Life in the Sun

7’46”

July 2001

0.02 Early in the morning in the Chilean town of Puerto Williams, the southernmost settlement of the Americas

0.09 UPSOT Seagull

0.11 For Juan Rodriguez it 's just another day in his life as a fisherman.

0.17 It is hard work,

0.20 UPSOUND Juan laughing

0.22 But he enjoys it.

0.25 But, life is getting even harder in this fishing outpost - the fishermen's livelihoods come from the daily catch and it's under extreme pressure.

0.35 Juan has fished here for more than 25 years. He's convinced it's changes in the climate which are spoiling the normally fertile waters of the Beagle Canal.

0.45 Every year a huge hole in the ozone layer opens up over Antarctica. This year it has expanded to record levels and most scientists are blaming global warming.

0.55 Juan thinks high solar radiation is hitting his King Crab haul. Normally a net like this would be heaving with them.

1.08 Now that the crabs are scarcer Juan and his colleagues have to fish deeper and deeper to find them. The depleted stock just keeps shrinking.

1.15 The consequences for Juan and the fishermen of Puerto Williams look dire and the solution to their problems is way out of their reach. The climate controls necessary to protect the ozone layer can only be resolved at international level and there's little sign of agreement on that.

1.31 JUAN RODRIGUEZ, FISHERMAN, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"Lately the radiation of the sun has been very strong and it could damage the youth and the new generations. Lately the fishing has also been affected, maybe that's why the crab is also disappearing."

2.00 Puerto Williams is literally the last stop before Antartica. And only 2000 people live here.

2.05 Here fishing is the lifeline of the economy - from maintaining the boats to delivering the catch.

2.12 Despite the new threat from the climate, business carries on much as normal. But people's futures in Puerto Williams could well be decided many thousands of kilometres away.

In Germany, the United Nations is meeting to persuade the world to accept the Kyoto protocol on limiting greenhouse gases.

2.28 It's something the local government in Puerto Williams understands only too well.

2.31 Governor Eduardo Barros is keen the local people appreciate the dangers of the hole in the ozone. But he's convinced the battle against global warming must be international and backed by law.

While the United States continues to defend its decision to ditch Kyoto, Governor Barros is having to deal with climate change at the sharp end.

2.52. EDUARDO BARROS, GOVERNOR OF PUERTO WILLIAMS, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"The United Nations and other organizations have appealed for the development of better environmental conditions, I think that should mean legal protection of rights around the world and if that starts happening I think it is obvious that not only Patagonia, because this is not only a Chilean problem, but all the countries near the South Pole will need to make the legal rights of their people a top priority."

3.30 The midday sun in Puerto Williams can burn you in only five minutes and people are warned to stay in doors as much as possible.

3.39 The streets are empty and if people do go out they have to protect their skin.

3.46 These children have to wear protective clothing and sunglasses.

3.52 But they can't use sun cream. It's not available. Not a single shop in Puerto Williams sells it.

3.57 It all adds up to a big health risk for the town's residents. It's enforced a highly unwelcome change in lifestyle.

4.06 The local school has taken steps to help raise awareness about the dangers the ozone hole poses to its young people. They've even put it to music....

4.13 UPSOUND: Music

4.45 Ecologist Ricardo Rozzi visits the school on a regular basis to give special classes about the threat to the environment and the ozone layer in particular.

He runs the Omora Botanical Park on Navarino island where he promotes the conservation of biological resources a job he says is becoming more and more difficult because of the effects of climate change.

5.04 He's keen that the children understand that the ozone problem is part of a larger danger to entire eco-systems.

5.15 RICARDO ROSSI, ECOLOGIST:

"The ozone is a growing problem and they will face higher radiation levels than we, so they should be prepared. And the second point is that they need to be cautious and take measures that will protect them a little bit, not to be exposed, to have sun blockers and not to destroy the layer and third, this is the most important message that we human beings are animals and we can be animals that have a good impact on nature. "

5.50 Puerto Williams lies on the Island of Navarino, a place rich in flora and fauna.

5.58 There's a remarkable diversity of birdlife down here on the landmass closest to the Antarctic circle. It's a haven for many thousands of migrating birds.

6.06 But this seemingly undisturbed ecosystem is increasingly under threat from the expanding hole above it in the ozone layer.

6.15 Carlos Canales runs an environmental protection program set up by the Chilean government.

6.23 They're trying to understand the precise relationship between the hole in the ozone layer and the pollution they think is its cause.

He uses his charts to trace pollution being brought down from the North.

6.32 But as ever in life one of the great stumbling blocks is money.

6.37 SCIENTIST, DEPARTMENT OF OZONE IN CHILE:

"We are doing what we can, but what happens in Chile is that we don't have enough resources, to do massive campaigns, we did a campaign with limited resources in 1995, nevertheless there was a lot more to do in research, on the effects of radiation in humans and animals and ecosystems. There is a lot more to do but we don't have enough resources."

7.19 For Juan Rodriguez, life as a fisherman here at the end of the earth was hard enough before climate change started to hit his livelihood.

His fate and that of his colleagues is being decided far away at the United Nations climate conference in Germany.

While the United States resolutely stands out against the Kyoto protocol many feel the death knell for communities like Puerto Williams cannot be far away.

7.46 ENDS