Support the spread of “good practice” in generating, managing, analysing and communicating spatial information Ground and Sketch Mapping By: Julius Muchemi (ERMIS Africa) Unit: M08U01

Presentation outline Introduction –Ground mapping –Sketch mapping Map legend Transect walk Mental map analysis Strengths Weaknesses

Introduction Ground and sketch mapping –Most commonly used method –Suitable when introducing mapping to a community

Ground mapping Most basic map- making method Drawn on the ground Uses raw materials (e.g. soil, pebbles, sticks, leaves) Facilitating a participatory integrated community development exercise in Somalia, Picture courtesy of Julius Muchemi, ERMIS Africa.

Ground mapping Participants store acquired knowledge as mental maps and mentally recompose it when needed Used to map physical and cultural landscapes as the local communities perceive them to be

Sketch mapping A slightly more elaborate mapping method that uses large sheets of craft paper Features are depicted with natural materials or, more often, with coloured pens or chalk Facilitating the development of a participatory forest management map in Karima Forest, Kenya Picture courtesy Julius Muchemi, ERMIS Africa

Sketch mapping Stakeholders usually have a range of choices regarding: –materials to use for the sketch map –symbols to use to visualise desired features Size of each feature reflects the importance that stakeholders attach to it

The map legend Information is preserved through documentation process Records are preserved in a legend and interpreted using depicted symbols A legend developed by local communities to aid in developing a sketch map for participatory forest management for Karima Forest, Kenya Picture courtesy Julius Muchemi, ERMIS Africa

Transect walk A cross-section ground-truthing exercise Traverses across entire landscape Covers ecological, production and social contexts along the chosen route RRA conducted in El Nido, Palawan in January – February 1997, National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP) Adapted from G. Rambaldi

Transect walk Assists in: –harmonising stakeholders’ understanding of the mapping context –making observations and confirming the field realities of the mapping outputs –eliciting a reality-based discussion about issues, constraints and potential for addressing them –diagramming the landscape features and related issues –analysing, planning and monitoring development initiatives

Transect walk A transect walk assists in ground-truthing: –man-made features (e.g. infrastructure, local markets and schools) –natural features (e.g. land-use types, vegetation zones, cultural sites, hills, rain, escarpments, valleys, plains and coastal areas)

Mental map analysis Mental map analysis is used to : –illustrate that different groups of people within communities or organisations have different perceptions about the same mapping space; –identify map features and determine their attributes, position, patterns, trends and relationships.

Strengths Local communities take a leading role to: –generate local and indigenous information –visualise spatial perceptions, skills and practices Engages non-expert users Stakeholders can relate to mapping products

Strengths Low-cost approaches to mapping Not technologically dependent Easily facilitated because they are tactile

Weaknesses Lack accuracy because they don’t rely on exact measurements or a consistent scale As a result, ground and sketch maps : –are not useful for location and quantitative accuracy –are not used to determine quantitative measurement (e.g. size, area, length) –lack authority with policy makers

Weaknesses Interpretation is subjective because the data don’t use a consistent scale Maps disappear when a wind blows