Showing posts with label Tropenbos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tropenbos. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Mapping deep in the jungle: our experience among Saramaccan Peoples

In July 2015 local residents and leaders from 14 indigenous Saramaccan villages, located along the upper Suriname River, collaborated with local and international NGOs to create a physical 3D representation of their traditional land and waters using participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM). The mapped area is sparsely populated and characterised by externally-driven logging and mining activities. The mapping process, provided participants with a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the landscape, its interlocked ecosystems, and potential impacts of road development and related extractive activities. This enabled them to formulate informed opinions on how best to develop, preserve and manage the traditional territories.

The process has highlighted how effective P3DM is when it comes to bottom-up and inclusive landscape planning. Helping communities to build a 3D model of their territory is proving to be an effective way for knowledge held by different individuals to be collated, geo-referenced and visualised, thus generating a powerful pool of data mostly unknown to the outside world. If strategically used, this data could shift the balance of power in favour of those who would otherwise not be included in decision-making processes.

The blog below was written by Nicholas Fields (INTASAVE Caribbean/CARIBSAVE) and Gaitrie Satnarain (CARIBSAVE Associate at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname).

CARIBSAVE was invited by Tropenbos International Suriname (TBI) and CTA to participate in a Participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM) exercise, conducted on 21–31 July 2015, as part of the above-mentioned project. Our group included representatives from TBI (including persons of Saramaccan origin), students and staff from the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, and ourselves – representing CARIBSAVE. Sponsored by CTA, our participation in the exercise helped us to understand and appreciate the P3DM process and now enables us to replicate it within our own projects in the Caribbean region. It is our intention to share what we have learned with our colleagues and build capacity within our own organisation.

What is P3DM?

P3DM is an inclusive process of building a physical 3D model of a specific area that details how communities use the natural environment – has demonstrated its significance and practicality beyond rudimentary research and data collection purposes. P3DM has proved to be an effective tool for bringing a diverse group of stakeholders, including representatives from the villages, community-based and non-governmental organisations, technical people and policy-makers, to the table to exchange ideas, perspectives and information; strengthen and build new relationships; support decision-making related to land use; and re-invigorate a desire to protect the environment and to use our resources sustainably for the benefit of current and coming generations.

A long journey to a remote location

On the first day we travelled three hours by bus followed by two hours by canoe to the Saramaccan village of Pikin Slee (which means ‘small village’ – although it is, ironically, one of the most inhabited and visited villages in the Upper Suriname basin) and the neighbouring ecolodge, Pasensie. From the river, the village does look deceptively small, but on traversing inland you can see that the landscape is dotted with variously sized dwellings used for domestic and communal activities. Saramaccan way of life is modest, with irregular access to amenities that one would have in the city (with the exception of smartphone/mobile devices, which are abundant).

Mapping the environment

We were warmly welcomed by the villagers upon arrival. The next five days were extremely busy assembling the blank model – that is a plain, white, three-dimensional canvas prior to any painting, drawing or pinning. The blank canvas is comprised of stacked layers of foam board material, with each layer representing an altitude interval, and shaped according to the specific altitude contour. The result is a scaled and geo-referenced three-dimensional canvas of hills, valleys, plains and depressions of the real-life landscape. The actual size of the area modelled was approximately 2,232 km2 and, with a horizontal scale of 1:15,000, the model developed into a rather large construction, involving five tables of approximately 1.6 x 1.2 m each.

Model construction is exciting as well as intensive, and the teenagers from a village-based school who took part in this process would certainly agree on this! The facilitators helped the students to trace each contour onto the foam boards, cutting these accordingly and affixing each layer of board to the model. Once the foam boards were cut according to the contours and stacked, the model was covered with plaster to allow for painting, which is perhaps the most labour-intensive component of the process, requiring precision, accuracy and careful attention to detail. The team had some initial challenges with matching and/or aligning contour maps, foam board pieces and uneven table tops, as well as working with the foam board itself. Understanding the nature of the problems, considering possible corrections and subsequent improvement was an important part of the learning process.

