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Seagrass returns to the Baltic Sea, women hunt invasive pythons in Florida, soccer empowers women in Gaza, and forests revive a river in India.
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00:0310,000 trees for a river. How an Indian farmer is reviving an ecosystem.
00:12Stalking a super predator. Why hunters are taking aim at pythons in the Everglades.
00:20The power of seagrass. Why our coastal ecosystems depend on it.
00:39This plant might not look like much, but looks are deceiving.
00:45To me, seagrass is an incredible plant, a real superstar.
00:51Seagrass is special, but it's often overlooked. It's well worth a closer look.
00:57Seagrass protects coasts, shelters thousands of species and stores CO2.
01:02But around the world, these underwater meadows are disappearing.
01:06Since the late 19th century, almost 30% of the world's seagrass meadows have vanished.
01:12What happens when one of our most valuable marine ecosystems disappears?
01:17And can we bring it back?
01:22Conservationists in northern Germany are preparing for an unusual mission, planting seagrass.
01:27It's a major undertaking, but an important one.
01:31Here, on Germany's Baltic coast, seagrass has declined dramatically.
01:39I've been diving for more than 30 years, many of them in the Baltic.
01:43We've seen the changes, being able to bring something back to make a real difference.
01:48That's what matters most.
01:52The divers carefully lift chutes from a donor meadow, keeping the roots intact.
01:58They take just a few from each spot, so the gaps can quickly close.
02:07Then we bring them underwater and plant them at a suitable spot we've already picked out.
02:15Now the real work begins. One shoot at a time, the divers plant seagrass into the seabed.
02:23Will it become a new meadow? That depends on the conditions.
02:27Sandy sediment, shelter from waves and currents, enough light and enough oxygen in the water.
02:32It's a delicate balance. The young plants need all of these to stand a chance.
02:41Seagrass grows along the coasts of more than 150 countries.
02:47There are around 70 species. Some grow just below the surface, others 60 metres deep or almost 200 feet.
02:55These underwater meadows feed and shelter fish, crabs, shellfish and many other species.
03:01They improve water quality and slow waves, helping protect shores from erosion.
03:09Seagrass has another superpower.
03:12It stores carbon in the seabed.
03:1530 to 50 times faster than forests.
03:20Worldwide, the top 30 centimetres, or about a foot, of sediment beneath seagrass
03:25hold on average almost 90 tonnes of CO2 per hectare.
03:29But how much is stored depends on the species, the site and the sediment.
03:38At Geomar in Kiel, researchers study how seagrass stores carbon in Germany's Baltic waters.
03:47These are samples from the sediment cores we took.
03:52You can also tell there is carbon in here by the smell.
03:56It smells strongly of sulphur, a bit like rotten eggs.
04:07Carbon storage varies from place to place and from species to species.
04:14Some countries have far more seagrass, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.
04:18There, it can play a major role in their carbon balance.
04:23But seagrass's value goes beyond carbon storage.
04:27Its meadows are among the Baltic's most valuable habitats.
04:31They shelter wildlife, stabilise the seabed and help clear the water by trapping particles and nutrients.
04:40Scientists estimate that around 60% of the Baltic coast's seagrass meadows have disappeared.
04:46That's the bad news. The good news is that the decline has stopped.
04:50Less fertiliser now washes from farmland into the Baltic.
04:54But it's still a major problem.
04:56Excess nutrients feed algae, which block the light seagrass needs to grow.
05:04So, how do you get people to care about a habitat most never see?
05:10That's the idea behind Snorkeling City.
05:13Daniela Kluge helps children discover what's hidden on their doorstep in the bay near Kiel.
05:18They learn about nature with masks and snorkels, instead of sitting in a classroom.
05:26We hope that when students have seen everything living and growing here in the Baltic for themselves,
05:32especially in the Kiel Fjord, they'll feel more connected to it.
05:42I really enjoyed it. We saw new things I wasn't expecting, and we learned how much life there is underwater.
05:49There's much more than just sand.
05:54For children today, learning about nature really matters.
05:59This generation will have to deal with climate change, water shortages, a lot of challenges.
06:05These problems will be even bigger for them than for us.
06:09We all have to work on them. And you can only protect what you know.
06:17Seagrass is a flowering plant. Its roots hold the sand in place.
06:23So when there's a strong current, lots of wind or a storm, the sand stays here instead of being washed
06:29away.
06:32Seagrass helps protect our coasts from erosion. But how can we restore these natural barriers on a larger scale?
06:39That's what Reinhard Helbig is working on.
