Resource mapping

Resource mapping is a PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) tool in which local people themselves draw a map of their village or area showing natural and physical resources such as land, forest, water sources, rivers, farmland, grazing land, roads, trails, schools and health posts. It is drawn on the ground or on paper using local materials and is then copied by the facilitator.

Why resource mapping is carried out

1. To know the available resources: location, amount and condition of land, water, forest and infrastructure.
2. To understand resource use and ownership: who uses which resource, and which are community or private.
3. To identify problems and needs: e.g. lack of drinking water, landslide-prone areas, eroded land, missing trail bridges.
4. To plan development projects: helps choose sites for water schemes, irrigation canals, roads and schools.
5. To use local knowledge: villagers know their area better than outsiders.
6. To encourage participation: even illiterate people can take part; it starts discussion and builds ownership.
7. For natural resource management and conflict resolution: shows boundaries and areas of competition.
8. Baseline for monitoring: later maps show change over time.

Example: Before designing a gravity-flow water supply, villagers map all springs, existing taps, settlements and households so the engineer can plan intake and tap locations fairly.