Protecting the Amazon: The Power of Indigenous Governance and Science
- Indigenous communities across the Amazon Basin are increasingly turning to science and technology as central tools in their efforts to defend their territories from illegal mining, logging and...
- In the Peruvian Amazon, members of the Harakbut Indigenous group have deployed drones to monitor the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, a protected area nestled against the Andes Mountains in...
- Similar efforts are underway in Colombia’s Cauca department, where the Nasa people maintain an Indigenous guard that patrols the so-called “boot” region—a geographically distinct area shaped like a...
Indigenous communities across the Amazon Basin are increasingly turning to science and technology as central tools in their efforts to defend their territories from illegal mining, logging and encroachment, according to recent reporting and expert analysis.
In the Peruvian Amazon, members of the Harakbut Indigenous group have deployed drones to monitor the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, a protected area nestled against the Andes Mountains in the Madre de Dios region. Luis Tayori, a community member and drone operator, uses the technology to detect illegal airstrips linked to drug trafficking operations that have expanded into remote parts of the rainforest. The aerial surveillance allows the community to document invasions by loggers, gold miners, and other actors threatening biodiversity and carbon-rich ecosystems.