Change in natural resource management: An experiment with “participatory GIS”

Abstract

Natural resource management is a dynamic and adaptive science that responds to changes in the social, economic, and ecological factors pertaining to the managed resource(s). It requires and involves interactions and mediations at different spatial scales and of different knowledge pools and stakes. Participatory approaches can facilitate these interactions and mediations if structured so that collaboration can exist, conflicts are resolved, and knowledge exchange is enhanced. In this chapter, I discuss the application of a spatially explicit participatory GIS (PGIS) to bring together communities of managers, ecologists, and government and NGO representatives in two high-conflict areas of Scotland to discuss conflicts and develop a common knowledge and understanding of red deer and their management. I will first discuss the approach taken during a project that consisted of map-based interviews, secondary data collection, analysis, modeling, and two workshops that engaged stakeholders. Next I will discuss the results of the analysis and illustrate howcomanagement and adaptation are currently taking place in deer management in Scotland. This discussion will contain an overview of the reaction of the participants to the PGIS approach. In the end, I will outline some critical consideration for discussion of the role participation can and should have in informing and addressing natural resource management.