Joint learning with GIS: multi-actor resource management

Geographic information systems (GIS) technology offers a new way for different disciplines to jointly learn and manage our planet's resources. However, GIS data sources and processes preclude participation of non-technology experts who may have crucial environmental information to share. This paper is about a study in using participatory methods in what usually is an expert-dependent use of GIS. It hinges on the technology's integrative spatial analysis capability and people's intimate knowledge of their own space. The case study details how isolated rural farmers of Ifugao, Northern Philippines engaged in collectively interpreting aerial-photographs and satellite images, and tracing their successful tradition in terraced agriculture. In the process, a different side of GIS is shown-from mapping and data management to that of jointly constructing and understanding the 'world' to be managed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.