Why The World Is Running Out of Clean Water — FULL DOCUMENTARY

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: At the bottom of the globe lies Earth's southernmost continent. Deathly cold, dry, and desolate. Antarctica has endured eons untouched by human civilization. Until now. Antarctica is melting. In 2002, a major eastern ice shelf, Larson Sea, collapses. The first of many alarming events arising from human activity. In 2018, satellite images show rapid shrinkage of glaciers east of Antarctica. If this pattern persists, sea levels worldwide could rise 28 meters, flooding every coastline. Human behaviors consuming the planet that brought humanity into existence. We stand to lose everything unless we tip the balance from self-destruction to renewal. At Antarctica, conservationists observe how climate change is causing vast damage to our most precious resource, water, even at the ends of the Earth. Around the world, nations are racing to secure our water sources and promote its sustainability before we reach Earth's tipping point of no return. Ninety people from twenty countries. Ninety people from other countries are on a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to the southernmost tip of the Earth. Among them is Singaporean Jessica Chiam. [00:02:05] Speaker 2: We're going to Antarctica, a place where it's the last pristine wilderness on Earth. And it is here that I think we're going to see a physical representation of our climate crisis. And it's here that we're going to reconnect with nature. We need to care for it before we can protect it. [00:02:23] Speaker 1: The climate force expedition is led by Robert Swann, polar explorer and lifelong campaigner for Antarctica's protection. [00:02:32] Speaker 3: Robert Swann first led a group almost 900 miles to the South Pole, then three years later to the North Pole, becoming the first human being in history to walk through both poles. And using the inspiration from adventure, from exploration, he's inspired generations of people to protect and conserve and love the wildest places on our planet. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Robert Swann. [00:03:02] Speaker 4: Antarctica is really, really important. It's trying to tell us something and we should listen. Now, all of us on Earth, hopefully, you can drill down into the ice, bring out cores of ice, like rings on a tree, on timber. And each one is one year, and scientists now can look at that one year, up to a million years ago, and tell us how much CO2 was in the air, what was the pollution in the air. [00:03:39] Speaker 1: Glaciers are the sentinels of climate change. They act as regulators, making sure that Earth doesn't overheat or freeze up. When glaciers melt, sea levels rise, and the hydrological cycle is affected. Glaciers store water in colder months and release it as snowpack melts during the summer. If they disappear, so could our water supply. [00:04:07] Speaker 5: It is the symbol, in my opinion, of our future, to be honest. And I think everyone needs to have a bit more of an understanding of how what we do on a day-to-day basis trickles down to Antarctica, and that will come up for the rest of the world. [00:04:24] Speaker 2: Climate change is something that's not an abstract concept. We see it happening to millions of people every day, and nowhere is it more visible than in Antarctica. So we're going there to learn about the science. We're going there to learn about the people who care about the issue, and we're going there to see for ourselves what's happening. [00:04:39] Speaker 1: Closer to home, 80-year-old scholar and water advisor to Singapore, Professor Asit Biswas, is on a journey of his own, back where he was born, India. Each time he returns, it's a journey of rediscovery. [00:05:00] Asit Biswas: India is an evolving scene. It's like water in the river. You cannot, as they say, as the Chinese say, you cannot step into the same river twice, because the water flows and the conditions are different. So every time I come to India, I see different things. [00:05:21] Speaker 1: India has one of the fastest growing economies and an exploding population. By 2050, India could become the world's most heavily populated country at an estimated 1.69 billion people, putting pressure on its resources, especially water. [00:05:43] Asit Biswas: Forget the long term, I'm speaking of the short term, up to 2030. I think I can predict with a 95% probability at least six major Indian cities will run out of water by 2030. That's only 12 years, 11 or 12 years from now. That is simply bad management and rapid industrialization, urbanization. [00:06:10] Speaker 1: Asit is revisiting Fatehpur Sikri, a UNESCO heritage site that was the capital of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The architectural marvel was abandoned after a mere 13 years, when water ran out. [00:06:27] Asit Biswas: Fatehpur Sikri, to my view, is a wonderful monument, not only in India, but to the world. What a bad water management and planning can do. When you create a new city, it is important that we have some basic resources nearby. Will the city have enough access to water, not only when it starts, but 50, 100 years from now, when the city has grown, become bigger, the industrial, commercial activities increase. So that is a problem they did not look into. [00:06:59] Speaker 1: Fatehpur Sikri is a warning tale, one that India itself seems to be perpetuating. In Delhi, the country's capital, a city poised to