Mapping the knowledge

The next phase of the exercise, which took another 4–4½ days, involved populating the blank model with data on land cover and use (e.g. forests, agricultural land), locations of villages and estimated populations, and types and locations of activities associated with the villages and their inhabitants. The map legend – outlining what features would be located and visualised on the model – was finalised beforehand by the facilitators and representatives from the different villages located within the modelled area.

This stage was the most crucial and sensitive. Local residents and leaders had full autonomy entering data on the model at this point. This helped building buy-in and ownership of the process by the villagers, and minimising interference or perception of bias by the facilitators. Local residents spearheaded the process of identifying and marking features, place names and locations of activities. The facilitators (mainly the TBI team members of Saramaccan origin) offered only moderate guidance, taking care not to influence the direction of discussion except in the interest of maintaining consistency in the use of legend items, scale, focus and time, or mediating diverging opinions when these arose. Only agreed data were placed on the model. Specific locations and activities of cultural, spiritual or – in some cases – economic significance were not visualised, in the locals’ interest of protecting their security and inviolability.



Despite the fact that locals were given autonomy at this stage, some of them were distrustful of the process, fearing possible coercion, exploitation and vested interests by outsiders. The presence and interaction of the Saramaccan facilitators in the TBI team helped to alleviate most of these fears. Still, it was intriguing to observe the sometimes animated dialogue between locals as they detailed various parts of the model – indicating primary and secondary forest areas, tracks and paths, and places of work, domestic and recreational use.

We learned a lot there by observing and implementing the P3DM activity. And the strong multi-cultural element added another dimension. The indigenous Maroon groups were working with their own set of norms, practices and structures, which were very different to those that the external facilitators were used to. Including the participants and facilitators, the 10-day exercise brought together people of at least five nationalities and ethnic groups. At any given time during the activities, there were at least three languages at play: chief of these being Saramaccan, Dutch and English, with intercessions in Spanish and Arkans. While there were some slight communication barriers, none was too difficult to overcome – in fact, this made the experience much more amusing, and there were several side-lessons in foreign language vocabulary. There is no doubt that the group of facilitators also learned much over the two weeks, and established new personal and working relationships to build on in the future.

This P3DM exercise took dedication and was a large undertaking. Significant time and resources were required to co-ordinate and complete the model, particularly when the diversity of players and relative remoteness of the beneficiary groups are taken into consideration. However, the benefits of the exercise – first-hand participation in P3DM, learning and exchanging new information, connecting with people and building new rapports – were outstanding and will be long-lasting. The students’ participation also played an important educational role. We hope that they were able to appreciate the purpose of the model and will take forward what they learned from this process as they become leaders in the future.

Further impact: applying the knowledge gained

Since taking part in the exercise, CARIBSAVE has incorporated the P3DM methodology into one of its project proposals. It is planning to use the P3DM methodology for a participatory flooding hazard mapping and zoning exercise, as part of a larger comprehensive disaster management initiative. Through this exercise, community residents would produce a model that details flooding risk areas, vulnerable persons, infrastructure and emergency facilities as the basis for developing a community response plan.

Gaitrie Satnarain from Anton de Kom University intends to further what she has gained from the exercise by incorporating P3DM as a research tool within her upcoming doctoral study proposal. At the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, the Infrastructure Department in the Faculty of Science and Technology will also discuss potential opportunities with TBI to incorporate and promote P3DM for landscape planning research. CARIBSAVE will continue to explore and incorporate the P3DM methodology into its future projects to support building knowledge and capacity in climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable ecosystem protection and management – especially to benefit vulnerable and otherwise-marginalised groups it works with.

Who is involved?

P3DM in Suriname is led by TBI, as part of a joint multi-scale initiative to model ecosystem services and land-use scenarios in the Upper Suriname River basin (see here), in conjunction with WWF Guianas, the University of Utrecht, and the Association of Saramacca Authorities (Vereniging van Saramakaanse Gezagsdragers [VSG]). The initiative is supported by CTA and the UNDP GEF-Small Grant Programme. Through this initiative, TBI aims “to contribute to improved understanding of the impacts of modern-day human interventions on forests, landscapes and people”. One of the project's results was the construction of a number of physical 3D models to visualise and assess human-environment interactions, particularly in the Upper Suriname River basin, which is inhabited by several indigenous Maroon villages and is also the focus of local and external logging and mining extractive activities.


