Episode 3 | Forests

Viewer d

[ music ]

THE WILDS OF PLANET EARTH ARE SPECTACULAR.

YET ONE SPECIES IS ALWAYS FRAMED OUT OF THE PICTURE:

US.

I'M DR. M. SANJAYAN.

AS A SCIENTIST AND CONSERVATIONIST,

I'VE DEDICATED THE PAST 25 YEARS OF MY LIFE

TO STUDYING...

Oh!

AND PROTECTING THE WILDLIFE I LOVE.

Hold on, buddy!

[ laughs ]

NOW MY MISSION IS TO TELL YOU AN UNTOLD STORY.

WHAT WE THINK OF AS WILD HAS ACTUALLY OVER CENTURIES

BEEN SHAPED BY HUMANS.

[ elephant trumpets ]

WE CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE.

BUT BY CHANGING OUR PERSPECTIVE,

WE CAN LEARN TO RESTORE NATURE

BACK TO HEALTH IN THE MOST SURPRISING WAYS.

FORESTS ARE HOME TO MORE VARIETY OF WILDLIFE

THAN ANYWHERE ELSE ON TERRESTRIAL EARTH.

THE CHALLENGE IS HOW TO LIVE ALONGSIDE THEM

WITHOUT CUTTING THEM DOWN.

I AM DISCOVERING NEW WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING

AND VALUING FORESTS WHILST THEY'RE STILL STANDING.

ALL PART OF A NEW KIND OF WILD.

DR. SANJAYAN: IN THE FAR WESTERN REACHES OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

LIES ONE OF THE REMOTEST PLACES ON EARTH.

IT'S MANY DAYS BY BOAT JUST TO GET HERE.

A PLACE SIMPLY KNOWN AS THE INTANGIBLE ZONE.

It really is a perfect name, the Intangible Zone,

'cause you look at that forest.

and it just looks unknowable.

And it contains millions and millions of life forms.

You can't help but feel very, very small

in a place that looks very, very big.

YOU CAN'T JUST WALK STRAIGHT IN TO THE INTANGIBLE ZONE

BECAUSE EVEN OUT HERE WITH OVER 100 MILES OF RAINFOREST

BETWEEN US AND THE NEAREST TOWN,

THERE ARE PEOPLE.

GATEKEEPERS TO THIS FOREST

WHO WILL FIERCELY PROTECT IT.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED HERE FOR VENTURING

INTO THE INTANGIBLE ZONE.

MY GUIDE, RYAN KILLACKEY, ASSURES ME THAT WE ARE INVITED.

HE'S SPENT YEARS GETTING TO KNOW THIS FOREST

AND EARNING THE TRUST OF THE WAORANI PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.

BUT YOU NEVER KNOW HOW SOMETHING LIKE THIS

IS ACTUALLY GOING TO GO.

Just the forest for hours and hours of endless green,

and then all of a sudden, people, humans just out of the forest.

[ speaks foreign language ]

Oh, my God.

Is it okay to go up?

Yeah.

[ singing in foreign language ]

[ speaks foreign language ]

IT TURNS OUT TO BE ABOUT THE WARMEST WELCOME I COULD EVER IMAGINE.

So this Otobo's wife and his son.

This is Otobo's mother.

And this is Otobo.

This is Otobo's family.

Yeah, this is Otobo.

Yeah, this is Otobo and this is his family.

[ speaking foreign language ]

THE WAORANI PEOPLE GET EVERYTHING THEY NEED FROM THIS FOREST

AND I'M HERE TO LEARN FROM THEM.

I WANT TO UNDERSTAND AN ASTONISHING THEORY

THAT SUGGESTS WE HUMANS MAY HAVE LIVED HERE

IN THE AMAZON NOT JUST IN SMALL COMMUNITIES

LIKE OTOBO'S COMMUNITY, BUT IN MUCH LARGER NUMBERS.

BIGGER THAN ANYONE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.

AND IT'S WHAT MY JOURNEY IS REALLY ALL ABOUT:

EXPLORING WILD FORESTS THAT INCLUDE HUMANS.

BECAUSE THE RESEARCH AT THESE FRONTIERS

IS REINVENTING THE VALUE OF FORESTS FOR ALL OF US.

[ thunder ]

EXPLORING THIS FOREST WITH OTOBO IS REALLY ABOUT JUST KEEPING UP.

If I turn my eyes for even a minute, I'll lose them in the forest.

And I did this once before.

I just looked back and I looked forward

and they were gone.

And so I got to keep an eye on them

because these guys just vanish like that.

OTOBO AND HIS UNCLES CAN READ EVERY DETAIL OF THIS PLACE.

[ speaking foreign language ]

4:00.

He said 4:00 yesterday, a bunch of animals came by here

and rubbed against this.

And he can tell that from the smell.

The fact that he can time it, I wouldn't believe him

but I've seen these guys in the forest,

and it's just... this is absolutely incredible.

So I'm very much inclined to believe what they're telling me.