become the most populous metropolis by 2035, worries of a water crisis have hardly sunk in. Businesses like this ancient laundry continue to be extravagant with their use of water. And yet, in many parts of the city, residents struggle to get a clean drop. Deepmala walks miles from a remote village to get water from freshwater trucks, and she's not the only one. This, to her, is considered a good day. Other days, you can't get water without a brawl. [00:08:10] Speaker 7: Delhi's water supply is rapidly decreasing. Delhi's water supply is rapidly decreasing. Ancient step wells, for one, used to be filled with water, but now run dry. A stark contrast to the country's remarkable growth. Delhi's water supply is rapidly decreasing. [00:08:34] Speaker 1: Ancient step wells, for one, used to be filled with water, but now run dry. A stark contrast to the country's remarkable growth. Compounded by the stresses on water supply due to climate change, India's hard pressed for a solution. And yet, the value of water remains abstract to most. It's hard to talk about conservation, especially in desperate times. [00:09:06] Asit Biswas: Right now, everyone wants to give free water. Delhi now gives free water, 130 liters per person per day, to every person, free. And there's no way water can be managed when water is free, and the price is extremely low. [00:09:24] Speaker 1: To solve Delhi's water woes, we need to go to the heart of the matter: a dirty secret that is hard to stomach. [00:09:32] Speaker 8: Delhi is the national capital, and it has two main features. One is the river, which flows from the centre. And if you see, this is how Delhi's population is. Like 30% of people live on the east side of the river, and on the other bank, there are 70% of people living. And there's this mountain area. And this has 17 drains which outfall into the river, which brings waste water and sewage into this. The urban population resides in largely this part. But a lot of developments are happening in all these places. So there are developments outside, and there are developments inside which accommodate a lot of population, as well as there are unplanned developments which are not seaward. [00:10:29] Speaker 1: India generates almost two million tonnes of human waste every day, while only a third of urban houses are connected to the sewer system. Most of the waste ends up in the rivers, the main water source for most people here. [00:10:50] Speaker 8: 80% of the municipal water comes from the river and untreated human excreta is being dumped into the river. Another thing is if it is disposed off onto the land, then it is contaminating the aquifers. Untreated disposal in river or on land or near groundwater recharge sources is finding its way into the source of water supply. [00:11:14] Speaker 1: In India, there is no waste. Waste is overflowing in India's rivers, rivers that are ironically revered as deities. India's holy waters have evolved to become gigantic sewage canals. [00:11:29] Speaker 9: The rivers of India, Yamuna and Ganga, it is never a single river. It is always spoken as Ganga-Yamuna. They have got their mythological importance, they have got their cultural importance. And of course, the entire Indo-Gangetic plain has been created by these two river systems. So it is an immensely important river from cultural point of view, from economic point of view, from ecological point of view. In a sense, Ganga-Yamuna represent India. [00:12:04] Speaker 1: One of the main rivers running through India, the Yamuna, is now a shadow of its former self, the Yamuna, cut up and cornered in the name of expressways and economic growth. The Yamuna is running dry. And whatever is left of it is already toxic. The result of industrial pollution upstream and mismanagement of the river downstream as a water source. [00:12:27] Speaker 9: Solution exists, but we need to take the right steps. The road map has to be very clear. People talk in terms of cleaning the river. You see, you don't clean a river, you rejuvenate a river, and then the river cleans itself. [00:12:46] Speaker 1: Manoj Misra is the leader of the YJA, the Yamuna GA Abiyan, which means "Long Live Yamuna". Since 2007, the YJA has been leading the advocacy campaign to revive and protect the river. [00:13:05] Speaker 9: So this inability of the people, at large, to really understand the complexity of the river system, that is at the root. And then, of course, the Western interest. It's not a crisis of water, per se. It's a crisis of water management. [00:13:23] Speaker 1: The effects of water mismanagement aren't limited to Delhi. The looming crisis is closing in on agricultural communities in India. 