[Geowanking] FW: PALAWAN - Digital Mapping Project - Call for volunteers

[Giacomo Rambaldi]

FYI

Giacomo Rambaldi


-----Original Message-----
From: palawan.endangered [mailto:palawan.endangered at gmail.com] 
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 4:28 PM
Cc: ppgis at dgroups.org; giacomo rambaldi
Subject: PALAWAN - DIGITAL MAPPING PROJECT

*DIGITAL MAPPING PROJECT: CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS*

  In March 2006, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called
  for a revitalization of mining nation-wide. The Philippines is one of
  the 17 countries in the world with the richest biodiversity. As of now,
  approved mining claims already cover almost half a million of hectares
  of land. Open-pit and strip mining for nickel results in the flattening
  of mountain tops, in the plundering of forest and in the production of
  vast amounts of tailings that contaminate freshwater sources and the
  sea. Recently, from a premiere tourist destination, Palawan - the
  richest biodiversity hot spot in the country - has become one of the
  most attractive mining investments destinations. The island is part of
  the "Man and Biosphere Reserve" program of UNESCO and hosts 49 animals
  and 56 botanical species found in the IUCN Red List of Threatened
  Species. As of now, there are more than 300 mining applications also
  covering forested watersheds and protected areas customarily managed by
  indigenous communities belonging to three main ethnic groups: Pälawan,
  Tagbanua and Batak. The other communities affected are fisher folks and
  farmers. A mission of the Centre for Biological Diversity (CBCD) of the
  University of Kent (UK) with the support of the Christensen Fund (TCF)
  and of the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) visited Palawan
  between July and September 2008. Audiovisual documentation on the 
impact of
  mining, including interviews and discussions with indigenous people,
  farmers, NGOs representatives and politicians was acquired.

  Initial plans were discussed with relevant stakeholders on how to bring
  the case of Palawan to international attention. As a result of these
  discussions, a request has been made to Peoples and Plants International
  (PPI) -- a US based non-profit organization - to provide additional
  expertise and institutional backing to this project, while establishing
  linkages with Google Earth Outreach
  <http://earth.google.com/outreach/>.

  We are now inviting volunteers experienced in working with Google Earth
  and interfacing it with Google Docs to help us developing an awareness
  raising layer. Geo-coded data compiled on the ground in the form of
  multimedia, images and reports and other data like the boundaries of
  mining applications, protected areas, and other should be visualized on
  Google Earth.

  The resulting mashup would serve to raise awareness among a wider
  international audience, on the impact of mining on the forest
  environment and 'traditional' communities of Palawan island. This is to
  facilitate connections and networking between global advocacy
  initiatives and locally grounded efforts. It is expected that this
  project will ultimately lead to more effective strategies for opposing
  irresponsible mining, while amplifying the impact of Palawan grass-root
  and indigenous people's voices both nationally and internationally.

  Interested volunteers should send an e-mail to:
palawan.endangered at gmail.com
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