30
Section 1: The Participatory
Mapping Process
Maps and diagrams are viewed as important components of any planning activity, specifically in
rural and community development initiatives
where planning, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation are required when the subjects are land
use, watershed management, afforestation initiatives, agricultural development and other aspects
of development planning. Participatory mapping
is an approach which combines advanced cartography skills with participatory methods to represent the spatial knowledge of local communities.
This activity provides information about the physical characteristics of the community, the climatic
stressors and calamities found in the area, the
impact of climate change on the socio-economic
situation of the community and the strategies
these communities are putting in place to adapt to
these climatic calamities (O’Brien et al. 2004).
Methodology for Using Participatory
Mapping Exercises as a Data
Collection Tool
Working with officials of the Community
Development Division, the Ministry of Planning
and Sustainable Development, Forestry Division
and National Parks Authority, decisions were
made on the areas where the participatory climate
risks and vulnerability mapping exercises would
be held. The GIS maps on the various districts
were provided by the Physical Planning Division
of the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable
Development. After realising that the GIS maps
contained a limited amount of data, a decision was
taken to use “knowledge mapping” to generate the
data required. Knowledge mapping deploys local
knowledge and involves a crowdsourcing
approach, whereby different stakeholders transfer
this knowledge (challenge each other’s ideas) onto
a base map (IUCN & WRI 2014).
The Strength of Knowledge Mapping
While digital mapping can be too precise and risk
ignoring local realities, the knowledge mapping
captures a richness of the undocumented local
and technical insights but is not very specific
when it comes to landscape levels of biophysical
constraints. Utilising both approaches, the maps
gain scientific accuracy and cultural details
(IUCN & WRI 2014).
Preparation of paper maps: These maps were
drawn to scale by the Art Class of the Georgetown
Secondary School on large sheets of paper about
5 × 10 m. Visits were made to local communities
before the implementation of the participatory
mapping exercises to identify specific landmarks
on the map such as agricultural fields, coastlines
affected by SLR and coastal erosion, distinct forest types and its extent of deforestation, diverse
ecosystems and regions where natural resources
are extracted (Angelsen et al. 2011).
Selection of participants: Strict criteria were
provided to community development officials
who worked in collaboration with local community leaders, health officials, agriculture officers
and public health officials to assist with the selection of participants for the community climate
risk mapping consultative workshops. Meetings
were observed to understand the level and quality
of the consultative process involved in the selection of the participants. These criteria consisted
of gender equity, broad age representation (from
15 to 80 years), all social classes, people with all
levels of education, representatives of major
political parties and representatives from all the
participating villages in the district. These criteria were used to ensure diversity in views and
perceptions of participants in the consultative
process. After the selection process, the dates
were set for the implementation of the participatory mapping exercise.
Implementation of the participatory mapping
process: Participants stood or sat around the
drawn map of the community which highlighted
its main physical features. After a presentation on
the impact of climate change and other calamities
on livelihoods, participants were able to ask
questions and seek clarification on issues raised.
Following responses to the questions, participants ranked the calamities from the most severe
to the least severe in terms of their impact on the
3 Implementation of the Conceptual Framework for Youth Adaption in Climate Change on SIDS
Section 1: The Participatory
Mapping Process
Maps and diagrams are viewed as important components of any planning activity, specifically in
rural and community development initiatives
where planning, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation are required when the subjects are land
use, watershed management, afforestation initiatives, agricultural development and other aspects
of development planning. Participatory mapping
is an approach which combines advanced cartography skills with participatory methods to represent the spatial knowledge of local communities.
This activity provides information about the physical characteristics of the community, the climatic
stressors and calamities found in the area, the
impact of climate change on the socio-economic
situation of the community and the strategies
these communities are putting in place to adapt to
these climatic calamities (O’Brien et al. 2004).
Methodology for Using Participatory
Mapping Exercises as a Data
Collection Tool
Working with officials of the Community
Development Division, the Ministry of Planning
and Sustainable Development, Forestry Division
and National Parks Authority, decisions were
made on the areas where the participatory climate
risks and vulnerability mapping exercises would
be held. The GIS maps on the various districts
were provided by the Physical Planning Division
of the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable
Development. After realising that the GIS maps
contained a limited amount of data, a decision was
taken to use “knowledge mapping” to generate the
data required. Knowledge mapping deploys local
knowledge and involves a crowdsourcing
approach, whereby different stakeholders transfer
this knowledge (challenge each other’s ideas) onto
a base map (IUCN & WRI 2014).
The Strength of Knowledge Mapping
While digital mapping can be too precise and risk
ignoring local realities, the knowledge mapping
captures a richness of the undocumented local
and technical insights but is not very specific
when it comes to landscape levels of biophysical
constraints. Utilising both approaches, the maps
gain scientific accuracy and cultural details
(IUCN & WRI 2014).
Preparation of paper maps: These maps were
drawn to scale by the Art Class of the Georgetown
Secondary School on large sheets of paper about
5 × 10 m. Visits were made to local communities
before the implementation of the participatory
mapping exercises to identify specific landmarks
on the map such as agricultural fields, coastlines
affected by SLR and coastal erosion, distinct forest types and its extent of deforestation, diverse
ecosystems and regions where natural resources
are extracted (Angelsen et al. 2011).
Selection of participants: Strict criteria were
provided to community development officials
who worked in collaboration with local community leaders, health officials, agriculture officers
and public health officials to assist with the selection of participants for the community climate
risk mapping consultative workshops. Meetings
were observed to understand the level and quality
of the consultative process involved in the selection of the participants. These criteria consisted
of gender equity, broad age representation (from
15 to 80 years), all social classes, people with all
levels of education, representatives of major
political parties and representatives from all the
participating villages in the district. These criteria were used to ensure diversity in views and
perceptions of participants in the consultative
process. After the selection process, the dates
were set for the implementation of the participatory mapping exercise.
Implementation of the participatory mapping
process: Participants stood or sat around the
drawn map of the community which highlighted
its main physical features. After a presentation on
the impact of climate change and other calamities
on livelihoods, participants were able to ask
questions and seek clarification on issues raised.
Following responses to the questions, participants ranked the calamities from the most severe
to the least severe in terms of their impact on the
3 Implementation of the Conceptual Framework for Youth Adaption in Climate Change on SIDS