[ speaking foreign language ]

I HAVE ASKED OTOBO FOR A QUICK TOUR OF HIS FOREST.

AND HE TAKES ME TO A VERY SPECIAL PLACE.

THIS MUDDY CLEARING ATTRACTS ANIMALS FROM MILES AROUND.

[ animals rustling ]

BY LICKING THE MINERALS IN THE SOIL,

THE ANIMALS GET A VITAL HIT OF NUTRIENTS.

SPIDER MONKEYS FEED ON TOXIC LEAVES

AND NEED THE MINERALS HERE TO NEUTRALIZE THOSE TOXINS.

[ animals squawking, chittering ]

AS A BIOLOGIST, I SEE A FOREST DRIPPING WITH LIFE.

IT'S EXCEPTIONALLY HOT AND WET

IN THIS REGION OF THE AMAZON,

OPTIMUM CONDITIONS FOR THE GENERATION OF LIFE.

SPECIES ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE SURVIVED HERE

THROUGH THE ICE AGE

WHILE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE AMAZON, THEY PERISHED.

THIS EXPLAINS WHY THE INTANGIBLE ZONE

IS THOUGHT TO BE THE MOST BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE PLACE ON EARTH.

AND TODAY, A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS FROM THREE CONTINENTS

ARE COMING HERE TO TEST THE CLAIM.

RYAN KILLACKEY IS LEADING THE TEAM.

HE'S ORGANIZED THE EXPEDITION 'CAUSE HE FEARS THE FATE OF

THE WAORANI'S HOME HANGS IN THE BALANCE

BECAUSE ON THE FRINGES OF THE INTANGIBLE ZONE,

THERE'S ANOTHER EXPEDITION UNDERWAY.

OIL PROSPECTORS ARE APPROACHING.

THEY VALUE THIS FOREST FOR THE NATURAL RESOURCES BENEATH IT.

THE RESEARCHERS ARE THE FIRST TO CATALOG LIFE HERE.

[ chattering in foreign language ]

FOR RYAN, IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

FOR HIM, IT'S A RACE TO CONFIRM THE SCIENTIFIC VALUE

OF THIS PLACE WITH HARD DATA.

[ camera shutter clicks ]

We really know so little about it.

And right now, it is labeled as possibly the single

most biologically diverse location in the world.

You know, we have over 150 species and amphibians.

Over 200 species of reptiles.

200 species of mammals.

Thousands and thousands and thousands of plant species

and hundreds of thousands of insects.

Nobody has really ever been in here before,

so what I do need to do is bring people in here

that can give us that hard scientific data.

THE WAORANI'S UNDERSTANDING OF THIS FOREST MAKES THEM

THE BEST FIELD GUIDES A SCIENTIST COULD EVER HOPE FOR.

DR. CECILIA PUERTAS IS AFTER FISH.

AND OTOBO'S GRANDMOTHER, MNEMO, HAS A PRETTY NEAT TRICK.

POUNDED TREE ROOTS RELEASE TOXINS INTO THE WATER

THAT STARVE THE FISH OF OXYGEN.

THEN THEY CAN SIMPLY BE TICKLED UP TO THE SURFACE.

[ laughing ]

[ speaking foreign language ]

MNEMO IS CLEARLY A PRO.

[ speaking foreign language ]

[ laughing ]

[ speaking foreign language ]

FOR CECILIA, EACH OF THESE FISH IS A PRICELESS BIT OF DATA.

Wow, this is great.

Sometimes I have to spend hours and hours

trying with a net just to get one fish.

And here in less than 10 minutes, right?

We already have like four or five different species.

Amazing.

THE SCIENTISTS ARE ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH THEIR EXPEDITION

AND THE SPECIMEN COUNT IS ALREADY OFF THE SCALE.

FROGS THAT LOOK LIKE LEAVES.

BIRDS THAT MIMIC TREES.

SPIDERS THAT LOOK MORE LIKE FLIES.

I'M GOING TO SEE FOR MYSELF WHAT ALL THESE DISCOVERIES FINALLY ADD UP TO.

AND I WILL BE TRAVELING TO THE FRONTIERS

OF WHERE THE WORLD OF THE WAORANI

MEETS THE WORLD OF THE OIL PROSPECTOR.

BUT BEFORE THAT, THERE'S ANOTHER LEAD TO FOLLOW,

A DISCOVERY FROM THE PAST THAT IS CHANGING OUR PERCEPTION

ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN LIVE IN AND AROUND A FOREST.

[ chattering ]

ACROSS HUMAN HISTORY, OUR RELATIONSHIP

WITH THE FORESTS HAS OFTEN BEEN ABOUT CLEARING THEM

FOR THINGS LIKE FIREWOOD AND AGRICULTURE.

I THINK THE GENERAL OPINION IN THE AMAZON HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT,

JUST LIKE THE WAORANI, THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE CAN LIVE

IN FORESTS IS IN THESE SMALL NOMADIC HUNTER-GATHERER

COMMUNITIES WITH A PRETTY LIMITED IMPACT

ON THE SURROUNDING FOREST.

