- 24 minutes ago
In Tanzania, women divers and local fishers are working to restore damaged coral reefs. Plus: The challenges facing Burkina Faso's water museum, greener streets in Lagos and illegal wells in Spain.
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00:11Now, this may look like rock, but it's actually a coral.
00:17And do you know what?
00:19Corals are living animals.
00:21Many colonies come together to form reefs, colorful underwater cities.
00:28That's right, Chris.
00:29And coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean, yet they support around a quarter of all marine
00:37species.
00:38They also act like natural sea wolves, absorbing up to 97% of wave energy and helping protect coastal communities
00:48from currents, waves, and storms.
00:51But these ecosystems are approaching a dangerous threshold.
00:55Even if we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, scientists project that coral reefs could decline by a further
01:0370% to 90%.
01:06At 2 degrees, more than 99% could be lost.
01:18Husna Aminu and her team are on a mission, building up new coral reef habitats off Tanzania's coast.
01:26Their efforts are critical to protecting both the ocean's ecosystem and the livelihoods of millions of Tanzanians.
01:33Kilwa is a rural district on the Indian Ocean.
01:37Its coral reefs provide vital shelter and breeding grounds for fish, sustaining local fishing communities and food security.
01:46Plus, the reefs are a tourist attraction.
01:49But climate change and overfishing are degrading these vital habitats, threatening marine life and the local economy.
01:56Enter Action for Ocean, a Tanzanian organization aiming to restore marine life.
02:05Husna Aminu leads the organization's efforts in Kilwa.
02:08While women had largely been left out of conservation, Husna became one of Tanzania's first female marine experts.
02:15She broke barriers in a male-dominated field, training scores of female divers and expanding local expertise.
02:23We need a lot of women on the ocean space.
02:27We need our readerships.
02:29We need their voice, their efforts in marine conservation.
02:33So, we can inspire other women to do marine conservation and they can be part of ocean conservation.
02:42Husna grew up near the ocean and had an affinity for marine life from a young age.
02:47But she soon realized how much of it was threatened.
02:49She decided to work in conservation and earned a degree in aquatic science from the University of Dar es Salaam.
02:59Today, she and her team are conducting surveys of their new coral reef nursery,
03:03aimed at reintroducing corals to previously degraded habitats.
03:10The team reviews the plan for the dive.
03:21From Kilwa's shoreline, they head to the offshore reefs.
03:25After an hour, they finally reach the site.
03:28Here is one of our nurseries. It's called Kifinge.
03:32These coral reef nurseries are made of ropes to securely hold coral fragments and support their growth.
03:38In the water, the team measures the restoration area, accounting for any expansion or destruction of the nursery.
03:46The team then brushes algae from the ropes, preventing it from competing for resources with the coral.
03:52Next, using a wooden block, they assign numbers to each plot, streamlining used for comparing growth during data analysis.
04:00Husna Aminu then records the coral fragment's health and takes pictures to document the findings.
04:06Just some metres away, it becomes clear why new reef habitats need to be built.
04:11These reefs are nearly dead. A restoration effort is essential.
04:17Pais Momwaja is an assistant lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam.
04:21He specialises in coral reef ecosystems.
04:24Coral bleaching is a result of rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.
04:29Coral bleaching is when corals become white.
04:31If the conditions keep continuing, like if there is elevated temperatures, and it keeps for so long, corals undergo mortality.
04:39When you compare from protected and non-protected, you find those protected are having some good biodiversity or some good
04:47conditions.
04:48But those open access, they are distracted and the mortality are too high.
04:53Fishing is critical to Kilwa's economy, but overfishing has destroyed reef habitats.
04:58This in turn drove away fish, lowering catches even more.
05:04Sae Juma struggles to catch fish, but working with Husna's team has made him optimistic.
05:09Saitiri waolizi.
05:10Muneza kwekama atumbari.
05:12M'akabu?
05:13Ya samabu ya nini.
