How Poop Turns Into Forests | Ludmila Rattis | TED

Prevodilac: Milena Petrovic Lektor: Ivana Korom

When I was a child growing up in Brazil,

Dok sam kao dete odrastala u Brazilu,

I would play by stepping on cow's poop barefoot

igrala bih se gazeći bosa po kravljem izmetu

just to feel the warm and soft sensation of the digested organic matter

samo da osetim toplotu i mekoću svarene organske materije

going through my toes.

kako mi prolazi kroz prste.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But for my family, animal waste had another level of importance.

Ali za moju porodicu, životinjski otpad je imao drugi nivo važnosti.

My grandma would sell the manure and split the money with my mom.

Moja baka bi prodala đubrivo i podelila novac sa mojom mamom.

That was my mom's only income as a housewife,

To je bio jedini prihod moje mame kao domaćice,

raising her four children,

dok je podizala četvoro dece,

while my father worked in our farm.

a otac radio na našoj farmi.

That's my grandma.

To je moja baka.

On that very farm, my grandpa had a stroke of genius.

Na toj istoj farmi, moj deda je imao genijalni potez.

Instead of ordinary fences,

Umesto običnih ograda,

he carved out some ditches surrounded by trees,

iskopao je rovove okružene drvećem,

creating forest corridors for animals to cross.

stvarajući šumske koridore da životinje mogu da pređu.

It was like Mother Nature's highway system,

Kao sistem autoputeva Majke prirode,

allowing critters to commute from one leafy paradise to another.

koji omogućava životinjama da putuju iz jednog lisnatog raja u drugi.

My mom never wanted me to rely on animal waste for a living.

Majka nikad nije htela da se oslanjam na životinjski otpad kao izvor prihoda.

My grandpa did not know he was increasing the landscape connectivity

Deda nije znao da je povećavao povezanost predela

for animals to cross,

da životinje pređu,

but they were both working on nature-based solutions

ali oboje su radili na prirodnim rešenjima

before the term became trendy.

pre nego što je taj termin postao trendi.

Two aspects of ecosystem restoration:

Dva aspekta za obnovu ekosistema:

investing in soil fertility

ulaganje u plodnost zemljišta

and increasing the landscape connectivity.

i povećanje povezanosti predela.

Bringing back the nutrients,

Vraćanje hranljivih materija,

bringing back the forests:

vraćanje šuma:

both with positive consequences for the entire system.

oboje imaju pozitivne posledice na čitav sistem.

I believe a healthy ecosystem should stand behind every plate of food.

Verujem da zdrav ekosistem treba da stoji iza svakog obroka.

So today, as a scientist,

I danas, kao naučnice,

my role is to understand how to produce food

moja uloga je da razumem kako da proizvedemo hranu

while we let animals working in ecosystem resilience in a changing world.

dok životinje rade na otpornosti ekosistema u svetu koji se menja.

So I started where those changes are happening,

Počela sam odakle se te promene dešavaju,

in the tropics, in Brazil,

u tropskim predelima, u Brazilu,

in the Amazonia.

u Amazoniji.

And it's in there, in the wilds of the tropical forests,

I tamo je, u divljini tropskih šuma,

the tropical South America,

tropska Južna Amerika,

that beholds the star of our tale:

koja gleda na zvezdu naše priče:

the lowland tapir.

brazilskog tapira.

Those pig-like creatures grace the landscape from the Amazonia

Ta svinjolika stvorenja krase predele od Amazonije

to the Pantanal.

do Pantanala.

Aren't they cute?

Zar nisu slatki?

(Audience murmuring)

(Žamor u publici)

When it comes to big animals,

Što se tiče velikih životinja,

they tend to eat a lot of low-energy food like leaves.

one obično jedu dosta niskoenergetske hrane poput lišća.

But tapirs are different.

Ali tapiri su drugačiji.

Up to 36 percent of their diet is based on fruit,

Čak se 36 posto njihove dijete zasniva na voću,

and they have a very long digestive system.

i imaju veoma dugačak digestivni trakt.

And they love to go for a walk.

I vole da idu u šetnju.

So let's picture that.

Hajde da zamislimo to.

They go for a walk.

Krenu u šetnju.

They find fruits along the way,

Usput nađu voće,

they eat them while they process.

koje jedu dok prerađuju.

And they keep walking in degraded areas,

I nastave da idu degradiranim oblastima,

and eventually they poop.

i najzad se iskake.

And when they poop, they help to spread the seeds

I kada se iskake, pomažu širenju semena

in the fruits they love to eat.

iz voća koje vole da jedu.

Tapirs are big, tapirs are tough,

Tapiri su veliki, tapiri su žilavi,

and tapirs poop ... a lot.

i tapiri kake... mnogo.

And how do I know that?

I kako znam to?

Because at the research station that I work on,

Zato što u istraživačkoj stanici gde radim,

at the Southeast Amazonia,

u jugoistočnoj Amazoniji,

among many other things, we wash poop.

između ostalog, peremo i izmet.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

We walk in the forest looking for their latrines,

Idemo šumom i tražimo njihove nužnike,

and latrines are something like a toilet

nužnici su nešto kao toalet

but without the large bowl, just a lot of poop together.

ali bez velike šolje, samo mnogo izmeta zajedno.

