Territorial perspectives on water scarcity: a standardized participatory mapping framework in Colombian rural geographies

This study advances participatory mapping methodology by developing a standardized framework for cross-cultural analysis of water governance systems. While participatory mapping reveals how communities value, use, and manage water resources, standardizing this method enables meaningful comparative analysis across diverse socio-cultural contexts. The framework balances methodological consistency with cultural sensitivity through a three-dimensional approach examining community, resources, and ecosystem domains. Testing this methodology across indigenous and non-indigenous water-scarce communities in Colombia demonstrates its effectiveness in revealing distinct water governance systems while maintaining analytical comparability. The research contributes to theoretical debates about standardized protocols in cross-cultural geographical research and offers methodological innovations for spatial analysis of resource governance. Findings highlight tensions between diverse spatial ontologies and convergent vulnerabilities, with significant implications for water policy in rural communities facing climate change pressures.