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Indians Use Google Earth and GPS To Protect Amazon

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the captain-eplanet dept.

Damien1972 writes "Deep in the most remote jungles of South America, Amazon Indians are using Google Earth, GPS, and other technologies to protect their fast-dwindling home. Tribes in Suriname, Brazil, and Colombia are combining their traditional knowledge of the rainforest with Western technology to conserve forests and maintain ties to their history and cultural traditions. Indians use Google Earth to remotely monitor their lands by checking for signs of miners and GPS to map their lands. "Google Earth is used primarily for vigilance," says Vasco van Roosmalen, program director of a nonprofit involved in the project."

3 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. A certain Bash.org quote comes to mind by Mikachu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Reminds me of a certain bash.org quote...

    <Rebbel> Man Google Earth is awesome
    <Android18> Why?
    <Rebbel> Im looking at my house
    <Rebbel> brb, pizzas here
    <BFMV> Now thats what i call technology

  2. Images were updated by request by xPsi · · Score: 5, Informative

    Initially, I thought that their exercise was futile because Google Earth doesn't not have real time images and it is impossible (at a glance, although sometimes you can tell with some detective work) to know when various pictures were taken (e.g. see the Google Earth FAQ). But, it turns out that the group working in the Amazon actively makes requests to Google to update certain images faster so they can legitimately monitor various regions. e.g. from TFA:
    ""When Google Earth updated these images earlier this year with higher resolution versions, we could find nearly all the disturbances in the forest....We offered the Google Earth team a list of coordinates where it would be helpful to have sharper images. We also discussed the possibility of finding ways to include the Indians' nonproprietary data, as a layer with Indian names, on Google Earth."

    --
    i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
  3. Re:Best way to ensure conservation by KillerCow · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The combination of technology and private property looks like the best way to ensure conservation. Make sure the land in question belongs to somebody, so they have an incentive to take care of it


    The Tragedy of the Commons defeats this argument. If I'm the private owner, why should I spend my money to preserve it when I could make money be selling the land to a clear-cutter? Yes, there's less rain-forest now, but that cost is paid by society, not by me. I personally get net ahead by abusing my piece of the commons.

    Individuals do what is best for themselves individually. Collectives can do what is best for the collective. The only way to protect a commons is through government, because it represents the collective of the people.