- 22 hours ago
A giant telescope in South Africa’s Karoo is unlocking more than cosmic secrets; plus Malawi’s underwater paradise under threat, and saving crops in Senegal.
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00:00if you look at the earth from space you might be amazed that millions of species have flourished
00:23in the sea in forests lakes and deserts back on the ground you may notice that we humans are causing
00:31big changes to the climate and ecosystems and we need to do more to protect these amazing animals
00:39and plants welcome to eco africa i'm malama mukonde in lusaka zambia
00:44and from me chris elements in lagos nigeria welcome to eco africa we start the show in south africa
00:56it's been in the news recently following weeks of devastating floods torrential rain has destroyed
01:02roads homes and livelihoods many in the north and northeast travels south and west and the story
01:10changes completely here rain is rare the land is dry open and quiet this is the karu
01:20the karu is a vast semi-desert that covers around one-third of the country it is so inhospitable
01:27that it has remained only sparsely populated by humans or precisely that makes it ideal for an
01:34unusual partnership between the soil and the stars amy lee visahi always dreamed of the stars like her
01:43forefathers the sand people of southern africa now 24 she teaches local students and tourists about how
01:53indigenous people interpreted the night sky working as an astro guide
01:58it's basically about how we can combine the indigenous storage which the sand people
02:08i'm here to tell regarding the the cosmos and to see how we can make a tourism experience out of it
02:16amy lee lives in the remote town of carnarvon in the karu desert its isolated location and dry hot
02:23climate have created harsh living conditions for thousands of years yet these inhospitable conditions
02:30have also led to minimal light and electronic pollution perfect for stargazing
02:38so perfect in fact that the area has been chosen to build the world's largest radio telescope project
02:44capable of detecting signals dating from the very beginnings of the universe
02:49for this deprived area the square kilometer array or ska is not only providing an economic boost
03:00the ska has the potential to revive the area's neglected ecosystem too almost by chance as part of
03:08south africa's successful project bid an area of 135 000 hectares surrounding the telescope site was
03:16declared the meerkat national park in 2020 located just 90 kilometers from carnarvon the park was not
03:24meant for tourism but to protect the sensitive astronomical instruments from interference but
03:30this special status is allowing conservationists and researchers to begin to restore the fragile
03:36ecosystem and undo the damage caused by centuries of farming and overgrazing venad khalets is a botanist
03:44who's studying quiver tree populations in the park these iconic succulents are indigenous to south africa
03:50and namibia as the area of the meerkat national park used to be farmland a lot of the trees have been
03:56damaged by animals these leaves are very tasty to animals so especially the young ones as they pop up
04:03sheep goats things like that oftentimes you'll have bark stripped away from how the animal
04:10scratched it to get to the moisture that's inside the asylum to revive the ecosystem the environmental
04:18observation network which carlitz works for is collaborating with san parks the public authority
04:24managing the park the area was once inhabited by the black rhino and various antelope species
04:30these days few animals roam here but hendrik malgus the park manager has ambitious plans
04:40we are busy with vegetation monitoring at this moment to see what is the numbers we can put in
04:45now we are looking at reintroducing gemsbok um red artebees sprungbok um then yeland as well
04:54that's what we could reintroduce as early as june july 2026. since monitoring the vegetation and
05:01wildlife with video traps malgus has found that the kudu and springbok populations have increased but
05:07also bird life has become more abundant especially around the many little watering holes that provide
05:13relief in these arid surroundings we've counted about 18 to 22 um breeding pairs of black eagle in the park
05:22which which is quite a very high number um so that's a very positive thing for the birds and biodiversity
05:28in general the karu was completely underwater about 200 million years ago now it struggles with
05:36decade-long droughts making it even harder for life to exist when white settlers started farming the area
05:44in the late 18th century they planted alien trees that destabilized the water table for generations
05:50furthering soil degradation and a loss in biodiversity hendrik malgus and his team are therefore clearing
05:57the area of invasive species which might take decades but the conservationist believes that they
06:02can restore the ecosystem to close to what it was like before also thanks to the ska we would not
