In theory, disaster risk reduction (DRR) must be inclusive of a large array of stakeholders in order to integrate actions from the bottom up and the top down and address both the root causes of people’s vulnerability and enhance their intrinsic capacities to face natural and other hazards (Gaillard and Mercer, 2013). In practice, however, there is a significant gap between, those immediately concerned and at risk, the insiders (e.g. local communities and governments, faith groups, schools), and, on the other hand, the outsiders (e.g. scientists, national governments, international organisations, non-government organisations) who rarely coordinate and communicate. Amongst insiders, a further gap is observed between dominant actors (e.g. local governments, dominant ethnic and gender groups, adults) and marginalised groups (e.g. ethnic and gender minorities, youth and elderly, people with disabilities). Such gaps at different scales reflect similar difficulties in appraising and integrating different forms of knowledge and resources, the dominance of technocratic institutional frameworks, and a scarcity of appropriate tools to foster dialogue amongst all stakeholders.

This presentation provides an overview of all forms of participatory mapping used for DRR with a particular emphasis on Participatory 3-Dimensional Mapping (P3DM) as a tool which facilitates the integration of different forms of knowledge and actions through increased dialogue amongst a wide range of stakeholders. It draws upon an array of concrete examples from Asia and the Pacific.