The enabling power of participatory 3D mapping among the Saramaccan Peoples of Suriname (part 1 & 2) from CTA on Vimeo.

Online resources on Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS), including Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM)


  • View an interactive map of the world with locations and details of known P3DM exercises
  • Visit the website on Integrated Approaches to Participatory Development (IAPAD).

Stay connected


  • Join the e-discussion around PGIS in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese
  • Are you interested in promoting the use of PGIS for adding value to traditional knowledge, empowering grassroots and conducting participatory land use planning in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries? Join us on Twitter @PGISatCTA and like our Facebook page.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Being on a map means to exist: the Saramaccan experience

Saramaccan communities in Suriname seek government’s recognition of their traditional knowledge

On 23 February 2016, 18 Saramaccan community representatives from the Brownsweg and Upper Suriname River areas met in the capital city, Paramaribo, with key stakeholders and policymakers. The meeting was organised by the Saramaccan Peoples to share the results of a two-year process which led to the visualisation and documentation of their traditional environmental knowledge over a vast area.

Maps generated using data extracted from the 1:15000 scale participatory 3D model of the Brownsweg area (manufactured in November 2015), combined with the digital elevation model obtained from the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control, Suriname.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and maps may be even more effective in conveying messages when it comes to resource distribution and access. In fact the outcome of the process – which the Saramacca delegates proudly presented at the meeting – consisted of a series of community-generated physical and digital maps.

The maps and various data sets were produced in Saramaccan, English, and Dutch languages as a result of three Participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) exercises that took place in 2014 and 2015, involving 220 residents, including women, youth and the elderly. A film documentary about the process was released in 2015 in Saramaccan, English, and French.


Saramaccan leaders highlighted the uniqueness of the data the communities were able to collate, geo-reference and visualise using highly sophisticated technology, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Benefitting from external technical support, knowledge-holders were able to share their mental maps and memories which were used to populate blank 3D models.

The Saramaccan representatives drew attention to the relevance and accuracy of the data, and its accessibility to third parties, provided free prior informed consent for their use was given. "We made the map for it to be used. We want other people to make use of it. We only ask that the data is not used without involving us, the Saramaccan Peoples," concluded a community representative.

The Saramaccan delegates welcomed the use of the data for spatial planning purposes and called on the government and private investors to recognise them as key stakeholders and fully involve them when planning logging activities, protected area management and gold mining concessions within traditional Saramaccan lands.

They urged for the replication of P3DM processes in the rest of the Saramaccan territory so that a complete map of traditional Saramacca lands could be generated. To achieve this, they called on the government, development organisations, private sector, and NGOs present at the meeting to raise the necessary funds.

The event was hosted by Tropenbos International Suriname, WWF Guyanas and the Association of Saamaka Authorities.

In addition to Tropenbos International Suriname, project sponsors included the UNDP-GEF Small Grant Programme and CTA. Contributions by both organisations were duly acknowledged, with participants stating that their valuable contribution established a 'fertile ground' for community empowerment via P3DM which they considered to be a very innovative process. Participants also acknowledged that the P3DM process had inspired other communities who were now requesting support to deploy the P3DM process in their areas.


Saturday, August 08, 2015

Saamaka peoples upscale the use Participatory 3 Dimensional Modelling along the Upper Suriname River


In partnership with Tropenbos International Suriname (TBI), WWF, and the Association of Saamaka Authorities (VSG), CTA introduced the Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) process in Suriname in 2014. Due to the successful outcome of the 1st exercise, VSG – supported by TBI – applied for support from UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP) for extending the mapped area and upscale the community based planning exercise along the Upper Suriname River, towards the interior of the country.

Once GEF-SGP released the funds, a second P3DM exercise took place in June and July 2015. Areas that are important for the community’s way of life, particularly areas with high cultural and historical value were at the core of the process. Over an 11-day period, a total of ~65 representatives from 10 villages traveled to the village of Pikin Slee, to collectively determine a representative portion of Saamaka traditional land as a 3D physical map (built at a 1:15,000 scale).

The map was conceived with the specific objective of empowering local communities to play an active role in sound land-use and sustainable development. Saamaka participants populated the 3D model with locations of ecosystem services and cultural and historical landscape of value. With this, P3DM is demonstrating its utility in both socio-ecological production landscape based research, as well as in collaborative historical, cultural and ethno-archaeology studies in Suriname.

