• NEWS >> ATW Script Evergreen, 2003

Yearly Script Program Index

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OPEN/WELCOME

Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World. I’m Elissa Marra.
The earth is made up of many diverse environments that are the home to millions of different species of plants and animals. It is important that we protect these environments so that these species and plants continue to exist for generations to come. One organization working to ensure that these plants, animals and natural environments remain is The Nature Conservancy.

KAHUKU RANCH INTRO

Since 1951 The Nature Conservancy has been working with communities, businesses and people to protect and preserve the diversity of our planet.
A major part of their efforts involve acquiring land and water rights to fragile eco-systems. One such effort recently led to the largest land conservation transaction in Hawaii history. Wyatt Doremus has more.

HAWAII/KAHUKU RANCH

When the Kahuku Ranch on the island of Hawaii went on the market, it was an opportunity that The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service could not pass up.
Working together the Conservancy and the National Park Service purchased the 116,000 acre ranch and added it to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The purchase increased the size of the park by fifty percent.

Kahuku Ranch runs along the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano and includes diverse native ecosystems.

The ranch, with its lava flows, forests, ancient Hawaiian archeological sites and pasture land is home to dozens of endangered plants and bird species found nowhere else on Earth. By acquiring the ranch the Park Service will be able to manage the greatest threats to the conservation of the ranch and neighboring public and private reserve lands.
The Kahuku Ranch provides important habitat for several species of Hawaiian birds. A number of important and rare plant species are also reported on the property.

The Kahuku Ranch is a geological treasure as well.
Much of it is within the southwest rift zone of the Mauna Loa volcano. Mauna Loa is one of the world’s largest and most active volcanoes and the southwest rift is its most active rift zone. For scientists it is a valuable area for scientific research of volcanic activity.
The purchase of Kahuku Ranch links private, state and federal lands…bringing more than 500,000 acres under conservation management.

CONSERVATION FACT

The total acres protected by the Nature Conservancy in the United States are nearly 15 million. Worldwide more than 115 million acres are under Conservancy protection.

GREAT NORTHERN PAPER INTRO

You might think that a paper mill and a conservation organization would be locked in battle against each other. But that is not the case in northern Maine where The Nature Conservancy and the Great Northern Paper are partners in conservation. Wyatt has more.

GREAT NORTHERN PAPER

The manufacturing of paper requires a never-ending need for wood…wood they get from forests.
And one of the many goals of The Nature Conservancy is the protection and preservation of forests and the habitats they provide for plants and animals.

So how do a paper mill and a conservation organization work together? By agreeing to protect the valuable natural resources of Maine!
In 2002 The Nature Conservancy and the Great Northern Paper company announced a partnership to protect and preserve the forest surrounding Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. Their partnership ensures the long term future of the forests and the long term economic stability of the region.

Kent Wommack, The Nature Conservancy
“Some people may find the concept of a conservation organization financing a paper company unusual to say the least but in fact this was a cost effective way to protect one of the great areas of the North Woods. And for that matter we are proud as an organization to be contributing to the economic health of this part of Maine.”

The Katahdin Forest Project provides low-cost, long-term financing for Great Northern Paper. In return the company agreed to put a conservation easement on 200,000 acres of forestland surrounding Mount Katahdin. It guarantees public access, traditional recreational uses, sustainable forests and no future development. In addition, Great Northern transferred over 40,000 acres of wilderness areas to The Nature Conservancy. In short, both sides get what they want.

Kent Wommack
“In working with Great Northern Paper we found we shared a common vision for the North Woods…where the most important natural areas are protected, where the forests are sustain ably managed and where the economic health of the region is ensured.”By eliminating future commercial development not related to forestry the conservation easement provides protection for the working forest, which is the backbone of the economy of the region.

Lambert Bedard, CEO Great Northern Paper, Inc.
“This agreement with The Nature Conservancy first of all offered us very favorable financing conditions and second does ensure we have an ample supply of wood for our facilities and that our forests are managed in a sustainable basis.”

POP QUIZ #1

In our story about the Kahuku Ranch land acquisition we told you it increased the size of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park by…

Twenty percent
Seventy-five percent
Fifty percent

And the correct answer is number three…the Kahuku Ranch land acquisition added 116,000 acres to the national reserve.

ORANGUTANS

Conservationists travel all over the world in their quest to preserve and protect our planet. And once in a while their travels lead to some interesting discoveries.

ORANGUTANS

Researchers were surveying a remote forest on the island of Borneo when they came across a population of orangutans previously unknown.
The find increased the number of known orangutans by approximately ten percent and offers conservationists a rare, hopeful opportunity in the race to protect this highly endangered species.

Experts estimate between fourteen thousand and twenty-five thousand orangutans are left in the wild. They can be found only in Borneo and Sumatra. Like many endangered species loss of habitat is the primary reason for their demise.

Indonesia, home to some of the Earth’s most diverse and highly threatened tropical forests is the world’s top supplier of wood. It is estimated that seventy percent of the wood taken in Indonesia is harvested illegally.

