International Groups, Global Organizations, World Regions

(ECP and CTSP members, sites of interest for mapping/GIS, scholarly papers and ESRI Conference Proceedings, and sites with public conservation and GIS data for downloading)

Sites of interest for mapping/GIS

(Legend: CTSP sites are coded "c" plus the year of the grant, (cs=software, cm=mac), ECP grantees are coded "e". Many groups, especially newer grantees, do not yet have their own sites and are colored green. Other new groups may be described or supported by other sites)

REGIONS: Latin America

ANCON (P.O. Box 1387, Panama 1, Republic of Panama Tel. (507) 264-8100, Fax (507) 264-1836 Email:ancon@pty.com) "Founded in 1985 by a group of prominent bussinessmen, scientists and community leaders, the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (ANCON) is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and preserve Panama's natural resources and biodiversity for present and future generations. Since its creation, ANCON has worked closely with public and private organizations, academic institutions, businesses, and local communities. ANCON also has access to the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS), which make it possible to locate information about the flora and fauna for the production of maps regarding forest cover, legally protected species, and land use, among others to learn more about ANCON projects that incorporate GIS click on this website. www.ancon.org/ingciencias."

CONDESAN (CONDESAN (Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion) c/o International Potato Center, Avenida La Universidad 795, La Molina, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru. Phone: (51-1) 349-6017 Fax: (51-1) 349-5638 Email: condesan@.cgiar.org Website: www.condesan.org Contact: Joshua Posner, Coordinator) (Spanish Language Site) "A diverse and dynamic set of members from the public and private sectors, with a common approach and joining efforts, capacities and resources, that perform joint actions in research, training, development, and propose policy actions to promote the socio-economic progress, towards the equity and welfare of the population in the andean ecoregion. Data on natural resources and social and economic circumstances in the Andean countries is available. "CONDESAN, the Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion, was set up in March 1992 following a meeting of agriculturalists, social scientists and natural resource management specialists at CIP (International Potato Center)...The consortium's research is focused in four main areas: biodiversity, water and land use, production systems and analysis of development policies...CONDESAN is currently carrying out field research at five benchmark sites, one each in Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador and two in Peru." GIS Research: Geographic information systems (GIS) technology is contributing to CIP's research on integrated disease management of late blight. GIS incorporates spatial information on agricultural production, historical data on weather patterns, and data generated by simulation models. The first two maps presented here show (1) Peru's potato production zones and (2) areas with potential for late blight. The third map (3) combines the data to identify production zones at high risk for late blight damage.

Coral Cay Conservation e94. m

Wildlife Conservation Society, Gallon Jug, Belize. (Gallon Jug Estate, Belize Central AmericaGIS Contact: Bruce W. Miller Associate Conservation Zoologist Email: galljug@btl.net) "We are just back from a week in Chetumal Mexico. As part of the Selva Maya project we have just established BIOMAYA a set of biodiversity databases for Belize, Mexico and Guatemala. Each country, Belize, Guatemala and Mexico will have an in depth database for tracking biodiversity and then all basic distribution information will be shared in the BIOMAYA database for protected area managers etc. to use. It also serves as baseline data for the Selva Maya biodiversity monitoring efforts."

Belize Center for Environmental Studies. (45 Front Street - Box 150 Punta Gorda, Belize, Central America Tel: 011-501-7-22-111; FAX: 011-501-7-22-111 Belize City TEL: 011-501-2-34-153; Fax: 011-501-2-34-348) "non-profit organization developed for the purpose of conserving natural Belizean resources. The BCES is funded by grants from international organizations such as the Nature Conservancy"

