Nature Breaking

Note: This interview was originally published on September 5, 2023. It's being re-released with a new intro for Amazon Day 2024. To our new subscribers: thanks and welcome!

September 5 is World Amazon Day, and we’re celebrating with an episode about the many things that make the Amazon rain forest so special. For example, did you know that the Amazon is the largest rain forest in the world? It covers an area nearly the size of the entire continental United States, and it’s home to about one in 10 known species on Earth. It also helps stabilize the local and global climate. But it also faces challenges from deforestation, climate change, and more. In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Meg Symington, WWF’s vice president for the Amazon. Meg talks about how she first fell in love with the rain forest (3:11), why the Amazon matters so much to both local communities and the world at large (4:59), the many threats it faces (7:40), and what solutions are needed to keep it intact for future generations (14:08). Later, for our Supporters Sound Off segment, you’ll hear from Marianne Spindel, a WWF Hero from Florida, about what inspires her passion for nature (25:40).

Links for More Info:

WWF Amazon Page

Meg Symington Bio

Become a WWF Hero

2023 Thomas Lovejoy Science for Nature Symposium

Today’s episode revisits the climate catastrophe that hit Pakistan two years ago this month in the form of historic floods. In July and August of 2022, Pakistan received nearly double its typical rainfall nationwide, with some localized areas receiving over four times the usual amount. Simply put, the water had nowhere to go. A third of the country was submerged underwater. Two million homes were destroyed and four million acres of agricultural land were ruined. Millions were left without access to drinking water, and the loss of crops led to food shortages. It was a humanitarian disaster of the highest order. In today’s interview you’ll hear from Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General of WWF Pakistan. Hammad talks about the impacts of the 2022 floods (2:33), and how a new initiative called Recharge Pakistan aims to make his country more resilient to future flood events (11:09).

Links for More Info:

Recharge Pakistan web page

In this episode of WWF's Breaking Waves podcast, Johan speaks with US Representative Jimmy Panetta of California's 19th Congressional district. The Congressman discusses the beauty and bounty of his district, emphasizing the balance needed between economic growth and environmental preservation. The conversation covers stressors such as fishing regulations, renewable energy projects like offshore wind, and bipartisan efforts as key to advancing pragmatic environmental policies amidst political challenges.

Ahead of World Elephant Day on August 12, today’s episode is all about Asian elephants. Did you know that there are actually three different kinds of elephants? Our planet is home to Asian elephants, African savanna elephants, and African forest elephants. You’ll learn more about the difference between these species today, but for starters, Asian elephants and African forest elephants are slightly smaller than their savanna brethren. And Asian elephants are the most endangered of the three species. Asian elephant populations have decreased from some 100,000 at the start of the 20th century to under 50,000 today.

On today’s episode, you’ll hear from Nilanga Jayasinghe, WWF’s manager of Asian species conservation, about the features that make Asian elephants unique (2:27), the threats they currently face (7:14), and how a new initiative called Elly Allies aims address them – focusing specifically on driving progress in Southeast Asia and China (24:04).  

Links for More Info:

WWF Asian Elephants page: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/asian-elephant

Nilanga Jayasinghe bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/nilanga-jayasinghe

Elly Allies blog post: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/tackling-critical-threats-facing-asian-elephants

Diplomacy and business have a big impact on our environment, particularly our oceans. On this episode of Breaking Waves, Johan speaks with Sanda Ojiambo, the CEO of the United Nations Global Compact, on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable ocean business practices. They touch on how the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) influence the ocean industry (1:23), how marine renewable energy sources like offshore wind can scale with an eye toward environmental justice (7:30), and the importance of small actions in achieving global impact for ocean conservation (19:54).

Links for More Info:

Sanda Ojiambo bio

UN Global Compact

UNDP Blog: What is a Just Transition?

This has been a year of record temperatures across the globe. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), June 2024 was the warmest June on record and the 13th consecutive month of record-high temperatures. This follows news from the Copernicus Climate Change Service that we recently experienced a 12-month period in which every month was at least 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial temperatures. That’s significant not just because it felt a little hotter for all of us, but because climate scientists have identified 1.5 degrees Celsius as a critical global warming threshold to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. To be clear, this doesn’t mean the fight against climate change is lost. But the extreme heat impacting billions of people this summer is providing a preview of what might lie ahead if we don’t take aggressive action.

