Public participation GIS for mapping land use patterns in Getik Valley, Armenia

Abstract

The research project was conducted to understand how communities in the Getik Valley use land and what benefits they receive from the natural environment. The aim of this project is to identify the intensively used areas, especially forested areas connected to illegal logging, and provide information that will help to improve and prolong the use of natural resources in the area. Another objective of the study was to identify the locations of landscape changes as a means to understand the current landscape change tendencies. For that reason, the collected data have been compared with the Land Use and Land Cover map of the Getik Valley. To prevent illegal cutting, it is important to be aware of the land-use patterns in the affected areas and to know which role firewood plays in fulfilling the energy demand of the local communities. Therefore, a questionnaire was developed using Public Participation GIS tool Maptionnaire to reveal 1) land-use patterns, 2) landscape changes, and 3) energy use and demand of the local communities in the Getik Valley.