06:42The startup co-founder helps restore marine habitats, including seagrass meadows damaged by offshore activity, such as wind farm construction.
06:51His work begins on the beach.
06:58Stormy weather helps us. Waves and currents wash seagrass out of the seabed.
07:04A day or two later, it washes up here, still fresh.
07:09The collected shoots are grown and multiplied in aquaculture. Several months later, the new shoots are laid on a planting
07:17support.
07:19Dried seagrass and a little sediment form a bed to help them take root at sea.
07:28We plant here on land to cut down on underwater work. That means fewer dives and we can do the
07:35painstaking work on shore.
07:39A specially developed machine binds the planted strands with biodegradable thread. The resulting lengths can be laid on the seabed
07:47with less diving work.
07:50Our product is the strand with the plants. We place it under water and together with the aquaculture, that's how
07:57we create a new seagrass meadow.
08:00The goal? Less work by hand and seagrass planted across larger areas.
08:08Our approach helps protect nature and store CO2, all the usual benefits of seagrass. But our planting support can do
08:16more.
08:16It also helps prevent erosion in harbours and along beaches.
08:22It can be used around wind turbines or cables to restore habitats damaged by construction.
08:32Researchers at the Geomar Helmholtz Centre in Kiel are also testing new ways to restore seagrass over larger areas.
08:42One approach starts with seeds.
08:47Ten percent of the plants in our meadows produce seeds. Here you can see them in the seed pouch.
08:55Some are still flowers that will be fertilized. Then the seeds sit in a row like pearls on a string.
09:05The big advantage of restoring meadows from seed is greater genetic diversity.
09:11And in the future we should be able to sow seeds over much larger areas.
09:19Time is short. Warmer waters and other effects of climate change are already putting seagrass under pressure.
09:28Right now we think the most promising way to grow meadows that can withstand climate change is to plant individual
09:34shoots as a foundation, then sow seeds between them to increase genetic diversity.
09:43But will the method actually work? The answer comes underwater after months or even years.
09:54Today we're visiting the first seagrass meadow planted in Germany's Baltic waters.
09:59It was planted in 2021. We're checking how well it's grown.
10:06The divers count shoots, check how densely they grow and record how the meadow has developed.
10:18Then they compare it with the donor meadow, the healthy meadow that supplied the plants.
10:24Only that comparison reveals whether the new meadow has merely survived or is beginning to function more like a natural
10:30one.
10:33We just checked the seagrass meadow and it's really dense.
10:38We counted lots of shoots per square meter. It's looking good.
10:45Seagrass takes time to recover. Restoring it takes work, patience and money.
10:52But every shoot is an investment in healthier seas, stronger coastal ecosystems and a more resilient future.
11:10It bit me.
11:12It's python season in Florida's Everglades.
11:16So we want to kind of stay focused.
11:18The invasive snakes are wiping out local wildlife from rabbits and raccoons to deer and even alligators.
11:24They eat anything. They eat anything and everything.
11:28Now they're on the wanted list.
11:30It's tough to find them. They're really good at hiding.
11:33Florida pays professional snake hunters to scour the swamps.
11:38Summer is peak season when baby pythons hatch.
11:44Hobby hunters come here too from all over the country.
11:47What's up, Donald?
11:49Everglades City sits deep in Florida's swamps.
11:53Just a few hundred people live here and billions of mosquitoes.
11:56There's a gas station, a pizza place and a couple of motels.
12:01But for python hunters, this is prime territory.
12:09Donna Khalil is here with her assistant, Tanya Tutant.
12:13Donna used to sell real estate.
12:15Now she's retired and spends her nights hunting pythons.
12:18Lamps, mosquito repellent, snacks.
12:21They've come prepared.
12:22The python perch. I designed it myself.
12:27I have my volunteers and assistants stand up here as we travel along the roads.
12:34And we're looking for pythons.
12:36So if we have the height and the light, we have an advantage.
12:41The local pizza place celebrates the area's most successful python hunters, including Donna.
12:47She was the first woman hired by the state as a snake hunter.
12:51Her biggest catch measured about 5 meters and 50 kilos, nearly 18 feet and 120 pounds.
12:58We can't catch them all. We never thought that we could.
13:01But the ones that we catch in the areas that we catch, we can make a difference.
13:06As long as we're consistent.
13:11Burmese pythons are most active at night.
13:14So we head out at dusk.
13:16Nearly 10 hours searching lie ahead.
13:20Donna has spent more than a decade hunting them and knows where to look.
