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Eco Africa - Approaches to improving our environment
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00:00What do urban renewal, hunting bands and voodoo rituals have in common?
00:23They can all help to mend our planet, yes.
00:26There are many different approaches to improving our environment.
00:30We'll be exploring some of them in this week's edition.
00:34I am Chris Lems in Lagos, Nigeria.
00:36And joining me from Lusaka, Zambia is Malama Mukonde.
00:45And the very best of greetings from me too.
00:48Here's what we've got for you coming up in today's show.
00:51How the annual hunting ban in Ghana supports conservation efforts.
00:57How religion helps protect mangroves in Benin.
01:03And in South Africa, the big benefits of a tiny forest.
01:09But first to Senegal.
01:13Sebikotane is a town just beyond the capital, Dakar, that is home to a lot of heavy industry.
01:20Now, over the years, resulting pollution has caused all sorts of health problems among the locals.
01:26And they have had enough.
01:28Residents are rising up with ideas and projects designed to bring health and hope back to a place they live in.
01:37Toxic waste has long weighed heavily on Sebikotane.
01:42But the people who live here have not given up hope.
01:45The town near Dakar is on the edge of a growing economic hub.
01:51The water is polluted.
01:53The soil contaminated.
01:56The air also contains harmful substances.
01:59The sources are three recycling plants.
02:02According to a group of young environmentalists,
02:05while they are raising awareness, the town's mayor wants to bring back the forests.
02:12That's our vision.
02:14To restore the city and make it green again.
02:18Right now, though, things still look bleak in Sebikotane.
02:23The scrap metal processing company, Fabri Metal, has long been accused of releasing poisonous gases.
02:30In the nearby neighborhood of Sebifas, Tahibu Lee is convinced the polluted air is making the children sick.
02:39We have two babies who are not yet a year old.
02:43But they are already suffering from recurring respiratory illnesses.
02:49He and other residents are demanding clean air.
02:53They spread the word with theatre, design posters and gather signatures.
02:59The petition is a way of inviting the public to take part in the fight.
03:06At first, it was easy for the accused factories such as Someta to deny responsibility.
03:12The firm that processes crepe metal and industrial waste said there was no evidence that it was contributing to the pollution.
03:20So, the residents brought in expert help.
03:23What looks like bed houses are infect biosensors with pieces of eucalyptus bark that absorb airborne pollutants over a period of months.
03:34In 2022, scientists installed 200 of them in Sebikotane and lab analysis of the data revealed the source of the pollution.
03:43Around the factories, we found high concentrations of metals.
03:47This is what we call a hot spot.
03:49It's an area of 300 meters around the factories.
03:53Beyond that, the bark samples also allowed us to identify lower magnitude chronic contamination that's constant over time and extends over a great distance.
04:04Fabri-Mental responded and now emits fewer pollutants.
04:09At least during the day, but young activists filmed this video which they say shows.
04:15After nightfall, the factory is still releasing clouds of toxic smoke.
04:20Fabri-Mental didn't respond to our request for comment.
04:24And so Meta, the other metal factory, after years of back and forth, the recycler says it's taken action.
04:31It now claims to emit virtually no toxic pollutants.
04:36Why?
04:37Because we've implemented procedures that not only manage the different types and forms of waste, but also the different types of pollutants.
04:45We've installed more than 2,500 filters to effectively filter out all the different chemical components of iron or even plastic waste from items of this kind.
04:58In another case, the protests managed to get a factory closed down.
05:02The Indian company Gravita used to recycle lead-acid car batteries here without regard for the environment or health.
05:10But even though the factory is gone, its legacy remains in the soil and water of this residential area.
05:17Mo Duniane and his family recently moved into a house right next to the former factory.
05:22His grandchildren are suffering from stomach cramps and vomiting.
05:35Based on my initial research, I was told it could be late.
05:38Because the problem is this, they are both constantly suffering from stomach aches and vomiting.
05:48I use a lot of antibiotics for the children because I can't even relieve the pain.
05:53These are for the diarrhea, one for the older child, one for the younger.
05:59Meanwhile, at the nearby school, work has begun on decontaminating the soil with the help of greenery.
06:07Plant biologist Mustafa Sagna is using Hyptis Sauvalence, a plant that can extract lead from the soil.
06:14Many of the children here are also suffering gastrointestinal problems.
06:18Once you absorb lead, it will not leave your body even if you urinate, if you go to the toilet.
06:31The lead doesn't leave you. It's stored in your tissues.
06:34Plants like this one help us to extract all the lead found in the water and at the school.