In this context, Tropenbos International Suriname is collaborating with the History Department of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Faculty of Humanity so that historical and contemporary cultural landscape use and services are better portrayed.

Notes: The project is granted to the Association of Saamaka Authorities (VSG), executed by Tropenbos International Suriname and financially supported by the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme. CTA supported the participation of 2 delegates from CARIBSAVE in the exercise to ensure wider replication of the process in the Caribbean region.

More on 2014 P3DM activities in Suriname:



Friday, October 10, 2014

Une carte en 3D financée par le CTA aide une tribu à consigner et à articuler son savoir traditionnel

Les Saramaca installés le long du Haut Suriname espèrent qu'un système d'information géographique proposé par Tropenbos International et le CTA leur permettra de surmonter le traumatisme provoqué par la perte de leurs terres historiques voilà cinq décennies, dont les effets se font sentir aujourd'hui encore. Lors de l'édition 2014 de la Semaine caribéenne de l'agriculture, Godfried Adjako, l'un des chefs des Saramaca, a parlé de l'expérience de son peuple à l'occasion d'un séminaire présenté le jeudi par Giacomo Rambaldi du Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale ACP-UE (CTA) et Rudi van Kanten de Tropenbos International, sur le thème de la cartographie participative en 3D (CP3D).

Par le biais de son interprète Debora Linga, Adjako a expliqué que depuis que Tropenbos a encouragé les Saramaca à produire une carte P3D de leur propre territoire, en début d'année, ce peuple dépossédé de ses terres retrouve espoir. Les Saramaca ont été déplacés contre leur gré lorsque le gouvernement du Suriname a lancé la construction du barrage d'Afobaka dans les années 1960 : avec la création du réservoir de Brokopondo, ce sont toutes leurs terres qui ont été inondées, les forçant à déménager de leur forêt équatoriale vers d'autres villages saramaca. Linga explique que ce départ subi « nous affecte quotidiennement... encore aujourd'hui. Les Saramaca ne cessent d'en parler. »

Le projet de carte participative en 3D, promu entre autres par le CTA, a été achevée le mois dernier. Elle repose sur le savoir géographique du peuple indigène. Elle présente clairement tous les points importants : en prenant les ruisseaux et les rivières comme principaux points de repère, elle situe les terres de chasse, les fermes, les routes, les villages, les forêts et d'autres infrastructures des Saramaca. Cette carte ne repose pas sur des données scientifiques, mais sur le savoir local traditionnel.

Van Kanten a expliqué que cette carte a ensuite été « géoréférencée et numérisée pour être utilisée lors des prises de décision. » Il précise que la carte permet d'expliquer aux personnes extérieures comment les Saramaca exploitent la forêt, en donnant des informations qui pourront être utilisées à des fins de développement local, notamment pour raccorder les villages à l'électricité et à l'eau courante, ou pour créer des dispensaires et des écoles. En évoquant l'histoire et les traditions des Saramaca, la carte sert également à transmettre le savoir aux nouvelles générations.

La carte « modélise les conséquences du changement sur les biens et les services de l'écosystème et sur les moyens de subsistance dans la forêt », ajoute-t-il, ce qui peut aider les membres du gouvernement qui prévoient des programmes de développement économique dans la région.

Rambaldi est un pionnier de la cartographie participative en 3D. Après l'avoir fait découvrir au CTA, où il travaille désormais, il l'utilise aujourd'hui dans le monde entier. Rambaldi a expliqué que dans les PEID, la modélisation gagne en popularité dans les stratégies d'adaptation au changement climatique. En plus d'aider à atténuer les risques de catastrophes naturelles, elle permet de mieux gérer et de résoudre les conflits territoriaux. Enfin, elle offre aux peuples indigènes une certaine autodétermination vis-à-vis de leurs terres.

Pour autant, cette carte ne mentionne pas toutes les informations importantes pour le peuple Saramaca. Adjako a expliqué que la carte n'indique pas les cimetières sacrés par exemple, pas plus qu'elle ne situe les réserves aurifères, a précisé Linga.

