Written by Patrick Bodenham
Tuesday, 06 September 2011 15:49
Some people use Google Street View when they're curious to take a look at the Venice waterways, the skyline of Manhattan, the penguins of Antarctica, or the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. Next on the clicklist for couch-surfers around the world will be the rivers and communities of one of the world's hugest natural wonders - the Amazon rainforest. Google Street View has teamed up with Brazilian non-profit Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS) in the first mapping project of its kind in the Amazon – 360-degree image-profiling of a 50km section of the Rio Negro River, extending from the Tumbira community near Manaus to the Terra Preta community.
"This is an extremely important role in highlighting the challenges of conservation, community development and sustainability in the Amazon. We hope that this initiative will foster other partnerships that also can merge high technology with the wisdom of the residents of the Forest" adds Virgilio Viana, general superintendent of FAS, who invited Google to Brazil. Gabriel Ribenboim, charity's project leader of the organization, complements what says Viana. “This is a chance to show the world not only the environment and the way of life of the traditional population, but to sensitize the world to the challenges of climate change, deforestation and combating poverty”.
Since Google and FAS representatives arrived in the area they have been working on mapping the rivers using a special 360-degree angled camera mounted on a boat. The teams have also been training the locals to manoever a special tricycle through the narrow dirt paths of the Amazon villages, giving a sense of what it’s like to live and work in places such as an Amazonian community center and school. “We’re honored to work with FAS on this project to bring the Amazon online for those who can’t visit in person, and help our partners share with the world the unique stories of its inhabitants and the beauty of this place they call home,” said Karin Tuxen-Bettman of Google Earth Outreach and Karina Andrade of Google Street View, in a press statement.
