography’s Participatory Mapping: Contributions to a Contemporary Reflection on the Use of Maps

The use of cartography in geographical approaches, notably in those focused on territorial discussions, is gaining more and more importance. However, the use of technical maps still prevails, which often act to hinder its use and appropriation by traditional communities. Based on this assumption, this article seeks to show that, in addition to technical cartography, there are other methodologies, which should also be used, in both elaboration and representation of territories, such as the participatory mapping. For that, some recommendations and suggestions are presented in this paper, aiming to subsidize the application and the collaboration of maps, through the mentioned methodology. These suggestions and contributions are the result of both theoretical debates and in loci observations, in workshops held in traditional communities of Brazilian Amazonia. From these discussions, it is concluded that the adoption of participatory mapping in the process of valuing and understanding the knowledge of traditional communities is of great value, in addition to serving as a subsidy for the claims of rights of both appropriation and possession of the territory.

Participatory Mapping of Local Disaster Risk Reduction Knowledge:An Example from Switzerland

This article is based on comparative anthropological fieldwork conducted in the Alpine region of Switzerland on sustainable environmental knowledge about natural hazards related to climate change.It examines ways to complement the normative and technological practices of risk management by using local knowledge to improve the resilience of affected communities against climate-related risks.The study shows how agricultural practices and knowledge may contribute to sustainable behavior towards nature and the environment.It explores how local environmental knowledge,perceptions,and handling strategies of climate-related risks may be integrated within a renewed concept of environmental sustainability.Participatory GIS mapping(PGIS)is the primary research method used.Based on applied visual anthropological methods,PGIS is a cartographical approach that integrates local perceptions and strategies of action drawn from interviews and participant observation.This approach enables improved communication of local knowledge and contributes to interdisciplinary cooperation between different academic fields,such as social anthropology,geography,and civil-engineering in the context of technological risk management.The approach encourages the active participation of local people in the process of sustainable risk management through the integration of cultural meanings and local knowledge about the sustainable management of sensitive natural environments.

How Participatory is Participatory Flood Risk Mapping? Voices from the Flood Prone Dharavi Slum in Mumbai

Participatory flood risk mapping(PFRM) is a well-recognized and widely implemented tool for meaningful community involvement in disaster risk reduction(DRR). The effectiveness of PFRM remains anecdotal. The PFRM exercise has rarely been applied identically in two different places by two different organizations, which produces varied and uncertain outcomes. In the absence of any agreed and comprehensive framework for participatory DRR, existing studies struggle to provide a scientific account of how the structure, design, and process of PFRM ensure the effective participation of local communities.This study, examines what factors and methods make PFRM an effective participatory DRR tool. In this study,we first identified the process-based criteria of participation. Then we briefly introduced a participatory flood risk mapping exercise conducted in a flood-prone informal settlement in Dharavi, Mumbai. The exercise was carefully designed to meet the process criteria of effective participation. Finally, using qualitative research methods, we evaluated the effectiveness of our PFRM from the local community perspective. The findings show that ensuring community livelihood security and true involvement of marginalized groups, preparing an action plan, and incorporating fun and cultural connotations into the facilitation process are critical components that enhance community participation through PFRM in DRR.

Pathways towards the integration of periurban agrarian ecosystems into the spatial planning system

Introduction:The potential of periurban agrarian ecosystems is recognized as one of the cornerstones for improving urban sustainability;however,this potential has been disregarded in spatial planning and decision making.The main goal of the PAEc-SP project was to assess the feasibility of integrating periurban agricultural areas into spatial planning by developing a viable ecosystem services-based methodology.Methods:The research unfolded along three axes:i)mapping ecosystem services in periurban areas,distinguishing between the current state and the future potential by applying a set of indicators;ii)analyzing the regulatory framework,identifying gaps in the consideration of agrarian ecosystem services;and iii)analyzing the perceptions of these areas held by local actors.Provisioning services(food)are widely recognized by actors and plans,but this leads to weak protection.Results:Cultural services(identity,recreation)are also recognized by all actors and addressed by local urban planning,though this is not connected to farming practices.Regulating services(CO_(2) storage,water quality)are barely addressed by spatial planning and actors do not value them either.Supporting services(biodiversity)are mostly associated with natural areas.Most technicians are reluctant to changes,while new farmers and civil society demand a new holistic approach.Conclusion:The reluctant attitude to change of some actors and the inadequate understanding of ecosystem services,render it imperative to adopt a comprehensive approach through a participatory process of urban planning.Mapping ecosystem services,calculations,and graphs are a valuable communication tool both in discussing the consequences of the loss of agrarian ecosystems with different actors and in planning future scenarios.

Mixed-method study on medicinal herb collection in relation to wildlife conservation:the case of giant pandas in China

Medicinal herb collection has historical and cultural roots in many rural communities in developing countries.Areas where herb collection occurs may overlap with biodiversity hotspots and crucial habitat of endangered and threatened species.However,impacts of such practices on wildlife are unknown and possibly underestimat­ed,perhaps due to the elusive nature of such activities.We examined this phenomenon in Wolong Nature Re­serve,China,a protected area in the South-Central China biodiversity hotspot that also supports a community of Tibetan,Qiang and Han people who use herb collection as a supplementary source of livelihood.We adopted a participatory approach in which we engaged local people in outlining spatial and temporal dynamics of medici­nal herb collection practices.We found that the overall spatial extent of herb collection increased in the past two decades.We then overlaid herb collection maps with localities of giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)feces collected over two time points in the reserve.Using a Bayesian parameter estimation,we found evidence for de­clined giant panda occurrence in the areas most recently impacted by emerging medicinal herb collection.Our methodology demonstrates the potential power of integrating participatory approaches with quantitative meth­ods for processes like herb collection that may be difficult to examine empirically.We discuss future directions for improving explanatory power and addressing uncertainty in this type of mixed-method,interdisciplinary re­search.This work has implications for future attempts to understand whether and how prevalent but subtle hu­man activities may affect wildlife conservation.

“Listening to the Sounds of the Water”:Bringing Together Local Knowledge and Biophysical Data to Understand Climate-Related Hazard Dynamics

Integrating local knowledge and scientific information can aid in co-developing locally relevant approaches for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.Communities along the Mekong River have adapted to variability in temperature,rainfall,and flooding patterns over time.Rapid environmental change in the Mekong Basin presents a new set of challenges related to drought,altered seasonal rainfall,more frequent high-flow flood events,and water withdrawals for hydropower and irrigation.We present a multi-method approach to understand how local knowledge of the spatial and temporalpatterns of floods,droughts,and rainfall can be integrated with scientific information along a flood-prone section of the lower Mekong River in Kratie Province,Cambodia.Participatory hazard mapping of community members’knowledge of the movement of floodwaters through the landscape enabled interpretation of flood extent mapping using Synthetic Aperture Radar images from the Sentinel-1A satellite.Seasonal calendars of weather patterns and livelihood activities,together with local indicators of flooding,rainfall,and drought were compared with trends in 35 years of rainfall data,and highlighted"pressure points"at the beginning and end of the rainy season where agriculture may be particularly impacted by climate change.We discuss potential applications of our findings for adaptation and hazard planning.