Cette dernière a expliqué que le peuple Saramaca souhaite que cette carte puisse être utilisée par les personnes et les entités intéressées par la région, et qu'il valait donc mieux ne pas divulguer des informations aussi sensibles. Rambaldi a précisé qu'aux Philippines, certains peuples indigènes qui avaient révélé toutes les informations les concernant sur leur carte en 3D ont été victimes de voleurs et d'individus mal intentionnés. « Il est important de faire un choix quant aux informations qui seront rendues publiques », déclare-t-il.


Auteur : Jewel Fraser

Friday, October 03, 2014

CTA-funded 3D map helping tribe document and articulate their traditional knowledge

Saramaccans settled along the Upper Suriname River have expressed the hope that a form of Geographical Information Systems introduced by Tropenbos International and CTA will ensure they will better cope with the trauma provoked by their relocation from their traditional lands five decades ago, the effects of which are still being experienced. Saramaccan chief Godfried Adjako was sharing their experience on Thursday with an audience at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2014, during a seminar on Participatory 3D Mapping (P3DM), led by Giacomo Rambaldi of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and Rudi van Kanten of Trobenpos International.

Speaking through an interpreter, Debora Linga, Adjako told the audience that Trobenpos' intervention earlier this year to encourage the Saramaccan people to produce a P3D map of their territory had brought hope to a people who had lost all their lands. They were forcibly resettled after the Surinamese government built the Afobaka Dam in the 1960s, which created the Brokopondo Reservoir, flooding miles of rainforest where they had formerly lived and forcing them to move to other Saramaccan villages.

Linga said this forcible resettlement "on a daily basis...still affects our lives. Saramaccan people talk about it very often."

The P3D map, work on which was co-sponsored by CTA and completed last month, is based on the indigenous people's knowledge of their territory. It clearly plots all important points of interest, using creeks and rivers as the main markers and showing where things like hunting grounds, farms, roads, villages, forests and other infrastructure of the Saramaccan are located. It is not a scientific map but based on local, traditional knowledge.

Van Kanten explained that this map was then "geo-referenced and digitized so that it can be used in decision making." He said the map explains the Saramaccan's use of the forest to others and provides information which can then be used for planning local development, including the introduction of electricity, running water, medical posts and schools. It also serves as a means of transferring knowledge to the younger generation of Saramaccans about their people's history and traditions.

The map "models the impact of change on ecosystem goods and services and the forest livelihood," he added, which can help government officials when they are considering plans for economic development of the region.

Rambaldi is a pioneer of P3D mapping. He introduced it to the CTA where he now works and has used it in various regions around the world. Rambaldi told the audience the model mapping is increasingly used in climate change adaptation planning among SIDS. It is also used in disaster risk reduction, and the management and amelioration of territorial conflicts. It also helps indigenous people enjoy self-determination with regard to their lands.

Nevertheless, the map does not contain all important information pertaining to the Saramaccan people. Adjako explained that sacred burial grounds are not included on the map. Linga added that the location of gold reserves in the area are likewise not mapped.

She explained that the Saramaccan people thought it wise to withhold some sensitive information even though they wish to make the map widely available to others interested in the area to use. Rambaldi pointed out that in the Philippines, where some indigenous people had given full disclosure of all data available on their 3D map, they had suffered losses to thieves and others with bad intentions. "It is important to decide what information should be made public or kept confidential," he said.

Written by Jewel Fraser

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Les forêts des Saramaca : les cours d'eau au coeur d'un exercice de modélisation participative en trois dimensions le long du Haut Suriname

JAW JAW, SURINAME, le 6 septembre 2014. Depuis Atjoni (Suriname), il faut 40 minutes en pirogue à moteur pour atteindre Jaw Jaw, village parsemé sur les rives du puissant fleuve Suriname. Environ 17 000 Afro-Surinamais, membres de la tribu des Saramaca, vivent dans cette région. Leurs moyens de subsistance sont la culture itinérante, la pêche, la chasse, la récolte de produits sylvicoles, les services de transport fluvial, les programmes d'emploi du secteur public et les aides envoyées par des proches.

