Harnessing Tech to Safeguard the Amazon: Indigenous Youths Take Charge

technology can safeguard the Amazon
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Will Young

In Brazil, where her grandfather once protected native Amazonian lands with bows and arrows, Txai Surui, a young Indigenous activist, now uses tech as her weapon of choice.

Txai, a 26-year-old Brazilian, is among the standout participants of the Web Summit Rio, the world’s largest annual technology conference. The event, held outside Europe for the first time this year, has brought together over 20,000 entrepreneurs and investors in Brazil.

“Today, technology is like a weapon for us… We use technology and ancestral knowledge as a form of resistance, to protect our land from illegal logging and mining.”

Txai shared with AFP at the conference in Rio de Janeiro. Utilizing video cameras, drones, GPS, cell phones, and social media, a group of young individuals from her community vigilantly monitors land invasions. They use a dedicated app to report these illegal activities. Despite the high-tech setting of the conference, Txai stands out in her feather headdress and traditional face paint, representing her roots.

However, Txai, who is the coordinator of the Kaninde Ethno-Environmental Defense Association, which represents 21 Amazon Indigenous peoples, warns about the potential danger that arises from powerful tools falling into the wrong hands.

“technology can also be used for evil.”


She speaks of the double-edged nature of technology, noting how satellites used for land protection are exploited by invaders to destroy the same territories. She also mentions that Facebook is sometimes misused to sell protected Indigenous lands. Brazil is home to approximately 800,000 Indigenous people. Research has repeatedly shown that safeguarding their lands, which account for 13.75% of Brazil’s territory, is one of the most effective strategies for preserving forests like the Amazon, a crucial weapon in the fight against climate change.

Txai, producer of the National Geographic documentary “The Territory” and daughter of environmentalist Ivaneide Bandeira and Indigenous Chief Almir Surui, is continuing her parents’ legacy of activism. Almir Surui was a pioneer in using technology for forest conservation. In 2007, he visited Google’s headquarters in California, persuading the tech behemoth to assist his people in creating the “Surui Cultural Map,” an interactive Google Earth experience.

Unshod in the conference hall, Txai invites the tech-savvy attendees to visit the rainforest. She believes that those who work with technology need to reestablish a connection with nature.

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“When they tell me they want to help me with new apps, I tell them: ‘Come get to know us, and see what we need.'”

Despite being the sole Indigenous representative at the Web Summit Rio, Txai remains hopeful for change. The Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has pledged to prioritize Amazon protection, and last week, established Brazil’s first protected Indigenous reservations in five years. However, Txai admits, “We know we still have a long road ahead.” She considers her role as one of exerting pressure and demanding results, as there are still many Indigenous lands that need protection.

Reflecting on the global scene, she encourages a more human-centric view of climate change. “We have to stop just thinking about the economy and think about people,” she stresses, pointing out the urgency of the climate crisis. “We’re almost at the point of no return.”

But the technology of today, and that which is to come, can help. The global tourism industry is taking massive strides to convert their entire industry to carbon neutral in the coming decade. Many of these new net-zero carbon emission lodgings will reside on the beaches of Brazil. We have the power to reverse some of the damage we’ve done with the advances in technology that we have made. And technology or not, we always have the power to make the right choices, to refocus our attention to the greater good — the power to use these tools for good.

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