This video presents the reflections of Ben Osuga (Uganda Community Based Health Care Association) on a trip to Scotland to learn how PRA is used in the North and how has influenced policy change. The video shows meetings with forestry officials and PRA activities with rural people. These emphasise the difference in views and understanding between forestry officials and people living in rural areas.
As part of a course in forestry and participation, 27 forestry officials from Africa, Asia and Scotland spent 10 days in County Kilkenny, Ireland, using PRA and visualisation methods to help local people develop a local forestry action plan. During meetings with local people, visual tools were used to encourage them to express their preferences about the environment. Methods used included resource and social mapping, Venn diagrams, and matrix ranking or tree species preferences. Local people's views were relayed to the local council, thus giving them a say in environmental management. One local council member recognised the need for better communication and broader consultation between the council and local people.
This short video shows the use of participatory mapping and action planning processes in discussions about the management of the Solway Firth, Scotland. People with various interests participated in the meetings. Groups mapped the area and suggested ideas for changes. These were then scored and discussed, leading to the creation of action plans with achievable aims. The video also presents reflections by workshop participants on the participatory appraisal process. Among the comments are that it facilitated the focusing of ideas, working together, and helped overcome mistrust between the users of the Solway and other groups.