Participatory mapping for community forestry

Participatory mapping is used as a way of collecting complex socio- economic and bio-physical data needed to understand the relationships between farming and forests. This has been used in Nepal where there is little other information available to fieldworkers. boundaries, features and uses of forests can be recorded, although field workers have a tendency to construct sketch maps themselves with little consultation with villagers. Participatory mapping overcomes the problem of fieldworker bias and allows a much greater amount of information to be portrayed on the map. Different user groups or key informant can produce different maps depending on their perception and use of the forest. Participatory maps are generally more accurate than fieldworker produced maps. They are considered to be detailed, non threatening, reliable and cost effective.