- 7 months ago
Conservationists get creative to save colobus monkeys in Kenya, bright Bazin fabric made ecofriendly in Mali, unpaid community work in Burundi pays off.
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00:00We share a planet with millions of plant and animal species, and we rely on them for our
00:22survival.
00:23But how can we protect them better?
00:25How can we learn from our mistakes and make our communities stronger?
00:30That's what we're looking at on ECHO Africa today.
00:32Hello, my name is Malama Mukonde in Lusaka, Zambia.
00:40And the very best greetings from me too, I am Chris Alemse in Lagos, Nigeria.
00:46It's great to have you with us, coming up on this show.
00:51The people working to clean up Mali's fashion industry.
00:56Our Burundians are called on to improve their environment together.
01:02And the wild plants that could bring food security to Niger.
01:07So now to Kenya and a vulnerable species of animal, the colobus monkey, which was once
01:13hunted for its beautiful black and white fur.
01:17This tree-topping, loving monkey inhabits coastal forests in the country's south.
01:22And nowadays, it's more under threat from the spread of our human population itself.
01:27They need to work fast.
01:33An injured Sykes monkey has been brought to the Colobus Conservation Clinic in Diani Beach.
01:39A team of veterinarians and volunteers treats his severe burns just in time.
01:46Today morning, we woke up and we got a distress call, an electrocuted Sykes monkey from one of
01:59the hotels. So we went there for a rescue mission.
02:04Diani Beach on Kenya's south coast is known for its stunning white suns. But the coastal forests are
02:12also home to six species of primates, including the Angolan Colobus, a species classed as vulnerable.
02:24That's because its habitat is shrinking dramatically. New roads, houses, and hotels mean the monkeys have
02:31lost three quarters of their habitat in this area in just two decades.
02:37There is a lot of construction going on. Every hundred meters, there is a new building coming in.
02:44So that means you have to clear the forest and give room to this kind of construction.
02:51The endless power lines along the Diani Beach Road are a deadly trap for monkeys.
02:56The lines cut right through their territory and they are often not insulated.
03:05So the monkeys, they don't know the dangers of these power lines. So they jump from a tree to power
03:10line. So sad. You find them electrocuted. Some, they even never survive.
03:18Unlike other primates, who sometimes steal food from humans,
03:22Colobus monkeys feed solely on the leaves of certain trees. That often puts them in danger.
03:29The trees you see around here, this is where they come and feed. This is among their favorite trees.
03:35So after feeding, they have to move from one side of the road to the other side of the road for other
03:42favorite tree.
03:44The conservation and primate rescue center has been fighting to protect the monkeys off Diani Beach
03:50for nearly 30 years. Here, primates that were kept as pets are trained to survive in the wild again.
03:58Kalfani Mwitu hopes to have solved the power line problem using weatherproof materials from the hardware
04:04store, including plastic tubes that are normally used to connect water pipes.
04:09Instead, he built a ladder. No, a bridge. And not just one. 38 canopy bridges now span the Diani Beach
04:22Road, at the point where accidents occur most often. So, have the monkeys taken to their bridges?
04:29Yes. But even these kilt climbers need a little practice.
04:33What we normally do, we do a survey on areas where we have so many cases of road traffic accident.
04:42So, this is among the points where we identified. So, we decided to install this bridge so that it's a
04:50mitigation measure.
04:51The bridges are effective, but only a makeshift remedy. The only lasting solution is to expand areas
04:59providing the monkeys' natural habitat. Mwitu's team run their own nursery, which aims to grow 40 species
05:07of indigenous trees. They encourage hotels, homeowners and schools to plant the native trees,
05:14as only they provide food and shelter for the Kolobas monkeys.
05:18We go and plant them in schools. Then we do monitoring. We make sure they grow. We do the follow-up.
05:25So, if the residents want us to plant trees in their plot, we have to agree that they do take care of the trees.
05:34The nutrient-rich bell bean tree is top of the menu. This is Makamia Zanzibarica. That's the
05:42botanical name. If you want Kolobas to come to your place, plant this tree. This is the favorite.
05:48This is the best tree for the Kolobas monkeys. They really love this tree.
05:51The latest sensors in 2024 showed the number of Kolobas monkeys had risen to 553.
05:59Thanks to a dedicated team willing to build bridges that span not only a dangerous road,
06:06but also the divide between humans and nature.
06:12We all want more color in our lives. And what better way than with a colorful wardrobe?
06:18Africa has a rich textile heritage and a bustling fashion scene. But colorful clothing can come at a
06:25high price in many ways. The dyes can often harm the environment and human health. We head to Mali now,
06:32where some people are doing the bit to prevent that.
