This document summarizes the results of a land use mapping project in rural communities. The project had the objectives of developing participatory land use plans, ensuring proper implementation, and providing communities evidence of their natural resource base. The approach involved collaborative work with communities through iterative discussion, field work, map drafting, and validation. Key lessons included the time and expense required, challenges distinguishing some land uses, and communities' primary interest in cadastral mapping and naming natural features. With quality images and ongoing community workshops, the land use planning process shows prospects to continue.

1. Land Use Mapping:
Results, experience & lessons learnt
Henry David Bayoh
Field Coordinator/LUP & GIS Data Processing Officer
Environmental Foundation For Africa
Bo Office

2. Objectives

FoSED objectives:

Develop participatroy land use plans in some
communities.

Ensure proper implementation

The peoples objectives:

Avoid conflict (land is an emotive subject)

Maintain status quo (ie ensure current owners and
users don't loose out or gain unfairly)

Have evidence of their natural resource base

3. Approach: collaborative and iterative

Collaborative – with the people, (by the people), for
the people

Iterative -

Discussion with communities

Field work with community guides

Draft map (based on image interpretation)

Discussion with communities (in groups)

Field work with community representatives

Training of community rep's in use of GPS and data
collection

Revision of map

Validation and verification

Periodic updates

4. Technology

Location and attribute data (GPS - global
positioning system), hand held device records
geographic location; user records “attributes”
(cover, use, ownership, condition etc etc)

manual image interpretation (GoogleEarth)

Cartography (map making and printing)
(ArcMap)

5. Global Positioning System

Four or five devices tested – more complex
devices take longer to learn but are quicker in
the field

Need to use device regularly as knowledge
decays quickly and they can be frustrating to
use

Need basic literacy skills but primary school
education probably enough

Have taught 16 community members how to
use GPS; most (but not all) got to basic level in
1 day. (a further 8 in land use planning)

6. Image Interpretation

Initial interpretation using GoogleEarth

Advantages:

Simple to learn (a few hours)

Free
Disadvantages:
Limited capability (eg will not measure areas
unless you pay for the “professional” version)
Must be “on-line” (ie connected to the Internet)
Cartography capability poor (i.e. Difficult to print
nicely)

7. swamp
school village “trees”
Farm bush

8. Village

9. School

10. Swamp – once improved now abandoned?

11. Inland valley swamps in matrix of farm bush

12. Trees, swamps, oil palm village

13. Oil palm
Improved swamp

14. Small islands, trees, bamboo and rafia palm

15. Cemetry (forest)
Mixed plantationvillage
School
Overgrown swamp

16. Cartography and Printing

ArcMap

Advantages:

Can do almost anything with spatial data

Don't have to be connected to Internet
Disadvantages:
Stupidly expensive
Mind-numbingly complex
Most basic level users have specialist training at
MSc level, plus daily use for 6 months or a year

17. Leasons Learnt - Technical

Need recent high quality, high resolution
images and these do not always exist

Done properly (ie with and for the communities)
the process is time consuming and therefore
expensive.

Mixed plantations and natural forests can be
very difficult to distinguish

Remains of swamp development (abandoned
swamps) more visible from the air than the
ground.

18. Image Quality

19. Clouds

20. Leasons Learnt - social

Communities primarily interested in cadastral
mapping (ie mapping ownership and
boundaries)

Teaching local people how to use GPS feasible
and attractive

Having different people do the field work and
the office work is a very BAD idea

Local people are able to interpet / use
“conventional” maps

People want the names of natural features (eg
streams, swamps) to appear on the maps

21. Prospects

Where recent, high quality, high resolution
images are available the process can be
carried out.

Workshops have been held in many of these
communities to discuss formal land use
planning

Communities encountered so far are positive
about mapping and have their own ideas about
what should constitute planning.

22. Thank you

Henry David Bayoh

EFA Office, Bo

Tel: +232(0)76879222
“Everything can always be done better than it is.”
…Henry Ford