13:25All right, I want you to look right on the edge.
13:27As we're driving along, right on the edge of the grass.
13:30Right where the grass meets the bushes.
13:32That's where they're going to come out and start hunting.
13:34Shine. Their scales are kind of shiny, so look for something shiny.
13:40How am I supposed to spot a brown snake in brown bushes?
13:42I have no idea.
13:46We crawl along the edge of the swamps.
13:48Every glint and shadow gets a second look.
13:52Hours pass, but Donna doesn't give up.
13:55Hunting runs in her family.
13:57Normally, hunters eat what they catch.
14:00You can't eat these because they have mercury in them.
14:03We're taking a life to save many lives.
14:06To save the animals that it would have eaten.
14:09So it's a choice between one life and a thousand lives.
14:14And that's why I do it.
14:16I'm out here to try to save animals.
14:20Finally, there's movement in the grass, but it's a pit viper.
14:24Easy to mistake for a python, but this snake is native to Florida and highly venomous.
14:30This is a venomous snake.
14:32And if you were to get bit by it, you would be going to the hospital.
14:38Snake hunting is a bit like mushroom picking.
14:40You need to know exactly what you're seeing.
14:43Making the wrong call can be dangerous.
14:45See that?
14:46Banded water snake.
14:48Donna isn't the only one out tonight.
14:50Hunters are on patrol across the Everglades.
14:54Burmese pythons are native to Asia.
14:56In 1992, some escaped a breeding facility after Hurricane Andrew.
15:01Since then, they've been spreading.
15:03In some areas, native wildlife has been decimated.
15:07At two in the morning, Donna spots something beside a guardrail.
15:11A baby python.
15:13It's probably freshly hatched and about as long as an arm.
15:16She records the exact location.
15:21He'll try to get away in a little bit.
15:23You want to hold him?
15:24Just don't let him go.
15:27Okay, okay.
15:29Wow.
15:30Ah!
15:30No, don't worry about it.
15:31He doesn't get through.
15:32Aren't you glad you got gloves on?
15:34Oh, I'm so glad I got gloves.
15:36It bit me.
15:39The python goes into a mesh bag and rides with us.
15:46Then Tanya spots two more.
15:49Baby pythons seem to be everywhere.
15:51By sunrise, the women have found four in total.
15:58Later, Donna will euthanize them using a captive bolt gun.
16:04The next day, she brings them to a collection station.
16:08Researchers log, measure, and weigh them all.
16:11They estimate there are now more than 300,000 Burmese pythons in the Everglades.
16:17Hunters get paid for every snake they catch.
16:19It's $50 for the first four feet and $25 for each additional foot.
16:24So, you know, if you're catching pythons, then, you know, you can pay for the upgrades.
16:30And the gas.
16:32Yeah, and the gas, you know, and the insurance.
16:35Four snakes won't stop the invasion.
16:38But for Donna Khalil, every python removed is one less predator in the Everglades.
16:43About five feet.
16:55Dahlia lost her leg more than a year ago.
16:59She was at a beach-side café in Gaza City with friends, looking for a moment's relief from the war.
17:06Then, an Israeli bomb hit.
17:09Palestinian sources say more than 30 people were killed in the strike.
17:12And many others were injured, including Dahlia.
17:17It was very hard at first.
17:20How do I get up? How do I move?
17:22I thought about these things constantly.
17:25I wasn't myself anymore.
17:27I hid when people wanted to visit.
17:30I said I didn't want visitors.
17:32I was struggling emotionally after the injury, especially because I'd also lost my friends.
17:40Today, Dahlia lives in a tent with her mother.
17:43She says she also lost her father and brothers in the war.
17:47Looking at old photos of herself is painful.
17:53It reminds me of how I used to be and how I am now.
18:00Her leg hurts constantly.
18:02Later, our Palestinian camera crew will accompany her to a doctor's appointment.
18:08Dahlia worries she may need another operation.
18:11But first, she's going somewhere that helps her forget all of that.
18:15A soccer field in Deir Abala.
18:17Here, Dahlia trains with other women who have lost limbs.
18:22Before her injury, she only watched soccer.
18:26She'd never played it herself.
18:28Friends encouraged her to come.
18:33The team I play with now gives me so much energy.
18:37I really enjoy it.
18:40Honestly, when I first came here, I was 80% sure I wouldn't play.
18:45But seeing what it was like encouraged me to join in.
18:49Once I even forgot I had a doctor's appointment.
18:54The Palestinian Amputee Soccer Association was founded before the war.
