GRAN CHACO ON BBC WORLD TV

CHACO COMMENTARY SCRIPT

OPENING COMMENTARY:
"Welcome to the third of our programmes in our special Latin American season. In the last two we've travelled through both Mexico and Colombia to see how they're coping with the environmental challenges they face. Today we're heading south for the Gran Chaco, one of the last great wildernesses left on Earth. It covers 650,000 square kilometres, stretching from the Andean foothills, through Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Though it's the second most extensive ecosystem in Latin America, few people elsewhere in the world have heard of it because it's an isolated region. But today we put Gran Chaco on the map"....

STING

CONSERVATION PROFITS
COMMENTARY STARTS:
"This is the Gran Chaco - it's a vast alluvial plain, a natural region divided into three areas by the two main rivers, the Pilcomayo and the Bermejo.

The climate here is semi-arid, the dry season lasts up to seven months........when it rains vast areas of the plain flood, turning them into swamp land .

"The Gran Chaco is suffering from environmental degradation and the loss of unknown numbers of it's animals and plant species.

"Why? Because the removal of the natural vegetation and the introduction of large scale ranching has caused overgrazing. And the conflict between the governments, the provincial administrations, business interests and conservationists over the future of the Gran Chaco has led to uncertainty and a lack of action.

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
" One person trying to find a solution to all the Gran Chaco's problems is biologist Lucy Aquino...."

IV- ASTON LUCY AQUINO/ Biologist
" What we as biologists have to do is to give alternatives for the use of the resources so that they can be used, that is give an economic value in order to protect that economic resource and at the same time be able to protect the habitat in which they live and in this way one can also protect the other species that live in the habitat."

She wants to see a wholesale shift in the way the resources of the Chaco are used. And she's put an ECONOMIC value on them in a way that some people find outrageous but others view as pragmatic"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"One example of her strategy is the Teyu Lizard. It is listed as an endangered and regulated species.

But in the Chaco it has long been a source of nourishment for the indigenous peoples AND a source of income".

"Each skin is worth around 6 US dollars - in 1997 an estimated 300,000 were sold - mainly to the European Market where they end up as handbags, shoes, watch-straps and belts.

Little wonder then that there has been a lucrative illegal trade in the skins.

"The skins here have been impounded, many are in a very poor condition. But the sheer size of this consignment, which will now be destroyed, indicates the extent of the trade and the extent of the decimation of the Teyu Lizard.

"A ban on the trade obviously wouldn't work - so The International Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species, or CITES decided to take a more practical approach."

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"It decided to allow a trade in the skins by issuing a special permit.

The end result - a commercial captive breeding program.

"It provides a safe haven for a percentage of the lizards, AND a market for the locals. They can continue to trap the Teyu in the wild using a quota system and sell what they catch."

"At this breeding centre the owners are convinced that the commercial exploitation of the Teyu is the key to it's future."

IV ASTON :BRICE XXXXX
" if you don't give people an incentive to look after (the animals) the only animals you will have left in Paraguay, especially Eastern Paraguay will be the ones left in zoos. It gives them an incentive - it is a way of looking after the environment"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"For the tanneries, having a steady and reliable source of skins means stability and helps secure their future. The demand for the skins and goods made from them shows no sign of decreasing.

Giving an economic value to the Teyu, says Lucy Aquino, means that everyone affected in the chain comes out a winner."

IV LUCY AQUINO 2 NO ASTON NEEDED HERE
"Giving a species an economic value is also giving an economic value to all that surrounds it, because a species doesn't live on it's own, it lives in a community ...The sustainable use of the Teyu is criticized but there isn't so much criticism when whole regions are deforested, where thousands of species live. So we are on the right track, but we have a long way to go, not only in Paraguay but other countries in Latin America too."

STING

CHACO PECCARY STORY
COMMENTARY STARTS:
"In 1986 a group of American archeologists made a discovery that was to change the entire future of a resident of the Gran Chaco thought to be extinct.

