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Participatory 3 Dimensional modeling and Eco-cultural mapping for Indigenous

knowledge documentation

BEFEKADU REFERA

Programme Coordinator of MELCA Mahiber

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

29 September 2009

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To see empowered communities conserve their bio-cultural diversity and strengthen their livelihoods for a healthy ecosystem and society.

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To work for the revival and enhancement of bio-cultural diversity and realization of

sustainable livelihoods in Ethiopia through research, environmental

education, participatory Mapping, endogenous development and

conservation of ecosystems.

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Current Areas of Work

We are currently working in three areas; namely:

1.Sheka Zone …S-west Ethiopia…SNNPRS2.Bale Zone...S-east Ethiopia…Oromia Region3.Menagesha-Suba… Oromia Region

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Role of Participatory 3-Dimensional

modeling (P3-DM)

Discovery Learning• Starting in 1987, P3-D models have been used in an interactive

mode as instruments through which people could learn by doing.

• P-3DM helps method is tailored for areas where poverty, isolation, marginalization, low literacy and language barriers frequently shape society. The tendency for most people residing in these areas is to learn via concrete sensorial experiences, rather than abstract concepts.

• Practice has shown that villagers – when properly oriented – could manage the physical location vis-à-vis the model. In a few minutes, they could locate themselves and/or their households, and establish spatial relationships between different landmarks.

• Once this is done, informants could link the model to the real world and would now be in the position to precisely depict their mental landscape.

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Visualizing Knowledge

• Compared to technology-dependent Geographic Information Technologies, Participatory P3-DM is a proven method that can be handled in rural areas within locally available technical capacities, and can visualize spatial knowledge particularly among communities characterized by low literacy, language barriers and lack of basic utilities (e.g. electricpower) .

• Different from other visualizing tools (i.e. sketch mapping) characterized by variable levels of accuracy, P3-DM offers the opportunity to produce relatively precise geo-referenced and scaled qualitative and quantitative data, adding substantial value and communication power to existing local knowledge.

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Community Cohesion, Self-actualization and

Self-determination

• Experience gained in the Philippines over almost a decade has shown that P3-DM exercises conducted entirely at the community level and as a response to local needs versus external threats have yielded positive effects in terms of community-cohesion and identity building .

• The power of maps resulting from the integration of community mapping, 3-D modeling, GPS and GIS, combined with strong advocacy and an existing legal framework accommodating the results of such actions, has led the way towards legal recognition of ancestral rights claimed by Indigenous Peoples.

• Old people share history with young people, passing on legends and religious beliefs, sacred rites and places so essential to conserving tradition.

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Community Cohesion, Self-actualization and Self-determination Contd.

• A well-displayed P3-DM is appealing, fuels community esteem and sense of intellectual ownership, and becomes part of the local cultural landscape.

• Villagers frequently use these models to introduce visitors to the area. This simple act signifies peer-to-peer information sharing and calls for silent acknowledgment of the existence of local knowledge: “We are on the map. We do exist! We know where we are, and what surrounds us!”

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Improving Communication

• Relief models provide local stakeholders with a powerful medium for easing communication and overcoming language barriers.

• In providing open access to information, P3-DM add transparency and create common grounds for discussion.

• P3DM bridge language barriers and ease communication on issues bound to the territory and its resources. This is particularly relevant for people having different education levels, cultural backgrounds and eventually diverse or conflicting interests.

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Supporting Traditional Knowledge and

Intellectual Property Rights

• P3DM offers bird’s eye view and a common perspective from which to acquire a holistic view of the landscape wherein landmarks and salient features are visible to everyone.

• Enhances the capacity of individuals to analyze the territory from a comprehensive planning point of view and to interact on a peer-to-peer basis.

• P3-DM is excellent tools for collaborative planning and helps stakeholders in dealing with issues and conflicts associated with the territory and the use of its resources.

• This is extremely useful in any planning exercise because users can establish visual relations between resources, tenure, their use and jurisdiction.

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Collaborative Research

• What substantially differentiates the method from other modern geographic information technologies like aerial photography and satellite imagery is that it can visualize invisible features like values, tenure, resource use domains, sacred areas, spatially defined rights, cultural boundaries, and others.

• If the method is applied in a genuinely participatory manner, it generates relatively accurate qualitative and quantitative geo-referenced data that are intellectually owned and understood by those who have compiled them.

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Exploring Water Bodies

• The possibility of using P3-DM for mapping out water bodies deserves special mention, due to the partially hidden nature of these environments and the value of human cognition in its description and depiction.

• Mapping out wetlands and coastal areascharacterized by shallow waters is difficult, because of their instability and frequent change (e.g. river deltas).

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Collaborative Protected Area Management

• Generating spatial geo-referenced data based on a community perspective on land use, vegetation cover, resource distribution, tenure, etc.

• Storing and displaying such data at protected area/community level;

• Involving communities in developing resource use and management plans including zoning and boundary delineation;

• Conducting preliminary collaborative research on distribution of species;

• Supporting the learning of local geography and resource use by students

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Management of Conflicts Bound to the

Territory and its Resources

• At grassroots level, P3-D models can help in

dealing with conflicts bound to the territory

(e.g. boundary disputes) through the

visualization of the landscape, and the

provision of vantage points shared by the

conflicting parties.

• In addition, a 3-D model provides contenders

with equitable access to information, adding

transparency and reducing the space for

subjective interpretations.

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Steps for constructing P3DM

Topo Map

Digitizing the map

Preparing base map

Preparing base map

Tracing

Cutting the cardboard

Putting the Glue

Strengthening with Nails

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Pressing the card boards

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Strengthening with Crip Papers

26Legend Explanation by Elders

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Drawing the rivers

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Painting the Mountain Tops

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Putting cognitive knowledge on the model

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Explaining their Landscape

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Finished Legend

32Discussing on the final model

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The Final Model

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Few points about

Eco-cultural Mapping

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THANK YOU