BUT NEW EVIDENCE COMING OUT OF THE AMAZON, QUITE IRONICALLY

as it's being deforested suggests that, in the past,

it might have supported vastly larger human communities.

THIS EVIDENCE EMERGED FROM WHAT WE'D PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT WAS VIRGIN RAINFOREST.

IT REVEALS SOMETHING UNEXPECTED AND MYSTERIOUS.

Let's take a look at these

and see what they really look like.

Look at that.

It's just no doubt that these were human made.

I mean, those lines are perfectly straight.

I mean, it is a perfect square.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE DATED SOME OF THESE SHAPES

AT 2,000 YEARS OLD.

IT'S THOUGHT THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN CEREMONIAL STRUCTURES

ALTHOUGH WHAT'S IMPORTANT HERE IS NOT THEIR PURPOSE,

BUT THEIR SCALE.

I mean, look at the size of these.

When you realize that these are big tall tropical trees,

then you realize how actually big these trenches,

these earthworks, are.

TO BUILD ON A SCALE LIKE THIS TAKES PLANNING,

ORGANIZATION AND A LOT OF PEOPLE.

You know, scientists are estimating that maybe

like 60,000 people must have been around

in these areas to be able to excavate things this big.

MORE AND MORE OF THESE EARTHWORKS ARE EMERGING.

NOW 300 AND COUNTING.

THEY DATE FROM BEFORE CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS,

AND THEY SUGGEST THAT COMMUNITIES TENS OF THOUSANDS STRONG

MAY HAVE LIVED AROUND THESE STRUCTURES.

PERHAPS THERE WERE EVEN SMALL CITIES.

THAT'S ASTONISHING BECAUSE THE AMAZON SOIL IS SO POOR AND THIN.

NOT WHAT YOU NEED TO SUPPORT LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE.

RESEARCH INTO THIS SOIL HAS SHOWN THAT ANCIENT PEOPLE

FOUND A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO FEED SO MANY.

THEY SLOWLY BURNT THEIR DOMESTIC WASTE IN PITS AMONGST INTACT FORESTS.

OVER TIME, THIS CREATED A SUPER FERTILE MAN-MADE SOIL

KNOWN AS TERRA PRETA, OR DARK EARTH.

ANCIENT COMMUNITIES COULD REAP THE BENEFITS OF THIS MOSAIC

OF ORCHARDS INTERSPERSED IN THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE.

AND IT TURNS OUT THAT 10% OF WHAT WE OFTEN THINK

OF AS PRISTINE WILDERNESS IS ACTUALLY GROWING IN MAN-MADE SOIL.

ALL THIS SHOWS THAT THERE ARE WAYS TO COEXIST

WITH FORESTS WITHOUT DESTROYING THEM.

EVEN WAYS TO MAKE THEM MORE VIBRANT.

AND IF YOU THINK THAT THIS COULD ONLY HAPPEN IN THE PAST, YOU'D BE WRONG.

5,000 MILES AWAY, THERE'S A REMARKABLE STORY

OF HOW HUMANS AND FORESTS CAN COEXIST.

MAN'S IMPACT HERE MAKES THIS PLACE MORE DIVERSE

THAN IF THERE WERE NO PEOPLE HERE AT ALL.

IN SOUTHERN EUROPE, IT'S THE START OF THE CORK HARVEST SEASON.

[ chattering in foreign language ]

FOR CENTURIES, THESE TREES HAVE PROVIDED CORK

FOR WINE BOTTLES.

HARVESTING IT IS A TRADITION HANDED DOWN FROM FATHER TO SON.

[ speaking foreign language ]

THESE TIRADORS, OR CORK HARVESTERS,

HAVE TO USE ABSOLUTE PRECISION TO CUT THE BARK

WITHOUT DAMAGING THE TREES.

AND THE HARVESTING IS GOOD FOR THE TREE.

JUST LIKE CUTTING GRASS, THE BARK EVENTUALLY

GROWS BACK BETTER.

THE CORK IS THE TREE'S NATURAL DEFENSE AGAINST FOREST FIRES.

IT'S SO EFFECTIVE THAT IT'S EVEN BEEN USED AS

A HEAT SHIELD IN SPACECRAFT.

THE CORK HARVEST IS PART OF A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY.

AND BECAUSE THE CORK TREES ARE SO VALUABLE,

THE OTHER AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES HAVE TO FIT AROUND THEM.

IT CREATES A PATCHWORK OF SMALL CLEARINGS

THAT SCIENTISTS CALL A MOSAIC ECOSYSTEM.

FARMERS GRAZE PIGS BETWEEN THE CORK TREES.

THEY EAT THE ACORNS AND NATURALLY RESEED THE FOREST.

AND HAVING BITS OF SMALL SCALE AGRICULTURE INTERWOVEN

WITH HEALTHY FORESTS IS WHAT MAKES IT SO GOOD FOR WILDLIFE.

