Jerome Lewis has worked with Mbendjele Pygmies in Congo-Brazzaville since 1994, researching child socialisation, play and religion; egalitarian politics and gender relations; and language, music and dance. Studying the impact of global forces on many Pygmy groups across the Congo Basin has led to research into discrimination, economic and legal marginalisation, human rights abuses, and to applied research supporting conservation efforts by forest people and supporting them to better represent themselves to outsiders. This has resulted in the development of tools (software and hardware) to scientifically describe specific problems (resource damage in logging, illegal logging and poaching) so that ecosystem managers can better take them into account.
Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/people/academic_staff/j_lewis