05:14Waka twa mediadi sababu, ya kuzaliya kwa samaki.
05:17Ya muneza kwekama zaariyasa maki.
05:19Tukawolizatine.
05:20Yee watakabu zaliwa samaki.
05:22Watafuwa kinanaani.
05:23Waya mbaka sasa hii tunenda loo sambamba, haatu kwa zi wala tui wakwaza.
05:27The divers regularly greet fishermen on their missions but relations weren't
05:32always positive. So when we started to operate in Kilwa community they feel
05:37like we need to take to stop them going to the ocean they they feel like action
05:44for ocean they are taking our resources but after so their fellow communities are
05:50diverse and the one who reading the initiatives they get more interested.
05:54Beyond their collaboration with fishermen the conservationists must train the
05:59next generation of divers.
06:14On this expedition these diving students are aiming to pass their final exam.
06:21The test is the culmination of 10 days of diving swimming and safety training.
06:27Their dive is a critical simulation ensuring students have the skills to descend to and
06:32navigate the sea floor to contribute to reef restoration efforts.
06:38After a 40 minute swim the team has passed.
06:44Graduating student Kundi Julius Kugari entered the program with a passion for Tanzania's marine life.
06:50I wanted to do this because me and my husband have a production company.
06:57Me being here I believe I could show more to people through visuals and how we can bring the coral
07:07life back and save part of the marine life.
07:11With temperatures continuing to rise over 70 percent of Tanzania's coral reef habitats could degrade by 2050 putting five to
07:21ten billion dollars in annual economic value from reef dependent activities at risk.
07:28Husna believes more has to be done to increase awareness amongst Tanzanians.
07:33We have a beautiful ocean but most of people do not have a direct access to interact to see the
07:41beautiful of it change the narrative you need to inspire more young people to come into the ocean and make
07:48the conservation efforts and enjoying the beautiful of the ocean.
07:51In spreading the word Husna Amunu and her team take another step towards helping Kilwa's reefs flourish for generations to
07:59come.
08:01In rural sub-Saharan Africa more than eight in ten people lack a tap or another safe drinking water source
08:11at home.
08:12The responsibility of collecting water usually falls onto the women and girls.
08:18In Burkina Faso a museum is making that burden visible and bringing people together not only to observe and experience
08:26but to take action.
08:31Many people, especially women in Burkina Faso, have to walk several kilometers every day to fetch water.
08:38Here in the Museum of Water in Saba, visitors symbolically walk a part of that distance and get a sense
08:45of what this daily journey means, physical effort and exhaustion.
08:50Alassane Samoura has created the Museum of Water to explore it from various perspectives, as a resource, as part of
08:58cultural heritage and as the base of a healthy environment.
09:01Today, he's invited artists and guests to help plant a thousand trees on the museum grounds.
09:07Oh, ĻĪ± a swch.
09:08Many people, pani Š¼Š°Ńia, ha ha, my koratori, saere kairi.
09:10Imagine there's no water out there from there, but at most of
09:15auspļæ½ things we need to create the world's Arctic on the soil.
09:20There's no water itself without melting.
09:20So here that we use it which is the Museum of Water is going to prepare to the people's
09:30Project Master.
09:31with climate change, water, environment, pure diversity, and the ecosystem.
09:38The artists taking part hope to set an example,
09:41starting with small actions anyone can take.
09:45Particularly, I have a tick when I finish eating a fruit.
09:50If I have a land, I always throw the grain to a fertile place.
09:58Even if I'm not here, the fact that it's a good place will push
10:02and it can become a tree.
10:05The next day, Alasan Samoura uses a smart, low-tech solution
10:10to protect the freshly planted trees from being destroyed by grazing animals.
10:16Reused tires.
10:19We don't have the great way to buy the grain.
10:22The grain is expensive.
10:24We take the grain in the city,
10:26which are already used,
10:28which we will try to re-utilize,
10:29which will give them a second chance.