IT'S THE LAST STRONGHOLD FOR THE ENDANGERED IBERIAN LYNX.

THEY USE THE TREES FOR CAMOUFLAGE

AND THE CLEARINGS FOR HUNTING.

60,000 EURASIAN CRANES END THEIR LONG MIGRATION HERE,

STOCKING UP ON CORK OAK ACORNS.

CRANES NEED THE MAN-MADE CLEARINGS TO DANCE

AND REAFFIRM THEIR LIFELONG BONDS.

THIS REGION IS ALSO HOME TO MORE WILD PLANTS

THAN THE REST OF EUROPE COMBINED.

IT'S WHY IT'S BEEN CALLED THE AMAZON OF EUROPE.

What's so fantastic about these cork forests

is that these forests really need people to maintain all that life,

to function the way they do.

You take people out of the equation,

without a doubt these forests are gone.

For me, that's kind of really special, right?

I mean, here are these forests where people are

the ones who are maintaining it,

who are keeping it, in some ways, wild.

HUMANS HAVE PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN CREATING THIS FOREST ECOSYSTEM.

BUT IN THE 1950S, WE INADVERTENTLY UPSET THE NATURAL BALANCE.

RABBITS HAD BECOME A PEST.

SO WE INTRODUCED A DISEASE, MYXOMATOSIS,

TO CONTROL THEIR NUMBERS.

BUT IT GOT OUT OF CONTROL,

AND IN SOME AREAS WIPED OUT 90% OF THEM.

AND IT WAS HERE THAT THE RABBITS OF EUROPE FIRST EVOLVED

AND BECAME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS ECOSYSTEM.

CARLOS PACHECO IS A SCIENTIST WHO'S TRYING TO PICK UP THE PIECES

BECAUSE THE LOSS OF RABBITS HAS HAD THIS KNOCK-ON EFFECT

ON ALL THE KEY PREDATORS THAT FEED ON THEM

LIKE THE IBERIAN LYNX.

AND THE SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE.

THESE HUNTERS ARE BOTH AT EXTREME RISK.

CARLOS AND OTHERS ARE WORKING TO RESTORE

THE PREDATOR-PREY BALANCE.

BUT CARLOS'S HELP GOES MUCH FURTHER THAN RABBITS.

FOR THE SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE,

HE'S EVEN BUILDING NESTS FOR THEM TO RETURN TO.

TODAY, WITH A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS,

HE'S WATCHING A NEST CONTAINING

A PRECIOUS EAGLE CHICK THAT IS YET TO FLY

AND THE RESEARCHERS NEED TO GIVE IT A FULL HEALTH CHECKUP.

BUT GETTING AN EAGLE CHICK DOWN FROM THE TOP OF A TREE,

THAT AIN'T EASY.

I do get very excited about doing this.

Although I try not to show it because I'm a professional.

[ chuckles ]

But, yeah, my heart is beating much faster than it normally does.

THE MOTHER WILL AGGRESSIVELY DEFEND HER NEST

WITH HER RAZOR SHARP TALONS.

AS SOON AS SHE LEAVES, THE SCIENTISTS HAVE

A 30-MINUTE WINDOW TO GET THE CHICK DOWN

AND BACK UP AGAIN.

EVEN A YOUNGSTER IS A HANDFUL.

[ squawking ]

BLOOD SAMPLES CAN TRACK ITS GENETIC HISTORY

WHILE PHYSICAL TAGS ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO FOLLOW A BIRD FROM AFAR.

Wow, this is a unique moment.

It's something that makes your hands shiver.

I really get very excited when this job is done

and we see these chicks flying.

MAN'S INTERVENTION HERE HAS RESTORED EAGLE NUMBERS

FROM ALMOST 40 PAIRS TO NEARLY 400.

MANAGING THE PREDATORS IS AN EXTENSION

OF OUR TIMELESS INVOLVEMENT IN THESE FORESTS.

AN AGE-OLD INDUSTRY FUNCTIONS WITH

AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE WILD ANIMALS THAT LIVE ALONGSIDE.

BUT LIVING NEXT TO FORESTS DOESN'T ALWAYS PLAY OUT QUITE SO EASILY.

In some parts of the world,

if you really want to live next door to nature,

live side by side with wild creatures,

then you have to start thinking pretty radically.

[ thunder ]

IN THE JUNGLES OF SUMATRA, THE WILDLIFE OF THE FOREST

IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO GET ALONG WITH.

[ elephant trumpets ]

ELEPHANTS ARE BURSTING OUT OF THE FORESTS

AND CROSSING THE THRESHOLD INTO OUR WORLD.

THE REASON IS THAT SUMATRA HAS SOME OF

THE FASTEST DISAPPEARING RAINFORESTS ON EARTH,

CLEARED FOR HUGE PLANTATIONS AND FARMLAND.

MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE NOW LIVING CLOSER TO ELEPHANTS

AND, UNFORTUNATELY, ELEPHANTS FIND OUR CROPS IRRESISTIBLE.