We find them, collect, wash,

Pronađemo ga, skupimo, operemo,

count and identify as many seeds as possible.

prebrojimo i identifikujemo što je više semena moguće.

In one dung, we find on average 733 seeds

U jednoj balegi, u proseku pronađemo 733 semena

belonging to up to 24 different species.

koja pripadaju i do 24 različitim vrstama.

We can see hundreds of seedlings emerging from one dung.

Možemo videti hiljade sadnica kako izranjaju iz jedne balege.

And they can become trees, big trees.

I one postaju drveće, veliko drveće.

And because large-seeded trees tend to be deep rooted

I zato što drveće sa krupnim semenom pušta korenje duboko

and drought resistant,

i otporno je na sušu,

those seed dispersers are helping to create a tree community

ti raspršivači semena pomažu u stvaranju zajednice drveća

that’s resilient and resistant.

koja je snažna i otporna.

But sometimes, as you can see,

Ali ponekad, kao što vidite,

tapirs poop too many seeds in one place,

tapiri kake mnogo semena na jednom mestu,

leading to competition among the seedlings.

što dovodi do nadmetanja među sadnicama.

So other animals come in to help, luckily.

Srećom, druge životinje dođu da pomognu.

Some of those animals [are] the dung beetle.

Neke od tih životinja su balegari.

Dung beetles help to disperse the seeds throughout the forest.

Balegari raznose seme kroz šumu.

There are two kinds of dung beetles dispersing seeds:

Postoje dve vrste balegara koje raznose seme:

rollers and tunnelers.

kotrljani i tunelari.

Rollers roll the poop away from the source

Kotrljani kotrljaju izmet dalje od izvora

and bury it underground,

i zakopavaju ga u zemlju,

while tunnelers bury the poop right by the source.

dok tunelari zakopavaju izmet odmah pored izvora.

When they bury the seeds,

Kada zakopaju seme,

they revolve around the soil and may make it better for the seeds

okreću se oko tla i čine ga boljim za seme

and [increase] the chances of them to grow into plants.

i povećavaju šansu da izrastu u biljke.

These animals’ interactions can really reseed the forests,

Interakcije ovih životinja zaista mogu da posade šume,

but we must preserve their habitats to increase their chances of survival.

ali moramo sačuvati njihova staništa da bismo povećali šansu za opstanak.

When people ask me if forests can regrow without our help,

Kada me ljudi pitaju da li šume mogu da rastu bez naše pomoći,

I say we always have to help,

uvek kažem da moramo pomoći,

even if it is just to get out of the way.

makar se samo sklonili.

But another, more active way to help

Ali drugi, aktivniji način za pomoć

is by leaving forest patches in the landscape.

je ostavljanje šumskih parcela u predelu.

Forest patches are something like VIP lounges

Šumske parcele su nešto kao VIP separei

for plants and animals,

za biljke i životinje,

where critters can hop, skip and jump

gde životinje mogu da skaču i preskaču

from one leafy hot spot to another.

sa jednog lisnatog mesta na drugo.

And when they do that,

I kada to rade,

they act like real gardeners, bringing back the forests.

postaju pravi baštovani, koji vraćaju šume.

And they need to do that

I treba to da rade

because the future of those forests is at stake.

zato što je budućnost tih šuma u opasnosti.

As scientists, we are concerned with deforestation and degradation.

Kao naučnici, zabrinuti smo zbog krčenja šuma i degradacije.

Deforestation takes away those forests

Krčenje šuma odnosi te šume

those animals are helping to plant for thousands of years.

koje te životinje sade hiljadama godina.

Degradation makes those forests less healthy,

Degradacija narušava zdravlje tih šuma,

harboring fewer animals.

i štiti manje životinja.

I truly believe that those animals are trying to bring back the spring,

Zaista mislim da te životinje pokušavaju da vrate proleće,

despite all the efforts to stop them.

uprkos našim naporima da ih zaustavimo.

So let me throw you some questions.

Dozvolite da vam postavim neka pitanja.

How powerful is the tapirs’ poop?

Koliko je tapirov izmet moćan?

How far can they travel?

Koliko daleko mogu da putuju?

How charming do my friends,

Koliko šarmantni moji prijatelji,

totally unconcerned with social conventions,

potpuno neopterećeni društvenim konvencijama,

need to be in order to revert the tipping point

moraju biti da ne bi došlo do prelomne tačke

we are possibly about to reach?

do koje ćemo verovatno doći?

My colleagues and I at the Woodwell Climate Research Center

Moje kolege i ja u Vudvel centru za klimatska istraživanja

and at the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia

i u institutu IPAM Amazonija

are trying to answer those questions,

težimo da odgovorimo na ova pitanja,

but we already know some of the answers.

ali već imamo neke odgovore.

We know that the resilience of those ecosystems

Znamo da se otpornost ovih ekosistema

is on the diversity of plants and animals living there.

zasniva na raznolikosti biljaka i životinja koje tamo žive.

Our future is intertwined with the future of those animals,

Naša budućnost je isprepletena sa budućnošću ovih životinja,

and it depends on how good a job we do trying to protect them.

i zavisi od toga koliko dobro radimo kako bismo ih zaštitili.

And people, I’m not afraid to say: our future lies in poop.

I ljudi, ne plašim se da kažem: naša budućnost je u izmetu.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)