10:32A solar-powered borehole on the grounds allows the museum
10:35to irrigate the young trees year-round,
10:38while also supplying water to 200 people living nearby.
10:43The museum also educates children about important water bodies
10:47and rivers on the continent.
10:54But things take a somber turn.
10:57This installation shows how the Mediterranean Sea
11:00has become a mass grave for many young Africans
11:02who left their communities in search of a better life in Europe.
11:06We tried to make a very image image of this here,
11:10in showing the tomb of the young people.
11:12The France is the African African age.
11:17The most young, it's 30 years old.
11:19The most young, it's 19 years old.
11:21So it's the cream of the young people,
11:22with their tomb here,
11:24which we tried to neutralize.
11:26And the pirogue has chavirƩ.
11:27So we tried to shock the young people,
11:30by telling them,
11:31we need to avoid water being a murder factor for you.
11:39Water also has a cultural dimension here.
11:42Ngari Loh is a traditional storyteller,
11:44a so-called griot from Senegal.
11:53In my songs, we express every year
11:57the music of things,
12:01the disease, the disease,
12:02the disease, the disease,
12:02the disease.
12:03Everything that turns around us
12:07interests us.
12:09This space was created to accessibly show
12:12the importance of water
12:13and the ecosystems and communities
12:16depending on it.
12:17A message that is getting more and more important.
12:20This semi-arid region
12:21sees fewer showers and more storms,
12:24so water is more precious than ever.
12:34You know 247,
12:36you know 234,
12:37but I bet you've never heard of 330-300.
12:40Once you do,
12:41you will never look at Lagos the same way.
12:43330-300 is a simple guideline
12:45cities follow to make life better.
12:47It simply means you should see
12:48three trees from your window,
12:50live in a neighborhood that is 30% green,
12:52and have a park within 300 meters.
12:54Lagos is failing the 330-300 test badly,
12:57and it's not just Lagoso.
12:58Other cities are failing too.
13:00We have more buildings than trees,
13:02although in 2025,
13:03Laspak planted 19,000 trees.
13:06Sounds like a lot, right?
13:07But for over 20 million people,
13:09that's barely a drop in the ocean.
13:11Let's do a quick audit.
13:12Comment green if you have trees near you,
13:14or grey if you're surrounded by buildings.
13:16Let's see how many of us actually have that space
13:18we need to stay healthy.
13:20Toodles!
13:21In 2024, a drought worsened by El Nino
13:24devastated Zambia's crops and hydropower.
13:27Now, another strong El Nino is developing,
13:31putting water security back in focus.
13:33So, intense water scarcity can push people into water theft.
13:39Our reporters joined a special police unit in Spain,
13:43tracking down suspected water thieves.
13:46We're in El Rocio,
13:48a 700-year-old village in southwestern Spain.
13:52It sits right next to a UNESCO World Heritage National Park,
13:56one of the most important wetlands in Europe,
13:58home to threatened birds and mammals,
14:00as well as hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.
14:04But like a lot of the world lately,
14:06Spain has been cooking.
14:08And this is one of the areas most affected
14:11by the severe heat and droughts
14:13of the past couple of years.
14:15Well, on the day,
14:17the only thing I can do here is for animals.
14:21I have to take water.
14:24I don't have enough water to take it all at the same time.
14:28The town is very close to the Atlantic coast,
14:31at the very tip of southern Spain.
14:34This is what the national park looked like a couple of years ago.
14:38The left satellite picture is from 2021.
14:41The right is a year later.
14:43The greater area experienced water shortages and restrictions.
14:48Surface water has recovered somewhat because of more rainfall.
14:51But that hasn't solved the core concern.
14:54Because rising temperatures and drought caused by climate change
14:57are only part of the problem.
14:59Doniana's wetlands and the region's water supply
15:02depend on an underground aquifer.
15:04An aquifer that's gradually being sucked dry.
15:08The cause of that can be found in our supermarkets.
15:11We can now get fresh produce all year round.
15:14And in Europe, a quarter of it is grown in one country, Spain.
