 | Pygmies capturing geographic data using GPS devices in a CIB concession. |
WASHINGTON DC, April 21st, 2008 —In the world's second largest tract of rain forests in Central Africa, Pygmies are using modern technology to save sacred trees, thanks to prize money from the World Bank’s Development Marketplace, a global competition that funds social entrepreneurs to use the power of ideas to promote sustainable development. By using handheld global positioning systems (GPS), Mbendjele Pygmies in the Republic of Congo are guiding a logging company away from cutting trees that hold special value for forest communities, thereby reducing age-old tensions between forest-dependent people and the logging industry. “Getting the Pygmies to do the mapping was fundamentally important to recognizing their rights over the forest,” said Scott Poynton, executive director of Tropical Forest Trust (TFT). “If you’re going to do sustainable forest management, you’ve got to do it right, you’ve got to give these people a voice in managing the forests.”  | An elderly Mbendjele woman marks a sacred tree with paint to indicate that it is to be preserved from logging. |
The UK-based TFT won the Development Marketplace award in 2005, and is working to promote sustainable forest management in Africa and Asia. The technology is cutting-edge, yet simple to use. The GPS device allows Pygmies to pinpoint sacred trees, ancestral hunting grounds, and plants which should not be touched during the season when they yield special fruits or caterpillars. Once the Pygmies identify a tree or area, it is marked by painting the tree trunks. Then, with the press of a button, precise location information is beamed to a satellite and onward to the logging company where it is converted into maps that guide bulldozers and chainsaws away from the selected trees and chosen areas. “Pygmies possess intimate knowledge of the forest. The GPS devices allow them to not only communicate knowledge of the forest but also to assert their desire that parts of the forests remain untouched for them to use and manage according to tradition and willingness to share generously other products of the forest bounty,” said Giuseppe Topa, a World Bank forestry expert with the Africa Region. “They want to respect the forests, and want that their culture, their memories, be respected.” The Mbendjele Pygmies quickly proved that they are no Luddites. Fast Facts: African Rainforests • The Congo Basin in central Africa is home to the second largest tract of rainforests, after the Brazilian Amazon • The Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo share a border on the east, and the two capitals – Brazzaville and Kinshasa – are located on the banks of the Congo river • The Democratic Republic of Congo alone harbors more than 50 percent of Africa’s rainforests • The rainforests are the “second lung” of the planet for their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that causes global warming • The Pygmies of the Congo Basin are said to number anywhere between 300,000 to 500,000 and are among the poorest of the world’s poor people. The Pygmies depend on the forests for their food, income, energy, shelter, medicines and cultural needs. • The rainforests are biologically rich, harboring amazing animal and plant diversity including endemic species such as Bonobo chimpanzees and the Okapi. |
They have become adept at using the new technology which was specially adapted for the purpose by anthropologist Jerome Lewis, a Pygmy expert. To overcome illiteracy barriers, Lewis decided to create pictorial icons for the action buttons -- rather than words -- so that the Pygmies could click and identify important sites on the GPS sets. For example, a syringe represents plants of medicinal value while a Pygmy with an arrow marks a hunting area. The project involves work with one of the Congo Basin’s largest commercial logging companies, Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB), which manages 1.3 million hectares of forests. The project also is about to launch Central Africa’s first-ever indigenous peoples’ radio station to facilitate dialogue between forest dwellers and CIB by broadcasting meeting times, tips on sustainable forest and wildlife management, and other useful information. When the Pygmies were first given the GPS sets, Poynton recalls, CIB staff were nervous that most of the trees would be marked “hands-off.” Instead, the newly created maps showed that not many trees and areas were considered sacred, but that their location was unpredictable. Using the new maps, CIB is able to continue logging without disturbing the local community. Topa said the World Bank is looking at the project as a model for best practice that respects traditional rights of indigenous people and shows how forest-dependent communities can be engaged in managing forest resources. The Bank will be looking to scale-up the technology and replicate it in diverse forest areas, from Cameroon to Malaysia. For more information, www.developmentmarketplace.org, www.worldbank.org/afr, and www.tropicalforesttrust.com |
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