Exploration of Participatory GIS in the Peruvian Andes

This thesis study examines the use of GIS technologies and public participation methodologies to promote community-based natural resource management as part of a case study in the Peruvian Andes. The setting is a pilot project for natural resources plannig in three small mountain watersheds. Three local NGOs combined methods of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) with tools of GIS to facilitate collective natural resources management by watershed inhabitants. Stakeholders priorized development goals at both the village and watershed scale, and GIS attempted to generate spatial products that quantify resource potential and influence development decisions.