Tribes use GPS and Google Earth in conservation effort

location based services

Picture this: deep in the Brazilian Amazon, "we've got guys painted red and [wearing] nothing else, walking through the jungle with GPS units mapping their land". The quote comes from Mark Plotkin, head of the Amazon Conservation Team. He and his colleagues are teaching Amazon Indians to use handheld GPS computers and Googlemaps. They use the GPS computers to plot water sources, areas of illegal logging, sacred areas, hunting spots, religious sanctuaries, medicinal plants... and the list goes on. Meanwhile, others spend hours scouring satellite images on Google Earth for signs of new illegal gold minining activities.The result is detailed maps of areas that are both very vulnerable to exploitation (e.g. illegal logging) and very difficult to patrol and protect. According to this article on Mongabay, the Brazilian government is finding them very useful.It's not the first time people have used handheld GPS technology and indigenous knowledge to serve conservation. Check out this article in The Economist about CyberTracker, a handheld computer which uses GPS and symbols so that park guards in Africa can collect information on biodiversity, even if they are barely literate.Let us know if you have heard of any similar examples.