"They found a skull, which turned out to be the recent remains of the Chacho Peccary - until then presumed to have been hunted into history."

IV ASTON BREEDING CENTRE MAN
" I met the person that discovered and studied the Tagua in the Chaco as much as I know he discovered the skull by accident and realised that it was not a skull of the coloured peccary and not the skull of the whiteleg peccary and realised it was a fairly new skull of an animal that was thought to be extinct"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"Rediscovering the Chaco Peccary may have been applauded by the conservationists - but that's ironically where it's problems began again. The question was, and is, how to deal with them.

This breeding centre for the chaco peccary was set up - last year over 80 animals were successfully bred.

"The problem is returning them to the wild. Because their natural habitat no longer exists and there are very few laws guaranteeing their safety."

IV NO ASTON NEEDED PECCARY BREEDER
"It is sad to say but in this country, the way of saving nature does not exist, there are regulations but very few people really care for them. Just recently, a couple of months ago, the national police killed 4 or five tagua in property that did not belong to them. The police that is (sic) actually, the force that is supposed to care for our regulations, they are the best example of violating them."

ENDS/STING

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"Still to come - * quotas for the parrots ensure it's survival... *Are private reserves the proper way to safeguard the future of the Gran Chaco.............. *But first here's our International Hands On".

ENDS/STING

PART 2

COMMENTARY STARTS:
" Welcome back to the Gran Chaco" "One of the effects of over-grazing and the environmental degradation is that the land can no longer absorb the rains that fall here between December and April every year.

Flooding is now a fact of life in the Argentinian part of the Chaco. What we are seeing here is the aftermath of the some of the worst flooding in recent years.

One of the main offenders is the vast cotton plantations and it is one of the quickest ways of making money in the Chaco.

Land can cost as little as 10 US dollars a hectare - precisely because it is a wilderness.

"But the incentive to make money means that the land can be bought, it's native trees razed and it can be turned over to growing a cash crop like cotton very quickly.

The end result - flooding and hundreds of refugees left homeless...

VOXPOP WITH FLOODED WOMAN - NO ASTON (TRANSLATION)
"This isn't the first time that this has happened. It destroyed my house and it's going to destroy my house again. I'm very scared for my children and myself"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"there's no real solution to the flooding and devastation seen here. The effect is worse on the Argentinian side because there's more development. But the situation is a direct result of the past lack of co-operation between countries and provinces over land use in the Chaco."

ENDS / STING

PARROTS
COMMENTARY STARTS:
"The Talking Parrot is an established resident here, for many they act as mascots and are part of the folklore of the Chaco.

Demand for them means that every year thousands are caught and smuggled out of the region and then sold abroad. It's an important source of income for some of the indigenous people."

The government's attempt to block the trade in rare birds and animals consists of mounting roadblocks and vehicle checks

TAKE UPSOT ROADBLOCK 5"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"20,000 parrots were illegally smuggled out of this part of the Chaco last year - only 800 were confiscated, proof of the uphill struggle that the authorities face."

"But it's also very bad news for the Parrots, and for their habitat - the native trees which the locals would chop down indiscriminately in order to get at their quarry, and at the same time clear the land ready for crop cultivation."

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"But now two scientists have stepped in to try to provide a solution that keeps everyone concerned, including the habitat, happy.

"they're trying to create a quota system, that still allows the parrots to be caught and sold - but also allows the species to thrive."

"Their deal is simple and effective. By offering to buy the parrots at a much higher price they effectively cut out the middlemen."

"They also insist that their suppliers don't empty each Parrot nest of the entire brood of baby parrots."

"If at least one fledgling is left each time the nest is raided the species has a fighting chance of survival."

"And the tree doesn't face the risk of being chopped down because it is home to next years parrots".