06:09have had 135 000 hectares under protection if it wasn't for this project and a relationship between
06:15development and biodiversity and conservation it is needed so the one can employ people and can boost
06:24the economy and stuff like that and the other one can look after the environment so it's a 50-50
06:29relationship that works very well back to carnaven and amy lee visahi whose training was funded by
06:37sereo the public entity that runs the ska project in south africa the astro guide says the ska project is
06:44already transforming her community since operating in the area there have been a lot of youngsters that
06:52the ska helped to like get out of town paying for these studies and then some of those people actually
06:59came back after studying and are working on site currently as she cannot yet live from astro guiding
07:08amy lee works as an assistant teacher at the local high school whenever she can she takes students out
07:14into the field to teach them about the sand people's knowledge of medicinal plants and their special bond
07:20with nature now it's time to prepare a traditional supper for tonight's bonfire most of the kids they
07:28come out of households that they don't always have everything at home you see so i think that some of them
07:38they are grateful for the little meal that they get wherever whenever
07:47here under the stars the community connects to the sand traditions again
07:52dancing and singing during a full or new moon was a way of seeking blessings from nature
08:03they saw nature is something that they should look after and keep safe for themselves and also for the
08:10for the children
08:13amy lee's vision for a brighter future comes alive as ancient culture and modern conservation efforts meet
08:21under the same stars food loss is a critical issue in many african countries in senegal hundreds of tons
08:32of agriculture crops are lost every year before they get to a consumer it is mainly due to a lack of
08:39suitable storage facilities now a young entrepreneur has come up with a simple solution that is affordable and
08:47eco-friendly
08:56young founder day marie aidan one knew there had to be a better way a way to help farmers
09:03her solution these simple hearts that are cooler than the outside temperature by up to 10 degrees celsius
09:10this storage facility has a capacity of 120 tons more than 2 000 bags are stored here during the harvest
09:21season potatoes can be stored for up to three or even four months
09:25the heart keeps of the sun and above all the heat potatoes and onions grow in abundance in senegal
09:3780 percent of the country's fruit and vegetables are grown in the niyaez region
09:41the fatal area between dakar and saint louis
09:44in 2025 the onion harvest was actually up 10 percent on the previous year a record crop the potato yield
09:54was good too but the market was soon saturated a problem that threatens the livelihood of farmers like
10:00serving low in the past we couldn't always find buyers after the harvest or sometimes the price was too low
10:11but we couldn't wait we had nowhere to store the produce and if we left it lying in the sun it would spoil
10:21when building engineer ibrahim adianye is very precise when the bubble floats in the middle the structure
10:27is perfectly vertical the design is simple but needs to be well built as it will have to stand for years
10:35the civil engineer has now built seven of these hearts in various places in senegal
10:39at the construction site he shows us how careful work can produce a warehouse from west
10:47the heart's basic structure consists mainly of discarded trash old kaya tires
10:53sacks and plastic bottles that would otherwise end up in the garbage
11:01every time we have a tire in place we fill it with sun before compacting it
11:05the tampa makes the sand inside more stable after the first few rows we then use the sacks and bottles
11:15recycling waste as a building material is key to the project
11:19it means there is less waste to police the environment and their hearts are affordable
11:23for everyone farmers can boost their earnings and food security
11:28waste becomes a solution that opens up new prospects for the future
11:34modern conservation works best when local communities understand the value of leaving nature
11:41the future intact sometimes it takes more than education in romania illegal logging is a big problem
11:49even in protected areas when so much money is involved it demands real bravery to take on the organized
11:58criminals and corrupt officials driving the destruction of some of the last green forests in europe
12:05forest engineer dan turiga is getting ready for a long shift he and a colleague fight illegal logging
12:13in romania's old growth forests it's dangerous work out here in the mountains time for a final briefing
12:22as you know we've reported them before gnawing away at the forest edge
12:27but now it looks like they've actually moved inside with the logging
12:33look at this this area has trees that are 150 to 200 years old there's something suspicious here