Today’s episode features a conversation with Dr. Stephanie Roe, WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Lead Scientist. Stephanie explains the role that climate change plays in driving heat waves (2:02), what key indicators she’s following to determine just how bad heat-related climate impacts have gotten (5:18), and what we can all do in our daily lives to address climate change and adapt to extreme heat (14:05).

Links for More Info:

Stephanie Roe bio

NOAA Monthly Climate Report, June 2024

Copernicus Climate Change Service

NATURE Article: “Climate models can’t explain 2023’s huge heat anomaly – we may be in uncharted territory,” by Gavin Schmidt

2024 State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report

US Energy Department guide to IRA tax credits

What responsibility do global businesses have in conserving our oceans? In this episode, Johan is joined by Marika McCauley-Sine, Chief Sustainability Officer for Mars Petcare, WWF partner and the first global pet food company to publicly commit to sustainable seafood sourcing over 15 years ago. They discuss the challenges of responsible fish sourcing (3:22), Mars's endeavors in coral reef restoration (6:51), and the importance of leadership in cross-sector collaboration to engage consumers on environmental conservation efforts (11:30).

Links for More Info:

Marika McCauley-Sine bio

Mars Sheba - Hope Reef Documentary

Today’s episode features two people who recently teamed up to tell an important story. The topic? Seaweed farming. Seaweed has all sorts of amazing applications, from feeding people to livestock, and even as a replacement for some plastic packaging. Expanding its market share in those areas could reduce the world’s reliance on land- and energy-intensive agricultural practices because seaweed farming requires no land, freshwater, fertilizer, or pesticides. And seaweed is also good for sea life, because it absorbs carbon and produces nutrients beneficial to fish and other species.

But what does it really mean to be a seaweed farmer? That’s the story that today’s guests are helping to tell. Dr. Ana Borrero is a hatchery manager at Seaweed Solutions, a seaweed farming company based in Norway. And Jeff Siebert is the founder and creative director of Bananabones, a video production company based in the US. WWF recently commissioned Jeff to produce a series of short films called “Portrait of a Seaweed Farmer.” Each film follows a single farmer and tells the story of their journey into the seaweed farming industry and what their work entails each day. Ana was one of the featured individuals.

In this episode hear what it’s like to produce a docu-series focused on the seaweed industry (2:04), what Ana's experience has been like as a seaweed farmer (6:00), and how she hopes her work will contribute to a better future for her children (19:47).

Links for More Info: Portrait of a Seaweed Farmer: https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/portrait-of-a-seaweed-farmer

Dr. Ana Borrero & Seaweed Solutions: https://seaweedsolutions.com/the-team

Jeff Siebert & Bananabones: https://www.hellobananabones.com/story

In this episode of Breaking Waves, Johan interviews Admiral Tim Gallaudet to discuss the complex intersections of ocean health, maritime competition, and national security within the context of geopolitics. Key topics include his three-dimensional approach to ocean geopolitics—economic (blue economy), national security, and environmental conservation (1:58), how the US is countering the challenges of IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing (14:23), and the importance of international alliances in ensuring stability in a warming Arctic (18:28).

LINKS:

Tim Gallaudet bio

Foreign Affairs: Fish Wars by Sarah Glaser and Tim Gallaudet

Black-footed ferrets are among the most endangered mammals in North America. These animals live in the prairies of the Great Plains, and only about 390 of them remain in the wild today. That’s actually up significantly from decades past, when they were once believed to be extinct. But big threats remain in the form of habitat loss and a non-native disease called sylvatic plague, which affects the ferrets as well as the prairie dogs that they rely on for food and prairie dog burrows for shelter. The ongoing effort to save both black-footed ferrets and prairie dogs has brought together experts from WWF, Fort Belknap Indian Community, local conservation agencies in Montana, and students from the Aaniiih and Nakoda College. Joining the show today to discuss this work are Kristy Bly, WWF’s black-footed ferrets restoration manager, and Tevin Messerly, a biologist with the Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Department. Kristy and Tevin give a rundown of all the basic facts you need to know about black-footed ferrets (1:39), what strategies they are pursuing to save them (10:46), and what it looks like to deploy those strategies in the field (13:12).

LINKS:

WWF’s Black-Footed Ferrets page

PBS Wild Hope Episode: America’s BFF