Fundacion Moises Berton i Asuncion Paraguay c96 (en espanol) (Fundación Moisés Bertoni Prócer Carlos Argüello 208 e/Mcal. López y Boggiani Casilla de Correo 714 Asunción Paraguay Sudamérica Teléfonos (595-21) 608740 - 600855 FAX: (595-21) 608741 Email: mbertoni@pla.net.py) The mission of the foundation is "To work for sustainable social economic development through the conservation of nature and the action of the people." Check the ENGLISH article: The Mbaracayu Forest Reserve. (Executive Director: Ing. Raul Gauto, Street Address: 25 de Mayo #2140 c/22 de Septiembre, Asuncion, Paraguay, Mailing Address: Casilla de Correos 714, Asuncion, Paraguay, Tel: (011-595-21) 444-253, 440-238 Fax: (011-595-21) 440-239 (Ask for tone.), Email: moises@fmbert.una.py) OneWorld Magazine presents: Contact Information for story on the Mbaracayu Forest Reserve.

Maquipucuna Foundation (Fundacion Maquipucuna Casilla 17-12-167 Quito, ECUADOR. Telefono: (593 2) 507 200 / 507 202, Fax: 593-2-507-201 email: abi@maqui.ecx.ec GIS Contact Eduardo Flores, sigma@maqui.ecuanex.net.ec) "Fundacion Maquipucuna, an Ecuadorian non-governmental organization concerned with conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources, has recented completed construction of ecotourist and scientific facilities at the Maquipucuna Reserve. They are easily accessed by car, only two hours northwest of Quito on the western slopes of the Andes. Researchers and visitors of all types are encouraged to come to learn, study and experience the tropical forest's diversity." Another article on the reserve.

Jaguar Creek Environmental Center, Target Earth, Belize e99. (Mile 42 Hummingbird Highway, P.O. Box 446, Belmopan, Belize Central America. Tel: (501) 812-034 Fax:(501) 812-034 Email:Jagcreek@btl.net GIS Contact: Marion F. Cayetano, Elincaye@btl.net). "Jaguar Creek is an Environmental Research and Education Center located in Belize, Central America. Nearby is the Blue Hole National Park, adjacent to thousands of acres of virgin rain forest that is protected by Target Earth, The Eden Conservancy Program." GIS PLANS: "The grant will be used to develop GIS capability within the Central Watershed region of Belize. The software and skills will be used to collate and analyse data about the central watershed region of Belize. It will be used to carry out work that are of interest to non-governmental organizations, community based organization and planners with interest in this area."

