July 2014. (Photo: Michael Christopher Brown/Magnum Photos)
Deforestation around the world has wreaked havoc to humans, wildlife and contributed to climate change. Across rural Africa, trees are harvested to use for cooking and sold in bundles. The result of open burning and harvesting trees by villagers is pollution and profound damage to the ecosystem.
It's one thing to point out the environmental impact from afar, but real change comes from within a culture. The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) recognizing the economic realities of the impoverished people of Africa offers scholarships, medical care and sustenance to villagers in exchange for adopting conservation strategies at the village level.
In 2006, JGI embarked on a 30-year regional conservation plan utilizing satellite imagery which produces maps and photos to villages enabling them to see the devastation and its impact. Thus, enabling them to create their own land-use plan. The key is that stakeholders or those affected by the land-use plan at the local level are the decision makers and policy makers for enforcement. The village is in charge of its destiny.
According to Paul Tullis,Take Part feature editor, Google has developed an online tool that will allow anyone with a handheld device to monitor forests and receive alerts if deforestation is taking place.
TakePart.com is an informative resource for people interested in the environment. The website has an action center for readers to express their views to policy makers.
Empowering the Village
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