Using participatory mapping for a shared understanding of deforestation dynamics in Murehwa district, Zimbabwe

This paper presents the results of a study using participatory mapping to collectively understand deforestation dynamics in Murehwa, a communal area approximately 90 km northeast of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city. The study engaged smallholder farmers in a deliberative process through participatory mapping exercises in 15 villages. For each exercise, participants collaboratively drew two maps of their village, one for 1990 and another for 2021. They depict village boundaries, land uses and the magnitude of change between the two dates. Participatory mapping served as a platform for collective thinking, with the resulting maps used to facilitate discussions. They involved comparing land use between the two maps and identifying the drivers of the observed changes. Thematic approach was used to analyse the discussions in order to come up with collectively identified drivers of land use changes. The findings show that deforestation and resulting land use changes are primarily rooted in economic depression, selling of wood, tobacco farming, veld fires, unauthorised wood exploitation, illegal selling of land, increase in gardening, agricultural expansion and population growth. These results lay a foundational step towards the co-construction of a governance framework for practising agriculture in forest-adjacent areas. Moreover, the paper shares methodological reflections and experiences intended to promote initiatives where the construction of a shared understanding facilitates sustainable land-use practices that foster natural resource conservation.