This paper examines the genesis, policy attributes and applications of Javier Pulgar Vidal's pioneering geographic framework of national land use in Peru. It represents the early design of a state-indigenous perspective on land use and policy incorporating geovisualization techniques. Propelled initially through populist agrarian and indigenista politics, it presages general elements of the current prospect of national land use policies under multicultural environmental governance being expanded in many countries. Ongoing application of Pulgar Vidal's geographic framework is concentrated on three themes: (i) indigenous agroecological zonation and regional development; (ii) food security utilizing indigenous agrobiodiversity; and (iii) geo-spatial ordering of cultural-environmental informatics. Important influence and widespread application of this framework, as well as major limitations, have stemmed from its hybrid character. As an intermediate-level conceptual framework it provides a versatile capacity for organizing wide-ranging information on complex land use, linking actors and institutions in diverse land use initiatives, and as an advanced perspective on cultural-environmental adaptations involving major indigenous influences. Its contribution is less significant as a predictive theory and it largely fails to generate participatory inputs or politically empowering processes of direct benefit to indigenous people and organizations. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.