12:42time to move romania is still home to true primeval forests but they're disappearing fast
12:49eon tells us half of all logging here is illegal and it's not long before we see the damage a third of
12:56the virgin forest gone a path of total destruction that's like this for two or three kilometers thousands
13:04of hectares the lumber mafia take advantage of a legal loophole falsely labeling trees as damaged or dead
13:12so they can cut them down the forest engineers say it's a pretext to harvest millions of cubic
13:19meters of healthy wood all the clues around the freshly felled trees indicate that these were green trees
13:27no doubt about it here's more proof all the branches are green
13:37and business is booming some of the wood is used locally but the rest is sold across the eu for profit
13:44ian do you copy yeah i'm here come over we just ran into them they're hauling off a load of green wood
13:55right now hello is there someone we can speak to who's in charge
14:03where can we find your boss at the office where's his office no idea we want to know why this is listed
14:10as an emergency cut when you're clearly taking green wood he needs to explain
14:18but it's clear they won't get answers here nor a name to hold accountable
14:27we just uncovered an illegal operation
14:32illegal on two counts first they're cutting green wood labeled as dry
14:36they're cutting green wood they're cutting green wood they're cutting green wood they're cutting
14:40the paper work is forged
14:44exposing these crimes is dangerous work the pair make a swift exit
14:52their colleague gabriel paul has received death threats from the mafia
14:57ten years ago he narrowly survived an assassination attempt we meet him at a safe
15:02house somewhere in austria a thousand kilometers from home the biggest fear of organized criminal
15:09structures is that the truth will hit the light and it will come public it's very dangerous because
15:17we're talking about people who do not forget and do not forgive so and they're constantly looking after
15:23me paul says it's a sacrifice he's willing to make to protect the climate his hope lies in an eu
15:31regulation designed to punish illegal logging but the law could still be watered down and countries
15:38like austria want to scrap it entirely the risk is that beyond the commission's proposed cuts the
15:45european parliament conservatives and the far right might weaken the law even further there's immense
15:50lobby pressure against it especially from european forest owners meanwhile the chainsaws keep running in the
15:59carpathians for forest engineers iorn and dan it's a race against time
16:07now the challenge is to document the evidence before the authorities arrive
16:11the loggers are hurrying to clear the wood away fast before they get caught red-handed
16:21their ngo agent green has filed eu infringement proceedings against romania
16:27their goal to stop illegal logging for good they want to save romania's forests one of europe's last
16:35great wildernesses one of africa's most important freshwater ecosystems lake malawi is a protected unesco
16:46world heritage site but like so many places on this continent it's under growing threads from plastic
16:53pollution a problem for both its extraordinary biodiversity and the communities that depend on it now an
17:01initiative is underway to tackle the problem with local divers
17:08plastic waste and debris below its tranquil scenic surface lake malawi looks very different
17:14since 2023 local divers in cape maclare led by felix sinossi have been clearing plastic waste from the lake bed three times a week
17:25the garbage underwater seems harmless but it is destructive
17:37when diving tourists come here with cameras to see fish instead they see garbage underwater which is not
17:43good not only that fish eat plastic and this also affects humans as humans eat fish
17:57with its tropical beaches the world's fourth biggest freshwater lake is a major tourist destination
18:04the trash that the divers collect not only threatens malawi's economy
18:08it's also damaging to the lake's ecosystem including endemic freshwater species
18:14kenneth mackay is an evolutionary biologist
18:18he's observed the impact of pollution firsthand
18:23garbage can come on the breathing platforms or in the territories of the males makes it difficult for the
18:29fish to breed the fish can ingest not only full plastic but also the microplastic
18:36and the plastics breaking down in the lake people are drinking it so they're going to be getting microplastics
18:44when people eat contaminated fish microplastics and toxic chemicals can enter the body
18:49scientists say this exposure can affect hormones reproduction and even the immune system
18:57in february 2025 the malawian government officially banned thin plastics such as food packaging and grocery bags
19:05but tracking down the producers has proved challenging for the authorities
19:11some have changed where they were producing the plastics the the location where we banned them that
19:17normal production here so they changed the production site to relocate to other sites so that has also
