GPS technology maps land rights for Africa's 'forest people'...

March 15, 2012

GPS technology maps land rights for Africa's 'forest people'. In the lush rainforests of Africa's Congo Basin, hundreds of thousands of indigenous people live as hunter gatherers, depending on the forest's natural resources for their survival. Yet most have no legal rights to the land that has been their home for millennia. But GPS technology is helping indigenous people map the land they call home and produce documents that can help preserve their access to the forest that is their lifeblood. Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) is one group that organizes "community mapping" projects in central Africa's Congo Basin. Spread across six countries, and covering more than 1.3 million square miles - an area twice the size of Alaska - the Congo Basin includes an expanse of rainforest second only in size to the Amazon.

It is also home to 40 million people, says Georges Thierry Handja, of RFUK. They include up to half a million hunter-gatherer people, often referred to as "pygmies," whose lives are intimately linked to the rainforest.

For the full story, please visit http://edition.cnn.com/.
Comments
2
posted by salama
Wonderful!
Thank you for the Rainforest Foundation and this kind of work for the indigenous people.
posted by ahlehner
ahlehner
WOW! GREAT GREAT GREAT. GOD BLESS YOU
Newer comments    1 - 2 of 2    Older comments

RECENT STORIES

Mar 14, 2012
The band hits Paris for 2 shows! Check out the full list of spring and summer dates and ticket info on the tour page.

Mar 14, 2012
Sting.com Member Exclusive: Check out two new clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the Back to Bass tour! The first clip is of Sting with Danny Quatrochi and the second clip, Sting discusses the 'occasional' table that is up on stage.