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Application of PRA integrated GIS: Tools to Develop Management Arrangement for the Devolution of Mangrove Management in the Municipality of Panay, Capiz, Philippines
3.3 Use of PRA as GIS Input Data
Geographic Information System (GIS) as an approach to data processing and analysis usually uses Remote Sensing (RS) data such as satellite images, aerial photographs, and the like. But many local governments and natural resource planners face the problem of the lack of scientific data, which, if available, is usually outdated. This study discovered that the area identified by the lead national agency as mangroves all turned out to be existing fishponds. The reliability therefore of the existing scientific data is questionable to be used for planning purposes.
The PRA technique in data collection as described in this study produced the first ever report on local mangrove status. Krishnamoorthy and Gnanappazham (1998) concluded that the GIS database incorporating all thematic maps, field data on community, forest boundary details, etc. and offers added insights on various aspects on mangroves management leads to “provide entry points for community participation”. This study maintains that community participation can start at the level of data collection and map generation, thereby giving more sense of ownership over the mangrove data. Once this relationship has been established, a stronger community commitment on future resource development can be expected.
3.4 Accuracy of the Results
It is important to take into account that results of the PRA were taken out of the recollection of the participants regarding the resource and the changes therein. This study found out that while information on the specie, density, and location of the mangrove forest is highly accurate, the extent of the mangrove forest in terms of area is not so consistent. It showed that PRA is not as accurate a tool for area determination as with the use of more precise tools like GPS or RS. Ground truthing therefore is an essential element in checking the reliability of very specific data such as spatial estimation. However, in the absence of such highly technical tools, community estimates on the forest area is highly acceptable. As with the drawback of cloud disturbances during collection of satellite images, recollection of past events in the community can also be a difficulty when participants do not include the older generation of residents. It is also important to have a good number of participants as consensus making enables more accurate information from the group.
An important contribution of PRA on the accuracy of the data relates to the variety of sources and date of the maps used during the study. For example, the map of the lead agency showed a coastal area covered with mangroves and the local government’s base map showing the different rivers and fishponds areas of the Municipality. The PRA workshops worked to update the data given by both maps fishpond by pointing out areas where rivers no longer exist as they have been converted into fishponds, or to the coastline accretion building on the beach that has enlarged the land area and identifies expansion area for reforestation. The community was also able to put into the picture the causes of resource degradation by going over the history of the coastal area, and give a prognosis of the potential management issues and uses.
3.5 The Utility of PRA and GIS in Mangrove Management Planning
The results of the PRA and GIS integration is valuable in generating awareness on local mangrove management by involving both the community and the different horizontal and vertical levels of government. The data in GIS themes can be used very effectively for project design, planning and implementation. The data is also valuable during monitoring and evaluation, which are also planning and designing phases of the project cycle. Updating management plans will be simple and easy using the existing data as the GIS themes can be manipulated to produce other management themes.
4. Conclusions and Recommendation
This study has established that diverse resource, environmental, and legal data from various PRA and other sources can be organized through the use of the GIS and provide analysis to design a developmental scheme for mangrove management. While Mahfud and Weir (1999) stated that RS data was used in their study of the mangrove forest since “the task of collecting information by ground inventory is extremely difficult, time consuming and, therefore, expensive”, this study found that data on mangrove forest could be gathered rapidly, inexpensively, and with convincing accuracy with the use of PRA.
Results of the study show that PRA integrated GIS is a useful tool to draw the local knowledge of the people about the resource by allowing the different stakeholders in the local community to contribute, evaluate and plan for the local mangrove resource. The study further showed that the local people are familiar with the mapping technique and they give integrated information, which may be used rapidly to provide summary information to integrate the plan for local mangrove management. The study also showed that analysis of the physical framework needs to be integrated with the social, legal and institutional structures in the local area to overcome the sectoral and juridical segregation prevalent in many any resource management programs.
Recognizing and assimilating the local community into the planning design may put their intimate understanding of the realities at the local level in good use and provide a sense of ownership which is an important foundation of resource sustainability.
Acknowledgement
This study is a product of the Masters Degree Course on Integrated Tropical Coastal Zone Management at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. This was made possible through a scholarship from the Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) from January 2002 to August 2003. The authors wish to thank Dr. Harvey Demaine and Dr. Amararatne Yakupitiyage for their invaluable inputs to the study, to Mayor Felipe B. Barredo and the people of the Municipality of Panay, and to all others who have assisted in the course of this study.
References
- Alcala, A. C. and F.J. Vande Vusse,1994. The role of government in coastal resources management, p12.-19. In R.S. Pomeroy (ed.) Community management and common property of coastal fisheries in Asia and the Pacific:concepts, methods, and experiences. ICLARM Conf.Proc.45,189 p.
- Krishnamoorthy, R. And Gnanappazham, L., 1998. Remote Sensing And GIS Tools For Supporting Community-Based Management Of Mangrove Wetlands In East Coast Of India: Preliminary Experience. The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative. Available online: http://srdis.ciesin.columbia.edu. (Downloaded 07 Feb. 2003).
- Mahfud, Y. and Weir, M., 1999. Monitoring Mangrove Forests using Remote Sensing and GIS. Available online: http://www.gisdevelopment.net/aars/acrs/1999. (Downloaded 07 Feb. 2003).
- Overseas, November, 1998 Vol. 1 No. 11
- Primavera,.J. H., 2000. Philippine Mangroves: Status, Threats and Sustainable Development. Proc. International Workshop Asia-Pacific.
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