WHEN THEY COME RAIDING, LIVES ARE AT STAKE.

FARMERS FEEL THEY HAVE TO FIGHT BACK,

SOMETIMES WITH ROCKETS AND FIRECRACKERS,

BECAUSE GETTING A FIVE-TON ELEPHANT BACK INTO THE FOREST IS HARD.

IN LESS THAN 10 YEARS, HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT HAS KILLED 42 PEOPLE

AND OVER 100 ELEPHANTS HERE.

THESE ANIMALS CAN DEVASTATE FARMLANDS,

OBLITERATE YEARS OF WORK IN JUST MINUTES.

HOWEVER MUCH THE PEOPLE TRY TO PROTECT THEIR LIVELIHOODS

BY SCARING THEM OFF,

THE REALITY IS THEY DON'T STAY AWAY FOR LONG.

[ speaking foreign language ]

[ elephant trumpeting ]

YOU MIGHT THINK LIFE HERE FOR PEOPLE WOULD BE EASIER

IF THEY JUST GOT RID OF ELEPHANTS.

BUT IT TURNS OUT THESE ANIMALS ARE DEEPLY CONNECTED

TO THE HEALTH OF THE RAINFOREST.

AND IN TURN, TO ALL OF US.

UNLESS WE CAN GET ELEPHANTS BACK INTO THE FORESTS, WE ALL SUFFER.

AND, AGAIN, JUST LIKE WITH THE CORK FORESTS,

IT'S OUR ABILITY TO MANAGE THE WILD THAT PROVIDES THE SOLUTION.

[ elephant growls ]

BECAUSE THERE IS A PLAN.

IT'S CALLED THE ELEPHANT FLYING SQUAD.

THE TRAINERS, OR MAHOUTS, HAVE AN INTIMATE BOND

WITH DOMESTICATED ELEPHANTS.

USING SKILLS HANDED DOWN ACROSS MILLENNIA,

THEY CAN TURN THESE ANIMALS INTO ALLIES

AND USE THEM TO PUSH THEIR WILD COUSINS BACK INTO THE JUNGLE.

AT FLYING SQUAD HEADQUARTERS, THEY WAIT FOR REPORTS

TO COME BACK IN FROM WATCHTOWERS

THAT ARE SPREAD ACROSS THE FOREST.

AND THEN, IT'S ABOUT MAKING THEIR STRATEGY WORK ON THE FRONT LINE.

HERE, THEY'RE PATROLLING THE TESSO NILO DISTRICT.

AND ONCE AGAIN, THERE ARE PROBLEMS.

THE FLYING SQUAD HAVE GOT TO RESPOND QUICKLY

BECAUSE THINGS HERE CAN GET OUT OF HAND RAPIDLY.

[ yelling ]

[ elephant trumpets ]

[ shouting ]

[ yelling ]

WITH ELEPHANTS AND PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER,

THERE IS A SOLUTION FOR PUSHING THE WILD ELEPHANTS BACK INTO THE FOREST.

AND THE FLYING SQUAD ARE SUCCEEDING.

FLYING SQUAD EFFORTS IN SOME PLACES

HAVE REDUCED CROP DAMAGE BY OVER 90%.

THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR THE PEOPLE AND THE FOREST.

BECAUSE ELEPHANTS ARE ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS.

THEY CREATE CLEARINGS FOR NEW GROWTH...

AND DISPERSE SEEDS.

EVEN THEIR FOOTPRINTS CREATE BREEDING GROUNDS

FOR INSECTS THAT ALL CONTRIBUTE TO FOREST HEALTH.

BY GARDENING THE FOREST, ELEPHANTS ARE CONTRIBUTING

TO A TROPICAL NETWORK THAT SUPPORTS US BY SUPPLYING

AND REGULATING BILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER EVERY DAY.

BUT THERE'S ANOTHER EQUALLY IMPORTANT BAND OF FORESTS

THAT, FOR YEARS, HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED.

GREAT FORESTS ENCIRCLE THE ENTIRE

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE OF OUR PLANET.

FOR SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR, THEY'RE FROZEN.

THEY APPEAR LIFELESS.

BUT WHEN THIS PLACE THAWS, IT EXHALES A GIANT BREATH,

FLOODING THE PLANET WITH OXYGEN.

THIS IS THE EARTH BREATHING.

NO OTHER FOREST, NOT EVEN THE AMAZON,

REGULATES OUR ATMOSPHERE ON THIS SCALE.

I'VE COME TO CANADA'S GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST

BECAUSE RESEARCHERS HELPED US UNDERSTAND THIS PLACE

AND VALUE IT IN A WHOLE NEW WAY.

THIS NEW UNDERSTANDING HAS LED TO A HISTORIC AGREEMENT

BETWEEN LOGGERS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

AND CONSERVATIONISTS TO PROTECT IT.

IT'S ALL BASED ON AN INCREDIBLE CHAIN OF EVENTS

THAT STARTS IN SPRING.

