'Indigenous knowledge' is the theme of this edition of ICTUpdate, a bimonthly publication focusing on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in agriculture in developing countries for the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (ACP-EU). Its four feature articles include the following:

1. "Logging the forest" - "Mbendjele Pygmies of the Republic of Congo are working together with an international logging company to help protect their forest environment. Using hand-held global positioning system (GPS) computers the indigenous people plot areas they want to preserve. The company adds the data to its maps to ensure important trees resources remain untouched. Collaboration between the community and the company continues as the Mbendjeles will soon have their own radio station to broadcast logging plans and community information."
2. "Protecting the lions’ share" - Researchers are hoping to prevent conflict between predatory lions and Cameroonian farmers who raise livestock, by tracking lion locations using a GPS-embedded collar on the lions that points upwards and communicates with satellites orbiting the Earth. The satellites transmit the exact position – latitude and longitude – of the lion as it moves around. The information is then carried to the GSM part of the collar which, operating like a mobile phone, sends the data as a text message at regular intervals to a pre set number.
3. "Saving traditions" - Between 1980 and 2003 a small group of the indigenous Ngalia people of Western Australia generated volumes of cultural research material, including a full Ngalia language dictionary and thesaurus, digital song archives, complex databases of genealogy records, and maps of culturally significant resources - using GPS receivers to plot locations such as waterholes, rock formations, and rivers. have adapted a wide variety of technologies in their fight to preserve their traditional knowledge and culture, the Ngalia community expanded their work to a youth participatory video project in early 2006 to build on the interest the young people were already showing in using ICT, such as on-line gaming and searching for music and social networking. The very first participatory video project produced by the community had many positive outcomes that included youth using traditional language, referring to plants of cultural significance, and explaining their traditional uses. A second video, filmed and edited entirely by four Ngalia boys aged 9 to 13, brought broader interest in the cultural history and provided a marketable product for the community. In 2007, the Ngalia extended their communications facilities by connecting the community cultural centre to a wireless network. Using Facebook, the community created an advocacy-related group around the Ngalia movement, called Indigenous Land Justice: Ngalia Foundation Appeal.
4. "Going local" - "Using television, radio, the web, and printed publications, a project in the Pacific island of Pohnpei restores interest in traditional crops and promotes healthy local food." Local crops grown in the traditional agroforestry system help produce a more balanced, enriched soil, and protect other crops from pests and diseases. They also provide balanced nutrition for the island population, whose health was declining due to increasing reliance on imported foods. ICT was useful to educate the public on the nutritional benefits of agroforestry products.

The issue also features links to the following projects and websites, among many:

• Tanzania Indigenous Knowledge Database;
• African Databank on Indigenous Knowledge and Technologies;
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Ethiopia;
• Women's Information for Development Network (WIDNet) - Zambia;
• The International Indigenous ICT Task Force;
• Center for World Indigenous Studies;
• Caribbean ICT Stakeholders Virtual Community;
• Tropical Forest Trust;
• Indigenous Knowledge - World Bank Programme; and
• Traditional Knowledge Bulletin.

This issue also includes pages on perspectives, technology tips, and questions and answers.