Mapping the Nation: Creating the World We Want to See

Indigenous Knowledge Captured on Maps Aims to Protect Congo Basin Diversity The Baka people in the Congo Basin have an interconnected view of their forest. They think of nature as a network. They know how species influence each other and how weather influences everything. This deep Indigenous knowledge is vital to sustainability efforts across Central Africa and the world. 76 “There’s really a vast perceptual difference in the way they see the forest,” said Thomas Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA. Smith has worked with local Baka experts since the mid1980s. He founded the Congo Basin Institute (CBI) in part A village in the Democratic Republic of Congo sits next to one of the world's most biodiverse forests.

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