Centro de Investigacion y Documentacion para el Desarrollo del Beni (CIDDEBENI) e98. (Casilla 159, Trinidad, Beni, Bolivia, Tel: (591) 46-52037 Fax: (591) 46-21716 Email: cnaviari@sauce.ben.entelnet.bo GIS Contact: Carlos Navia.) "CIDDEBENI supports the management and sustainable development of indigenous lands in the Region of the Beni. The Beni is located in the northeast part of Bolivia and resides in the Amazon Basin. The objectives of CIDDEBENI are: - Support the definition, recognition, and management of indigenous lands in the Bolivian Amazon. - Support the sustainable development activities via participatory planning with local indigenous communities and municipal governments. - Research activities related to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon in the Beni Region....CIDDEBENI was founded in 1984 by a small group of professionals as a research organization. They studied social aspects of the communities around Trinidad and poor communities. They intended to use this information to help the regional development of the area around Trinidad, Bolivia. In 1986 CIDDEBENI began coordinating and working with indigenous people. The indigenous people started to demand legal land title to their lands. CIDDEBENI helped by doing research and compiling data that would help the indigenous people formulate their land claims. CIDDEBENI now does research on social issues throughout the entire Beni region. CIDDEBENI also provides technical training for indigenous people. People have been trained in land management planning and to be forest and park guards. CIDDEBENI currently staffs 15 people. The GIS unit (UNIGEO) was founded in late 1996 after Carlos Navia, the Director of CIDDEBENI, returned from his studies at University of New York, Syracuse. There he learned GIS, including the use of IDRISI and PC ARC/INFO and realized how much working with digital spatial data would help with the work they do at CIDDEBENI. GIS would make the work easier and more efficient. CIDDEBENI would also be able to perform more complex analyses. UNIGEO has digitized 45 1:100,000 scale IGM-DMA maps of the Beni Department and data for 8 indigenous territories. A few satellite images and aerial photos have also been obtained. The data includes hydrology, roads, trails, timber concessions, lakes, vegetation types, hunting areas, community locations, private lands, and administrative boundaries. CIDDEBENI also maintains social research data that can be linked to communities or areas. UNIGEO has used this data to help indigenous groups define the lands they want to gain legal title to. GIS demonstrations are given to local groups. Beni regional data is often shared with other organizations such as CPTI (Centro de Planificacion Territorial Indigenous) and National Parks. " GIS PLANS: "We will use the grant to expand and upgrade our GIS analysis capabilities and to better organize and manage our growing library of spatial data which covers 21,000,000 hectares. We will do some simulation modeling and overlay analyses to help indigenous groups in the Amazon Basin with sustainable development of their lands....CIDDEBENI will develop, manage, and analyze geographical information to help plan for sustainable use of natural resources on indigenous lands and other areas in the Bolivian Amazon. New forestry and land use laws passed in 1996 allow the legal recognition of indigenous rights to land and natural resources. CIDDEBENI has taken on the role of assisting in the definition, legalization, planning and management of the indigenous territories and their natural resources. Geographic Information Systems are critical in playing this role effectively. In the next years we intend to: -do more GIS demonstrations at municipalities and indigenous territories. -maintain and increase our spatial database related to indigenous lands. -link social research data to spatial coverages. -maintain and increase our spatial database related to oil and timber concessions. -begin mapping agrarian properties- mainly ranching. -collect data at the municipal (similar to county) level for planning. -create simulation models depicting how oil and timber companies might impact the land and forests in the indigenous territories. The Beni department is about 21,000,000 hectares and the indigenous territories cover 1/3 of that. Consequently, all municipal plans and oil and timber activities will effect their lands. Indigenous lands should be considered in any municipal plan. It is our intent to use GIS to help in this planning process and to forsee possible impacts. The indigenous people are very interested in managing their lands for sustainable development. They have a long-term interest in keeping their lands for future generations. GIS will help them to achieve their goals which will have a positive impact on the future of the Bolivian Amazon region. " GIS ACHIEVEMENTS: "- Helped three indigenous groups gain legal land titles for their territories. The indigenous groups are the Tipnis, Tim, and Tis. - Created a management plan for the Tipnis and Tis territories. - Did Forest Inventories and vegetation maps within the Tipnis, Tim, and Tis territories."

Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza (F.A.N.). (Kilometro 7 ½ carretera a Samaipata, casilla postal: 2241, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, South America. Tel:(591-3) 52-4921 / 53-3389 Fax:(591-3) 53-3389 / 32-9692 Email:fan@fan.scbbs-bo.com . GIS Contact: Eric F. Armijo Mendez). "The private, non-profit environmental organization Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza - Noel Kempff (F.A.N.), was founded in 1988 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia by a group of 17 individuals concerned about the accelerated level of development that threatens the region's extensive tropical ecosystems. The Department of Santa Cruz lies in Bolivia's eastern lowlands, close to the Andean foothills to the west, and extending northeast to the plains of the Amazon River basin and south to the Chaco's scrub forests. Santa Cruz abounds in natural resources, including pristine forests, fertile although fragile soils, minerals, oil, natural gas, and a plentiful supply of water, as well as a staggering variety of plant and animals species. The founders of F.A.N. realized that human migration into the region, exploration and exploitation of the mineral and gas resources, timber extraction, and a rapidly expanding agricultural economy were threatening the future of these resources. F.A.N.'s explicit mission is the conservation of Bolivia's biodiversity through protection and sustainable and equitable use of its natural resources." GIS PLAN: . . F.A.N. has recently entered into the phase of institutional development where GIS has become an indispensable tool.. Since the founding of F.A.N. in 1988 the organization has been actively involved in developing management plans for two national parks (Noel Kempff Mercado and Amboro); all mapping was contracted to another organization that was developing its GIS capacity. Then, the spatial analysis was restricted to visual working with hard copy maps. In-site GIS-related activities started in 1995 with a pilot project to analyze small biological and socioeconomical datasets for Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP). Next GIS projects included a Management Plan for NKMNP buffer zone (see attached maps) and the development of a CD-ROM with GIS system for environmental assessment of oil wells. During the latter part of 1998, the Science Department started a long-term project with World Wildlife Fund to develop an action plan for biodiversity conservation of the Southwest Amazon ecoregion. As this project rapidly unfolded during the last three months of 1998, we have become profoundly convinced of the power of GIS as a tool in spatial database creation, management, analysis, data recovery and update, and display for conservation purposes. F.A.N.'s team of conservation biologists, botanists, zoologists, and socio-economists from Bolivia, Germany and the United States identified six sub-ecoregions within the Bolivian Amazon. A 15-minute grid was superimposed over the region, and, using ArcView 3.0, the scientists have ranked each of the squares within the Bolivian sector according to factors such as endemism and species richness in order to identify areas of highest conservation priority. In October a GIS database was assembled, consisting of a multitude of layers as described above (in Section II.1.4). These data arrived in different projections or references (UTM, Lambert, and Geographic) as well as a variety of undefined datums and spheroids and incorrectly assigned UTM zones. Much of the data lacked topology and contained open polygons and other errors. We quickly realized that we could not achieve the necessary compatability and correction of the data with ArcView. At this point we hired a GIS specialist on a short-term contract basis, and one month later, a second person to assist in completing the first phase of the GIS work. Fortunately, two institutions allowed us occasional access to their PC ARC/INFO systems, which we used to project all existing coverages and converted shapefiles to a common projection for display and map output in ArcView; to correct editing errors in a rapid manner and to construct topology. The 15-minute grid was generated in PC ARC/INFO."

Kechua & Aymara Association for the Conservation of Mother Earth ("ANDES"). (Calle Ruinas 541, Cusco, Peru, Tel/Fax: (51-84) 225284 Email:andes+@amauta.rcp.net.pe, GIS CONTACT: Alejandro Argumedo Biodiversity Programme ). "established in 1995 to catalyze the conservation of biological diversity among rural indigenous communities in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. There are ten Kechua and Aymara professionals on contract, each with links to communities across the altiplano and paramo. ANDES has defined its mandate in partnership with these indigenous communities, providing technical support to community-defined biodiversity conservation initiatives....ANDES will work in partnership with local communities toward establishing a community-based park for the conservation of the vicuna habitat in the Pachachaka River watershed, modeling it after similar initiatives in Zimbabwe and Kenya. The principal goal of the program is to foster the repopulation of vicunas, maintaining their genetic pool. However, through conserving the natural pasture areas, re-instituting traditional management practices on communal lands, and developing new mechanisms to conserve the habitat (e.g. access protocols, limited supply-side ecotourism), there will be tangible benefits to the ecosystem at large. Vital to this initiative will be the ability to map the salient components of the ecosystem, past and present, for planning and management purposes....Community elders will have a prominent role in this mapping, laying out former grazing systems and aspects of traditional knowledge no longer prevalent in the communities. By integrating present-day data with historical information, ANDES and its community partners will be able to construct the profiles and projections necessary to create a holistic management plan for the ecosystem."

Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Bolivia e97. (Universidad Autonoma Gabriel Rene Moreno, Av. Irala 565, Casilla 2489, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia Tel:(591) 3-366574 Fax:(591) 3-366574 Email: museo@museo.scz.net GIS Contact: Karen Minkowski, kminkowski@museo.sczbo.org, also: Tim Killeen, tkilleen@museo.szc.net.) "The Museo Noel Kempff is one of the most prestigious conservation research institutions in Bolivia and our staff has ongoing research in all of the protected areas currently established in the Department of Santa Cruz. Our collaborative relationship with NGOs and the Bolivian government is strong and they relay on us for almost all the research expertise that they need. The Museo has several programs dedicated to increasing public awareness of the importance of biodiversity conservation and sound resource management. The most conspicuous is our Exhibition Hall where a series of dioramas provide educational materials about biodiversity; with a GIS we will be able to develop better graphics that show species and ecosystems distributions in Bolivia. In 1998, we will develop a display focusing on remotely sensed data, where we will show how deforestation has increased in recent years. We also hope to develop displays that show regional weather and relate that to such well known, but poorly understood, phenomenon such as El Nino." GIS PLANS: "The Museo Noel Kempff has a remote sensing and GIS program that has been developed in collaboration with NASA and the Missouri Botanical Garden. The objective of the programs to conduct original research relating to the conservation of biodiversity and to provide services to institutions charged with the management of biological reserves in Bolivia's National System of Protected Areas. This program was initiated in 1995 with the support of the NASA Landsat Pathfinder - Tropical Deforestation Project (University of Maryland and the Goddard Space Flight Center) and the Department of geography of the University of Leicester (Great Britain). Studies to date have focused on creating vegetation maps based on digital Landsat TM images. " GIS STATUS: "In the year since we received ArcView, we formally trained two scientists (Dr. Tim Killeen and Lic. Ynes Uslar) and three university students in its use and management. Approximately 10 other students spend hours in the GIS lab assisting in research projects and/or conducting their own fifth year project for the University degree and have learned to use ArcView by self-instruction and with input from those already trained. ArcView was an essential tool in the following major projects undertaken by our GIS and Remote Sensing Program: 1) Pantanal studies to support establishment of protected areas: Last year, at the request of the Bolivian government, we participated in feasibility studies that led to establishing two legally protected entities in the Pantanal (Otuquis National Park and San Matias Biological Reserve). The project was financed in part by the National Geographic Society and World Wildlife Fund - Canada. The Museum played a key role by organizing the botanical field evaluation, in which many young biologists participated. Moreover, remote sensing studies conducted in our GIS and Remote Sensing laboratory were instrumental in identifying three key habitats to be included in the protected areas, which had been overlooked in the original proposal submitted by a World Bank consultancy (Chiquitano dry forest; Copernicia palm swamps; and Aboyo xeromorphic savanna). The 1:500 000 map produced for the government, and included as an attachment to this report, combines satellite imagery and ArcView shapefiles 2) An environmental impact assessment of a major proposed pipeline project, April - May 1999: In response to an environmental assessment report that a coalition of organizations in Bolivia and the U.S. deemed wholly inadequate, World Wildlife Fund-Bolivia organized a short-term, intensive study to evaluate the primary and secondary impacts on biodiversity of a pipeline construction project. The pipeline will transect a unique ecosystem in eastern Bolivia, the dry, tropical Chiquitano forest. Dr. Tim Killeen of the Museum authored a substantial portion of the report that was submitted jointly with Fundacion Amigos de la Naturaleza, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Wildlife Conservation Society, and WWF. Enron International of Houston, Texas, the company that will build the pipeline with a Bolivian counterpart, funded the study. Five of the ten maps we produced to accompany the text were created in ArcView (two are included as attachments to this report). The report and negotiations with Enron resulted in a $20 million agreement with the company to finance a trust fund to be used for mitigation and development of conservation programs in the region. 3) A Remote Sensing and GIS Methods course at the Museum of Natural History, April - May, 1998: Dr. Marc Steininger of the University of Maryland and Goddard Space Flight Center and Dr. Tim Killeen of the Museum taught the two-week course that was financed by the NASA Landsat Pathfinder - Tropical Deforestation Project, with sponsorship by the Museum, the University of Maryland, and the American Museum of Natural History, among others. Major topics included characteristics of raster and vector data, data formats, geo-referencing, image classification, a conceptual introduction to GIS, and an introduction to ArcView, which was used for practicing the GIS exercises and for demonstrations. Biologists and computer specialists from Peru (2), Venezuela (2), Ecuador (2), and Bolivia (8) attended. The participants represented, among other institutions, the Fundaci=F3n Instituto Bot=E1nico de Venezuela, Herbario Nacional del Ecuador, Fundaci=F3n Amigos de la Naturaleza (Bolivia), Instituto de Ecologia (Bolivia), and the Museum. 4) Revision of vegetation classes of Amboro National Park: Using a shape file of elevation contours and a 1996 satellite image as background reference in ArcView, Lic. Ynes Uslar revised four quads (approx. 2,000 km2) of the vegetation map of Amboro that had been based upon the field observations and sketches of a former Museum botanist, Gonzalo Navarro. The map which displays the revisions is included as an attachment to this report. 5) Image analysis of shifting sand dunes in Lomas de Arena National Park: Landsat TM satellite images from 1989 and 1996 were used to measure the extent and direction of sand dune movement in this regional park a few miles south of the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. A major concern of the study was the impact of the dunes' movements upon the lakes interspersed among the dunes, which are an important tourist attraction and recreation site. Since the 1980's, one large lake has completely disappeared, others have diminished in size, and some have regained their former extent. It is believed that these variations are dynamically related to natural fluctuations in the water table as well as to the movement of the sand dunes. ArcView was used to create the 1:50 000 map, which displays the results of the image analysis. One can see the northwest-southeast orientation of the sand dunes. During the seven years that elapsed between the two images, the dunes shifted between 70 and 100 meters towards the southeast, confirming that they migrate slowly in the direction of the predominant winds. 6) A GIS database of the Museum's plant collection: Sylvia Molina, a University thesis student, initiated a long-term project in ArcView to create a database of the more than 70,000 geo-referenced plant specimens in the Museum's collection. The goal of this project is to refine and clarify the current vegetation classifications for Bolivia and to produce a map of its floristic diversity. " Check out Conservation International's "A Biological Assessment of Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado, Bolivia" Also Missouri Botanical Garden's Story on Noel Kempff National Park.