THE FOREST IS AWAKENING

AND THE STAGE IS SET FOR ONE OF NATURE'S

MOST SPECTACULAR EVENTS.

ANIMALS, LEAN AFTER A LONG WINTER,

ARE ON THE MOVE TO THE COAST.

AND THAT INCLUDES US.

THE FIRST NATION'S PEOPLE LIVING HERE ARE COMBINING

THE LATEST SCIENCE WITH AN ANCESTRAL UNDERSTANDING

TO REVEAL A WHOLE NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS FOREST.

THEY'VE HELPED EXPOSE A LINK BETWEEN THE LIFE IN THE OCEAN

AND LIFE IN THE DEEPEST PARTS OF THIS FOREST.

BECAUSE HERE A SMALL FISH HELPS SUPPORT ONE OF

THE BIGGEST STRETCHES OF FOREST ON EARTH.

There she goes, that beautiful tree.

That beautiful tree.

ALL THE ANIMALS HERE SEEM TO INSTINCTIVELY KNOW WHAT'S COMING:

THE PACIFIC HERRING RUN.

SHOALS OF HERRING, TENS OF MILLION STRONG.

COMING RIGHT INTO THE SHORE

TO WHERE THE OCEAN MEETS THE GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST.

THEIR ARRIVAL PROVIDES A BANQUET.

It is chock full of life.

These forests sometimes look so empty then you get into these little spots

and everyone is here.

Look at these guys, look at this!

Look at this!

Wow!

There's a huge humpback whale over there.

He's just cruising up and down through this channel just feeding.

THE MALE HERRING THAT DO MANAGE TO MAKE IT

HEAD INTO THE SHALLOWS TO RELEASE THEIR SPERM.

THEN THE FEMALES FOLLOW.

THEY SCRAMBLE FOR ANY SURFACE THEY CAN

ON THIS BOUNDARY WITH THE FOREST

LIKE SEAWEED AND FALLEN TREES.

THEY RELEASE THEIR EGGS IN THE HOPE THAT THEY WILL BE FERTILIZED.

EACH TINY EGG IS PART OF A VAST FABRIC CLINGING TO THIS SHORELINE.

MILLIONS PER SQUARE YARD.

THIS IMMENSE SPAWN CONNECTS OCEAN

AND FOREST ALONG HUNDREDS OF MILES OF COAST.

A CONNECTION THAT, IN TIME,

WILL BE TRANSPORTED DEEP INTO THE FOREST.

I mean, usually, these animals will be found

deep in the forest hunting deer.

But at this time of the year,

they're out here looking for herring.

THIS FOOTAGE IS EXTREMELY RARE.

AN ICONIC CARNIVORE TURNING ITS ATTENTION TO FISH

IS NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE EVERY DAY.

AND OTHER ANIMALS ARE JUST AS KEEN ON THE HERRING

AS THE WOLVES.

FROM EAGLES

TO BLACK BEARS

TO ONE OTHER ANIMAL:

US.

Hoowa!

That is like 100 pounds!

There's 100 pounds of caviar!

Mm, it's good.

[ chuckles ]

It's the mildest flavored caviar with just a little bit of pine.

I mean, it really, really tastes great.

And really tastes of the ocean and the forest.

There's nothing like it.

THE HEILTSUK ARE A FIRST NATION'S COMMUNITY

WHO HAVE LIVED ALONGSIDE THIS FOREST FOR MILLENNIA

AND THEY'VE COME TO KNOW ITS MOST INTIMATE DETAILS.

AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, THEY'RE ALL OUT HARVESTING ON THE WATER.

This is a really good flavor.

We have a big family.

All these guys that were over here are my uncles.

So when we get in, all of the eggs that they harvested

and all of this are gonna go onto one table

and all of our family will come and take what they need for the winter.

WILLIAM HOUSTY IS A LEADER OF THE HEILTSUK PEOPLE.

ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE HAS TAUGHT THE HEILTSUK THAT,

WHEN THE CRESCENT MOON IS WANING,

THE HERRING ARE ON THEIR WAY

AND THAT'S THE TIME TO SINK THE TREES.

WILLIAM HOUSTY: IF YOU EVER WATCH THE MOON LEADING UP TO THIS TIME OF YEAR,

OUR PEOPLE USED TO KNOW THAT IT WAS TIME TO GO AND GET YOUR TREES READY.

BECAUSE WHEN THE MOON TIPPED, ALL THE HERRING CAME SPILLING OUT OF THE MOON.

AND THAT THEY'RE STARTING TO SPAWN.

DR. SANJAYAN: EVEN THOUGH THE HEILTSUK ARE FISHERMEN,

THEY KNOW THE FOREST IS CRUCIAL TO THE HERRING RUN.

TREES ANCHOR SOIL AND PREVENT SILT FROM RUNNING INTO THE WATER.

THE SPAWNING JUST WOULDN'T HAPPEN LIKE IT DOES

IF THE WATER WAS CLOUDY WITH SILT.

BUT THE HEILTSUK KNOW THAT THERE'S A MUCH MORE

COMPLEX CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OCEAN AND THE FOREST.

