The Sketch Map Tool was strategically used by the National Disaster Management System (NSDRM) in Cali, Colombia. Its purpose was to strengthen local capacities and processes for socialization, analysis, and risk reduction at the territorial level. The project holds high national relevance and promotes participatory mapping to integrate technical knowledge with local knowledge, while recognizing the environment, existing threats, available resources, and safe routes in the event of emergencies. This approach places communities at the center of risk analysis, ensuring that local perspectives directly inform disaster risk management processes.
The project has generated more than 270 community maps, prioritizing different risk scenarios based on community input; 4,092 people have participated across 147 municipalities in Colombia. These maps reflect a wide range of locally identified risks and priorities across urban and rural contexts.
Using the Sketch Map Tool allowed communities to capture and share their territorial knowledge through a participatory, visual methodology. Because communities can use the tool directly and easily print and digitize data from the website, it remains suitable for those without professional mapping knowledge. This helps us achieve our objective of strengthening community capacities in the most vulnerable areas of the country. Easy access supports inclusive participation and encourages community ownership of the mapping process.
The mapping process was part of the activities organized by the national government, in coordination with the prioritized municipalities, which facilitated the participation of community leaders, representatives of organizations and local governments, and members of local risk management committees. This coordination aligned community-generated information with institutional planning and decision making.
During the workshops, the equitable participation of women, young people, and ethnic groups was promoted, encouraging inclusion and diversity of perspectives. Project facilitators guided the development of maps using the Sketch Map Tool in urban areas, where scales are smaller. In Cali, Colombia, two areas with active risk management processes were selected: Pance and Comuna 18. In these areas, the mapping activities contributed to the development of community-based risk management plans.
The maps produced by the communities were digitized using Sketch Map Tool and analysed using other Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, such as MapHub, which allows information, text, areas, and colors to be added, making them easier for communities to use. The analysis enabled the identification of spatial patterns of threat and vulnerability, the prioritization of areas for intervention, and the strengthening of municipal planning instruments. This process also supported dialogue between communities and authorities around local risks and ongoing initiatives.
The project succeeded in generating up-to-date and relevant information for communities and authorities in two areas of the city of Cali. The activities help consolidate a network of communities with strengthened risk management capacities, generating updated, validated community maps in a participatory manner. The information generated with the communities was digitized and integrated into the territorial planning processes known as “Municipal Disaster Risk Management Plans (PMGRD)” and “Community Risk Management Plans.” As a result, community knowledge became recognized as an input to formal risk management frameworks.
Among the main impacts are:
- The appropriation of local knowledge as a source of information for risk management.
- A stronger and active connection has been established between communities and local institutions, fostering ongoing collaboration for risk management.
- The strengthening of resilience and community response capacity in emergencies.
- The process also enabled direct interaction between residents and local authorities on risk-related concerns and planned interventions.
Throughout the process, we learned many lessons, among the most significant ones were:
- Digital tools such as the Sketch Map Tool must be accompanied by training and awareness-raising processes to ensure their appropriate use.
It is essential to establish mechanisms for updating and maintaining maps to ensure their validity over time. - It has been validated that using a pencil to write explanatory texts alongside the drawings is an effective strategy for mapping with the SMT. This allows participants to add valuable qualitative context to the paper map without these notes interfering with or being misdetected by the digitization algorithm.
- To ensure an up-to-date base map, the strategy should include OpenStreetMap mapping and updating activities. This additional effort not only improves map quality but also enables communities to develop data management skills. Facilitators can help communicate limitations and manage potential frustrations during these activities.
- The use of satellite base maps can complicate the process in urban areas due to rapid changes or low spatial resolution of the imagery. In areas with forest cover, it is difficult to mark features that the tool can reliably detect.
- Overall, the experience highlighted the importance of combining technical tools with strong facilitation and continuous community engagement.