06:42These women are dyeing a fabric that's a staple in stylish wardrobes across West Africa.
06:48It's a damask fabric known locally as Bayzen. It's famed for its glossy finish and distinctive
06:54rustle. Here in Mali, an entire industry is dedicated to giving Bayzen its signature look.
07:04The base fabric, often imported from Germany or Austria, starts out white. It's then dyed,
07:10waxed and beaten to achieve a vibrant textured appearance. But the dyeing process is problematic.
07:20Most use chemicals that pollute the environment and endanger people's health. There were times
07:26where we had nowhere to empty the water and some people said our wastewater was contaminating their well
07:32or tap water. Aminata and her team set out to address the problem. To collect the wastewater,
07:41she had a concrete tank built underneath the dye works. The tank is divided into different chambers,
07:47built to the same standard used in industrial factories. It cost the company around 7,500 euros.
07:55Now the wastewater no longer flows into the gutters or public sewers. Every three months, the sanitation
08:01department comes to collect the wastewater by truck. The service costs a further 90 euros each time.
08:07But Aminata Kulibali says the investment is worth it.
08:15We have a responsibility to keep the workplace clean, to protect our employees and to be an agent
08:21of change in the community.
08:22Aminata Kulibali says the investment is worth it.
08:27Meanwhile, some other street dyers still dispose of wastewater directly into the canal, leading to
08:34the Niger River. The fashion industry is one of the world's biggest polluters, responsible for high
08:40carbon emissions, excessive water use and water pollution. The dyers in Mali are just one link in the supply chain,
08:48but change is possible across that supply chain and essential.
08:56We've even taken training courses on this. We don't want to experience the same problems
09:01that our mothers faced in this profession.
09:04We don't want to experience the same problems. We don't want to experience the same problems.
09:09Almost everywhere in the world they've seen more and more extreme weather and flooding because we have
09:16changed the climate through our overuse of fossil fuels. Now this is strongly felt in cities where even
09:24with working drains there is so much asphalt and concrete that the extra water can be absorbed.
09:31We met some activists in Switzerland with a radical way to turn grey areas into green.
09:39Heavy rains and flooding. Water surging through villages and communities.
09:44Weather extremes are becoming increasingly common in Europe. Climate change contributes,
09:50but also humans paving and sealing ground with asphalt.
09:53We're the asphalt crackers, drawing attention to climate change and biodiversity by breaking open
10:01sealed surfaces, planting native plants and reporting on what we do.
10:09The best way to combat climate change, heat, drought and heavy rainfall, is to have more nature,
10:14more soil and less asphalt and concrete.
10:20We're in Zurich, Switzerland. It gets terribly loud when former journalist Bettina Welch goes to work.
10:27She now has lots of experience using jackhammers.
10:34Bettina Welch used to have her own biodiversity show on Swiss television.
10:38Now, she and her colleague Isabella Sede Vy focus on advising both homeowners and housing cooperatives.
10:50Their goal is to break up concrete surfaces in residential areas, which cause problems in both dry and wet weather.
10:57We want to show that without soil, we are nothing. One third of the world's soil is degraded. So nothing grows on it. No food. And water can't seep into it.
11:10We have to take better care of our soil. And we'd be delighted if we could influence people a little.
11:18When they're not tearing up paved surfaces, the two take their activism online.
11:22Isabella Sede Vy, a trained biologist, provides scientific insights on our website, where she explains that,
11:29in Switzerland alone, parking lots equivalent in size to 900 soccer fields could be converted into green spaces.
11:38This Winterthur project is a strong example.
11:41Instead of concrete slabs that trap heat and block rainwater, gravel and greenery will help cool the area.
11:47These homeowners are part of a pilot project called Schwammstadt, or sponge city,
11:54where outdoor spaces are designed to absorb rain and ease pressure on the sewage system during heavy storms.
12:01In return, the city covers the cost of removing old rubble.
12:08The asphalt crackers say that every new project counts.
12:13Like in Zövingen, northern Switzerland.
12:15It started suddenly. On Saturday afternoon it started to rain, harder and harder.
12:22It didn't stop. Then a lot of water flowed down here and flooded the streets.
12:27Some of it gushed towards the train station and flooded numerous basements in the old town.
12:31Since the 2017 flood, Zövingen City Council has been replacing sealed asphalt with vegetation
12:42to ease pressure on the sewage system during heavy rainfall.
12:49It's crucial to unseal as much surface area as possible. We've sealed over too much land.
