THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES OF PERU TAKE ACTION

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Here is another great example of using hand held technology -the mobile phone – for a social-environmental cause. Vista Hermosa, is an ethnic Kichwa community in the peruvian amazon of around 40 families situated in the middle of the Napo River basin in Peru.It is situated halfway between the Ecuadorian border and the regional capital ,Iquitos.

A headwater of river Amazon,the Napo River,is one of the world’s most biodiverse and carbon-rich areas.Upto now Its forests remain mostly untouched, from threats in the likes of large-scale cattle ranching and forest clear-cutting compared to other river basins in the Amazon, With a collective land title of 18,000 hectares of pristine rainforest,like most indigenous communities in the Napo region,Vista Hermosa inhabitants have survived for generations by living off the land and forest. The Kichwa community sustain themselves through hunting, fishing, gathering fruit and firewood and medicinal plants-all relating to the amazon jungle.

In recent past, the forest has been perpetually threatened by illegal logging and coca production, with illegal land invasions increasing in Loreto region.

With the support of the Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) , Vista Hermosa and 35 other indigenous communities in the Loreto region are using forest monitoring tools and pre-programed smartphones to patroll their ancestral forests. Since March of 2018 vista hermosa and other tribes have been using satellite information to verify more than 4,000 deforestation alerts.So far and over 2,000 patrols have been conducted. Different communities elect their own representatives to be trained in the technology and lead patrols around their territory.

As there is no connectivity deep in the Amazon, the patrollers depend on printed maps and USBs that contain recent GLAD alerts. Alerts are transferred to the smartphone app Forest Watcher, which functions offline.this way the smart phone is temporarily turned into a custom GPS device.

“The satellites allow us to make decisions in real time, and maybe deliver this information to State institutions for them to take immediate action,” said Jorge Perez, President of ORPIO, Peru’s regional organization of representing 15 distinct indigenous ethnic groups

After confirming a particular jungle area is illegally used ,the patrollers issue a community warnings, supported by satellite imagery and the great news is these warnings have been enough to convince the illegal invaders to stop their activities. This new capacity to take direct action has changed the way that the people of Vista Hermosa will connect to their land, and is a great message to the rest of the world that shows collective effort taken by communities to solve social problems get to be successful.This also is a great example of using mobile technology -although in an area like deep amazon jungle with no signals and less facilities- to the betterment of communities.