Mapping of food access points of Indigenous tribal communities of Madhya Pradesh with Geospatial tools: a study protocol.

Background: Food environment is a critical determinant of the nutritional status of a population, wherein the availability and the ease of access of different foods influence their consumption. Use of Geospatial/Geographic information system (GIS) and satellite data can create quantitative account of Food environment. With the current study, we aim to utilize GIS-based mapping to capture current food environments as well as changes in land-use and land cover (LULC) of Gond indigenous community residing in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh.

Methods: This paper details out the protocol of using GIS technology to assess the diverse food access points (FAPs) used by inhabitants of 21 study villages in the selected blocks (Narayanganj, Bichhiya and Mawai) of Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. For built and wild FAPs, we will use proximity analysis approach which helps to assess distance between two points. The distance of a particular FAP from the community will be mapped on the Google Earth Pro platform. The cultivated FAPs will be mapped by buffer analysis approach to assess their density per unit households in a village. A retrospective qualitative analysis of images from the Google Earth Pro captured between 2013-2023-time frame will be analyzed to assess overall transition of food environments over time. This will help to assess decadal changes in land use and land cover patterns as factors affecting current food consumption pattern of the community.

Discussions: Geospatial analysis, including GIS technology and satellite images, has the potential to revolutionize the traditional ways of mapping food environments. Using this technique to map the current food access points along with a retrospective assessment of changes in land use and land cover patterns will function as credible adjunct to the traditional participatory methods. Proximity analysis will help to map distance of FAPs from the community thereby informing food miles while buffer analysis will help to assess density of FAPs. Documenting temporality of food access over the years will help understand the change in food consumption patterns and the growing influence of nutrition transition in accessing food from different food environments. Overall findings from this study can help devise solutions for sustainable food systems.