Mount Isarog NP, Philippines

Participatory 3D Modelling of Mount Isarog National Park, Camarines Sur, Philippines

1: 10000 scale relief model of Mt. Isarog National Park, PhilippinesMINP-3D model men putting pinsThis 1:10,000 -scale 3D model of Mt. Isarog National Park, Camarines Sur, Philippines was completed in the year 1999 in the framework of the Eu-funded National Integrated Protected Area Programme (NIPAP). The model covers a total area of 480 sq km and at that time it  included portions of three Ancestral Domain Claims.

map_loc_minpIn line with the 1992 Earth Summit, the European Union and the Government of the Philippines, initiated and co-financed the National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP). This is a six-year (1995-2001) intervention aimed at establishing eight protected areas within the framework of the Philippine protected area system. The system strongly supports the participation of local communities in planning and implementing policies and actions to conserve biodiversity. The challenge faced by the Programme has been how to give due weight to the interests of local communities in delineating protected area boundaries, identifying resource-use zones and formulating policies on protected area management.

The P3DM exercise resulted in a wealth of data gathered thanks to the participation of more than 267 knowledge holders (28% women) living in the area. The two maps below show a comparison between a map generated via the data collated by the local stakeholders via the P3DM exercise with a map which was available at that time at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).  It is evident that the people’s mas is more detailed and contains a range of data sets which were not found on the DNR map.minp-map-comparison

References:

Balcita J. and Velasco C.2000. Profile of Mount Isarog National Park (MINP) Suhay. July-September 2000, pages 25-26, National Integrated Protected Area Programme (NIPAP), Quezon City, Philippines