15:21This area used to be royal hunting grounds,
15:24consisting of marshes and ponds.
15:27Then, parts of it were used for dryland farming.
15:30Meaning farming in dry regions that heavily relies on rainwater.
15:35But then, in 1971, Spain, still under the dictator Franco,
15:39declared the irrigation of the region to be of national interest.
15:43The Almonte Marismas plan, named after the aquifer it tapped into,
15:48was part of a massive state-sponsored effort to increase food production.
15:54And here, they decided to bet on what they called red gold.
15:59Strawberries.
16:00Strawberries turned out to be very, very profitable.
16:04According to calculations based on FAO data,
16:07they can yield up to ā¬150,000 gross revenue per hectare in year,
16:12compared to roughly ā¬20,000 for potatoes, or ā¬15,000 for grapes.
16:17This is how they became one of the biggest producers of strawberries in Europe.
16:23But this also meant using a lot more water.
16:28Authorities handed out quotas and allotments, very generously,
16:32seemingly without really considering how much extraction the aquifer could handle.
16:36But even those legal quotas were not enough for the ever-expanding fields.
16:43The solution? Illegal wells and reservoirs.
16:47In 2016, WWF Spain estimated that this region was home to over 1,000 illegal wells,
16:54and over 1,700 suspicious irrigation ponds,
16:59illegally irrigating an area as big as 4,200 football pitches.
17:04Farmers were building illegal reservoirs to stock up,
17:08draining water from the locals
17:09and the UNESCO World Heritage Site next to it.
17:14Within the extreme drought situation
17:18and the lack of attention by the administration,
17:23which led us to have a series of farms
17:26or parts of the farms that were outside of the agricultural soil
17:30and called them as irrigable.
17:33In 2021, the EU Court of Justice ruled that Spain failed to protect the DoƱana aquifer
17:39and violated EU law.
17:41But illegal water extraction isn't only a problem here.
17:45The same is happening all over Spain,
17:47in agricultural regions supplying local and international markets.
17:51One of them being just two hours drive south from Madrid.
17:58In another wetland national park called Tablas de Daimiel,
18:02a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
18:09This is a pivot that what we do is extract water
18:12and dispensate water throughout the crop.
18:17As you can see, if you look at the right,
18:20the park is here and the aquifer is behind us.
18:23This is a good idea.
18:25The story here is similar to the one in DoƱana.
18:28The region also shifted from traditional dryland farming
18:31towards irrigated crops like different types of melons,
18:35onion, garlic and grapes.
18:37Illegal irrigation and over-extraction,
18:40coupled with droughts and high temperatures,
18:42got so bad that an underground peat fire broke out in 2009.
18:47A problem that still hasn't gone away.
18:50The lieutenants here are part of the bigger initiative
18:53from Spanish police to crack down on water theft.
18:58First, police as well as NGOs like WWF Spain
19:02look at satellite images of the region.
19:05On the left, you can see the blue encircled areas.
19:09Those used to be protected forests.
19:11On the right, you can see a later picture
19:13where the forests were cut down to make space
19:15for illegal cultivation.
19:17They also look at land rights maps
19:19and compare them with actual satellite images.
19:22The yellow parts are allotments with legal irrigation rights.
19:26The red fields don't have those rights.
19:45Then they use drones to have a closer look at where that water might be coming from.
19:51The pond would be in that box,
19:54and there you can see the tube that goes towards the plant.
20:00And that tube is where the water is distributed
20:02so that the plant can go ahead.
20:06A well can either be completely illegal,
20:08like these that the WWF found back in DoƱana a couple of years ago.
20:13Or the well itself can be legal, but extract more than it is allowed to.
20:20That could be the case with this very green parcel of land
20:24right next to the park we just saw through the drone.
20:27So it needs closer on-site inspection.
20:29Man only shows us that the sehr-grandisation is one-dimensional
20:47another one.
20:48So, here we can see the area.
20:50So that the water will be carried out here.