06:39So these plants can help us solve the problem of soil pollutants.
06:48But that's just the first step.
06:51The plan is to bring back trees.
06:53When the mayor was a child, there was a forest here.
06:56Today, only scarred land remains.
06:59He's bought a bag six hectares for the city and wants to restore the forest.
07:04And this man is supposed to get it started.
07:07Maximilien Puye, the founder of the local tree nursery.
07:11His plan is to plant some new trees but also to help nature heal itself.
07:20The priority is to protect the land because the forest remains in the soil.
07:25As soon as we fence it off, it will start to emerge.
07:29There are still trees in the subsoil.
07:32There are seeds that have survived.
07:35They can stay in the soil for a long time.
07:39Maximilien Puye and his helpers are planting sick mofigs,
07:43a hardy native species whose leaves are traditionally used to treat coughs and high blood pressure.
07:50It's one more part of the Sebi Kotani's residents' push to restore the natural healthy balance
07:56with clean soil and fresh air.
08:03As we've seen, bringing back more green spaces to our neighborhoods
08:08not only makes them more pleasant,
08:11it also helps control temperatures and safeguard biodiversity.
08:15And even a small amount of greenery helps.
08:18This week's Doing Your Bit takes us to Cape Town, South Africa.
08:31Lush, green, small and dense.
08:33This 200 square meter verdant patch outside of Cape Town is a pocket forest,
08:38an oasis in the midst of a built environment serving a purpose for both nature and humans.
08:46We planted three trees per square meter over here.
08:49This is what we'd find in a forest after 2,000 years, you know,
08:53so we're trying to really speed up the process
08:55because this would take thousands of years to naturally form.
08:58Using the Miyawaki method to plant pocket forests is a great way to boost biodiversity
09:05and restore ecosystems in urban areas.
09:08The Miyawaki method, it started in the 1970s in Japan at Yokohama University by Dr. Akira Miyawaki.
09:15And he came up with this method when he saw in Japan rapid urbanization taking place
09:21and the green spaces disappearing extremely fast.
09:26Planting native trees and the most diverse species possible in the tiny forests
09:31can help build climate resilience and create community well-being in urbanized areas.
09:36The sites for pocket forests are chosen carefully.
09:39Their social and historical significance are also taken into account.
09:43This forest is in recognition of First Nations people
09:47because this is the site where the First Nations people used to live freely
09:53before their meeting with the Portuguese and with the Dutch settlers.
09:58Akhan Kamialdin has teamed up with the Soogie Project,
10:02a group that helps to plant pocket forests all over the world
10:06and bring nature back to where it's missing.
10:09For many people, it's very hard to access the natural environments of the mountains.
10:14It may take them one hour to two hours just to reach there.
10:18So we bring this forest closer to people.
10:22And it's really become a space to boost mental health and mental well-being
10:27in very rough fabrics of our society.
10:31The Soogie Project has helped plant more than 200 pocket forests
10:35in 50 cities around the world.
10:37And Cape Town now has five of them.
10:40Day by day, the more biodiversity that we are seeing returning to the forest
10:46and the more stories we are hearing from community members,
10:49it's really emboldening us to keep going forward with courage
10:53in creating pocket forests in South Africa.
10:56Now we head to Europe.
10:59Around the world, wetlands are disappearing,
11:01mainly because of agriculture, resource extraction and construction.
11:06They may only cover a small fraction of the planet compared to forests,
11:10but they are more efficient at storing carbon.
11:13A pioneering project aims to bring these valuable landscapes back to life.
11:17This is a wetland in the making.
11:26And that takes heavy equipment, a lot of hard work and even more time.
11:31The forests of the Orr Mountains in south-eastern Germany used to be full of peat bogs.
11:36Almost all were drained to plant fast-growing spruce during the mining boom.
11:41Now a comeback is planned.
11:44Wetlands help to preserve biodiversity, cope with climate change
11:48and manage water supplies across the region.
11:54Romy Wöllner coordinates the project,
11:56which aims to re-wet drained forest peatlands across the Orr Mountain region of Saxony.
12:02It's initially planned to restore some 80 hectares of bog.
12:07That's just a fraction of original wetland areas in the Orr Mountains.
12:12Most have been drained and have to be revitalised.
12:15We're talking about 60 square kilometres in total.
12:19The team frequently flies drones over the wetland areas
12:26to monitor the project's progress
12:28and document any new water bodies developing in the forest.
12:32The different vegetation types are recorded by laser scanners,
12:36which also check the impact of increasing soil moisture on them.