12:55This prevents water from soaking into the ground and forces it to run off elsewhere, often causing problems.
13:03Here we've ensured that as much water as possible can be absorbed naturally.
13:07The asphalt crackers are pleased with the Zövingen project. And here in Winterthur,
13:14they're happy with this new gravel garden, designed to store water when it rains and keep things cool when it's hot.
13:20When you're surrounded by asphalt, concrete, glass and these run-of-the-mill buildings that are becoming more and more alike,
13:30then of course people will want to create a more natural, more livable niche here and there.
13:35At this Winterthur property, the asphalt and concrete are finally gone.
13:45Time for a group photo for the website in hopes that it will inspire many more people in Switzerland.
13:52Being fully aware of your surroundings is the gift that keeps on giving. Across many rural communities in the Sahel,
13:59women are reconnecting with wild indigenous plants that once formed a vital part of their ancestors' diet.
14:05As weather patterns shift, these long-overlooked plants are proving to be valuable allies,
14:11offering a range of benefits in the face of climate change.
14:16The women are skilled at plucking the leaves off the twisted branches of Jiga trees.
14:20In the village of Danbuda, they're in demand.
14:23The women can harvest the leaves all year round, using them to cook or to sell at the market in the nearby town of Zinda.
14:35Before, we used to go into the bush to cut wood that we could sell to buy food.
14:40Then one day, I went to Zinda for a funeral and my relatives took me to Sahara Sahel Foods
14:46in their neighborhood and told me that they buy Adua fruit desert dates.
14:51So I started selling these to them. People at home laughed at me.
14:55Why would anyone buy Adua fruit? But then two others joined me. Now 40 women do it too.
15:04The ideas to harvest and market native wild plants came from Joseph Garvey.
15:09He grew up in Niger and had long been thinking about the benefits of reviving native dryland trees
15:14such as the wild hansa species.
15:16They used to have hansa. They used to eat hansa, but only in times of hardship.
15:23So, when we started working with them, we started buying their hansa. At first,
15:26they were reluctant. They didn't think we were serious. But they realized that we were actually
15:30serious. We were actually buying it. And they got involved in harvesting a lot of hansa and delivering
15:35to us. And they became very happy from the extra income they could make. But we weren't quite satisfied
15:42because they were harvesting in order to sell us. But they were still considering it something that
15:46they'd rather not eat themselves. Now they've started to change their minds. As a social enterprise,
15:52Sahara Sahel Foods raises awareness in local communities about native trees that can provide
15:58nutritious leaves, fruits and seeds. And they've learned to appreciate them.
16:03Sahara Sahel Foods has been active in the Zinda region since 2014, and these days works with 1,500
16:15small farmers and 80 villages. They supply various fruits and leaves from over 20 local plant species,
16:23which are then used to produce oil, jam, spices, and pastry. Sixty products are now sold around Niger,
16:30and some of them are also exported.
16:35Up until today, many people thought that these bush foods are just local stuff and don't have any
16:40particular value. They forgot about them because they just grow wild in the bush. But now people
16:46have begun to understand that our products are useful. Sahara Sahel Foods cookery courses are popular.
16:53Today, instructor Hawa Habu is showing the women what they can do with hansa fruit.
16:59It has a high protein content.
17:03We have taught them a lot of things, such as how to cook hansa
17:07with sauce made from horn-fruited jute, which they didn't know, hansa porridge,
17:13which they didn't know either, and jujube pulp biscuits.
17:16Basically, we taught them a lot of recipes.
17:25Joseph Garvey learned a lot from his Norwegian father.
17:29Arne Garvey was a young man when he emigrated to Niger with his wife.
17:33He began collecting seeds from indigenous plants and re-sowing them using a direct seeding method.
17:40Sahara Sahel Foods successfully replanted 160 local varieties in this way.
17:46The farmers followed suit. Many of the trees were planted by the farmers themselves.
17:52The whole idea of direct seeding is that you can teach to the farmers and the farmers can teach each
17:58other. And then once you get what we call the WPC economy established, it will have its own momentum.
18:11And I would like to inspire people not only here, but all over the world, to use their indigenous perennials.
18:20After 10 years in the Zindo region, Garvey's project is flourishing.
18:27Many smallholder farming families are now experts on various local tree varieties
18:32and how to care for them and are passing their insights on to their children.
18:40You know, a child will watch you from a very young age.
18:44My daughter understands that it's with the income from these efforts that will buy them certain items.
18:51So she follows in our footsteps and that's why from time to time, she sows trees too.