Pendant 10 jours, une centaine de représentants de 14 villages (totalisant environ 5 000 habitants) situés le long du fleuve Suriname, en aval du village de Lespansi, ont participé à l'assemblage d'une impressionnante maquette, à l'échelle 1:15 000, d'une zone couvrant environ 2 160 km2. Des jeunes (principalement des filles) du village de Jaw Jaw ont assemblé la maquette vierge d'après les conseils de représentants de Tropenbos International Suriname et du Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale (CTA). Des hommes et des femmes saramaca de tous les âges ont complété cette maquette avec 38 types de repères qu'ils estiment utiles à leur orientation, leur subsistance et leur culture.

Avec l'autorisation libre, préalable et éclairée des représentants des villages, les ensembles de données ont été archivés sous forme de photographies numériques haute résolution, qui seront importées dans un environnement SIG de confiance par Tropenbos.

Lors de l'ajout des repères à la maquette, il est apparu qu'en l'absence de caractéristiques géographiques visibles comme des collines ou des montagnes (la zone est relativement plate), les Saramaca utilisent les cours d'eaux pour s'orienter sur la carte. C'est pourquoi ils ont commencé par obtenir un consensus sur l'emplacement et le nom de tous les cours d'eaux des zones concernées. Ils ont ainsi identifié cinq types de cours d'eau, qu'ils distinguent selon leur largeur, leur caractère navigable et leur accessibilité saisonnière par bateau.

Le samedi 6 septembre 2014, des représentants des villages ont présenté leur travail à des représentants d'agences gouvernementales (le Ministère du développement régional, le Ministère de l'agriculture, de l'élevage et de la chasse, la Commission sur l'exploitation aurifère au Suriname [OGS] et la Fondation pour la gestion et le contrôle de la production des forêts [SBB]), du CTA, de la Fondation pour le développement de l'arrière-pays (FOB), d'organisations non gouvernementales (WWF-Guianas, Tropenbos International Suriname, Amazon Conservation Team [ACT], l'Association des chefs de villages indigènes du Suriname [VIDS]), d'organisations locales (Wan Mama Pikin et l'Association des autorités saramaca [VSG]), du secteur privé (les propriétaires de gîtes du Haut Suriname [LBS]) ainsi que des médias nationaux (DWT et Surinaamse Televisie Stichting [STVS]).

Les représentants des villages ont présenté la maquette et expliqué le processus de définition, d'affinement et d'actualisation de sa légende, tout en décrivant les débats animés qui ont conduit à l'installation des repères sur la maquette vierge. Non sans fierté, ils ont indiqué que le modèle sera exposé dans l'un des villages facilement accessible depuis l'extérieur, afin de faciliter les processus de négotiation et de planification. Aux yeux des villageois, la maquette est désormais un outil qui leur permettra de planifier leur propre développement et favorisera les interactions avec les promoteurs, les investisseurs et les décideurs.

M. Erwin Fonkel, chef du village de Jaw Jaw, a rappelé un point essentiel lors de l'entretien qu'il a accordé à STVS TV : « Cet exercice de cartographie me semble essentiel : par le passé, nous nous étions essayés à la cartographie mais en omettant de nombreuses informations. Nous avons élaboré nous-mêmes cette maquette, et avons davantage fait entendre notre voix lors de la définition de son contenu. Auparavant, les cartes omettaient de nombreux lieux primordiaux, des rivières, des lieux où trouver des ressources et générer des revenus. »

Le programme de paysagisme productif de Tropenbos International Suriname et la Stratégie de renforcement des compétences pour la planification de l'aménagement territorial au Suriname de WWF Guianas utilisera la maquette pour impliquer les parties prenantes dans l'élaboration de scénarios d'aménagement territorial et procéder à des évaluations participatives des services écologiques. Comme l'avaient prévu plusieurs chefs locaux, la maquette, désormais confiée au peuple saramaca, sera utilisée pour formuler des propositions d'investissements en matière d'infrastructures locales et de développement durable, par exemple pour des raccordements électriques et du tourisme vert.



Remarque : cette activité s'est déroulée dans le cadre du projet « Modéliser les compromis entre les scénarios d'aménagement territorial et les services écologiques dans la région du Haut Suriname ». La composante participative de la cartographie avait pour vocation d'autonomiser les villages afin de faire entendre leur voix et leur donner un rôle actif, autant dans la gestion de leurs terres et de leurs ressources naturelles que dans les processus de prise de décision dont ils dépendent.

