FoxHershockMappingCommunities

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UNDERSTANDING AND USING COMMUNITY MAPS AMONG INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN RATANAKIRI PROVINCE, CAMBODIA this document is not currently recognized at the national level. This interim form of land tenure and the villager capacity building exercises are intended to slow the rate of land alienation caused by competition for land and resources with outside interests. The mapped village land-use boundaries become part of a provincial data set, which contains land-use information for communes (each containing an average of five villages) across the province. Mapping activities are targeted currently at areas of high land insecurity mainly along Highway 78, which runs through the center of the province to the Vietnamese border. The GIS Unit has completed mapping twenty-three (out of forty-nine) communes and is currently working in four additional communes. The original intention was to map the entire province in this way by 2005. Some areas have been mapped using a “slow step mapping process” that can take up to three years to complete for one village and involves more consultation and mapping training with the villagers than the “quick step mapping process” that has been used more recently. This quick step process has now been abandoned, since its impact in preventing land alienation has been limited. Additionally, the government is now requiring the implementation of a standardized participatory land-use planning (PLUP) process. In the slow step process, villagers involved in mapping receive training in how to read topographic maps and aerial photographs and how to use GPS. The PLUP process is similar to the slow step process. All previously completed land-use maps will be reviewed under the new PLUP process. GIS Unit staff members have conducted a series of training sessions to introduce villagers to mapping. These have included training in reading topographic maps, aerial photographs, sketch maps, and using GPS. Despite these training activities many villagers find it difficult to understand the maps of their areas. Particular problems have included villagers and elders not being able read map legends and place name information being misspelled or misplaced. To increase villager understanding, the GIS Unit experimented with various ways of presenting mapping information. Table 1 summarizes these activities and their results. CASE STUDIES The villages selected for this research, including background information and a description of mapping processes undertaken, are as follows: Tuy Village, Ting Chak Commune, Bokeo District. The CBNRM project utilized a “slow” land-use planning/mapping process in this village, taking three years to complete the mapping and documentation exercise. Provincial authorities have recognized the maps and regulations developed by the village with the help of the CBNRM project. The village is situated along the main road that runs through the province and has experienced and will likely continue to experience intense land pressures. Private landowners have purchased a significant amount of village land along the road on which they practice cash cropping (mainly cashew nuts and soy beans). This trend of cashew nut planting can be found across the province, but is most advanced along the main road. A participatory mapping training exercise for representatives of several communes and villages conducted in Tuy Village in 2000 highlighted problems with the mapping process within the CBNRM and eventually led to the formation of the GIS Unit. A report about intimidation practices used in Tuy Village by private buyers and government officials also came out of this mapping training. This report was thumbprinted by all the villagers and sent to government authorities. A follow up government investigation found that the land had been purchased ”legally.” Tong Kro Pou Village, Ou Chum Commune, Ou Chum District. Tong Kro Pou, located approximately fifteen kilometers from Ban Lung, the provincial capital, is situated on a secondary road. In 1996, villagers successfully defended 45
Methods Projecting aerial photographs onto the village meeting house walls at night Printing large (120 cm by 86 cm) plots of aerial photographs Printing large (120 cm by 86 cm) size topographic maps Formal training in topographic map reading Basic map reading taught to villagers during the mapping exercise with the facilitator "guiding" villagers through the map and reading it for them Using community GPS users/mappers to train villagers how to use GPS Sketch mapping Problems and issues encountered • Requires a lot of logistical work transporting generators, projector etc. to remote villages • Elders have difficulty seeing the projected aerial photographs • Useful for mapping village land-use practices. Some villagers could immediately orient themselves and identify features of the landscape and their swidden fields • Aerial photographs (2001) are becoming outdated rapidly decreasing their effectiveness due to the rapidly changing landscape in Ratanakiri and as a result of the shifting nature of swidden agriculture • Easier for field staff to carry to the village • Found to be just as efficient in displaying geographic information to villagers as aerial photographs • Topographic maps can help communities see hills, slopes, and rivers • Communities cannot see their swidden fields due to the age of the maps (1967) • Time consuming: not understood by some participants • Most of the trainees have difficulty reading Khmer writing • Often lessons are forgotten if villagers do not get ongoing practice • Beneficial to have trainers who are able to speak the local language • GPS receivers with displays in English are difficult for communities to understand • Villagers do not get enough practice and review of the training they receive • Villagers have difficulty remembering the colors and signs assigned to the different zones and features. • The map is not always oriented to the north (sometimes the north arrow is actually pointing to the west which makes it difficult to interpret) • Sometimes the names of nearby villages are not included Table 1. List of activities carried out by the GIS Unit to introduce villagers to maps 46
Page 1 and 2: MAPPINGCOMMUNITIES ETHICS, VALUES,
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS vi vii viii 1 11
Page 5 and 6: ACRONYMS AMA: adaptive management a
Page 8 and 9: INTRODUCTION MAPPING POWER: IRONIC
Page 18 and 19: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PARTICIPATORY
Page 32 and 33: APPENDIX I: FORMAL INTERVIEWS AND G
Page 34: APPENDIX II: RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND
Page 37 and 38: land-use plans in various stages of
Page 39 and 40: egan to argue that these areas were
Page 41 and 42: conflicts. The NTFP also assists vi
Page 43 and 44: illegal logging activities and to s
Page 45 and 46: property is defined according to th
Page 47 and 48: the real outside pressure has not y
Page 49 and 50: 7. How well do NTFP staff members u
Page 51: further and further away from areas
Page 55 and 56: RESEARCH QUESTIONS The underlying q
Page 57 and 58: In Samout Krom Village, villagers h
Page 59 and 60: who have not attended the sketch ma
Page 61 and 62: concrete sensorial experiences much
Page 63 and 64: CONCLUSION Based on mapping researc
Page 65 and 66: BACKGROUND According to the MIGIS p
Page 67 and 68: many schools, resulting in the clos
Page 69 and 70: members, the Beima, and villagers'
Page 71 and 72: tree cutting and animal grazing in
Page 73 and 74: the bio-gas project that was implem
Page 75 and 76: During the evaluation process we al
Page 77 and 78: 1 Mr. Zhao Yaqiao, Ms. Wu Chengrui,
Page 79 and 80: Events / Dates Bio-gas systems cons
Page 81 and 82: communities to take advantage of SI
Page 83 and 84: Hayfork based NGO focused on commun
Page 85 and 86: likely to be more knowledgeable abo
Page 87 and 88: planning processes, especially with
Page 89 and 90: and implement projects. Some NGOs a
Page 91 and 92: CONCLUSIONS SIT training provides p
Page 93 and 94: REFERENCES California Fire Safe Cou
Page 95 and 96: map strengthened the community's cl
Page 97 and 98: 1994 and 1995 with community mapper
Page 99 and 100: to the mapping. These disagreements
Page 101 and 102: CONCLUSIONS For too long now, the D
Page 103 and 104:
APPENDIX B The table below lists th
Page 105 and 106:
uncritically or simply misused. As
Page 107 and 108:
However, the equipment acquired for
Page 109 and 110:
degrees in social sciences, agricul
Page 111 and 112:
photo: Martin Hardiono photo: Marti
Page 113 and 114:
REFERENCES Herlihy, P. H., and G. K
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eserve boundaries, develop a common
Page 117 and 118:
NGO that focused on facilitating co
Page 119 and 120:
left their organizations within a y
Page 121 and 122:
eadily use the available computer a
Page 123 and 124:
local capacity both in terms of ski
Page 125:
Nusa Tenggara Community Development
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