To combat these threats to the orangutans habitat conservation groups and government agencies are working together to develop incentives to manage the forests and protect prime habitat.
The discovery of these orangutans is a hopeful sign that efforts to protect this endangered species may be successful.

CONSERVATION FACT

In the United States alone there are 517 species of animals listed as either endangered or threatened. There are 746 U.S. species of plants listed.
Source U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 8/26/03

WHALING/DISCUSSION ISSUE

In 1986 the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in an effort to protect the endangered species. Recently some countries have resumed whaling despite protests from conservationists. Iceland, which stopped whaling in 1989 in response to the commission’s ban, resumed this past summer.

WHALING STORY

To the crew on board, it’s a legitimate scientific mission…
To anti-whaling protestors it’s a step back in the battle to protect an endangered species.

For the first time in fourteen years Icelandic boats returned to these waters home to the minke….
they say, in the name of science.

Iceland’s government says they need to study the whales’ effect on fishing stocks, something that is vital to the nation’s economy. In addition to the scientific data gathered the whale’s meat will be packaged for sale.
Researcher’s say the work is legitimate.

Johann Sigurjonsson, Director-General, Icelandic Marine Research Institute
“Several of the aspects which are very crucial for this study are by fare the most efficiently obtained by lethal methods and we have no ethical grounds against…or reasons against killing animals if that is done for scientific purposes…”

Animal rights groups are unhappy that whaling is going on at all.

Jill Saunders, International Fund for Animal Welfare
“I think we have just witnessed the horrific death of one of the largest and most intelligent mammals on earth. It’s a very sad day for Iceland.”

WHALING DISCUSSION

The dramatic decline in whale populations is due largely to commercial whaling. The 1986 ban on whaling was an effort to protect the species from extinction.

Only Norway, Japan and now, Iceland still take an active role in commercial whaling. Japan and Iceland say they are taking whales in the name of science but whale meat is packaged and sold in markets in both countries. Norway exports much of its whale products to Japan where it is sold. They claim whaling is an important part of their culture and diet. They say they should be able to continue to harvest whales for meat and other by-products. Those against commercial whaling fear that whales may disappear from the earth’s waters unless they are protected. The International Whaling Commission decided in 1986 that it was impossible to regulate the whaling industry. They decided that a total ban of commercial whaling was the only way to protect the species. While most of the world recognizes the ban Norway, Japan and Iceland are continuing to harvest whales in their coastal waters. What do you think? “Should commercial whaling continue to be banned?” Discuss this with your classmates and find out what they think.

POP QUIZ #2

In our story about the discovery of Orangutans we told you that orangutans can be found in ….

Borneo and Sumatra
France and Germany
Vietnam and Thailand

And the correct answer is number one. Orangutans can be found in Borneo and Sumatra

CHINESE TIGERS

A pair of rare tiger cubs has made a historic journey from a Chinese zoo to South Africa for the first ever attempt at “Rewilding” Training.
Conservationists have been trying to revive China’s tiger population, which, like others in Asia, has been the victim of habitat destruction and poaching for skins and other body parts.

If efforts are successful, the “rewilded” cubs are expected to be reintroduced into the wild in 2008. Wyatt is back one more time.

CHINESE TIGERS
Their names are Hope and Cathay and they may represent one of the last chances of survival for the rare South China tiger.
Fewer than thirty of these tigers are left in the wild, with about sixty, kept in zoos across China.

The London-based charity “Save China’s Tigers” flew these cubs to South Africa where it is hoped they will be trained to hunt and breed in a “rewilding” experiment.

Li Quan, founder, Save China’s Tigers
“…as a symbol of Chinese culture, we must do something before we give up. Without doing anything and simply writing them off is not permissible.”

South African experts in wildlife management will attempt to teach the cubs how to survive on their own in the wild. Their efforts are crucial for the projects success.

Willie Labuschagne, Director, National Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, South Africa.
“This is the first time that Chinese Tigers have ever left China and that we have been identified by the Chinese tiger trust as a suitable partner is an extremely honorable situation for us.”

Hope and Cathay will undergo two weeks of medical tests before going back to nature in South Africa’s Makopani reserve.
If all goes well, in about five years, they will return to China to live in a nature reserve being planned by China’s State Forestry Administration.

CONSERVATION FACT 3

There are five different kinds or subspecies of tiger which are still alive today. These tigers are called Siberian, Indochinese, South China, Bengal, and Sumatran. Their Latin name is Panthera tigris. Tigers are an endangered species; only about 4,870 to 7,300 tigers are left in the wild.

GOOD-BYE

Conservation of our natural resources and habitats is an important issue. Good conservation habits help to protect and preserve endangered species of animals, plants and fragile eco-systems. They help to make sure the rich, diverse environment we live in will be around for generations to come.

That’s it for this week’s show. From all of us here at Assignment: The World, I’m Elissa Marra. We’ll see you again next week.

© 2003 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.