Hawaii Pacific GIS Conference 2012: Participatory and Place-Based GIS - Using Participatory Mapping Techniques to Characterize Coastal Uses in West Maui

Participatory GIS in Action

Jamie Carter, Kalisi Mausio, and Christine Feinholz

Participatory Mapping

Many synonyms:

• Public Participation GIS (PPGIS)

• Participatory GIS (P-GIS)

• Community-based mapping

• Collaborative mapping

General definition:

“Gathering and mapping spatial information to help

communities learn, discuss, build consensus, and make

decisions about their communities and associated

resources.”

How P-GIS is Used

• To create maps that represent resources, hazards, community

values, usage, perceptions, or alternative scenarios

• To gather traditional knowledge and practices

• To identify data gaps

• To inform other data collection methods

• To evaluate existing programs, plans, and activities

• To facilitate the decision-making process

• To assist with data gathering for research

• To empower stakeholders

• To conduct trends analysis

• To educate stakeholders about issues and interrelationships of

resources outside their immediate areas of concern

Data Synthesis

Tools & Products

Participatory Mapping Process

Data Collection

Identify and recruit

experts & stakeholders

Preliminary meetings

Convene workshops

Facilitate mapping

Collect spatial data

Compile GIS data

Review workshop notes

Build maps & metadata

Seek feedback & revise

Create maps &

visualization tools

Compile project report

Build web products

P-GIS Technology Package

GIS Software and Data: • ArcGIS and preconfigured map

documents • Preconfigured geodatabase

schemas • Ancillary data (e.g. imagery,

boundaries, place names) Hardware: • Laptops, hard drives,

projectors, video, etc. Interactive Tools: • Digital whiteboard • Tablet or pen display

NOAA PSC P-GIS in the Pacific

• Community Resilience Mapping (Waipio)

• Restoration Planning (He’eia)

• Coastal Use Mapping (Hawai’i, Maui)

Hawaii Coral Program

“Reduce key anthropogenic threats to two priority

near-shore coral reef sites.”

For effective management to take place, we must

understand:

• How the area is used

• Who uses the area

• Where the different uses take place

• How uses overlap

• Potential impacts of management activities

Geospatial data and decision-support tools required

to inform and improve future management actions

West Maui Project Goals

Data and tools to better visualize and understand:

• Types of human activities taking place within the

region

• Spatial distribution of human use

• Intensity of human uses in different locations

• Overlap of different uses

• Seasonal elements of activities

• Potential use impacts and/or conflicts

• Other aspects of human coastal and watershed

activities

West Maui Project Area

• Focus on human

uses and activities

from Honolua to

Wahikuli, from the

coast to 3 miles off-

shore

• Afterwards, combine

coastal and marine

information with

relevant watershed

information to

understand links

Data Synthesis

Tools & Products


Data Collection




Convene workshops

Facilitate mapping


Compile GIS data




Create maps &

visualization tools


Build web products

West Maui Coastal Uses

NON-EXTRACTIVE:

Commercial diving and snorkeling

Commercial boating and mammal

watching

Thrill craft and high speed activities

Recreational diving and snorkeling

Surfing

Camping

Non-motorized, non-commercial

boating

Swimming

EXTRACTIVE:

Free diving and scuba-based

harvesting

Pole and line fishing from shore

Pole and line fishing from boat

Aquarium collecting

Bait netting

Throw nets

Net fishing from boat

Net fishing from shore or nearshore

Shoreline and nearshore gleaning

and gathering

General Use Footprint : Areas where the use is known to occur with some regularity regardless

of its frequency or intensity. Does not include areas where the use may

occur once or twice or might occur in the future.

Dominant Use Areas: Areas routinely used by most users most of the time. Dominant use

areas must be drawn within the general use footprint.

Supplemental Use Information: Relevant non-spatial information about each use (seasonal patterns,

specific events relating to the activity, day vs. night activity, etc.). Some of

this information will be shown on the mapbook.

Use Levels

• 47 participants over 3 days

• 5 mapping groups

• 31 resource stewards

• 14 fishermen

• 12 tourism industry experts

• 9 watermen / women

• 7 managers

• 7 educators

• 6 cultural practitioners

• 4 scientists

• 5 local business owners (with ties to marine resources)

Workshop Participant Summary

Data Synthesis

Tools & Products


Data Collection




Convene workshops

Facilitate mapping


Compile GIS data




Create maps &

visualization tools


Build web products

Original Drawings

Recreational Diving and Snorkeling

Simple overlay shows

greater inter-group

agreement where colors

are more opaque

General

Dominant

Coastal Uses Post-Processing

Original Drawings

Coastal Uses Post-Processing Recreational Diving and Snorkeling

General

Dominant

Drawing artifacts

Remove land

Post-processed maps


• Removed land areas

• Cleaned drawing artifacts

• Extended and trimmed areas

based on participant notes

In this example, one workshop mapped

this use as occurring out to 150 ft. depth.

Mesh Overlay

• 100 meter hexagons

• Hexagons are better

than squares for

mapping curves, like

coastlines


Final Maps - General

• All workshops

mapped


Final Maps – Dominant

• Thresholding – the sum

of the number of

workshops that

identified an area within

each hexagon.

• 50% or more

workshops must have

agreed on areas.


1

2

3

4

5

1 2 3 4 5

Number of Workshops Mapped Recreational Diving and Snorkeling

DOMINANT AREAS

Data Synthesis

Tools & Products


Data Collection




Convene workshops

Facilitate mapping


Compile GIS data




Create maps &

visualization tools


Build web products

Coastal Uses Map Book

http://www.mpa.gov/dataanalysis/hi_coastal_use/viewer/

Example: Hawaii Coastal Use Viewer

Project Outcomes

• Results will feed into the

West Maui Watershed Plan

• Site-specific Conservation

Action Planning (CAP)

• Future management

planning, monitoring,

decision making

Project Sponsors and

Collaborators • Primary funding from:

– HI Coral Program Fisheries LAS

– NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)

• Project partners/collaborators:

– Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)

– NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO)

– NOAA Pacific Services Center (PSC)

• Staff support from:

– NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

– NOAA OCRM, MPA Center