- 10 hours ago
How nanotechnology helps to preserve fruit and reduce methane emissions while protecting livelihoods. And a look at glaciers disappearing from Kenya to Austria.
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00:06I'm here at Chilenja Market in Lusaka Zambia and tons of food is thrown away every day did
00:14you know that in sub-saharan Africa up to 40% of our fruit and vegetable is wasted
00:21before it reaches the customer what a waste
00:32Uganda is losing mountains of fruits and veggies every day what if a tiny Sasha could
00:39save these tons of fruits and veggies from rotting how do you save your bananas when
00:47they've turned brown banana bread banana milk Moonlaki does it the Ugandan way she turns
00:55them into fried pancakes mixing them with cassava flour when I make pancakes I don't
01:04recover all the losses but at least I I gain something I get something out of it
01:10but often there's too much waste what she can't use she throws away and pays for it
01:16to be collected garbage is also expensive it's expensive and most people don't want
01:23to know all I have made losses I did not sell anything it's okay approximately 1.3 billion
01:31tons of food produced is wasted on the African continent up to 40% spoils before reaching
01:40the consumers Uganda storage and transport system is failing and researchers say the consequences go
01:47far beyond rotting fruit close to 70% of municipal waste in Kampala is food waste these the rot promote
02:00growth of microorganisms increase the spread of diseases their public nuisance the rapid decomposition of
02:08organic waste is responsible for 58% of methane emissions methane is to blame for around 30% of the
02:17rising global temperatures and decomposing garbage isn't just a problem in the capital Kampala
02:25if too many pineapples ripen at once farmers can't find buyers some of dumps their harvest by the roadside
02:34after losing hope once pineapples ripen they go bad fast I tried selling them in mitiana where
02:45they aren't grown but they didn't sell to address this problem Makerere University has trained over 2,000
02:55students in food processing and preservation here fruits are turned into pulp and pasteurized what would spoil in a
03:02week can now last more than a year if refrigerated even the waste has value orange peel
03:09for example contains pectin used as a thickener and a gelling agent pectin is the one which
03:15provides the strength for the fruit so are these acid acidic fruits some of them like citrus fruits I
03:23believe to have a lot of pectin pectin acts as a stabilizer in dairy products and also in germ making
03:31but back to the fruit vendors at the Kampala market one scientist has found the way to make the
03:36vendors produce last longer without refrigeration biotechnologist gift Arnold Mugisha developed the idea as a
03:46student at Makerere University his solution uses nanotechnology extremely small
03:52materials engineered to work at a microscopic level we are talking minuscule a single
03:58nanoparticle can be as small as 1 to 100 nanometers wide and a nanometer is up to 100,000 times
04:06smaller
04:06than a human hair
04:10nanomaterials have unique physical and chemical qualities that differ from conventional materials
04:15their properties can be adapted at this microscopic level
04:20Mugisha uses that to produce bio-based nano enzymes to improve the longevity of fruits
04:27he discovered that by surrounding fruits with these enzymes he can extend their shelf life by up to 31 days
04:36we use electro spinning technology to be able to create nanofibers which nanofibers are branded into our
04:44formulation that we pack in our sachets like you see here they are able to infiltrate the fruit on a
04:53molecular level the sachets release natural compounds that interact with gases around the fruit slowing
05:01activity of microbes and enzymes that cause decay because this tomato is alive it's alive it's
05:11breathing it's respiring so what we do we curtail those processes and we keep that tomato um metabolizing
05:19at a very low slower state but the sachets can also have the opposite effect if farmers need faster ripening
05:24to meet market demand i can give an example of plantain plantain comes from the field when it's green but
05:32for consumers and to unlock the nutrients plantain is more nutrient field when it's ripened up so with
05:41this we are able to accelerate that ripening and provide fruit very quickly for consumption or for sale
05:48today more than 500 vendors are using the sachets primary in kampala two big ugandan food exporters have
05:55also adopted them vendors say mogisha's sachets make a big difference even if improvement is needed
06:04the sachets that accelerate ripening still need work but those that delay ripening appear to be effective
06:12beyond food security and income food waste is a global public health and environmental issue
06:19reducing food loss is not just about saving crops
06:23so when fruits spoil the energy the water the resources the transportation that has been used in