90% of India's groundwater drawn goes to agriculture. Even then, only 35% of India's farmland is irrigated. The rest is dependent on rainfall. In a country where the dry season lasts eight months a year, every drop of rain counts. Farming communities are turning to ancient wisdoms to solve India's modern-day water woes. [00:13:57] Speaker ?: Farming communities are turning to the ground. [00:14:08] Speaker 1: Along a major river in India, the Yamuna, grand celebrations are ongoing. The Chat Puja festival marks the end of harvesting in India. The people of Delhi hail the river that gives life to the fields and enables the harvest. [00:14:27] Speaker ?: the land of India to destroy the rivers. [00:14:29] Speaker 1: But if no action is taken to save the rivers of India, this celebration could become a thing of the past in no time. [00:14:36] Speaker 10: This celebration could become a thing of the past in no time. This celebration could become a thing of the past in no time. It is a celebration of the past in the past in the past. And it is a celebration of the past in the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. It is a celebration of the past in the past. [00:15:30] Speaker 1: Known as the Waterman of India, Rajendra Singh is also the winner of the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize. One of the highest international recognitions of contributions to solving water issues. The country's rivers need a new lease of life. So he is in Delhi organizing a rally to save the Ganga. The Ganga, or the Ganges River, is tied to the livelihood and culture of India. Rajendra hopes the rally will trigger both the government and the people to take action. [00:16:06] Speaker 10: It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. [00:16:12] Speaker ?: It is a celebration of the past. [00:16:12] Speaker 10: It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. [00:16:16] Speaker ?: It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. [00:16:18] Speaker 10: It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. It is a celebration of the past. [00:16:30] Speaker 1: Much of Rajendra's work has been focused on Rajasthan, where he has led water-challenged communities out of their woes. In the 1980s, Rajasthan was one of the driest regions in India. Dams choked water flow and farmers were migrating, having lost their means of subsistence from the land. Until Rajendra and his team reintroduced johads, traditional rainwater harvesting wetlands or reservoirs that cost little to build. [00:17:08] Speaker 10: There are many objectives of this johad. When we have to recharge the aquifer, then where there are confined vertical fractures, the johad is made in which water will be recharged. And where we have to make a domestic purpose for domestic purposes, we have to make a place in such a place where the lime contains. And where we make johad for domestic purposes, we have to make a natural depression in such a way. So johad is made in a different way, a different purpose, a different objective. [00:17:54] Speaker 1: Now, extreme weather patterns due to climate change threaten to complicate matters. Rajendra's team from the Tarun Bharat Sangh, a non-governmental organization, continues to work with the villagers as well as a nation. We have to make sure that the villagers are able to complete it. [00:18:11] Speaker 10: We have to make sure that the villagers are able to complete it. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. We have to prepare them with the villagers. [00:18:43] Speaker 1: 62-year-old Chaman Singh is from the Tarun Bharat Sangh. He began his mission to bring clean water back to the people in 1993. Back then, he worked as a civil servant. Saddened by the murky, polluted water in an old, abandoned johad, he swore to dedicate his life to restoring these ancient treasures. [00:19:05] Speaker 11: "Let me tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. But I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. So, I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. [00:19:38] Speaker 1: 35 years, 1,000 villagers and 11,800 johads later, Chaman and the Tarun Barat Sangh are still going on strong. Chaman is at a new site for a johad, a village called Saklupura, where the groundwater is salty and undrinkable. [00:19:57] Speaker 11: I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about that story. I will tell you about it. I will tell you about the story. I will tell you about it. I will tell you about it. [00:20:18] Speaker 1: The johad collects rainwater during the monsoon months. But the reservoir's water isn't just for drinking. It's also used to irrigate the crops during the drier months, sparing farmers hundreds of thousands of rupees in buying water or pumping the already overdraft groundwater. [00:20:44] Speaker 11: Look, there is one option. The water is filled with water and water is filled with water. If the water is not stopped, the next one will be filled with water. The next one will be filled with water. The next one will be filled with water. The water is filled with water. The water is filled with water. The water is filled with water. So this is why our country is a part of the country. We do training and go to university and get awareness. This is why we give the water. If the water is filled with water, the water will be filled with water. [00:21:26] Speaker 4: Because any country that's developing, we can't say in the West, don't do what we've already done. But we need to do it in the right way in Asia as Asia develops. Especially in a great country like India, for example. Our population is expanding. People need resources. But we can't just do it in the same way. We have to make changes. Right now, awareness is not that strong. We need to raise the game on that. [00:22:14] Speaker 1: Robert Swan hopes that every single one of the 90 participants on this expedition will return home from Antarctica with a renewed sense of purpose. [00:22:25] Speaker 4: You are the Climate Force Challenge. So you are part two of what we're trying to do. Because I am a great believer, and I hope you are too, that if we make a mess of our world, which we are, we should clean it up. [00:22:56] Speaker 2: So we're here now on Danco Island, and we've just made a landing in Antarctica. We have, in the past two days, been out experiencing the continent. And yesterday, we kind of witnessed one of the icebergs melting. And I think that's a really visible sign of the change that's happening here in the western peninsula of Antarctica. And we're seeing it right before our eyes. [00:23:19] Speaker 1: The striking encounter affected Jessica Cheung, an environmental journalist from Singapore. Experiencing a part of the world that is almost untouched by humankind, brings home the message of how much civilisation has altered the environment. But it's also a reminder that Asia's rise arrives in challenging times. [00:23:42] Speaker 2: Asia is becoming an increasingly important region in the world. It's now the centre for economic growth. It is so important for this region that as it develops, it understands that it must do so sustainably because of climate change. Not least because this is a region that's marked by so many coastal cities that if sea levels rise, we're talking about millions of people being displaced, millions of lives being lost. [00:24:08] Speaker 1: If global temperatures continue to rise, low-lying cities everywhere face the prospect of going under. Asia is particularly vulnerable. More than 70% of the population living in these low-lying areas are in Southeast Asia. North Jakarta, Indonesia could be fully submerged in 2030. This is on top of a lack of clean water supply. But its people are not giving up on their homes just yet. This is a country's swampy lands have lowered as more and more groundwater gets siphoned. Concrete and asphalt form most of Jakarta's landscape, so water can find no way back into the soil to recharge aquifers. [00:25:09] Speaker 12: When industrialization started in North Jakarta and when population growth also started, the water demand was increasing and Jakarta did not have a pipe water supply system. In the past, North Jakarta had what we call artesian water. So if you drill a well, then groundwater would come out because of the pressure from higher areas. But because of the largely increasing water demands, the hydraulic levels, groundwater levels were lowering. And that can cause compaction of clay layers and that is actually one of the causes of subsidence. [00:25:51] Speaker 1: Made up of 17,000 islands and surrounded by 95,000 kilometers of coastline, Indonesia is extremely vulnerable to floods. 13 rivers run through the capital, Jakarta, and 40 percent of the city is already below sea level. If global temperatures continue to rise, entire communities could be displaced from coastal and riverside regions. [00:26:18] Speaker 12: The lack of good spatial planning, the rivers are very narrow areas where there are a lot of people living right next to these rivers. Of course it would be much better if we would give the space to the rivers in Jakarta, but that would mean that we have to resettle and relocate enormous amounts of infrastructure, malls, ministries, high-rise buildings, people. [00:26:55] Speaker 1: Kampong Tongo was one of many riverside communities threatened by rising sea levels. Like all the others, it faced the prospect of relocation. Floods are not their only worry. Gugun's village is also plagued by water pollution, as they are located downstream of the Chiliwong River, where contaminants accumulate. [00:27:38] Speaker 12: The water quality of Jakarta is very much influenced by the lack of sanitation, water treatment upstream. The whole basement of the rivers in Jakarta is actually contributing to the pollution, both solid waste as well as organic and chemical waste. [00:28:04] Speaker 13: The water quality of the water quality of the river. [00:28:17] Speaker 1: In 2015, Gugun started a project to clean up the river. Besides clearing physical garbage, septic tanks were installed to reduce sewage disposal in the river. [00:28:29] Speaker 13: The water quality of the water quality of the water quality of the water quality of the water quality. The water quality of the water quality of the water quality of the water quality of the water quality. The water quality of the water quality of the water quality of the water quality of the water quality of the water quality. There's an air hole in the river, so it's just for the fire to the river. There's a control hole in the river, so if it's full, it can be cleaned from here. This tank is for 10 people. With this, people can't throw it to the river so they can reduce the smell and the disease. [00:29:07] Speaker 1: Despite their efforts to clean the river and improve living conditions, Kampong Tongkou was asked to vacate in 2015. The authorities cite "flood prevention" as the reason, but Gugun believes otherwise. [00:29:23] Speaker 13: The biggest hope is to change the thought of the government and the public. They always say that the public importance is the public. But if we look at the public, the public's opinion is the public's opinion. Because the public's opinion is the public's opinion. It's always more than the middle class and the middle class. The middle class is the middle class. The middle class is a burden for the city. It was considered that the forest was a shame. But the solution was not good, because the solution was to be removed from the city, to be preserved in the forest. [00:30:08] Speaker 1: Guggen knew that cleaning up the river was not enough for them to keep their homes. He needed to transform Kampong Tongko into a showcase of sustainable living, to make a stronger case for staying put. Architect Kamil Mohamad helped Guggen fulfill that vision. Kamil had to move the houses away from the river, without compromising living space. [00:30:34] Speaker 14: The vision is for this Kampong to be the guardian of the river and of the heritage sites in the surrounding area. So this house needs to reflect that. And the way they did it is they cut their house five metres from the river. What that means is that they reduced the sizing of their houses, their living areas. So they gained it by going up, gaining air rights above. So what was previously two storeys, now it has become three storeys. [00:31:04] Speaker 1: Sustainable materials like bamboo were also used in the reconstruction. [00:31:09] Speaker 14: It has to do with how we treat waste from materials. And for me personally, that is very much the core of how we should practice, in fact. [00:31:21] Speaker 1: This shift in mindset, on how waste is perceived, and the role everyone plays in bettering the community, would be the long-term solution to changing their lives. [00:31:33] Speaker 14: The principle of this house can be replicated. It's not the design, it's not the shape, it's not the materials. But it's the principle of how we build together and what spaces can be shared. [00:31:47] Speaker 1: Kampong Tongkol's transformation was a success. But Jakarta's water woes are far from over. Many other villages in North Jakarta are still threatened by the lack of water security and rising sea levels. [00:32:06] Speaker 15: My name is Artyas Tati, who is often called Tati. If we live in the Kampong Kerang Hijau, it's been a long time. It's been a long time since we've lived here. But if we live in the history of Kampong Kerang, it's been a long time since we've lived here. It's been a long time since we've lived here. It's been a long time since we've lived here. [00:32:27] Speaker 1: Tati lives in Kampong Kerang Hijau, Green Muscles Village, located along Jakarta Bay. Built on and named after the shellfish that provides its 160 households with their livelihood. The shells that remain form the ground on which the village rests. Before this, they had to purchase sand to raise their homes above the water to prevent flooding. But they can't keep building higher. Even the seawall erected along the coast can only keep water out for another 10 years, if sea levels continue to rise. [00:33:05] Speaker 12: North Jakarta used to be above sea level, but because of the subsidence that is already ongoing since the 70s, it is now two to three meters in some places below sea level. One of the main causes is actually the groundwater abstractions that take place in North Jakarta. [00:33:25] Speaker 1: In Tati's village, even the groundwater extracted from the wells are polluted. There is no choice but to buy expensive bottled water. [00:33:34] Speaker ?: There is no choice but to buy a lot of water. There is no choice but to buy it. There is no choice but to buy a lot of water. [00:33:35] Speaker 15: There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. [00:33:51] Speaker ?: There is no choice but to buy water. [00:33:52] Speaker 1: There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. 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There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. There is no choice but to buy water. [00:37:49] Speaker 1: Besides being watertight, the SWAN can be programmed to swim at different speeds and has a front camera installed in its neck to monitor its environment. [00:38:00] Speaker 18: Prior to deployment you can actually set these missions targeting various places that you want. Maybe there is something interesting in the water or just a general area and if you can set where you want a water sample to take place. So the SWAN will swim to that place, take a water sample and then carry on through its mission, come back and you can collect that sample from there. So once it is in the water you can actually tell it to go someplace, SMS it which is quite cool. Every SWAN has a phone. The SMS is called station keeping and what that does is it allows you to say okay I am going to drive it to this point and I am going to tell you to stay there until I tell you to do something else. [00:38:36] Speaker 1: Since 2018, five such SWAN have been deployed in various reservoirs in Singapore to monitor water quality and collect real time data. [00:38:46] Speaker 18: If the algae suddenly spikes, if anything goes out of what is considered normal in the reservoir then it can alert you and you can set all of these alerts up whether it be to your email or to your mobile phone. Because it is cloud based it sends it over the internet so you get this update almost real time. [00:39:05] Speaker 19: As a researcher we always wanted our research outcome to be relevant not just in scientific terms but then bringing that new things into actually daily life that impacts everybody like us is something that feels really really good. [00:39:34] Speaker 18: The individual is just a drop but everybody is the ocean so if everybody starts doing that even the individual can make a change. [00:39:47] Speaker 1: As water security is compromised due to climate change, the global quest for alternative water sources is on. The United Nations predicts by 2025, 14% of the world will rely on desalination to meet water needs. Singapore lacking in natural water resources is one of them. But desalination is costly and uses a lot of energy. [00:40:16] Speaker 20: The currently available membrane filtration technology, the membranes require relatively high energy input because in order to generate sufficient pressure for water, pure water to go through the membranes, you have to apply pressure. [00:40:33] Speaker 1: Professor Kumar is working on research that might make desalination less costly in the future. [00:40:46] Speaker 20: Probably it's a good idea for us to collect a few leaf samples for extraction of DNA, genomic DNA. [00:40:55] Speaker 1: The answer might come from mangroves that grew along Singapore's coast. [00:41:00] Speaker 20: Mangroves have developed certain adaptations that allows them to desalinate in a natural way. The water they absorb, they will filter at the roots, kind of efficient ultrafiltration for desalination. And some species have extremely high capacity to do this ultrafiltration. [00:41:23] Speaker 1: The research team discovered that certain mangrove species could filter up to 95% of salt in the water absorbed, while the remaining 5% is expelled through glands in their leaves. This discovery led them to study water transporter genes found in mangroves. These genes could potentially be replicated in membranes used for water desalination. [00:41:50] Speaker 20: These biomimetic membranes have the potential to be operated under much lower pressure, and therefore the energy requirement overall should be significantly lower. [00:42:03] Speaker 1: While natural mangroves might not be able to replace costly machines to desalinate seawater, the study shows how technology could refine nature's solutions and help us solve challenges in the face of climate change. [00:42:18] Speaker 20: Our discovery, rather, is a parallel contribution for possible novel devices for water purification in the future. That's going to help us address the water scarcity that the climate change is definitely going to bring on. [00:42:40] Speaker 1: The team's findings could also benefit farmers in the region. Rising sea levels brought about by climate change is introducing salt to freshwater resources. This saltwater intrusion is affecting the survival of food crops, which are not adept to processing salinity like mangroves. [00:42:58] Speaker 21: I'm basically from agricultural background, so I have always seen in my childhood, I have seen that how farmers, also my parents, how they were troubled by the variation in environments like flooding or drought. We have basically identified some of the genes in mangroves that are responsible for salt tolerance. And we have also put some of them into rice. And we see that the rice crop with these mangrove genes are quite salt tolerant, which is very good because they can be later used to grow in salinity affected areas. [00:43:37] Speaker 1: Singapore may not have vast farmlands, but the island nation depends on imports for food supplies. Such findings could have long-term benefits for the region's food security. [00:43:51] Speaker 20: For Singapore to play a strategic role in this is to create knowledge that is required for tackling this kind of problems brought on by global climate change. With innovative tools coming to the aid of scientists, I'm quite optimistic that we should be able to tackle the problems of food and water security in the years to come. But it will take a lot of resources, a lot of research and development has to be put into place. [00:44:28] Speaker 1: These are challenging times. At 23, Barney Swan is part of the generation that will live to bear the consequences, if nothing is done to stop climate change. [00:44:41] Speaker 5: Development and progress shouldn't be at the expense of our planet, for sure. We're obviously a part of it and we're a powerful part of it, but this is so much more grand and we need to step up our games in all walks of life. [00:44:57] Speaker 1: Barney is continuing his father Robert Swan's mission to spread the message of conservation and climate action. Leading this expedition to Antarctica is one of the ways they hope to inspire others to realise and protect what nature has to offer, before it's too late. [00:45:17] Speaker 5: I hope they feel that responsibility that I'm feeling now and I hope that they feel armed with the correct information about what's going on with our climate. That they have an action plan with solutions that they can achieve on whether it be a personal level, a community level or a national level. that all of us can be a part of whether it be something massive or something just on a daily routine basis. [00:45:44] Speaker 2: We are now in the Antarctic Circle and we've crossed into a point where most other people don't get to go. We've actually set foot on one of the islands in which there was a hut from the 1950s built by the British Antarctic Survey. It was a time warp stuck in space and you can see inside the food that they ate, the beds that they slept in, it was the most incredible. Everyone is just kind of in a period of reflection now, why we're here, what we want to do when we go back and how we can really be a force for change. [00:46:17] Speaker 1: As the participants continue their journey across the Antarctic, Robert hopes each experience will continue to be an empowering one. [00:46:27] Speaker 4: Young people today have a massive amount of information. What they don't have is enough inspiration and what we provide in our own small way from our expedition is that inspiration. Hey, if they can do it, we can do it. [00:46:47] Speaker ?: We'll see you next time.