20:51We will see it here.
20:53The water is located here.
20:56We'll see if we have the location here.
20:58The water is located here,
20:58We will see theURED water is located here.
20:59and that are not manipulated, it's like a normal control of a house.
21:03So this is the element where the majority of manipulations are directed
21:12to extract a greater flow of the permit without containing it.
21:17The most simple, the most traditional, is to place a very powerful magnet,
21:22which is usually placed here in this area,
21:23so the iman retains the internal mechanism of the caudalĆmetro,
21:28the water passes through the caudalĆmetro,
21:31but the mechanism does not move.
21:35In the case of this well, the flow meter is working correctly,
21:38without being tampered with.
21:41The field is not using more water than it's allowed to,
21:45but that's not always the case.
22:08The farmers can be charged with crimes against the environment and fraud.
22:12They usually have to pay fines, but can also be sentenced to prison
22:16for up to five years.
22:17But the problem doesn't stop there.
22:20Aparte de daƱar el acuĆfero a nivel de cantidad de agua,
22:24tambiƩn se estƔ contaminando.
22:26Esta contaminaciĆ³n hace que este agua estĆ© llena de nitratos y fertilizantes.
22:32What's happening in these hotspots
22:34is a symptom of a bigger worldwide problem.
22:37How do you balance a new reality of climate change
22:40with increasingly intensive, thirsty agriculture?
22:44It's complicated, especially in regions that rely almost entirely on agriculture,
22:50like back in Doniana.
22:51Well, in 2023, the local ruling Conservative Party had an idea.
22:56In the middle of the most severe drought in history,
22:59they proposed the law to legitimize many of the illegal farms in the area,
23:03which, to no one's surprise, was hit by a lot of backlash
23:07from the EU, UNESCO and NGOs, as well as the national government,
23:11which led to the Conservative Party ultimately shelving the bill.
23:16Instead, the local and national government negotiated a 1.4 billion euro joint plan.
23:23First, they agreed to continue the shutdown of illegal wells.
23:27Almost 300 illegal wells have been sealed in the Doniana region alone.
23:32Secondly, they started buying up farmland, rewilding it,
23:36and turning it into protected areas.
23:38Then, they set up funds to create jobs in other sectors,
23:42like tourism and renewable energy.
23:44Farmers also had to change the way they water their plants.
23:48This is how they used to do it.
23:50For the freshers, we also have, with black plastic,
23:56to ensure that it doesn't evaporate and that it doesn't produce great loss of water.
24:02The irrigation goes with a system of gota to gota.
24:06Each plant has its own gota and is much more efficient.
24:12We also have some clouds of humidity that announce, through a system of computers,
24:20where water is needed and what amount of water exactly the plant needs
24:24to not abuse the use of water or the waste.
24:30According to Pedro, they also started planting less water-intense crops
24:34and moving the growing season into the colder months,
24:37which is why everything is currently dead.
24:40This doesn't mean the water problem is solved entirely.
24:44NGOs are pushing for more personnel to enforce the plan
24:47and higher penalties for water theft.
24:50Other countries are introducing similar measures.
24:53Morocco is using satellite comparisons to monitor irrigation
24:56and is giving out subsidies for farmers to switch to drip irrigation.
25:02India is attempting to move farmers towards less thirsty crops.
25:06The Californian government has paid farmers to stop this type of irrigation
25:11and has introduced legislation to monitor and allot water more sustainably.
25:18For the longest time, water was treated as an unlimited resource.
25:23Any type of growth was seen as good.
25:25But we need to face a new reality.
25:27It will need coordinated efforts from all parties to figure out
25:31how to make the most of the limited, precious water we have.
25:37That's it for this week's show.
25:40But sign up to our eco-drop newsletter to get more innovative solutions.
25:46And as always, do send us your suggestions and ideas.
25:50We love hearing from you. We'll see you next week.
26:01It's a pleasure doing this today.
26:04It's a pleasure doing this today.
26:05Okay.