SCIENTISTS WORKING WITH THE HEILTSUK HAVE ANALYZED

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE TREES INLAND

AND THEY'VE MADE AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY:

THAT THE NUTRIENTS ESSENTIAL TO THE GROWTH OF THE TREES

EVEN MILES INLAND COMES FROM THE OCEAN.

THE HERRING START THE PROCESS.

SALMON FEED ON THOSE HERRING.

THEN THEY SWARM UP THE RIVERS CARRYING THE PULSE

OF NUTRIENTS DEEP INTO THE FOREST

WHERE BEARS ARE WAITING.

ALL ALONG THE ANIMAL TRAILS HERE, YOU FIND REMAINS

OF HALF-EATEN OCEAN-GOING FISH.

UP TO TWO TONS IN A SINGLE ACRE.

IT'S THESE THAT DECOMPOSE AND THEN FEED THE TREES.

IT TURNS OUT THAT UP TO A STAGGERING 75% OF THE NITROGEN

THAT FUELS THESE TREES COMES FROM THE OCEAN.

There are millions upon millions of herring

and salmon that spawn up and down these coastlines.

And animals bring that nutrient up into these trees.

I mean, to me, that is just absolutely mindboggling.

That the ocean which is that far away from me

really manages to reach right up into these forests

all the way to the very tips of these trees.

WE USED TO VALUE THIS WILDERNESS ONLY

FOR ITS WORTH AS RAW MATERIALS,

MAKING EVERYTHING FROM PLYWOOD TO TOILET PAPER.

NOW, WE'RE STARTING TO APPRECIATE THESE TREES

WHILST THEY'RE STILL ALIVE AND PART OF A BIGGER SYSTEM.

IF THE FOREST WAS GONE, IT WOULD BRING SOIL EROSION,

DESTROY SALMON AND HERRING RUNS

AND ELIMINATE A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR FISHERY.

THE REALITY OF THESE DISCOVERIES

LINKING FORESTS, OCEANS AND US

HAS MEANT THAT FIVE MILLION ACRES

HAVE BEEN MADE OFF-LIMITS TO LOGGING.

WE CAN NOW APPRECIATE WHAT OUR FORESTS ARE REALLY WORTH.

SOMETHING THAT'S COMING BACK INTO SHARP FOCUS

WHERE MY JOURNEY BEGAN.

BACK IN ECUADOR'S INTANGIBLE ZONE,

THE VALUE OF THIS FOREST IS SUDDENLY

A LOT MORE SIGNIFICANT SINCE RYAN KILLACKEY'S TEAM GOT HERE.

THERE ARE MORE TREE SPECIES IN JUST A COUPLE OF ACRES

THAN IN ALL OF NORTH AMERICA.

MORE VARIETY OF INSECTS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET.

NO DOUBT, MORE STUDIES WILL BE NEEDED,

BUT EVEN AFTER JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS,

RYAN AND HIS TEAM BELIEVE THAT THIS MIGHT BE

THE MOST BIODIVERSE PLACE ON TERRESTRIAL EARTH.

IT'S THE SORT OF PLACE WHERE GIANT RIVER OTTERS

SWIM RIGHT UP TO YOU.

BUT ANOTHER EXPEDITION HAS REVEALED THAT UNDERNEATH

THIS FOREST LIES SEVERAL BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF OIL,

FUEL FOR OUR WORLD

AND THE SOURCE OF MUCH-NEEDED CASH FOR THIS COUNTRY.

THERE'S ONE MAN IN THE WAORANI COMMUNITY

WHO'S EXPERIENCED THIS COLLISION OF VALUES LIKE NO ONE ELSE HAS:

THE JAGUAR SHAMAN.

AS A BIOLOGIST, I USUALLY FOCUS ON NATURAL HISTORY.

BUT THE SHAMAN REMINDS ME OF THE HUMAN STORY

THAT IS ALSO THREATENED BY DEVELOPMENT IN THIS FOREST.

WHEN HE CAME ACROSS OUTSIDERS PROSPECTING FOR OIL,

IT DIDN'T GO WELL.

[ speaking foreign language ]

AS FAR AS HE IS CONCERNED,

HE WAS DEFENDING HIS PEOPLE FROM INVASION.

AND CERTAINLY DRIVES HOME THE CHALLENGES

THAT COULD BE COMING THE WAY OF THIS FOREST.

HE LEADS US TOWARDS THE EDGE OF HIS LAND

AND THEN LEAVES US TO JOURNEY OUT OF THE INTANGIBLE ZONE.

OIL DRILLING IS ALREADY HAPPENING AT THE EDGES.

BUT PERMITS ARE NOW BEING CONSIDERED FOR DRILLING FURTHER INTO THE FOREST.

SURVEYS HAVE REVEALED VAST DEPOSITS.

IT ALL RAISES THE QUESTION OF WHAT THE MOST

BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE FOREST ON EARTH IS ACTUALLY WORTH TO US.

