(gentle piano music)
– Oh, I remember those first pictures of the little blue
and green planet from outer space.
It was almost science fiction,
almost I could hardly believe it.
Seeing for the first time the extent of deforestation.
The extent of how we, the most intellectual species,
are destroying our planet.
As ecosystems are destroyed, plant species,
animal species will disappear.
These are shocking things, but it should wake us up.
We should be very, very alert now.
(synth music)
Gombe in the smallest national park in Tanzania.
When I began in 1960,
Gombe was part of the equatorial forest belt
that went all across to West Africa.
By 1990, it was a tiny island forest
surrounded by completely bare hills.
That’s when it actually hit me.
If we don’t do something
to help the people find ways of living
that don’t destroy the environment,
we can’t even try to save the chimpanzees.
It was in 1994 that the Jane Goodall Institute
began its program.
This idea of working with the people was sort of new.
I mean, others were handing out bits of money
and jobs and stuff, but this was working with the people.
The trust that we built up is a very gradual process.
Once the villagers had come to trust us,
they began to understand that preserving the forest
and the environment was just as important
for their own future as for preserving wildlife.
They got together all the data
that they have decided is important.
Whether it’s an illegally cut tree,
or whether it’s a sighting of a chimp nest,
the volunteer monitors all record the same things.
They enter into that smartphone all the data,
plug in, and upload it.
GIS helps us see a picture of the environment
that we cannot see from down on the ground.
That information becomes available to JGI,
to the village leaders,
as part of a picture of what’s going on around the globe.
(majestic music)
It’s been shown in some forests where chimpanzees
and other large animals have been hunted out
that the forest is not regenerating.
So chimpanzees are a very, very important part
of the forest ecosystem.
The indomitable human spirit,
the resilience of nature,
the energy and commitment of youth,
this incredible intellect.
Those are my reasons for hope.
If we get together now, it’s not too late.
We can solve the problems.
We can, we must, we will.
