ID: 1802
Presenting Author: Michel Tomasino
Session: 699 - Best Practices in Land Use Surveys and Better Information Sharing
Status: pending
Delineation of village boundaries at the relevant scale, mapping of impacted and non-impacted lands and participatory mapping. Vital analysis before any future Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)
Experience from pre-feasibility work for a dam project in Cameroon, highlights how spatial data analysis were central to consolidate the project understanding of the territorial stakes and obtain a Conceptual Design with stronger demonstration of feasibility both environmentally, socially, technical and economically.
In a context where customary tenure systems dominate and cadastral data were not available, the project employed participatory mapping to support the pre-delineation of village boundaries. Village mapping had then to be consolidated to obtain sub-families boundaries as the land distribution is more regulated at a sub-familial level than at a village level. This spatially explicit approach ensured that the analysis respected local perceptions of land ownership and use, which is vital for the legitimacy of any future Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). To enhance the accuracy and inclusiveness, local focal points selected in each village were employed to participate as guides or key information providers. Their participation facilitated the identification of land users, sub-distribution of land plots.
A cornerstone of the approach was the spatial early detection and quantification of impacted and non-impacted areas. Land use maps were cross-referenced with ecological datasets to assess habitat integrity to pinpoint areas of overlap between high biodiversity value, social use and inform the feasibility to compensate the residual impacts.
Michel Tomasino provides support to select the more relevant hydropower projects and refine their design from a social perspective. Contributed to the IFC “Roadmap to Hydropower South Saharan Africa”.