Google Earth has been used to solve crimes around the world. Police have discovered marijuana fields by using this program and have solved cases involving illegal dumping. Google Earth also catches images of burglary, vandalism, assault and even drug dealing that can be used to solve crimes. So what is Google Earth’s latest contribution to the world? Protecting the rainforests.
Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui has begun a campaign to protect 2,428 square kilometers of rainforest in Brazil. His tribe of 1,300 people lives on this land that is three times the size of New York City. The Surui tribe used to have over 5,000 people, but on September 7, 1969, the first white man stumbled onto their land. Disease then wiped out most of the population until only 250 remained. One might ask if exposure to the modern world not only killed vast numbers of people but also disrupted their traditions and way of life. However, modernity may in fact save their land.
Since their land is vast and the tribe is few in numbers, they can not continuously patrol their borders. Because of this, loggers are illegally cutting down trees on their land. They lost 7% of their rainforest before they started to fight back. Beginning in 1997, Chief Almir devised a 50-year plan in which the Surui tribe would save and heal their forest. They began to plant trees. So far they have planted 120,000 trees. Even with their planting efforts, their forest still continues to shrink. Chief Almir explains, “The authorities gave the loggers a license to cut down trees in this area.” He points to a small circle on a map. “But there are no trees left there anymore, so they come into our reservation and then claim the trees were cut down legally.”
This is where Google Earth comes into play. Chief Almir is using Google Earth to watch the borders of his land. With the aid of Google Earth, he recently caught illegal loggers with three truckloads of mahogany. This wood and many other tons of wood have been confiscated thanks to Google Earth. The satellite pictures not only reveal illegal loggers but gold prospectors too.
Without Google Earth and the tribe’s efforts, 30% of the forest would be gone in 50 years. Almir Surui told an ABC reporter that “his people need modernity to help them maintain their traditional way of life, that this is the only way they can save their forest, their culture, and their tribe.”
Sources:
http://theweek.com/article/index/205915/5-crimes-solved-using-google-earth
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