Instituto Socioambiental, Brazil e90. (Av. Higienopolis, 983 Sao Paulo, SP Brazil 01238-001 Telephone: (11)825-5544 Fax: (11)825-7861 GIS Contacts: Sergio Mauro Santos Filho: GIS Analyst, Andre Villas Boas: Anthropologyst, Claudia Teixeira: Forester Engineer). "is a private non-profit institution, established to propose integrated solutions to social and environmental issues. Its main objective is to defend social goods and rights, both collective and diffuse, relating to the environment, cultural heritage, human rights and the peoples." GIS STATUS: "The initial set up of the laboratory dates back to 1990 and the support resulting from donations from ESRI - Environmental Systems Research Institute (through its Conservation Program), Sun Microsystems Inc, and agreements executed in 1993 with the European Community and Pew Charitable Trust Funds allowed for the maintenance, development and expansion of the laboratory in this last fifteen months, both for equipment and for new additions to and professional enhancement of staff... - Indigenous Lands In Brazilian Amazon: The map "Indigenous Lands in Brazilian Amazon" has been permanently updated, upon each change on the perimeter of the indigenous lands or on theirlegal situation. Several updated copies in 1:4,000,000 scale (pen plotter) or 1:3,600,000 scale (electrostatic plotter) were produced and sent to indigenous organizations, support organizations, partners, media, Congress, etc. ...Information concerning all Conservation Units of the Federal Union were added to the data bank, to wit: National Parks, Biological Reserves, Ecological Reserves, Ecological Stations, Environment Protection Areas, Forest Reserves, Extractivist Reserves and Relevant Ecological Interest Areas, with their different categories and various direct and indirect uses. The Data Bank includes the following information: name of the Conservation Unit, legal establishment history with objectives, municipal area(s) of location. extension and boundaries, overlapping with Indian areas, or with other areas reserved by the Federal government. ....Consulting and technical service works were conducted to support the "Associação de Seringueiros do Alto Juruá" [Association of Rubber-tappers of Alto Juruá], in designing and preparing maps that included a cartographic basis and placements of rubber-tappers in the Extractivist Reserve of Alto Juruá, State of Acre. Based upon data from a field survey conducted on a participation basis, which involved local dwellers and outside researchers, an updated map was prepared. This material was added to the official action filed with theFederal Government for regularization of the Extractivist Reserve. The materialalso supported the field works conducted in the area for economic and ecological zoning, whichare still being done. Those data will be cartographically processed by the GIS Laboratory, as soon as they become available in the future." See: PILOT PROJECT FOR MONITORING AND CONTROLLING THE BORDERS OF XINGU INDIGENOUS PARK (ESRI 1994 Conf. paper, by Sergio Mauro Santos Filho - GIS Analyst, Andre Villas Boas - Anthropologyst, Claudia Teixeira - Forester Engineer,) "This study was developed to give the indigenous communities inside the Park information about how the colonization occurs, allowing them to foresee immediate and future impacts in the environment inside and outside the Park, as well as in the integrity of its borders. Base maps of official mapping agencies have been scanned, vectorized and edited. Full scene LANDSAT images were kept, georeferenced, visually interpreted and digitized as background images, to map land use. Maps were produced with this information to guide field survey of foresters and land use researchers. Maps were then updated, showing land use around the park, land ownership, the evolution of occupation and the main vectors of occupation. A socio-environmental diagnostics of the area of concern was made, involving aspects relative to the characterization of the natural resources, the manner and processes in which these resources are utilized and the socio-economic and land ownership structure of the region; and forecasts of the regional socio-environmental scene were made, through the evaluation of the principal evolutional tendencies of the occupational processes and of resource utilization, with a special focus on the implications of these processes on Xingu Park. " see also: "Government creates conservation areas, but does not publish their decrees" from their excellent online newsletter.