Wow, flaming trees, huh?

It's kind of beautiful, you know, in a way.

Like we all are kind of hypnotized by fire.

You know, we're all a part of it.

We're all a part of it.

And they say the quantity of oil is only enough

for the world population to actually function for about eight days.

Just eight days of oil?

Just eight days of oil.

BUT EIGHT DAYS OF OIL FOR THE PLANET IS STILL A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY.

THE ROADS AND MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT

THAT COMES WITH OIL EXTRACTION DOES MAKE THIS

A PRETTY DESTRUCTIVE WAY TO PUT A DOLLAR VALUE ON THIS FOREST.

BUT THERE IS A NEW WAY TO PUT A CASH VALUE ON FORESTS,

ONE THAT CAPITALIZES ON SCIENTIFIC DATA LIKE RYAN'S.

AND PROMISINGLY, IT'S EMERGING RIGHT HERE IN THE AMAZON

WHERE THEY'RE FACING THE BIG THREATS LIKE OIL AND LOGGING HEAD ON.

IT'S EASY, IT SEEMS, TO CALCULATE THE VALUE

OF A FOREST WHEN IT'S YOUR HOME.

Life, life.

The forest is the life.

CHIEF ALMIR IS THE LEADER OF BRAZIL'S SURUI TRIBE,

AND HE'S BEEN QUICK TO REALIZE THAT HE NEEDS TO QUANTIFY

THE VALUE OF HIS HOME TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

THE SURUI LEAD A TRADITIONAL LIFE.

BUT NOW THEY'RE USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO HELP THEM

QUANTIFY THE VALUE OF THEIR HOME

AND BROADCAST THAT TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

[ speaking foreign language ]

We looked at how we wanted to preserve the standing forests

and we came up with the idea of the Surui carbon project.

THE SURUI TAKE SIMPLE MEASUREMENTS

LIKE THE HEIGHT AND GROWTH RATE OF TREES

AND AN ALGORITHM TRANSLATES THAT INTO THE WEIGHT

OF CARBON DRAWN FROM THE ATMOSPHERE.

ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF CARBON CREDITS

HAVE ALREADY BEEN SOLD TO OFFSET CARBON USE.

THE SURUI ARE THE FIRST INDIGENOUS GROUP TO EVER

PROTECT FORESTS IN THIS WAY.

BUT THIS IS JUST A SMALL PART OF A BIGGER PLAN.

A MASSIVE DATA ENTRY EXERCISE IS NOW UNDERWAY,

UPLOADING THE INVENTORIES OF FORESTS' LIFE VIA SATELLITE.

[ speaking foreign language ]

With this monitoring, we can map the biodiversity

of Surui territory.

BY GETTING HOLD OF THIS SORT OF DATA,

BUSINESSES ARE BASING PATENTS ON FORESTS' LIFE.

IT'S THOUGHT THAT ONE-QUARTER OF ALL OUR PRESCRIBED MEDICINES

ARE BASED ON RAINFOREST PLANTS.

AND YET FEWER THAN ONE PERCENT OF TROPICAL SPECIES

HAVE REALLY BEEN EXAMINED.

WHEN THE DATA OF THIS FOREST IS UPLOADED,

IT CLEARLY HAS A DOLLAR VALUE.

THE SURUI ARE SMART.

THEY KNOW THE FOREST ADDS UP TO MORE THAN JUST MONEY,

BUT IF THIS HELPS THEM PROTECT THEIR HOME,

THEN THEY'LL TAKE THAT, TOO.

THIS NEW KIND OF ASSESSMENT OF EVEN THE WILDEST FORESTS

IS SPREADING RIGHT ACROSS THE PLANET.

ECONOMISTS CALL IT NATURAL CAPITAL.

THIS IS THE FOREST NOT JUST AS TREES AND WILDLIFE.

IT'S REALLY A WAY OF PUTTING A FIGURE ON EVERY SERVICE

THIS ECOSYSTEM CAN PROVIDE.

FROM HYDROELECTRIC POWER TO WATER FILTRATION.

FROM MEDICINE BANKS

TO GLOBAL WEATHER CONTROL TO TOURISM.

THE WAY OF VALUING FORESTS IS CHANGING.

IN THE MODERN WORLD, WE CAN QUANTIFY

THE FOREST'S SERVICES TO US.

AND NEW EVIDENCE SHOWS HOW WE CAN KEEP THEM PRODUCTIVE,

LIVING AMONGST THEM IN LARGE NUMBERS,

AND SOMETIMES EVEN MAKING THEM MORE DIVERSE.

TODAY, IT'S ALL ABOUT HOW TO VALUE FORESTS

WHILE THEY'RE STILL STANDING.

Next time on Earth A New Wild :

Our planet

the ocean,

a place threatened by But we can turn back the tide.

And the key is a new understanding of

the ocean's predators.

I cannot belie

what I'm seeing!

Allowing us and the wild

Announcer: TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM,

VISIT PBS.ORG/EARTHANEWWILD.

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