Making information and decision-making processes accessible to disadvantaged and nonliterate people is a challenge for community forestry in Nepal. In studies jointly conducted by the Nepal–UK Community Forestry Project (NUKCFP) and His Majesty's Government (HMG) of Nepal Department of Forest, aerial photographs and participatory photomapping (tracing maps over aerial photographs) were evaluated with a view to supporting participatory processes of community forestry in Parbat District of the Middle Hill Region. Results indicate that, regardless of educational status, most people accurately interpreted forest condition and profiles of community use from photographs. Photographs were appreciated because they presented authentic information, allowed consistency of interpretation between groups, and made it possible to calibrate perceptions of resources. District Forest Officers and Community Forestry Officers valued aerial photographs as robust instruments that naturally directed discussions toward community and resource issues. Results of a pilot study of the use of aerial images for surveys indicated that orthorectified aerial images may substantially reduce time spent by District Forest Office (DFO) staff in chain-and-compass surveys of community forests. Surveys based on aerial images encourage the participation of users, and boundaries drawn over survey photomaps are represented in the context of important reference information contained in the photographic image. The development of a service for low-cost printing of high-resolution and geographically correct photomaps is described.
