Indians Use Google Earth and GPS To Protect Amazon

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