Component 7

Updated maps of protected areas and indigenous communities

The Project has embarked in a continuing effort to map in detail the Trio and Wayana territories, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technologies to update maps of protected areas and indigenous communities, with the ultimate objective of compiling full maps of Southern Suriname, including cultural maps, vulnerability and risk maps, natural resource maps, and general topography/vegetation maps.  An important aspect of this exercise is the full involvement of the indigenous communities in the mapping effort, through  workshops and training sessions geared towards teaching community members how to use maps and find out their needs and potential use for maps ( and ). The training has included the use of GPS technologies which indigenous community members use on mapping expeditions to continually update existing maps , as well as the know-how to download and integrate data registered with the GPS technology into GIS databases. The resulting maps not only capture detailed information on natural resources or topography that was previously unavailable, but also capture important cultural/natural resource location from the indigenous point of view. The resulting maps will be employed to better assess areas that should be under protection, and also to determine which areas are particularly valuable to the indigenous groups for sacred or practical purposes.

This page was last updated on Thursday June 14, 2007.