12:42We want trees to die off due to the wet conditions.
12:45In the best-case scenario,
12:47some of these brightly coloured trees here will disappear over time,
12:50leaving far more open areas.
12:53Nearby, we can see what it could look like in the future.
12:58Over a year ago, drainage ditches here were dammed,
13:02and now the water is 10 centimetres below the surface.
13:06The first results are promising.
13:11The sphagnum mosses that have colonised this area
13:13started growing this year, because it's wet enough here now.
13:18They're precisely what we want.
13:23You can see that they don't rot entirely under water.
13:26And it's precisely that process of incomplete decomposition
13:30which forms peat and makes a wetland into a wetland.
13:37Water shortages are also slowing down the re-wetting process.
13:40The Ore Mountains' forest peatlands depend largely on rainfall.
13:45If it doesn't rain much, water doesn't run down off the hills,
13:48and the areas remain dry.
13:53During re-wetting, open areas of water are formed,
13:56like here in this former peat bog.
13:58Over time, it will start to close up,
14:01and in the final stages, sphagnum mosses will be able to colonise the area again,
14:06and the peat bog will start to grow,
14:08at the rate of about one millimetre a year.
14:11It will take about 2,000 years before the peat bog really expands.
14:16That's a problem in a time of accelerating climate change.
14:20No-one here is letting that put them off.
14:25There are plenty of drained areas on their to-do list.
14:28It will take generations before the forest peatlands in the Ore Mountains
14:33can fulfil their potential as a biodiverse habitat, water reservoir, and carbon sink.
14:41Back to Africa now.
14:43Next up is a very different approach to protecting fragile ecosystems.
14:48We're not talking about government enforcement or moulding technology,
14:52but a tradition in the country of Bene that is rooted in local beliefs,
14:58and it has a much more powerful effect on the way communities treat their environment
15:04than rules and regulations.
15:12In Bene, ancient spiritual guardians have stepped in where earthly laws have failed.
15:18Zangbeto voodoo night watchmen are both respected and feared by the local population.
15:26Authorities there have long struggled to protect the endangered mangrove forests here at Lake Aheme,
15:33which are threatened by overfishing, deforestation, pollution, and climate change.
15:40Now they have help from the other world.
15:43Zangbeto are a traditional police force.
15:51Their purpose is to protect communities.
15:54The mangroves in our area are sacred forests.
15:57We protect them by putting a Zangbeto fetish here.
16:00It watches over the mangroves on behalf of the local community.
16:05If you go near the mangroves to cut them down, the fetish will denounce you and Zangbeto will catch you.
16:25And if it catches you, you have to give a sheep, a pig, palm oil, 50,000 CFA francs, palm wine, and other things,
16:35or you risk losing your life.
16:37A belief system with a powerful effect, Eco Bene, an NGO that has been working with local communities for over two decades,
16:47supports this partnership between heritage and conservation.
16:52Laws to protect mangroves were poorly enforced, but with the help of Zangbeto,
16:57villagers have created a 24-7 spiritual surveillance system that no one dares to defy.
17:04It allows us to better preserve these ecosystems and provide a habitat for all the wildlife here.
17:16There are birds and monkeys, and it's suitable for fish, crabs, shrimps, and so on, too.
17:23All these species can find enough space here to grow and reproduce.
17:29For the locals, protecting the mangroves helps protect their livelihoods.
17:36The action that has been taken will allow fish to multiply peacefully and allow us to survive, too.
17:46When the men go fishing, and I do my beats by collecting oysters, it all helps our family to live better.
17:54The Zangbeto tradition at Lake Ahime is not just conservation.
18:04It's spiritual climate action, merging indigenous knowledge with environmental protection to save ecosystems,
18:12strengthen communities, and inspire people to rethink how to protect nature.
18:17While the spirits are watering, the mangroves here are thriving.
18:24Like in many countries, Ghana declares a nationwide hunting ban every year.
18:30It's known as the closed season.
18:32It can make life hard for hunters, traders, and families who depend on bushmeats for food and income.
18:39But, of course, it gives wildlife a chance to breed and recover.
18:43In our next report, we go to the north of the country to find out how the ban is implemented and what effect it has.
18:51Wildlife rangers have discovered a suspicious footprint.
18:58They are searching for illegal intruders deep inside the Mowley National Park in northern Ghana.
19:04It's part of a mission to protect wildlife.
19:08A six-month nationwide hunting ban came to effect on our guest fest.
19:13As a national park, hunting is not allowed. It's something that is prohibited in the park.
