Participatory Three-Dimensional Modelling (P3DM) is "a
method that integrates indigenous spatial knowledge with
data on elevation of the land and depth of the sea to
produce stand-alone, scaled and geo-referenced relief
models1
." It has a wide range of potential applications,
from participatory watershed and protected area planning,
to participatory climate change vulnerability assessment
and planning.
In 2012, the use of P3DM in participatory climate change
vulnerability assessment was piloted by the Caribbean
Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), a non-profit
technical institute with nearly thirty years experience in
using tools to facilitate the participation of stakeholders in
natural resource management and governance.
Effects of climate change and variability in the Caribbean
are projected to include extreme weather events, sea level
rise, ocean warming and acidification, and changing
rainfall and temperature patterns. These effects are
occurring and are already having a significant economic
and social impact.
Climate change adaptation action in the Caribbean islands
has largely been at the national policy and planning level,
where efforts have been focused to respond to international
commitments. There have been few specific policies or
plans developed to address priorities on the ground at the
landscape or site level. Sectoral considerations or
traditional knowledge have not been adequately
considered, stakeholders are not effectively engaged, and
there has been little on-the-ground action to build
resilience or to “climate proof” key sectors such as tourism
and agriculture. Further, the development and
implementation of policy to address the impacts of climate
change and extreme climatic events has been largely
without the effective engagement of local communities,
where useful traditional knowledge exists and much of the
action will need to be taken. This is despite the recognition
of the value of local people participating in climate-related
decision-making, which has received attention in several
official climate policy documents such as Article 6 of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC)
2
.
Traditional and local knowledge are based on extensive
periods of observation (often in one locality) and
interaction with the environment and include practices
that have been tested. In the Caribbean region, where
there is often an absence of location-specific scientific data,
traditional and local knowledge can provide a sound source
of information to advise on the ground action on climate
change. In many instances, these actions often provide
simple and effective solutions to specific local problems
which may be applied or adapted for application at other
locations throughout the region.
The pilot project by CANARI aimed to demonstrate how
this gap could be addressed by recognising and making
more authoritative local and traditional knowledge and
values in decision making about climate change adaptation
in the Caribbean region through building of a threedimensional
model of the island of Tobago. The pilot also
included training representatives from regional and
national organisations on the use of P3DM and
documenting and sharing the experiences and lessons
learnt to catalyse use of the tool in the region.
The pilot was funded via a grant to CANARI from the
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
(CTA). CTA also supported co-facilitation of the model
building by a Geographical Information Specialist from
the Philippines and an experienced P3DM builder from
Partners with Melanesians (PWM) from the Solomon
Islands.
The project received additional financial support from the
United Nations Development Programme Global
Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (UNDP
GEF SGP) through a small grant to the University of the
West Indies (UWI). The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
1. Introduction
1 Rambaldi G. and Callosa -Tarr J. (2002)
2 UN, 1992, p. 17`q c14
covered the expenses of four trainees. The local
government authority, the Tobago House of Assembly
(THA), assisted with implementation of the project.
This case study documents CANARI’s experience in
piloting the use of P3DM in the Caribbean and identifies
lessons learnt and recommendations on how it can be used
to strengthen the capacity of CSOs in the islands of the
Caribbean to play a larger and more effective role in
biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
The case study was written as part of the CANARI project
Consolidating the role of civil society in biodiversity
conservation in the Caribbean islands3
, funded by the John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.