18:58Now, Coach Aya Al-Ukbani is rebuilding her women's team.
19:02Finding a field is difficult.
19:04So is changing attitudes.
19:07Another challenge is how society views women amputees.
19:12At first, some parents said,
19:13My daughter can't even walk.
19:15How could she play or run?
19:17It'll exhaust her.
19:19She can't do it.
19:21So we invited women we didn't know to try a session or two.
19:27Now, more families are encouraging their daughters to come, play, get out of the house.
19:34And feel better about themselves.
19:40They're doing things they never thought they'd do again.
19:44Overcoming shame and regaining confidence and independence.
19:49For a while, they leave their worries behind.
19:55But Dahlia's worries haven't disappeared.
19:58She's on her way to a Doctors Without Borders clinic.
20:01The remaining part of her leg has been hurting for days.
20:06She's already undergone 20 operations since the amputation.
20:11You could lift it a little.
20:18Stop, stop, that hurts.
20:19Does that hurt?
20:23I can't quite describe how it feels.
20:26It burns like fire.
20:32The doctor suspects an infection.
20:35Dahlia will need another operation.
20:38Medical care in Gaza remains severely limited and ideally she would be treated abroad.
20:43We also don't have enough elastic bandages for amputees.
20:47Another problem is the shortage of medicines and painkillers.
20:51Unfortunately, we're especially short of strong painkillers.
20:54The weaker ones don't work in cases like these.
20:58We don't have the resources and feel helpless.
21:04Israeli import restrictions continue to affect hospitals in Gaza.
21:08Goods that Israeli authorities say could also have military uses are barred from entering the territory.
21:17I take sleeping pills now.
21:19Nobody normally does that.
21:21I take them to ease my pain a bit.
21:25Dahlia has been waiting months for permission to leave Gaza for treatment.
21:29So far, only a limited number of sick and injured people have been allowed through the Rafa crossing.
21:48If it weren't for Narambunatan, this forest wouldn't exist.
21:55I planted these trees to protect our village.
21:58I never imagined they would bring so many ecological benefits.
22:15The forest helped revive the river close to Narambunatan's village of Tirupudai Marudur, in the south Indian state of Tamil
22:22Nadu.
22:25In any river system, these forests along the river banks perform an incredibly important function.
22:31These trees serve as a refuge for biodiversity, providing nesting sites for numerous bird species and an essential habitat for
22:39local wildlife.
22:41Unlike today, some 30 years ago, the banks of the Tamirah Barani around the village had only sparse vegetation, and
22:49illegal sand miners had set their sights on the river.
22:51Sand is a highly sought-after raw material for concrete and therefore highly lucrative.
22:57The river ecosystem, already weakened, came under even greater pressure.
23:03But a retired Supreme Court judge from the village decided that enough was enough.
23:12This entire eroded area was once stripped of its river sand.
23:16Here, all the way to Atanalua, it was mined out completely.
23:21The judge's idea was that reforesting the river banks would better protect the river from sand mining, erosion and floods.
23:29But only one person volunteered for the job, Narambunatan, who was 25 at the time.
23:39Sand miners came after me, tractor drivers threatened me, I feared for my life at times.
23:45Many opposed what I was doing, but I never let that stop me from growing this forest.
23:50The young farmer remained undeterred.
23:53While working as a temporary employee in the forest department, Narambunatan personally planted and nurtured 10,000 trees.
24:05Today, the banks of the Tamiravarani River are lined with more than 20,000 flourishing trees.
24:12Among the planted trees are Malilla tamarind, Jamun, Indian beech, tamarind, neem, teak, around 13 species in all.
24:24What began as a re-greening project turned into a forest that is now three kilometers long and one kilometer
24:31wide.
24:32In 2006, it was classified as a protected area by the Forest Authority.
24:41The dense root systems create an ideal environment where many fish species lay their eggs.
24:47They form a vital breeding ground for aquatic life.
24:51The benefits of the restoration extend far beyond this stretch of the river, to the mangrove forests on the coast,
24:58more than 100 kilometers downstream.
25:04The dense tree cover along the river banks produces leaves and organic matter that flow downstream.
25:10When they reach the coast, they help nourish mangrove forests and the ecosystems that depend on them.
25:17Only healthy and dense mangroves can prevent seawater intruding into villages.
25:21They are also a sanctuary for marine organisms.
25:26One man's determination to protect his village helped transform a section of the Tamiravarani into an oasis, restoring ecosystems and
25:36inspiring others to follow his example.
26:03The
26:04The