Drone technology and partnerships are protecting the Amazon
WFU program supports Peru’s Indigenous leaders
HIGHLIGHTS
- Wake Forest University’s Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability welcomed nine Indigenous leaders from Peru.
- Their visit, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is part of the “Connecting Cultures” program.
- The initiative focuses on equipping young Indigenous leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to confront environmental challenges in the Amazon, ranging from illegal mining to the impacts of climate change.
On a sunny September morning, Wake Forest University researchers arrive at Davis Field on the Wake Forest campus. The grass is still wet with dew. Clear skies make this a perfect day for drone flying.
“The advanced technology we are using is powerful,” said Chris Zarzar, the drone pilot and a Sabin Center For Environment and Sustainability Fellow leading the demonstration for nine young Indigenous leaders from eight different communities in the Amazonian and Andean regions of Peru.
The event is part of a program called “Connecting Cultures,” designed to help prepare a new generation of Indigenous leaders to deal with growing problems in their communities, protect biodiversity in the Amazon and preserve their culture in a rapidly changing environment. Many of these territories face challenges from climate change, illegal mining, illegal logging and illegal production of coca plants.
“One of the things that they are interested in is how to use technology to control territories,” said Miles Silman, professor of biology and research director of the Sabin Center. “These environmental leaders are also environmental defenders and are responsible for areas ranging from the size of the Wake Forest campus to the size of Yellowstone National Park. Their patrols on foot can be dangerous. What the drone and other tech allows them to do is patrol their territory and look at things that are changing, people coming and going, people cutting down the forest, mining, those kinds of things without having to get into a confrontation with anybody and be safe.”
Surveying and monitoring what’s on the ground
As the Indigenous delegation gathered around the large drone before takeoff, Silman explained how this technology is currently being used to help conserve protected areas in the Amazon as well as study deer populations and environmental changes at nearby Pilot Mountain and in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
The delegation members asked questions like how high the drones could go to avoid gunfire and could the drones be used to plant crop seeds and trees.
Limber Marichi Tangoa is a member of the Shawi Indigenous community in the San Martin region in Peru, which faces threats from illegal logging. He has been working as an environmental defender for the past nine years and assumed this role after his father was murdered while on patrol.
“I wanted to know how long it would take to survey my territory with the drone and the answer was just two hours. I was shocked because it takes 5 to 6 days and lots of walking miles for our small group to make all the rounds in my community.”
“I’m excited to be at Wake Forest,” Marichi added. “My father did a lot of work in terms of environmental conservation, and I want to keep his legacy alive. He didn’t know about this technology, but now I know and can help protect my community and as a young leader share this knowledge.”
Cultivating partnerships
The initiative is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of State, Wake Forest’s Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation (CINCIA), and the University’s Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability, with additional funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and several other private funders.
Through CINCIA, Wake Forest’s Sabin Center has been working with these Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon for a number of years. Wake Forest experts lead research on reforestation of destroyed rainforests, build laboratories that measure environmental mercury pollution from mining, and monitor and track changes in the region using advanced technology.
“We are flying and building drones, using remote sensing and 3D printers, so they can see what’s going on with eyes in the sky and then linking those images to what we measure on the ground and what the satellites show us,” said Luis Fernandez, Sabin Center Senior Fellow, research professor of biology and the executive director of CINCIA.
“We are also using AI to connect the data collected and provide new techniques for what we hope will be wall-to-wall coverage of what is happening in the Amazon,” he added.
Strengthening a new generation of Indigenous leaders
A big part of Connecting Cultures is providing networking opportunities for the delegates. During their visit to Wake Forest this month, the Indigenous leader delegation spent several days on campus meeting with students, staff and faculty, sharing their stories and exchanging ideas with the group of Indigenous leaders. They also participated in virtual and in-person workshops and training in Peru before coming to the U.S.
While on campus, they learned about ways to protect their Indigenous rights through the Wake Forest Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, held ongoing conversations within Wake Divinity about the relationship between the Earth and diverse perspectives on the universe, and learned about sustainable practices used in small-scale agriculture in the University’s Campus Garden.
“Technology comes and goes and always changes, but what’s important is making links among people so they have access to other peoples’ minds and ways of knowing. To me, that’s the real power in this program.”
Miles Silman, professor of biology and research director of the Sabin Center.
The program supports efforts that are already underway by these leaders in their Indigenous territories. Edgar Flores, community development coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, said a highlight for him has been the relationships built during the program.
“These Indigenous leaders from other territories are getting together, and they are learning from each other what’s going on in their community, so they have a lot in common,” Flores said. “Most importantly, we are creating a community of Indigenous leaders throughout Peru and developing a plan on how to work together as a group. It’s why the U.S. Embassy supports this program and wants to continue this partnership with Wake Forest.”
Making a lasting impact
Following the program, the Indigenous leader delegation will gather at a large conference in Peru to develop a plan on how they can work together as a group and connect with members of the first Connecting Cultures group. They will talk about the environmental issues they face and share what they learned at Wake Forest.
“Through these different activities and through this program we want to go back and educate the population in the Amazon where we live, teach them how to conserve the forest and how we can also be working to prevent the illegal entry of these illegal loggers, illegal miners,” said Lucy Pérez Odicio, from the Kakataibo community in the Ucayali region.
Pérez said the program is giving her hope and inspiration for a better future back home.
“I used to see animals a lot closer to where we lived growing up. You go out now into the woods and see fish farms or cocaine farms, and you don’t see as much of the wildlife as close to where we live anymore. And as young leaders, all these things, the trees, the animals, the rivers, that’s what we draw our life from. And as Indigenous people, we want to be able to face these challenges and be environmental defenders of these resources. This program is giving us the tools to help us do that.”
The delegation also traveled to the University of Richmond, where they continued to engage with students in recreational and environmental restoration activities, received additional training on climate and threats mapping from the university’s Spatial Analysis Lab, and met with local Indigenous leaders and NGO leaders.
As part of the program, the delegation also visited Washington D.C. for meetings with leaders at NASA, the Department of the Interior, the State Department, Conservation X Labs and the Peruvian Embassy.
Fernandez said the program is a great example of how Wake Forest University’s motto extends beyond campus.
”The idea of Pro Humanitate is that we are doing it for humanity, for a better world, for service for future generations by working with these young leaders who will be the next generation of solution makers for their communities.”
Luis Fernandez, research professor of biology, and the executive director of CINCIA