18:58Jamila Isuf has a regular income and can feed her family well.
19:02She's even been able to build her own house.
19:06The small seeds have borne fruit.
19:11We're off to Burundi now. This small landlord country is densely populated
19:18and one of the poorest in the world. Not only do the people suffer from food insecurity,
19:24the region is vulnerable to climate shocks. To help strengthen the country, the government
19:29introduced compulsory community work more than 20 years ago. It includes many practices that protect
19:37the environment and benefit everyone. We want to see if this collective action can really help build
19:45a more resilient society.
19:49In Burundi, Saturdays are different.
19:51While in many places it's the start of the weekend, here millions of people gather in cities
20:01and rural areas to work together. This community labour has been mandatory for almost 20 years
20:08months. And it's changing the country. The advantage of community work is that you have a lot of
20:16people doing something at the same time, which means it gets finished quickly. Another plus point
20:23is that we teach people what to do and can demonstrate it to everyone right away,
20:28so it's easier for them to understand.
20:30Today, in the hills of Nyarushanga in western Burundi, the workers are repairing what's known
20:38as contour trenches. This involves deepening trenches that have been dug along the natural contours of
20:45the land to stop rainwater running straight down the hill. The planted embankments above the trenches
20:51help slow the water, which prevents soil erosion and stores moisture. This simple technique safeguards
20:58the steep hill and makes the land more fertile. In the past, the community work focused on cleaning up
21:04public areas. Now it's more about ecology.
21:10This community work is very important for the people. Even before the workers from the cooperative
21:15that's helping us today came along, we were raising awareness among residents about the need to
21:20protect the environment, especially by planting trees on bare hills. And that has already born fruit.
21:28The community effort has also born fruit for farmer Jean-Marie Nkorrubusa, some 50 kilometers
21:35farther west. He spent years battling soil erosion on the hills here in Vuja village.
21:42Often, it was in vain. When he learned to dig contour trenches and plant them, it changed everything.
21:48Where we dig the contour trenches, we also saw grasses for animal fodder, as it prevents the rainwater
21:56from eroding the soil. During the dry season, this grass is then a valuable source of food
22:02for our livestock. But the greatest success is in his fields.
22:15Before we learned how to build contour trenches, the rain washed away most of our crops because
22:21we farm on steep slope. Not anymore. Where I used to harvest one ton of potatoes, now I get three and a half to four tons.
22:32Back to Nyarushanga. These potatoes belong to a cooperative, one of hundreds across the country
22:38known as sangue or together. They don't just work together. They also plan the next harvest together.
22:45Farmers select the best potatoes from those that are already sprouting to sow them back into the ground
22:51as seed, a circular system. This same principle of solidarity applies in urban areas too.
23:03This Saturday, these workers Purundi's largest city, Bujumbura, are building a new basketball court.
23:10Everyone comes together, everyone contributes to improving the place. I have no doubts about the future
23:22if we maintain this momentum. But you do need to provide clear goals and guidance for this community work,
23:31otherwise it can be ineffective.
23:33The bamboo on the banks of the city's rivers was planted by community work. The roots hold the soil
23:43together, preventing erosion and helping to prevent flooding in Bujumbura, a green barrier to mitigate
23:50the impact of a changing climate. Back in Nyarushanga, two hours to the east, workers are now harvesting
24:00beans. All on the same Saturday. The work is not voluntary and not everyone is happy with that.
24:10We can easily find out who is not participating in the community work by consulting the leaders
24:15of the local groups. Every person who has worked is logged in an attendance book. Those who didn't
24:22participate first get a warning. If that doesn't work, we take appropriate measures including sanctions.
24:30Fama Mbonimpa Konsil says she enjoys the work. What may look to some like tedious labor is,
24:38for many here, about coming together. After decades of ethnic violence that traumatized both Burundi
24:44and neighboring Rwanda. Sometimes the work isn't easy, but understanding the purpose behind it gives you
24:53strength for yourself and for the country. Even those who aren't sure about it realize that if they don't
24:59take part, they'll be left behind. Working together is a blessing.
25:05In Burundi, Saturdays are different. While elsewhere everyone does what they like,
25:11people here come together to work for a shared sustainable future.
25:15Nature has all the solutions we need if we work with it, not against it. We really hope you've been
25:23inspired by today's show. Thanks for watching. I'm Malama Mukonde in Lusaka, Zambia saying bye bye for now.
25:31Don't forget to check out our social media channels and you can also write to us at eco
25:37dw.com. I'm Chris Alems in Lagos, Nigeria. See you next week.
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