P3DM of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda
1:10,000 scale Participatory 3D Model (P3DM) of the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda: With Financial assistance from Forest Peoples Programme and hosting by UOBDU, ERMIS Africa provided technical support to the Batwa People to map their territories
In 2009 a group of Batwa representatives from Uganda travelled to Ogiek communities in Kenya to learn about their situation and the different advocacy strategies they were using. One of these strategies was the use of Participatory 3-Dimensional Modelling (P3DM), which helped the Ogiek engage Kenyan agencies on their rights to their ancestral territory, the Mau Forest. The Batwa walked away from this visit impressed by the simplicity of the P3DM technique and hopeful of replicating it in their own context.
Two years later in June 2011, the Batwa, with support from the ARCUS Foundation, began their own three-dimensional modelling of their ancestral territory, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. More than 100 representatives from the Batwa communities surrounding Bwindi, including youth, elders, women and men attended the exercise over a three-week period.
This Model in Uganda happens to be the first Participatory Three-Dimensional Modelling which was organised in 2011 in Kisoro by the Batwa, former hunter-gatherers who were evicted from two national parks about 20 years ago.
