With Tô no Mapa (I'm on the Map), family farmers and traditional communities help fill gaps in official data and geographically identify the location of the territories where they live.
⠀
Built from dialogue with residents and associations in rural areas of the Cerrado, the application I'm on the map It allows traditional communities and family farmers to self-map their territories.
The tool aims to fill the gap in official data for an area of approximately 32 million hectares of Cerrado. I'm on the map This is an initiative of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) in partnership with the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN) and with support from the Cerrado Network, as well as funding from the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA).
The app's launch is an outgrowth of participatory mapping workshops conducted by the two organizations in 2019. These workshops took place in 55 municipalities across Maranhão, Tocantins, northern Goiás, Piauí, and western Bahia, and identified 1.244 communities outside of official demarcations.
In southern Maranhão, 237 communities were identified that had not previously been geographically recorded. Another 104 were mapped on the northern border of Tocantins with Maranhão. In western Bahia, there were 630 communities and, in southern Piauí, 273.
The data, which exceeds official records, still has much room to grow. I'm on the mapTherefore, it comes into play to continue the project, reach communities, and give visibility to populations not recognized by public authorities. “This is a powerful tool for communities to build a map of Brazil that is closer to reality. It's a way to show the country how diverse we are and how many worlds fit into a single map,” comments Kátia Favilla, executive secretary of the Cerrado Network.
Endorsing this view, Isabel Figueiredo, coordinator of the Cerrado and Caatinga Program at ISPN, reinforces the need to map these populations. “We understand that maps are instruments of struggle, political instruments. We want to provide a tool so that communities can appropriate it and define their territories themselves, thus contributing to the guarantee of their territories,” she states.
The mapping, which was funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), concluded that a large portion of the communities living in the Cerrado and currently suffering from land-use changes were not represented in official documents. Furthermore, deforestation and haphazard agricultural practices are advancing in a biome that has already lost half of its native vegetation, harming the people who traditionally live in the region, including populations in urban areas.
Outlines of ancient stories
With I'm on the mapThe user can now define the boundaries of their community and indicate locations where conflicts occur, such as invasions, illegal mining, or other threats. Groups of families who have lived in these regions for years will have a more comprehensive and reliable view of their territory and will also be able to map areas of use, such as fruit harvesting, farming, and fishing, for example. The application can also be an important tool for discussions about land management, environmental education, and youth engagement.
IPAM's Science Director, Ane Alencar, highlights that the initiative is also aligned with the Traditional Territories Platform of the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities (CNPCT), created in partnership with the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) and launched in August 2019. "This integration allows for greater emphasis on the importance of recognizing the territorial rights of these rural populations in relation to public authorities. With the..." I'm on the map"We launched a robust virtual space to give a voice to those who need it."
Including the community in the application does not mean the legalization, titling, or demarcation of the territory by the competent body, but it is a first step for the communities to be seen by public policies. Integration with the CNPCT's Traditional Territories Platform allows the user to choose to fill in some additional information and also submit the registration to the Platform, where the registration is received and follows the normal required validation process.
Obtain your I'm on the map For Android phones:
