The supertree shielding coastlines and storing carbon

Short Wave

NPR

News, Life Sciences, Daily News, Astronomy, Nature, Science

4.7 • 6.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2026

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Coastal fishing communities around the world are struggling with declining fish stocks. That’s because of climate change, environmental degradation and overfishing. But one tree – the humble mangrove – has a superpower that’s supporting healthy fisheries in many parts of the world. The majority of fishes we eat worldwide are supported by mangroves: Their roots serve as a nursery for baby fish. So, today on the show, two reporters travel to Cambodia, where they discover why a local fishing solution now plays a crucial role in slowing global warming.

Read more about Rebecca Hersher and Ryan Kellman’s journey here (and check out their incredible photos).

Interested in more climate science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:06.4	Hey everyone, Emily Kwong here, and today we have a story of good news about climate change.
0:11.7	And as part of NPR's Climate Solutions Week, two of my colleagues are here to tell that story.
0:17.7	Ryan Kelman and Rebecca Hersher.
0:19.7	Hi.
0:20.2	Hi.
0:22.3	All right, where are we going today?
0:29.7	This story starts in Cambodia. And Cambodia, as you may know, experienced horrific political violence in the 1970s under a group called the Khmer Rouge. Yeah, I'm familiar with this history
0:36.0	during the Cambodian genocide. It's estimated that 1.7 million people died. It completely changed the course of history for that country. Yeah. And even after the regime fell in 1979, things were still really hard for those who survived because the Khmer Rouge also destroyed the country's economy.
0:57.3	And that's where this story really begins in those years just after the Khmer Rouge's reign,
1:03.7	the late 1970s and into the 1980s.
1:07.3	So, yeah, that's the period we were really interested in when we traveled to Cambodia for a
1:12.0	reporting trip recently. And we spent a couple days with a group of people who lived through
1:16.7	that time after the Khmer Rouge fell when the Cambodian economy was in Tatters. And we wanted to
1:22.7	learn from them how their experiences led to them becoming global leaders in addressing climate change.
1:29.5	Wow. So from the aftermath of a genocide to the front lines of solving climate change, that's
1:35.5	pretty incredible. Yeah, it's a wild tale. And it all hinges on one type of tree.
1:43.0	Today on the show, how one tree saved a community and how that same tree is helping all of us right now.
1:50.8	You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.
2:14.3	Thank you. Okay, Rebecca and Ryan, this story begins post-regime change in the 70s and 80s. We're in Cambodia. The economy is terrible. What are people doing to cope?
2:19.3	They are just trying to survive. Like anyone, they just need basics, food and fuel. Both are in
2:25.4	short supply. When we visited, we actually spent a day with Kiyosat. He was in his 20s when the
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 15 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.