Analysis of ecosystem services provision in the Colombian Amazon using participatory research and mapping techniques

Over the last two decades indigenous peoples in the lower Caquetá River basin in Colombia have experienced detrimental changes in the provision of important ecosystem services in ways that have significant implications for the maintenance of their traditional livelihoods. To assess these changes we conducted eight participatory mapping activities and convened 22 focus group discussions. We focused the analysis on two types of change: (1) changes in the location of ecosystem services provisioning areas and (2) changes in the stock of ecosystem services. The focal ecosystem services include services such as provision of food, raw materials and medicinal resources. Results from the study show that in the past two decades the demand for food and raw materials has intensified and, as a result, locations of provisioning areas and the stocks of ecosystem services have changed. We found anecdotal evidence that these changes correlate well with socio-economic factors such as greater need for income generation, change in livelihood practices and consumption patterns. We discuss the use of participatory mapping techniques in the context of marginalized and data-poor regions. We also show how this kind of information can strengthen existing ecosystem-based management strategies used by indigenous peoples in the Colombian Amazon

Toward Inclusive Landscape Governance in Contested Landscapes : Exploring the Contribution of Participatory Tools in the Upper Suriname River Basin

Nowadays, tropical forest landscapes are commonly characterized by a multitude of interacting institutions and actors with competing land-use interests. In these settings, indigenous and tribal communities are often marginalized in landscape-level decision making. Inclusive landscape governance inherently integrates diverse knowledge systems, including those of indigenous and tribal communities. Increasingly, geo-information tools are recognized as appropriate tools to integrate diverse interests and legitimize the voices, values, and knowledge of indigenous and tribal communities in landscape governance. In this paper, we present the contribution of the integrated application of three participatory geo-information tools to inclusive landscape governance in the Upper Suriname River Basin in Suriname: (i) Participatory 3-Dimensional Modelling, (ii) the Trade-off! game, and (iii) participatory scenario planning. The participatory 3-dimensional modelling enabled easy participation of community members, documentation of traditional, tacit knowledge and social learning. The Trade-off! game stimulated capacity building and understanding of land-use trade-offs. The participatory scenario planning exercise helped landscape actors to reflect on their own and others’ desired futures while building consensus. Our results emphasize the importance of systematically considering tool attributes and key factors, such as facilitation, for participatory geo-information tools to be optimally used and fit with local contexts. The results also show how combining the tools helped to build momentum and led to diverse yet complementary insights, thereby demonstrating the benefits of integrating multiple tools to address inclusive landscape governance issues

Assessing spatial equity in access to service-provisioning hotspots in data-scarce tropical forests regions under external pressure

Equity is an essential element in the implementation of policies related to ecosystem services. With the rapid expansion of commercial land use into tropical forest regions, the urgency and importance to integrate equity issues in space and time in decisions and actions stand without doubt. However, data scarcity in these regions limits the understanding of factors that affect spatial and temporal aspects of equity. This again emphasizes the need of rapid and robust ways to address spatio-temporal patterns of equity that are especially suited for data-scarce regions. This study addresses this gap. We assess the factors that have an influence on spatial equity through an empirical study that compares two sub-regions in the Upper Suriname River Basin. In the first sub-region, some logging and road building occur; the other, however, is more remote and such interventions are not yet developed but merely planned. We collected spatial data for 1995 and 2015 using a participatory GIS survey (n = 493), registering provisioning service hotspots. We then explored spatial equity, according to clan and authority position, by analyzing variation over time and across regions in relation to access capabilities of these users. In the region with roads and logging, spatial equity concerns emerged over time regarding the provision of timber and fish. In the remote region, spatial inequity in access to fish provisioning hotspots of ecosystem services increased while it showed a decreasing trend for timber. In outlining spatial equity concerns, we argue that spatial equity analysis unveils an essential social dimension in the use of the space that is integral in spatial planning processes in data scarce forest regions under external pressures

Assessing spatial equity in access to service-provisioning hotspots in data-scarce tropical forests regions under external pressure

Equity is an essential element in the implementation of policies related to ecosystem services. With the rapid expansion of commercial land use into tropical forest regions, the urgency and importance to integrate equity issues in space and time in decisions and actions stand without doubt. However, data scarcity in these regions limits the understanding of factors that affect spatial and temporal aspects of equity. This again emphasizes the need of rapid and robust ways to address spatio-temporal patterns of equity that are especially suited for data-scarce regions. This study addresses this gap. We assess the factors that have an influence on spatial equity through an empirical study that compares two sub-regions in the Upper Suriname River Basin. In the first sub-region, some logging and road building occur; the other, however, is more remote and such interventions are not yet developed but merely planned. We collected spatial data for 1995 and 2015 using a participatory GIS survey (n = 493), registering provisioning service hotspots. We then explored spatial equity, according to clan and authority position, by analyzing variation over time and across regions in relation to access capabilities of these users. In the region with roads and logging, spatial equity concerns emerged over time regarding the provision of timber and fish. In the remote region, spatial inequity in access to fish provisioning hotspots of ecosystem services increased while it showed a decreasing trend for timber. In outlining spatial equity concerns, we argue that spatial equity analysis unveils an essential social dimension in the use of the space that is integral in spatial planning processes in data scarce forest regions under external pressures