INPA Laboratorio de Geo Info Sistemas - GISLab, (Al. Cosme Ferreira, 1756 69083-000 Manaus AM Brasil, tel 092 643-3153, fax 092 643-3155, Dr. Antonio Donato Nobre, Email: anobre@inpa.gov.br

Fundacao Vitoria Amazonica, Brazil, e97. ( CONJ. MORADA DO SOL, CEP 69.080.510, MANAUS AM - BRASIL. Phone: 55-92-6421336 55-92-6422803 Fax: 55-92-2363257 Director, Muriel Saragoussi, GIS Contact, Andrew Murchie, andrew@buriti.com.br) for online news, see World Wildlife Fund Jaú National Park Project. For their recent GIS work, see the University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies 48th Conference Paper Title: Mapeamento Participativo: Realidade ou Ficção? A experiência do Parque Nacional do Jaú : ("Presenter: Muriel Saragoussi Co-authors: Saragoussi, M., M. R. Pinheiro, A. W. Murchie, S. H. Borges) "This paper describes an initiative for participatory mapping of natural resource use by communities at the Jaú National Park between 1995 and 1998. The initiative was headed by Fundação Vitória Amazônica, an NGO from the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Researchers with social and biological science expertise, practitioners from several governmental and non-governmental institutions and community agents participated in the mapping, which was based on conflict resolution and research-action. A main result was participatory and consensual zoning of the Park. The methodology included use of an array of tools from simple paper and pencil to GIS. The initiative resulted in greater knowledge for all stakeholders, allowing a better understanding of the human, bio-physical, and political contexts related to the creation of a national park. This paper presents the methodological process leading to consensual definition as well as the main questions presented at this stage, which require further investigation."