Local leaders using technology to reshape their landscapes

[ad_1] Leah Kintai heard there have been birthing caves utilized by forest elephants in her neighborhood’s territory round Mount Elgon in Kenya however had by no means seen them herself. Leah is a member of the Ogiek neighborhood, a bunch Indigenous to the Chepkitale area of Mount Elgon who've lived in concord with the forest for generations. Nevertheless, their lifestyle and land rights have been repeatedly impacted by efforts to create nationwide reserves and timber farms – plans that may hurt the native surroundings.

In response, the Ogiek neighborhood developed a land administration system to doc their ancestral connection to the land and ecosystems they defend. Recognizing the significance of expertise on this effort, they started utilizing CoMapeo, a panorama mapping software developed by Awana Digital. Since 2021, Leah and different neighborhood members have been mapping key ecological websites, such because the salt caves shared by goat herds and forest elephants, and recording environmental destruction brought on by logging.

Ladies specifically play an important function on this work. “We're wealthy in data which is vital to the neighborhood,” Leah explains. “We all know the place to collect firewood and greens and discover particular soil for adorning our art work. We girls additionally know extra concerning the historical past and conventional rituals that occur in caves.” It was by this mapping use that Leah lastly witnessed elephant moms and calves within the caves, deepening her appreciation of the significance of preserving the land by CoMapeo.

Why Person-Centric Mapping Instruments Matter Indigenous communities just like the Ogiek steward 80% of the world’s biodiversity. But, they typically lack the infrastructure, sources and instruments to sustainably handle their landscapes. Most current mapping applied sciences are inaccessible — depending on web connectivity, out there solely in English, and managed by centralized databases that exclude native possession. Getting acceptable help to make knowledgeable choices for panorama administration is important on the neighborhood degree in addition to on the world degree.

The Cisco Basis has supported two community-led instruments that allow native leaders to conduct panorama mapping: Awana Digital’s CoMapeo, and Tech Issues’ Terraso, developed by community-led design processes, with the purpose of supporting efficient decision-making by native leaders.

Awana Digital: Constructing Decentralized Expertise <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-474779 " src="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/CyrpA9g6-IMG_0831-2-1024x768.jpeg" alt="A woman wearing a gray shirt and a colorful accessory, using a cell phone." width="550" height="412" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/CyrpA9g6-IMG_0831-2-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/CyrpA9g6-IMG_0831-2-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/CyrpA9g6-IMG_0831-2-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/CyrpA9g6-IMG_0831-2-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/CyrpA9g6-IMG_0831-2-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px"/> Leah, a member of the Ogiek neighborhood of Mt. Elgon, utilizing Mapeo. Picture Credit score: Awana Digital. Awana Digital works with frontline communities to make use of expertise to guard their surroundings and human rights. They companion to co-design and co-develop instruments they'll use to guard important ecosystems and Indigenous cultures, working towards a world the place all folks can take part within the choices that govern their lives.

The Cisco Basis funded Awana Digital in 2023 to construct the CoMapeo software, designed in collaboration with Indigenous communities, just like the Ogiek, to make it simpler to securely map their territories and construct a database with out ever needing web connectivity.

In 2024, Cisco prolonged the funding, and launched Awana Digital to the Equinix Basis who additionally prolonged funding. Then this 12 months, Cisco and the Equinix Basis got here collectively funding the enhancement and development of CoMapeo in new methods. This peer-to-peer database permits native information possession and offline workflows in order that customers can seamlessly collect information in distant areas. Whereas most information assortment apps are form-centric, CoMapeo makes use of a map-centric strategy to make information assortment intuitive and simple to be taught for non-technical customers.

The Ogiek neighborhood now makes use of CoMapeo to maintain their land use maps updated; since 2021, the neighborhood mapping workforce have mapped and actively monitored 80,000 hectares of their territory, benefitting the 4,000 members of the Ogiek neighborhood.

However the Ogiek’s imaginative and prescient goes past mapping. They're dedicated to displaying how their stewardship results in higher conservation and biodiversity outcomes. With help from Oxford College, Forest Peoples Programme, and Awana Digital, the Ogiek are implementing a biodiversity monitoring venture to collect proof of their efficient community-based conservation. This information may assist them reclaim rights to extra of their ancestral land and enhance stewardship practices.

One thrilling new function of CoMapeo is its audio recording operate, which permits the Ogiek to seize birdsongs within the forest. Elders can then establish these species, enriching the information with native ecological data and retaining monitor of biodiversity in these lands.

CoMapeo can be utilized freed from cost and is designed to be user-friendly and adaptable, making it straightforward for anybody to get began with mapping and monitoring their land or environmental tasks.

Tech Issues: Tech Options That Serve Humanity <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-474781" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/image00123-1024x614.png" alt="A map with a photo and story." width="551" height="330" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/image00123-300x180.png 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/image00123-1024x614.png 1024w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/image00123-768x460.png 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/image00123.png 1511w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 551px) 100vw, 551px"/> An instance of a community-member constructed story map. Picture credit score: Tech Issues. The Cisco Basis additionally helps Terraso, an open-source mapping and storytelling software developed by Tech Issues to assist communities gather, retailer, and share panorama information. Designed with native companions, Terraso is accessible and cost-free – making it particularly useful to nonprofits and grassroots organizations that may’t afford costly, industrial options.

In India, Paani Earth confronted a big problem: Bangalore’s rivers had been quickly deteriorating, but the overall inhabitants lacked consciousness of the town’s hydrological methods. The issue was compounded by the absence of a dependable, built-in river information system which may compromise decision-making and result in mismanagement of water sources.

To deal with this, Paani Earth used Terraso to create an accessible, interactive map of the area’s river methods, compiling information from authorities companies, unbiased research and satellite tv for pc sources. With the platform’s Story Maps function, they created an interactive, visible narrative combining information, pictures and movies. Cofounder Madhuri Mandava explains the transformation: “Our previous web site – folks referred to as it very tutorial. Individuals mentioned, ‘I don’t see why I ought to care.’”

That modified with Terraso.

The Story of Forgotten Rivers was featured in an area museum exhibit. Its last chapter included a name to motion – inviting folks to affix a WhatsApp group devoted to river walks and native cleanup occasions.

“That group now has dozens of members,” says Madhuri. “We stroll to a close-by river to begin rebuilding that connection. We make artwork and poetry, and focus on how we will take motion to guard this area.”

Paani Earth plans to broaden its use of Story Maps in future tasks. With continued help from Cisco and others, Tech Issues is actively enhancing the platform, based mostly on actual person suggestions like Madhuri’s.

Terraso stays free and open-source, and organizations in all places are inspired to make use of it to inform their place-based tales, advocate for change, and have interaction their communities.

The efforts of communities just like the Ogiek present that when native leaders are outfitted with the best instruments, they'll defend biodiversity and reshape the way forward for their landscapes. Platforms like Awana Digital’s CoMapeo and Tech Issues’ Terraso — backed by the Cisco Basis and the Equinix Basis — are serving to make this attainable. As these applied sciences proceed to evolve, they provide highly effective examples of how place-based innovation can defend the surroundings and profit native communities.