06:30transporting growing these fruits is wasted that means there is another reinvestment that is done
06:34which increases actually it doubles the carbon footprint
06:38with further funding mogisha aims to scale distribution across uganda's food industry
06:43his work shows how technological solutions can be significant in rising to global challenges
06:49and help feed people on the ground here in uganda
06:56during research for my report i learned that nearly 40 percent of all food produced in africa is wasted
07:03every year that really stayed with me and when i was filming what stood out was how much resource
07:10and effort goes into food production yet this food doesn't make it to consumers even as many people go
07:19hungry every day it made me realize that the challenge isn't just about how much food we produce but how
07:27we
07:28preserve it distribute it and consume it
07:35to grow our vegetable we need sweet water in tanzania and kenya more than two million people depend
07:43on water from mount kilimanjaro and mount kenya which together with the ranzori mountains hold the last
07:52glaciers in africa but rivers are drying up where the patterns are changing will communities be able to adapt
08:05finally the water is flowing again robert jogu karanja's potato plants are in full bloom and need a drink regularly
08:14but water is now a precious commodity at the foot of mount kenya
08:20before climate change hit us the rain patterns were very predictable on march 15th there would be
08:26rainfall but this year it started on march 5th that never used to happen
08:32from droughts to heavy rain the weather here has changed dramatically another problem warming temperatures
08:40are rapidly melting mount kenya's ice reserves around 95 percent of its glaciers have disappeared
08:47by 2030 the ice caps which have crowned mount kenya since the last ice age could be gone completely
08:55africa's glaciers have long revealed how rapidly the earth's climate is changing the water supply of the
09:01entire region depends on their melt water time is running out for small farmers in the valley
09:09to survive they need to adapt to the changed conditions as quickly as possible the first challenge how to best
09:15use the available water on the wind sheltered side of the mountain the farmers use hand dug
09:21ponds to collect rain water each pond can hold up to 100 000 liters of water a solar powered pump
09:29transports the water to fields higher up the slope
09:38the water ponds help us harvest rain water but our main challenge is that when the dry season is
09:43prolonged the water levels go down and we do not have dam liners so if we could get dam liners
09:49we could
09:50store water for longer periods the ponds help to conserve the water that's available which is key the
10:01strawberries on his farm are kept supplied with drip irrigation which uses very little water
10:07his neighbor antoni wanjegi previously dug two new wells on his farm but both have since dried up again
10:13we are trying to encourage farmers to harvest the water that's available since everyone has a rooftop
10:24over their home we ask them to collect the water and store it in tanks for use at home water
10:29from the
10:30river is also okay but there's so many who rely on it so when we harvest rainwater or dig boreholes
10:36like i have in my house so that everyone has water to use collecting rainwater helps during the worst dry
10:51periods but if the water table drops too low there's still a problem the last drought took a heavy toll
10:59on antoni wanjegi's avocado trees leaving them vulnerable to pests and diseases
11:07to improve things long term the soil needs to be revitalized the highest point of this farm now
11:13hosts a small grove of trees that store water the seedlings come from his own nursery
11:22in the meadow below he's planted napier grass this low maintenance grass has an extensive root system
11:28reaching up to 4.5 meters deep into the soil there it finds water prevents erosion and stops minerals from
11:36being washed away the animals on the farm are real funds too it's very nutritious and studies show
11:44that napier grass can save up to 48 percent on water the next step is to convince the farmers not
11:53to
11:53rely on just one crop they are receiving support from the kenyan ministry of agriculture
12:03we are really encouraging farmers to diversify in whatever they are they are practicing in their farms they
12:16should not do the monocroping they should adapt paint and epine and try as much as possible to plant multiple
12:24crops in their farms the more farmers diversify the crops they grow the better they can adapt to climate change
12:33alongside the lucrative avocados farmers here are now also growing hardy millet as well as various fruits
12:39and vegetables the ministry supplies them with high quality seeds and sustainable fertilizer
12:47as well as they are growing hardy plants that are growing hardy plants that are growing hardy
12:48Mary Wanjiro looks at the farmers books and advises on which crops to sow well the ministry wants the farmers
