Culture and communication: Can landscape visualization improve forest management consultation with indigenous communities?

Members of indigenous communities may find it difficult to engage with technical information presented using typical resource management planning media, such as maps and reports. One technique that has been successful in public consultation in other fields is the use of realistic three-dimensional (3D) visualizations of the future landscape under different scenarios. This technique might provide common ground between different cultural groups in forestry, but has not yet been widely applied with First Nation communities where cultural impacts of proposed management activities need to be discussed. This study represents one of the first to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of photo-realistic landscape visualizations with First Nations and their performance relative to more standard planimetric maps as typically employed by resource managers in their consultations with local communities in British Columbia (BC).This study with the Cheam Band of the Fraser Valley in BC presented a small sample of community members with various landscape management scenarios in the form of simple GIS maps and photo-realistic images. The newer visualization medium was readily accepted by the community members, despite its novelty. The study found that the simple maps on their own led to less understanding of the proposed management options and some confusion or errors in orientation; the visualizations encouraged more in-depth and lively discussion, and seemed to help participants articulate more clearly their preferences for landscape conditions. Band members commented on some shortcomings of the maps, but generally found the visualizations to be helpful and more meaningful. However, further studies are needed to replicate these exploratory findings with other First Nations communities, to validate the information provided by visualizations, and support more robust guidance for their use in practice.