Read the English version

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Saramakan’s forests: watercourses at the core of a Participatory 3D Modelling exercise along the Upper Suriname River

JAW JAW, SURINAME, 6 September 2014. From Atjoni, Suriname, it takes 40 minutes by motorised longboat to reach Jaw Jaw, a village sprinkled along the shores of the mighty upper Suriname River. This area is home to approximately 17,000 Afro-Surinamese people belonging to the Saramakan tribe. These people survive on shifting cultivation, fishing, hunting, harvesting of timber and non-timber forests products, boat transport services, government employment and remittances from outside the area.

Saramaka Peoples populating the 3D model
with recollections from memory
Over a 10-day period some 100 representatives from 14 villages (representing a population of approximately 5,000 people) bordering the Suriname River downstream of the village of Lespansi worked together to assemble a stunning 1:15,000 scale three-dimensional (3D) physical map of an area covering approximately 2,160 km2. Youngsters (mainly girls) from Jaw Jaw village assembled the blank model under the guidance of representatives from Tropenbos International Suriname and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA). Saramakan adults (men and women), including elders, populated the model with 38 types of feature they consider relevant for their orientation, livelihoods and culture.

The village representatives populated the map with features they consider as relevant for their orientation, livelihoods and culture. The final map legend account for a total of 38 features depicted as points (21), lines (9) and polygons (8). With free prior and informed consent obtained from community representatives, the datasets were captured using high-resolution digital photography and will be digitised and imported into a GIS environment held in trust by Tropenbos.

In the process of populating the 3D model with information, it appeared that – in the absence of outstanding landmarks like hills or mountains  (the mapped area is relatively flat) – the Saramaka used water courses to orient themselves on the map. Hence, they first had to discuss and reach general consensus on the location and names of all watercourses in the areas they were concerned with. This led them to identify five types of watercourses, differentiated according to width, navigability and seasonal accessibility by boat.

Participants in the closing ceremony
On Saturday, 6 September 2014, representatives of the local communities presented their work to representatives of government agencies (the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, the Commission on Ordering of the Gold Mining Sector in Suriname [OGS] and the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control [SBB]), CTA, the Foundation for Development of the Hinterlands (FOB) and non-governmental organisations (WWF-GuianasTropenbos International Suriname, Amazon Conservation Team [ACT], the Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs in Suriname [VIDS]), community-based organisations (Wan Mama Pikin and The Association of Saramaka Authorities [VSG]), the private sector (Lodgeholders upper Suriname River [LBS]) and the national media (DWT and Surinaamse Televisie Stichting [STVS]).

The local community representatives presented the 3D map and explained the process that led to the formulation of the map legend and its fine-tuning and updating and described the animated discussions that led to the population of the blank model. Proudly, they stated that the model will be hosted within one of their villages that is easily accessible to outsiders to facilitate negotiations and planning processes. The villagers now consider the 3D model as a tool for planning their own development and interacting with developers, investors and policy makers.

The head of Jaw Jaw village, Mr Erwin Fonkel, made a key point in his interview with STVS TV: “I find this mapping exercise very important, because in the past we did some mapping but failed to include a lot of information. Now we have elaborated the map ourselves and we had a stronger voice on defining its content. In maps produced in the past several important locations, creeks and places where you can find resources and generate income, were not included.

The Productive Landscape Programme of Tropenbos International Suriname and the Capacity Building Strategy for Land Use Planning in Suriname of WWF Guianas will use the 3D model to involve stakeholders in elaborating land-use scenarios and conducting participatory assessments of ecosystem services. As anticipated by several local captains, the 3D model, now under the custodianship of the Saramaka people, will be used to elaborate proposals for investments in local infrastructure and sustainable development such as electrification and ecotourism.

View of the Upper Suriname River at Jaw Jaw

Jaw Jaw village around the community meeting point where the
3D model was manufactured
Note: This activity took place in the context of the project “Modelling trade-offs between land-use scenarios and ecosystem services in the upper Suriname River area”. The CTA-funded participatory mapping component  was conceived to empower local communities to have a voice and play an active role in managing their land and natural resources and decision-making processes that affect these.