19:23And the closed season has come to enforce it or to enhance the seriousness and effectiveness of the law enforcement guys with the rangers
19:32to enforce more and effective patrols.
19:36Ghana's wildlife is under pressure both from poachers and the laws of habitat.
19:42But the ban is not just for animals that are protected anyway in national parks, but also key sources of bushmeats.
19:51Only grass cutters can still be hunted, provided hunters have a valid license.
19:57The exemption is because they are abandoned and not endangered, unlike many other wild species.
20:04That is why the six-month closed season was introduced.
20:09The aim is to give them a chance to replenish their population at an important time.
20:15This is the time animals breed to make or increase population.
20:21They are nursing, they are younger ones, others are pregnant,
20:26that they need to get to a period to get this offspring delivered for the population of the animals to keep growing.
20:35Meanwhile, a farmer from a village on the edge of the park is hunting for bears.
20:41He risked at least one year in prison.
20:45The hunting ban has been in place since the 1970s, but the penalties for violations have been tightened since 2024.
20:54The poachers knows he is violating the ban, but the harvest from his field is not enough to live on.
21:01He has shot down a white-faced whistling duck.
21:05While not considered endangered, his actions are still illegal during the ban.
21:10Sometimes, when I catch a lot, I sell the meat.
21:16I use part of the money to buy fuel, bullets, or to support my family.
21:23I learned hunting from my father. Now that he is old, I have taken over.
21:31These long-standing traditions are difficult to change.
21:35The success of the hunting ban will depend partly on how well people understand why it is important.
21:42The authorities need to communicate that more effectively.
21:45When the public is away, that this is the result of our abstinence from hunting.
21:54This is how the state is benefiting, and this is how the individuals are benefiting,
21:59or the individual, the community, it helps the prisoners.
22:04But for now, there is no visible resource regarding this ban on my life in the county.
22:12Mule National Park is one of Ghana's largest wildlife reserves, covering nearly 5,000 square kilometers.
22:19But it is not fenced in.
22:21Elephants often stray onto farmers' fields outside the park, feasting on crops or trampling them,
22:28like farmer Saibu Alhassan's yam field.
22:32This affects people's livelihood.
22:34Far from wanting to protect the animals, locals are then just frustrated.
22:39The elephants came and did this to my farm.
22:45The yams are still too young to harvest.
22:48Now what am I supposed to do?
22:50It's painful, and I won't be compensated.
22:54How will I feed my family?
22:57Each time, the park authorities are meticulous in recording the damage.
23:04But so far, there has been no compensation.
23:08A fair scheme for compensating farmers could increase acceptance for protecting the animals.
23:14The issue is also causing discontent in the village of Mognori on the edge of the national park.
23:20Leuzen officer Nyadia Yacobo is reaching out to villages, including former poachers.
23:26He tells them the hunting ban means their children and grandchildren will still be able to experience the wild animals.
23:34But the people don't want lectures. They want a solution.
23:39They should give us compensation in the form of money.
23:43That would be better than the trees they give us.
23:47He is referring to fruit trees that are distributed free of charge.
23:51Saka Salia has been given cashew and mango trees, and a bee colony that provides him with honey.
23:59But they are not compensation for damage.
24:02Rather, they are designed to help farmers supplement their income, so they no longer need to poach.
24:09They gave us beehives so we could support ourselves.
24:14With this, when the day begins, you don't worry about going out to poach.
24:20You stop hunting, because when you harvest the honey, it helps your household.
24:26Life used to be hard, but since I started beekeeping, by the grace of God, things are changing.
24:34Back to the anti-poaching patrol, the rangers are also working with cameras.
24:39Today, they show no evidence of poachers.
24:43But what the footage does make clear, these are rangers' random animals, but individual creatures worth protecting.
24:51An inquisitive savannah buffalo, a panther's monkey in a great hurry.
24:57And a very young harness bushback.
25:01Since the hunting ban started in August, the rangers at Moli National Park have caught three poachers.
25:08During the last six-month ban, the total was 15.
25:12Today, they found nothing.
25:14Maybe just on a successful day.
25:17Or perhaps a sign that the hunting ban is working.
25:22We really hope you've enjoyed today's show.
25:26Thanks for watching.
25:27I'm Malama Mokonde in Lusaka.
25:29Goodbye.
25:32Don't forget to check out our social media channels.
25:35And you can also write to us at ecoatdw.com.
25:40I'm Prisa Lamps in Lagos, Nigeria.
25:43See you next week.
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