In a new video ethnobotanist, Mark Plotkin, talks about recent—and historical—efforts to preserve the Amazon rainforest through map-making and technology. Today scientists like Plotkin are teaching indigenous people how to digitally map their territory to win land rights over the forest they’ve used for centuries.
Nearly 20 percent of the Amazon has been lost due to agriculture, cattle ranching, mining, roads, cities, and other impacts. Experts say one of the best ways to preserve the remaining forest is to grant rights to the indigenous peoples who live there.
