Sustainable Integrated Area Development in the Kaliwa Watershed

Selected Tools for Rapid Appraisal in Brgy. Mamuyao, Tanay, Rizal

Resource Mapping

Resource maps are one of the most commonly used PRA tools. The purpose of a resource map
is to understand the natural resources of an area, such as the rivers, fields, vegetation, etc. At
times, it can be difficult to distinguish between a natural resource map and a social map.
Generally though, social maps illustrate habitations, community facilities, roads, while resource
maps focus upon the natural resources of the community.

Resource Maps are quite powerful tools, as they take advantage of the communitys
unparalleled knowledge of their surroundings. Detailed visual representations of the position of
resources reflect candid perceptions of local people, and are therefore not drawn to scale. By
avoiding precise measurement to scale, new insights into the realities of access to services and
resources for different sectors of the community are illuminated.

Applications

Resource maps visually depict the location and condition of the natural resources of a
community, such as:
Bodies of water, irrigation sources, drainage systems, etc.
Crop development, cropping patterns, levels of productivity, etc.
Topography, terrain, and slopes
Forest, vegetation, and species
Land and land use, tenure, boundaries, and ownership

Process

Consult with the community members, and determine a convenient time and location to
conduct the exercise.
Once convened, explain the purpose of the resource map to the participants. Allow
participants to choose what materials they would prefer to use. Ask the participants to depict
the major resources of the village.
As the process unfolds, listen to the discussions carefully and take detailed notes of the
proceedings.
Create an environment where the participants are able to take initiative, and become deeply
involved in the process. Be cognizant of who is actively involved, and which sections of society
they belong to. Proactively involve those who are left out of the process.
If you require clarification, wait for the appropriate moment, and be careful not to interrupt
the process. Ask the community members, What about . . . ? or What does this symbol
represent?.
 If you require specific information, according to the purpose of the study, ask participants to
depict the information that you are interested in. For instance, you may be interested in
cropping patterns, access to water, etc.
Meticulously copy the map onto a large sheet of paper, making sure to include all details that
the community has noted down.
Triangulate the information generated from the exercise with others in the locality.

Topical Resource Maps

In the same way that specific aspects could be examined on the social map, resource maps may
concentrate on a specific issue.
Agriculture - this may include cropping patterns, both current and historical, and even an
analysis of soil type and fertility.
Water - location of water resources is often crucial, such as rivers, canals, ponds or wells. This
can also lead to an analysis of broader water resources, for example, drainage systems or
irrigation patterns.
Livestock - a discussion of grazing areas may lead to the mapping of the quality and quantity
of fodder available, as well as the movements of livestock.
Forestry - not only can areas of forest be demarcated, but the species and history of the forest
can also be shown. Further, access routes, paths, collection areas for different products can be
illustrated.
Farm Sketches/ Profiles - these involve mapping at the scale of a farm unit. In addition to
simply creating a farm profile of existing conditions, the profiles can illustrate seasonal changes
that occur or variations in cropping patterns that have taken place over a number of years.

Limitations

In communities where issues such as land holding and land tenure are sensitive as points of
discussion, resource mapping is a difficult exercise. It is critical to be sensitive to these
sentiments, and create a comfortable environment where community members are able to
share their honest opinions. Many facilitators, particularly those who are not very experienced
find resource maps difficult to initiate. Although, once they start taking shape, the mapping
proceeds rather smoothly. There can be a tendency to over-emphasize the final product, so it is
important to be cognizant of the discussions during the mapping process.
Livelihood Mapping

Objective

To identify the products/services that the participants consider as very important in the
livelihood of their community.

What to do

The participants are asked to list all the products/services that they consider as most important
to the communitys livelihood. The products/services can be from their homes, workplace or
recreation. Importance can refer to necessity for daily use, status or luxury. Participants must
mention products/services, and not issues. A participant can be asked to write these
products/services on a flip chart. The next step is to have the participants indicate where each
of these resources comes from. A large circle representing the community boundary is drawn
on the ground or on a flip chart and pieces of paper containing the names of the
products/services listed are then placed beside the map of the community. The participants
should be able to provide this information through discussion based on the following:
whether a particular product/service is available within the community boundary and is
sufficient in quantity;
whether it is partially available in insufficient quantities within the community;
whether it is completely unavailable within the community and has to be acquired from
outside.
All the products/services which are available within the community are placed inside the map.
All the products/services which are partially available are placed on the border of the map.
The resources which are completely unavailable within the community are placed outside the
map.

Application

Livelihood mapping of a given community is an indirect way to investigate the needs and
desires for particular products/services. In this process the participants identify the most
important products/services that can be produced or imported and sold in the local
community.
Livelihood Timeline

The principal method to be used here is that of the village group meeting, which in this case
should be a group that represents a reasonable cross-section of the community. Facilitators
should be sensitive to the tendency for a few people to dominate group discussions, and should
try to elicit responses from the less forthcoming members of the group. The discussion should
aim to discover activity patterns of the village and how they have been changing over the past
10 years, including things that have got worse or better, and some general points on
environmental change. Questions asked here could also be asked of selected individuals across
different social groups in the village, as a way of confirming understandings. Questions specifi c
to wetland resource use and conservation are given later (Chapter L11).

Points to cover in discussion include:

What are the main sources of income in the village now? Is this the same as five years
ago? The same as 10 years ago? Are those sources of income as important now as they
were five and 10 years ago?
What new activities are commonplace now that were rare or did not exist before?
Activities that have started in the last 10 years? The last five years? How important are
these new activities now for the incomes of people in the village? What activities have
stopped?
What do villagers consider to have got worse in the last five years? Last 10 years? For
those whose standard of living has deteriorated, what are the main things that have
caused their lives or livelihoods to go down in the last five or 10 years?
What do villagers consider to have improved in the last five years? Last 10 years? For
those whose standard of living has increased, what are the main things that have got
better in the last five or 10 years?
What have been the main agricultural problems in the village over the past fi ve or 10
years? What has been happening with maize? Other food crops? Livestock? Milk? Both
production and marketing problems can be discussed here.
What has happened to peoples access to natural resources over the past 10 years?
Access to land for cultivation? Fragmentation of holdings? Distance of holdings from
homestead? Access to forests and forest products? Timber? Woodfuel? Water for
agricultural and household purposes? Hay for livestock?
What has been the impact of health issues (e.g. malaria, TB, water-borne diseases) on
the village in the view of members of the group? Are many households affected? What
are the main effects on peoples ability to gain a reasonable living? How has the village
responded to children who are orphaned due to this illness? (Note questions on
illness, particularly around AIDS-related illness and death, need to be handled with
sensitivity; trained health professionals should be consulted before making any
assessment.)
How has the status of women changed in this village over the past five or 10 years? Are
there more women that are heads of households than before? Are there activities that
women do now that they did not usually do before? What livelihood activities are
women still not permitted to do in this community?