12:54to form cooperatives in the long term to strengthen their position in the market
13:00we encourage and bring all the society people together make sure they are in groups self-help groups and with
13:11that
13:11we are able to draw many many partners who will engage them in contract farming apart from that when
13:21they aggregate they have the bargaining power of making sure that their produce are sold at a very profitable price
13:32if everything goes to plan the kenyan highlands will become a hot spot for high quality food sustainability also
13:39sparks entirely new business ideas avocado farmer anthony wanjigi is now making good money with grafted avocado trees
13:47he crosses the popular but water hungry has avocados with native varieties which are more resistant
13:53to pests and requires less water recently he sold over 3 000 of his hybrid seedlings in a single day
14:02a success story from mount kenya that will hopefully be followed by many more
14:12two-thirds of our fresh water is stored in glaciers
14:17so it's no wonder that researchers all over the world are taking a keen interest in them
14:23let's head to europe for an expedition to the alps
14:37we drilled this pole into the ice four days ago so now i'm going to measure the distance from the
14:43glacier surface to the mark on the pole and i can see it's dropped by almost 37 centimeters
14:50so it's melted by a considerable amount in such a few days
14:57the glaciers in the austrian alps are rapidly disappearing and with them a vital resource
15:03high mountain regions are vulnerable ecosystems and act as water reservoirs but glacial retreat
15:10and the melting of the snow cover is having dramatic consequences the glacier space project
15:17a partnership between universities in austria and germany is measuring climatic changes directly
15:23on the glacier an eight meter tall tower fitted with high resolution sensors records temperature wind
15:30and turbulence the instruments show exactly how much and how quickly ice is melting
15:37when glaciers shrink it affects the regional climate
15:41and that's what interests us most what happens as glaciers get smaller
15:45are there feedback effects that could accelerate melting even further
15:52and what does glacier loss mean for water glaciers feed our rivers they're like the water towers of the
15:59world but in many regions their maximum possible water output has already passed or will shrink
16:05within the next two to three decades the consequences will be severe first floods then droughts
16:13water water is a key focus area of our research group we have several ongoing projects one of them is
16:21here this is basic research aimed at understanding how processes work in a mountain region
16:26then we also have projects in costa rica and uzbekistan there the focus is on how we can develop
16:33strategies to adapt in the future when problems with water become even more extreme than they already
16:40are in some regions nearly 5 000 kilometers away in the indian himalayas a method has been developed to
16:50retain water at high altitudes using an artificial glacier it was created by diverting mountain streams the water
16:59sprays out like a geyser from a vertical pipe and freezes into a cone-shaped ice formation during the
17:05cold season a so-called ice stupor it remains frozen until the spring sun warms the fields and the plants
17:14can
17:14absorb the water but time is running out in the himalayas with its vast glacier fields ice is retreating at
17:23an
17:23alarming rate 26 billion tons per year up to 80 percent could disappear by the end of the century
17:32east africa's glaciers could be gone completely by 2050 and in europe up to 90 percent of alpine ice
17:41could vanish by the end of the century unless we do everything in our power to halt climate change
17:46and global warming as was actually agreed at the 2015 world climate conference in paris
17:55of course we've probably already missed the target of limiting warming to one and a half degrees celsius
18:00but there's still time to turn things around to find ways of reducing emissions and stabilizing the
18:07climate so that we will still keep our glaciers for a few more years
18:17so now let's take you to the stars the karu is a vast semi-desert in south africa that covers
18:26around one-third of the country now it is so inhospitable that only very few people live there
18:35that makes it ideal for an unusual partnership between soil and the stars
18:50the sand people of southern africa
18:56now 24 she teaches local students and tourists
18:59about how indigenous people interpreted the night sky working as an astro guide
19:09it's basically about how we can combine the indigenous storage which the sand people
19:15are made to tell regarding the cosmos and to see how we can make a tourism experience out of it
19:23amy lee lives in the remote town of caravan in the karu desert its isolated location and dry hot climate
19:31have created harsh living conditions for thousands of years yet these inhospitable conditions have also led to
19:40minimal light and electronic pollution perfect for stargazing so perfect in fact that the area has
