This leaves room for developing innovative methodologies that
combine different forms of knowledge, and where top–down
and bottom–up approaches can advantageously combine. Here,
a simple method was developed for successively entering
local knowledge (gathered during focus-group discussions) into
satellite-image classification and successive steps of image interpretation.
The objective was to show that locally held information
can be gathered in limited time and provide results that are
uniquely relevant to the local context. The method was applied to
a study area located in the uplands of Mindanao (Philippines). This
area was chosen (i) because it has a regional reputation for being
prey to environmental degradation, (ii) because literature about it
is limited due to its remoteness, and (iii) because political insecurity
in the area rules out long periods of field investigation. Given
that such situations are relatively common around the world, this
study could make way for many others in similar settings. The first
goal of this study was to find optimal ways of combining scientific
knowledge with vernacular knowledge shared by local inhabitants
as a means of enhancing the characterization of land changes. The
secondary goal was to portray 35 years of land-cover changes in
the Upper Pulangi watershed, Mindanao, Philippines