Photovoice for Forest and Livelihoods, Riau

A community-led photovoice initiative to document local environmental priorities and strengthen evidence for equitable land-use decisions, integrating safeguards and learning cycles

Quick Facts

Year :

2021

Location :

Lubuk Bigau and Batang Kapas landscape

Programme area :

Data, Research and Learning
Participatory Land Use Planning and Mapping
Sustainable Livelihoods and NTFPs

Partners :

Village institutions, KPH partners, local facilitators

Donor/Funder :

Restricted, details available upon request

Status :

Completed

Impact Highlights

6 villages

Community partners engaged

4 sessions

Facilitation and photovoice workshops

4 learning briefs

Evidence notes produced for programmes and policy

40 stories

Community narratives documented

Context

Communities in Riau face overlapping pressures, land-use change, livelihood risks, and limited access to decision-making spaces. This project uses participatory photovoice to elevate local perspectives and field evidence, strengthening programme design and stakeholder dialogue

Objectives

Enable community members to document environmental priorities and livelihood challenges through photovoice
Strengthen local evidence for inclusive land-use governance, including safeguards and grievance pathways
Generate practical learning products to improve programme delivery and partner coordination
Support dialogue with relevant stakeholders using community-led narratives and visual evidence

Approach and Safeguards

Delivery follows FPIC-informed engagement, conflict-sensitive facilitation, and continuous learning. The team applies basic safeguarding measures, ensures informed participation, and uses feedback loops to refine activities. Sensitive information and identifiable images are screened before publication

Key Activities

Community orientation and FPIC-informed consent process
Photovoice training, ethics, and story selection workshops
Field documentation, facilitation support, and story curation
Joint reflection sessions to identify themes, risks, and opportunities
Production of learning briefs and partner sharing sessions

Outputs

A curated set of photovoice stories with community approval
Learning brief(s) summarising themes, risks, and programme implications
Stakeholder discussion sessions supported by evidence materials
An internal lessons log to improve delivery and safeguards

Results and Learning

Early learning shows that visual storytelling improves participation and reduces barriers for community members to communicate priorities. The approach also strengthens programme design by surfacing practical constraints and safeguards considerations.

Documentation references are available upon request