19:48been chosen to build the world's largest radio telescope project capable of detecting signals dating from the
19:55very beginnings of the universe for this deprived area the square kilometer array or ska is not only
20:05providing an economic boost the ska has the potential to revive the area's neglected ecosystem too
20:13almost by chance as part of south africa's successful project bid an area of 135 000 hectares surrounding the
20:23telescope site was declared the meerkat national park in 2020 located just 90 kilometers from caravan
20:31the park was not meant for tourism but to protect the sensitive astronomical instruments from
20:36interference but this special status is allowing conservationists and researchers to begin to restore
20:43the fragile ecosystem and undo the damage caused by centuries of farming and overgrazing
20:49vane and karlitz is a botanist who study inquiver tree populations in the park
20:54these iconic succulents are indigenous to south africa and namibia
20:59as the area of the meerkat national park used to be farmland a lot of the trees have been damaged
21:04by
21:05animals these leaves are very tasty to animals so especially the young ones as they pop up sheep
21:11goats things like that oftentimes you'll have bark stripped away from how the animal scratched it to
21:18get to the moisture that's inside the asylum to revive the ecosystem the environmental observation
21:26network which college works for is collaborating with sandparks the public authority managing the
21:32national park the area was once inhabited by the black rhino and various antelope species
21:40these days few animals roam here but hendrik malgas the park manager has ambitious plans
21:47we are busy with vegetation monitoring at this moment to see what are the numbers we can put in
21:52well we are looking at reintroducing gemsbok um red artebees springbok um then
22:00irland as well that's what we could reintroduce as early as june july 2026.
22:06since monitoring the vegetation and wildlife with video traps malgas has found that the kudu and springbok
22:13populations have increased but also bird life has become more abundant especially around the many
22:19little watering holes that provide relief in these arid surroundings we've counted about 18 to 22
22:26breeding pairs of black eagle in the park which is quite a very high number so that's a very positive
22:33thing for the birds and biodiversity in general the karu was completely underwater about 200 million years ago
22:41now it struggles with decade-long droughts making it even harder for life to exist when white settlers
22:48started farming in the area in the late 18th century they planted alien trees that destabilized the water
22:55table for generations furthering soil degradation and a loss in biodiversity hendrik malgas and his team
23:02are therefore clearing the area of invasive species a process that might take decades but the conservationist
23:09believes that they can restore the ecosystem close to what it was like before also thanks to the ska
23:15we would not have had 135 000 hectares under protection if it wasn't for this project
23:21and a relationship between development in biodiversity and conservation it is needed
23:27so the one can employ people and can boost the economy and stuff like that and the other one can
23:33look after the environment so it's a 50-50 relationship that works very well
23:39back to carnaven and amy lee visaki whose training was funded by sereo the public entity that runs the
23:46ska project in south africa the astro guide says that the ska project is already transforming her community
23:54since operating in the area there have been a lot of youngsters that the ska help to
24:00like get out of town paying for the studies and then some of those people actually came back after
24:06studying and are working on site currently as she cannot yet live from astro guiding amy lee works as
24:16an assistant teacher at the local high school whenever she can she takes students out into the fields to
24:22teach them about the sand people's knowledge of medicinal plants and their special bond with nature
24:28now it is time to prepare a traditional supper for tonight's bonfire most of the kids they come out
24:35of households that they don't always have everything at home you see so i think that some of them
24:45they are grateful for the little meal that they get wherever whenever
24:53here under the stars the community connects to the sand traditions again
25:03dancing and singing during a full or new moon was a way of seeking blessings from nature
25:09they saw nature is something that they should look after and keep safe for
25:15themselves and also for the for the children
25:20amy lee's vision for a brighter future comes alive as ancient culture and modern conservation efforts
25:27meet under the same stars
25:31well and that's it for this episode see you next week for more uplifting stories
25:39in the meantime check our channels or write to us and share your thoughts
25:52so
26:05oh
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