ABSTRACT
Various participatory methodologies are used to mobilize local communities for social-ecological changes. One of these methodologies is participatory mapping. But there is little in the literature on how learning happens during mapping and the significance of this learning. This chapter focuses on the role of participatory mapping for learning and change. It draws on findings from participatory mapping theories, social and learning theory and theory of critical realism, specifically that of Archer’s morphogenesis in order to explain the learning that took place during the mapping process and for a fuller understanding of the change that followed this learning. The chapter argues that participatory mapping methodologies may ‘work in the world’, in contexts where land degradation and loss of biodiversity and cultural resources is prevalent. The chapter shows that participatory mapping creates dissonance and dissonance is an important dynamic in the learning and change process; morphogenesis (or change) occurs over time, but also in smaller cycles that interact at different levels. It also shows that participatory mapping cannot, by itself, mobilize significant structural change, at least in the short term. The chapter concludes by suggesting that learning and the desire for change can emerge from participatory mapping processes, and that this can be utilized to adapt to changing socio-ecological environments, potentially contributing to longer-term resilience of social-ecological systems.