IV ASTON Glasses IV
"They recognize that parrots are a valued resource and that with this valued resource they can avoid making use of the environment in a way that leads to its degradation. Traditionally people have paid very little money for parrots. With this project we have raised the price of parrots six or eight times more at least. In this way people have started to realize that parrots are a resource that competes economically with many others, for example cows, wood, timber. If they understand this things will start to go well"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"The Parrots are also ringed, so that the scientists can keep track of where and when they fly and, crucially, where they end up if they're caught and sold elsewhere.

The project is another example of using the economic value of a resource to try to ensure it's future.

IV ASTON - SHADES & CAP MAN
"generally the people are more satisfied than before, because we have made them work less. Find a parrot nest is very difficult, going up a tree and gathering parrots is very difficult in itself. So we are making them work less, gather less parrots. They have defined quotas dependent on the area of land - and they receive much more money..."

END / STING

KEEP OUT STORY
COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"The primitive landscape of the Gran Chaco was mostly parkland with hardwoods and grasslands. Slash and burn agricultural methods had kept the vegetation fairly stable until European colonization paved the way for extensive cattle ranching and overgrazing.

But as the region is split between four countries there's been little, so far, in the way of co-ordinated policy to ensure a sustainable future for the Gran Chaco.

For some committed conservationists the lack of action led them to take matters into their own hands.

"DR ENRIQUE BUCHER is one. He's a scientist and armed with foreign sponsorship bought and fenced off 10,00 hectares of the Gran Chaco.

"Creating in the process a private reserve inside which he set about allowing the habitat to regenerate. There have been plenty of critics and he's aware of the need to show some positive result from his experiment

IV ASTON: Dr ENRIQUE BUCHER
"we had previous experience and we decided unless people could see real tangible and actual proof that this works - so this is the first motivation we have is to show facts and figures to prove we are doing the right thing"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"Dr Enrique Bucher carries out daily and weekly studies inside his reserve, constantly checking how the Chaco is recovering.

TAKE UPSOT CHECKING MUD CAKE + GROWTHS 5"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"Today the flora and fauna, untouched by the normal human predators are thriving once again. Dr BUCHER now plans to introduce methods to make enough of an income to prevent his reliance on outside sources...

IV NO ASTON needed Dr Enrique BUCHER 2
"Our production is based on having more than one single item. Being flexible and being multiple species orientated. In other words we try to produce timber, charcoal and some unusual products, like snake venom or honey from local honey bees that combine to make the project profitable"

COMMENTARY CONTINUES:
"The project though, remains closely watched by it's international backers. Whether it can be repeated elsewhere in the Chaco, or even if it is a desirable way forward has yet to be decided.

And decisions like this can only come from the four governments involved and, because of the natural value of this unique region, the international community."

IV BUCHER 3 - NO ASTON NEEDED
"We have as Argentinians a responsibility for saving the Chaco but also the whole of humanity has a responsibility for this. It's part of a world heritage. It's the second biggest ecosystem after the Amazon. It deserved to be saved and this is part of an effort that is truly international"

ENDS/STING

COMMENTARY ENDS:
"And that ends this, the final programme in our special Latin American season of Roadshows.

In the past three weeks we've been on a journey of over 9000 kilometres as we've examined the great environmental challenges Latin America is facing.

From the Grey Whales of Baja California to the Cloud forests of Oaxaca, from the Eco-cops of Bogata City to the beauty of the Gulf of Utria. And finally here in the Gran Chaco.

Earth Report will be back again next week. Join us then."

END/END CREDITS

ADD CREDITS;
TITLE MUSIC : MICHAEL KAMEN
FEATURED MUSIC : CHUCO MERCHAN
NARRATION : DAVID MUNRO

In Paraguay
CITES
Dr Enrique Bucher

EARTH REPORT TEAM
Steve Stephenson
Lisa Monzon
Tina Cawte
Heidi Stephenson
Luke Gawin

SERIES EDITOR
Robert Lamb

tve is a collective name for Television for the Environment and Television Trust for the Environment. Television for the Environment is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (registered office 21 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9RP, company number 1811236)and a registered charity (charity number 326585). Television Trust for the Environment is a registered charity (charity number 326539).