A Combination of Technology and Indigenous Wisdom Is Protecting the Amazon

Juvêncio Baniwa studies the Brazilian Amazon jungles in the Rio Negro basin daily, much as his forefathers did thousands of years before. Rio Negro is the world’s seventh-biggest river and home to a diverse range of wildlife. Baniwa (which is Juvêncio’s Indigenous tribe and surname) begins his day by examining the size of the fruits, the look of the tree trunks, and the water level. He also keeps an eye out for any animals. Baniwa pulls out his tablet after the observation and enters his results into electronic forms in ODK (Open Data Kit), an offline data-gathering program, which is a dramatic contrast to what his forefathers did decades ago.

This technology is beneficial to Indigenous researchers’ observation techniques since it allows them to store and organize their findings. The Baniwa are a people that dwell on the border between Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. Their significant occupations are wild manioc farming and fishing, and they are also skilled craftspeople. There are 23 Indigenous peoples and over 700 settlements in the Rio Negro valley, all of which have lived in the area for at least 2,000 years. Baniwa and the Baniwa Indigenous group are members of the Environmental Management Indigenous Agent (AIMA), which includes 50 other Indigenous peoples from the Rio Negro basin and was founded in 2005.

The ODK and environmental management applications aren’t new, but the AIMA’s addition is. The ODK extension that scientists use has been adapted to include Indigenous knowledge from the Amazon jungle. The seasons they acknowledge, the Indigenous astronomic calendar, and the animal taxonomy are all included in this ODK addition. Plus, the software contains Indigenous forest landscape categorization, which is more extensive than scientific classification.

Calendars with yearly cycles based on astronomical observation are one of the most significant endeavors. They are linked to rainfall and drought cycles, as well as variations in river water levels. The Indigenous people use this information to determine the optimal pantry preparation, land preparation, and harvesting periods. Several additional cultural practices are calendar-dependent. The community’s food is likewise based on it.

Every day, the AIMA record their findings in the ODK applications. At least three times a year, the Indigenous people who conduct this work get together to discuss the data they’ve gathered. The sharing of knowledge among the Rio Negro basin’s Indigenous peoples aids in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the area. The spies will then deliver the information to the elders before meeting with the scientists. The sessions are organized by the Socio-environmental Institute (Instituto Socioambiental or ISA), a Brazilian NGO dedicated to land preservation. Indigenous-led management is the most helpful to nature, with these communities doing more to conserve the environment. Juliano Franco de Moraes released research in 2016 that indicated Indigenous methods had enhanced species richness and native woodlands have become more biodiverse.