19:23been a problem to regulate and monitor them some of the trash recovered by the divers in cape
19:29mclean ends up transformed into various products for sale
19:37we collect garbage like glass bottles plastic bottles plastic bags and tins we work with these items to
19:44recycle them to recycle them into crafts
19:52the divers efforts cleaning up the lake have not gone unnoticed
20:00when the team collect trash from the water the water looks clean in this way the fish won't be
20:06harmed or destroyed by plastics and glass bottles the water is more hygienic so it's a good idea
20:12for now the project is restricted to the cape mclean area but the hope is that it will inspire further
20:20cleanup efforts all over lake malawi
20:25let's stay in west africa the atlantic coastline provides many vital breathing sites for sea turtles
20:33but these ecosystems are often under threat from human activity
20:37in a gambian marine reserve a local community is employing deep knowledge of the land and sea to
20:44make a maze it was a big catch for many fishermen today in gunjur gambia they are delivering their
20:51haul to a fish meal factory but their catch is now often disappointing we have a lot of environmental
20:58challenges i'm ranging from sand mining from there we have fish meal factories fish meal factories also
21:07you know compromising a lot of our opportunities this chinese factory was opened in 2016 the local
21:15communities were excited about the possible job opportunities a fish market and improved roads
21:21but the hopes for growth have come with a hefty price tag bringing damage to the environment here the
21:29water on the coastline is believed to have changed color due to the chemicals found in the factory's
21:34waste water discharged into the ocean we asked the fish meal factory for a statement but they declined
21:41this water started changing this color when this factory started the operation here most of the
21:47time when it came into this color you don't see any much boats here because they don't like what happens
21:54the water doesn't look good for anything the first time it happened is also kill all the small fish
22:01and also kill a lot of crabs so we have documented that this happens because we have these fish meal
22:08factories the marine forest area is affected too this prolonged venue wildlife reserve was established in
22:162008 to protect mangroves woodlands and coastal dunes the 345 hectares reserve was once a thriving habitat
22:27for migratory birds bats and monkeys but climate change and pollution largely driven by human activity
22:37have disrupted the ecosystem forcing the birds to stop nesting near the lagoon
22:42but there is still hope this group of environmentalists started the gunjur conservationist and ecotourism association
22:57to lead change and inspire community solutions lamin jasi has made it his mission to raise awareness in the
23:04community of the need to plant trees this project is much needed because in the past 25 years the gambia
23:12has lost 732 hectares of tree cover according to the global forest watch this loss is mainly due to wildfires
23:20firewood collection and clearing land for agriculture as a scientist we have a concern with regards to
23:26some of the economic activity we are seeing over the years yes people everywhere one wanted to have a
23:33land to develop and to have a settlement we've been seeing a lot of estate agencies emerge from this
23:38country but then yes that was young people what they are doing is the right move the forest protects
23:45this fast eroding shore of the atlantic ocean which is home to endangered sea turtles the coastline is an
23:52important home for green turtles to lay their eggs but when they come to shore they are often attacked
23:59by fishermen or people in the community like here these are shells of green turtles killed while trying to nest
24:10the idea behind this facility is we try to create a head start tank with our partners keep some few turtles with us
24:19the turtle village in gundjur also collects data on the water quality to better understand forest and marine life
24:41for us we think this data will help government to make an informed decision because they will know
24:51what we are collecting we are collecting how much fish go to the factory and how much go to the
24:57community we record that and as well overall fish that land in the water and also the fishing gears that
25:04they use lamin and his team know that the future of this ecosystem mainly depends on the commitment
25:10of the people who call it home and it's good to know that local knowledge can be so powerful
25:18that's all from us this time i'm chris alims in lagos nigeria thanks for watching we have plenty more
25:26stories online about inspiring echo heroes and we love hearing from you too so do share your thoughts with
25:33us at echo at dw.com for now it's goodbye from me malama muconde in lusaka zambia see you next time
25:51now
25:57now
25:59now
26:11you
26:13you
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