1 00:00:00,010 --> 00:00:04,060 Narrator: At NASA Earth Science, we wake up every day 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:08,090 looking for new ways to expand our understanding 3 00:00:08,110 --> 00:00:12,250 about the Earth, to push the frontiers of science, and to share what 4 00:00:12,270 --> 00:00:16,340 we're learning to benefit people worldwide. 5 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,410 Together with our partners, we put science into action. 6 00:00:20,430 --> 00:00:24,560 One of our partners, the Jane Goodall Institute, 7 00:00:24,580 --> 00:00:28,660 has a mission to protect chimpanzees and the 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,760 world we all share. In 1960, 9 00:00:32,780 --> 00:00:36,860 Jane Goodall arrived on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in 10 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,900 Gombe National Park, Tanzania. 11 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,960 Goodall: I think of those early days when it was just me and the forest 12 00:00:44,980 --> 00:00:49,000 and the chimpanzees. It was so magic. 13 00:00:49,020 --> 00:00:53,090 Narrator: As her work studying chimpanzees progress, the land around the park was 14 00:00:53,110 --> 00:00:57,110 steadily deforested for timber and agriculture, severing the connection 15 00:00:57,130 --> 00:01:01,120 between chimpanzees inside and outside the park, 16 00:01:01,140 --> 00:01:05,160 a connection they need to survive. 17 00:01:05,180 --> 00:01:09,200 Deforestation is a problem for people, also. 18 00:01:09,220 --> 00:01:13,250 Goodall: It was clear there were more people living there than the land could support, 19 00:01:13,270 --> 00:01:17,310 they had overfarmed the land, which was 20 00:01:17,330 --> 00:01:21,410 infertile. Terrible soil erosion, little streams getting silted up. 21 00:01:21,430 --> 00:01:25,540 People clearly struggling to survive. 22 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,560 And that's when I realized, unless we improved the lives of the people, 23 00:01:29,580 --> 00:01:33,600 we can't even start to try and save the chimpanzees. 24 00:01:33,620 --> 00:01:37,640 Narrator: People in the communities and 25 00:01:37,660 --> 00:01:41,670 at the Jane Goodall Institute needed a new perspective to 26 00:01:41,690 --> 00:01:45,810 see how changes had taken place over time. 27 00:01:45,830 --> 00:01:49,910 That's when the partnership began between the institute and NASA. 28 00:01:49,930 --> 00:01:54,040 They looked to space, using NASA's satellites that observe the Earth to gain 29 00:01:54,060 --> 00:01:58,070 a higher vantage point. 30 00:01:58,090 --> 00:02:02,110 Pintea: When we first got our Landsat satellite images from '72 and '99 we 31 00:02:02,130 --> 00:02:06,160 made a natural color composite of Gombe and area outside Gombe. 32 00:02:06,180 --> 00:02:10,200 And put them side-by-side and realized that lots of 33 00:02:10,220 --> 00:02:14,300 deforestation happened. You can see it. The villages lost maybe 90 percent 34 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,400 80 percent of the forest cover. And they will tell 35 00:02:18,420 --> 00:02:22,420 stories about how the hills were covered 36 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,540 in forest. But then when you show them a picture, it's very 37 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,680 shocking to everybody, realizing what has been lost. 38 00:02:30,700 --> 00:02:34,860 Villagers were motivated to find new ways 39 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,880 for sustainably managing their land and to protect 40 00:02:38,900 --> 00:02:42,950 the health of the area. The institute and communities 41 00:02:42,970 --> 00:02:46,970 started a forest monitoring program to provide training 42 00:02:46,990 --> 00:02:51,030 and equip community members with GPS-enabled devices 43 00:02:51,050 --> 00:02:55,100 to document forest activities. 44 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,180 Together with the institute, villages developed land use plans 45 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,370 for mapping where to build homes, what areas could support 46 00:03:03,390 --> 00:03:07,540 agriculture, and where it was best to harvest the forest sustainably. 47 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,680 Goodall: Really really exciting to see the 48 00:03:11,700 --> 00:03:15,750 impact of these images on the villagers. 49 00:03:15,770 --> 00:03:19,810 And to see them sitting around and identifying sacred places, 50 00:03:19,830 --> 00:03:23,860 and that enabled them to do these land use management plans. 51 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,880 And that's made all the difference. 52 00:03:27,900 --> 00:03:31,980 Narrator: Tree cover is returning, and Earth observations are 53 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,090 now being used to show progress and inspire 54 00:03:36,110 --> 00:03:40,140 continued action. This helps protect soil needed for 55 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,330 agriculture and clean drinking water, and safeguards 56 00:03:44,350 --> 00:03:48,440 forest health. It also ensures the long-term survival 57 00:03:48,460 --> 00:03:52,460 of Gombe's famous chimpanzees and those 58 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,490 across western Tanzania. 59 00:03:56,510 --> 00:04:00,590 Goodall: I think that there's no question but that NASA with its satellite imagery 60 00:04:00,610 --> 00:04:04,620 used in the right way, it can really be really helpful for conservation. 61 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:08,730 Narrator: At NASA, we continue to observe, 62 00:04:08,750 --> 00:04:12,830 examine, and advance the understanding of our home planet. 63 00:04:12,850 --> 00:04:16,930 We team with partners who use our science 64 00:04:16,950 --> 00:04:39,780 and solutions for improving life on Earth.