Participatory Landscape Analysis (PaLA)

Abstract

Landscapes change in response to what people do to make a living and to live their lives as best they can, constrained by economic opportunities, knowledge and lack of collective action and joint decision making about, and implementation of, spatial planning. Global population growth, local migration and increasing wealth exert pressure to convert forests to agricultural, industrial or residential land. The diversity in physical and socio-economic conditions in the uplands requires new sustainable land use options for obtaining food security and for environmental protection. Involving multiple stakeholders in the analysis of the tradeoffs between short and long-term benefits and drawing upon their perspectives and knowledge are considered essential in the development of sustainable land use. Furthermore, farmers' knowledge of landscape relationships and their perceptions of an underlying logic play an important role in their management decisions. Development of sustainable land use practices at farm and landscape levels depends on bridging the various perception and communication gaps