Participatory Mapping and SWOT in the context of the Water-Food-Energy Nexus for attaining SDGs in Eastern Amazonia

Abstract

Abstract. The nexus concept is applied to many global contexts to generate understanding of the relations among the water, food and energy sectors and to guide investigations that seek to improve living conditions of marginalized communities. This work analyses the nexus by means of qualitative and participative methodologies at a community scale with the objective of understanding how residents of traditional communities perceive the interconnections among water, food, and energy. SWOT and participatory mapping methodologies were utilized complementarily to map the water, food, and energy contexts of Ponta do Urumajó community, located in Pará state, Brazil. Participatory mapping and SWOT create quali-quantitative data, enabling the participation of individuals in the production of participatory maps of their territories and the material and symbolic appropriation of spaces, constituting a political and social strategy for empowerment and autonomy. These methods provided the basis for learning and reflecting on the social, environmental, territorial, and political reality in terms of the water, food, and energy nexus, making it possible to use the data for achieving the SDGs, creating future public policies or more rational community management adjusted to the local reality.