🌀 Systems and Resource Mapping
Activities
Three Rings Evaluation Process
In 2021, Colombia Regenerativa undertook a systematic evaluation process with seven bioregions across Colombia. This evaluation used a "three rings" model where the past forms the first ring, the present the second ring, and the future the third ring, with each bioregion collectively determining their position on a scale. The evaluation framework spans six general categories that emerged from the bioregions' own experiences: governance (how decisions are made collectively), economics (how resources are stewarded and exchanged), ecosystem management (how lands and waters are cared for), cultural identity (how traditions and knowledge are preserved), community health (how relationships and wellbeing are nurtured), and education (how knowledge is transmitted across generations). The process was deliberately collective, with each region determining which actions were being taken across these categories. By 2023, bioregions engaged in self-evaluation while referencing what others were doing, enabling learning between bioregions. This cross-regional learning became one of the most valuable aspects of the process. An interesting pattern emerged from the 2023 evaluation: two regions—Rio Bolo (a farm region along a river) and Q'uena (an Indigenous bioregion)—evaluated themselves lower than two other bioregions that have more rural populations. The higher-scoring regions also attract people from cities who go to these territories to promote regeneration. These patterns reveal important dynamics: urban-rural connections can accelerate regenerative work, but Indigenous and traditional farming communities may have different timelines and metrics for success.
Participatory Systems Mapping
The foundation for CEDPO was laid through a participatory systems mapping process initiated in 2015, led by Regenerative Earth in collaboration with local communities and Indigenous groups. The resulting systems map identifies existing capacities, unmet needs, root causes, feedback loops, and leverage points for regenerative intervention. The mapping revealed a shared vision centered on a regenerative economy that supports thriving communities and culture, where jobs are reliant on healthy ecosystems, creating incentives for ecological stewardship. It also illuminated key challenges: unsustainable development, international land acquisition accelerating over recent years, unsustainable agriculture, poverty alongside conservation driving illegal deforestation and poaching, fragmentation among working groups, and cultural erosion. This systems analysis guides CEDPO's theory of change, objectives, strategies, and project selection criteria across environmental, social, and economic sectors.
Bay Delta Asset Mapping
The Trust leads an asset-mapping process that asks: What strengths already exist in this system—institutions, people, projects, built and natural assets—and how can they be named, mapped, and made easier for others to find and build on? Community sessions, evolving digital tools, and ongoing data collection together build a shared picture of capacity across the bioregion.
Foodshed and Energyshed Mapping
On Mallorca, the alliance has used foodshed and energyshed mapping to trace how food and energy move through landscapes and settlements—mapping relational “footprints” rather than only administrative boundaries. The aim is practical: to surface leverage points for regenerative projects rooted in how the island actually feeds and powers itself.
Watershed Restoration Planning
The team mapped “blue” and “green” zones along the river. Blue zones slow runoff from the mountains so water seeps into soil instead of stripping topsoil into the channel. Green zones target restoring the forests that once helped condense rain at lower altitude before air rose onto the plateau—part of reclaiming the gentler winter rains lost to flood-prone weather under current land use.