Social Cartography as a Participatory Strategy for Community Ownership of environmental health

Abstract

Social cartography is consolidated as a mechanism for collective transformation by promoting the critical understanding of local reality and the formulation of action strategies built from the community. Objective: To analyze the role of social cartography as a strategy for community ownership of environmental health in rural and peri-urban contexts in the department of Cauca, Colombia. Methodology: Qualitative research was conducted using a Participatory Action Research approach, employing social cartography and stakeholder mapping to understand the territory from a participatory perspective, with a focus on water resources and environmental health. Results: The application of principles of social appropriation of knowledge allowed the identification of differences between rural and peri-urban areas, especially in relation to water management, environmental health, and institutional articulation. Social cartography facilitated collective diagnoses and the formulation of community agendas adapted to each territory. Conclusions: Social cartography, integrated with the social appropriation of knowledge, strengthens community participation and makes structural inequalities visible, serving as an effective tool for generating critical understanding and transformation in the territories.