headlines. that certain stories can change us feeling to be easiest please use to it when you know you need history. germany was a unique journey into what it means to be human the things we keep a witness documentary on al-jazeera. and conflicts one of the silent and forgotten casualties is often the environment. from the chemical contamination of soils and the collapse of water and food supplies to the habitat damage caused by displacement. has devastating

consequences. manmade infrastructure has but also natural ecosystems are destroyed and i'm a lives a lost as well as human. but even amidst the most vicious struggles through people fighting to protect the world we live in and to cover what was lost. i'm tanya a sheet and bangladesh in the world's largest refugee camps where people are working to co-exist with the elephants for which this region is home and i'm happy to talk to lebanon were group of scientists is rebuilding a seed bank that was displaced by the war in syria. in august 2017 a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing began in myanmar. the military and buddhist radicals claimed the lives of more than $6000.00 rohingya in a single month. fearing death thousands more fled the. entry for the force of

bangladesh. the scale of the exodus was enormous. today they are still unable to return home but. there are over 1200000 rohingya refugees living inside of the falling kassebaum about. this is now the biggest settlement of refugees in the world. many of them don't have access to clean water sanitation or even electricity. but after they arrived the survivors faced a new threat while i was rampaging through count. i'm meeting on one about them who witnessed and michelle episode 1st hand it came from there we did. that i looked and came to the top you know from the jungle over that way by directly to her shoulder and started beating her heart with it but it struck

. this was no one off on the construct repeatedly throughout the camp killing 13 people in the space of 5 months. can you tell me a little bit about what happened. was in basra the other side of the just sort of the body was just not on her own let it hold it a little more let it is a little bit i believe that i do agree with what happened after that but i took a little bit of that i will be out of you in wimbledon or the us in the morning a lot of you when you go down ahead of the you sort of fairness it should work but i didn't hear whoa hold on a mother that the doctor had a mother that said the home as if it had told the family did was i love you i got lost in his official mind what okun is off budget bloom is about i want. to know a lot. more about how to google the girls or whatever you will hold over here boy a little bit moving. the attack

sparked an investigation into what was going on. recchi but i mean from the international union for conservation of nature believes the rapid expansion of the settlement had a profound impact on the natural environment this is the edge of the camp of the cave right here as this is where the forest began yes what's been going on was the cause behind all of these that you see on all camps they used to be forest there seems to be an elephant have habitat. the camp expanded at an astonishing rate over $1500.00 hectares of forests were cleared to accommodate the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees. but nobody realised the devastating impact this would have the growing camps severed a vital lifeline for some of bangladesh's last remaining wild elephants blocking a herd of 40 from their only path to financial grazing brown. just over there

is there is a space we call the elephant now the since the camp is completely blocking that coded or elephant cannot pass through this hand it's in search of its shelter in such of his food essential fizz migration path elephants was trying to come inside the camp elephant came so many times and 13 you know simple life force and lost. and elephant is not necessarily a violent mammal it's very intelligent understands it has these emotions and is show us that he's lost his habitat he's desperate to do this migration. it's in their d.n.a. elephant is a genetic memory is it didn't know exactly where they have been growing where they have been roaming generation after generation that they'd the same part. the elephants of bangladesh are critically endangered there are just $268.00 left and they're increasingly under threat. $15000.00 hectares of land are already

deforested in the country every year. and this cap only adds to the problem. to help me understand what the elephants are up against i've hired a local guy. so the man in front of me. his name means golden boy and he's our tracker for the day i think we're going to have. it's not long before we find clues that we're on the right path. hunted out that is if we're not there boggling going to say is that the u.f.o. bungalow going to fall to the with color than that without i will basic i thought i believe bunk living is that. we find evidence of a 100 elephants everywhere we're just sitting our sister to the skies like the elephant whisperer. tells me that by the end of the summer much of the elephants

food here will be gone. then they face a nightmare scenario attempt to migrate through the camp to me in march in search of fresh vegetation or risk running out of food. you can ask this is a face with a gun i mean yes if they. were following the actual footsteps of the elephants. elephants have walked along this path every season for thousands of years i'm feeling really excited i wonder for actually going to encounter some elephants were being told that just a few steps away that they're there then against the odds a moment i can't believe. a majestic standing proud on the horizon. it's just quite scary i've never seen an elephant like my own my 1st time. it looks so peaceful in its natural habitat it's just really crazy to think that

before the caps were put in place that the sis what it was a large for with animals roaming about and now there's a human made crisis at play with sprawling refugee camps and it's just a very sad situation. but a select band of refugees is working to solve the problem with the support of the international union for conservation of nature they're formed a group dedicated to safety shepherding elephants from the camp. they call themselves the toughest course. central to their strategy are $94.00 watchtowers which they've built around the camp perimeter. they're manned by a team of over 500 brave refugees ready to intervene and protect both the people and the elephants. i'm heading up for

a bird's eye view. ok so what's going on there simulating what actually happens when an elephant comes and you see the yellow shirts yeah so the adventure possibles members so they are using the bible so they know. so how do you respond and even if someone limited and slowly moves towards i listened to the telephone and understands this danger i have. it down on the ground it's clear how committed the tusk words are. happening. on the right you know i stand. by the hockey i see me i don't have to go out there so i think. right loud and scary i think that was certainly she would not let them know. since the times 1st started there has been no loss of life here despite 45 incursions by oliphant's it's an effective temporary solution until

a longer term plan is made for managing the animals migration. the tusk force has motivated the community with over 500 people signing up to join and has supporters throughout the camp. what are you doing over here what is this. the idea i think it's all these different patterns and colors seems like it's a lot of work to do why go through all this trouble to do it right out of the house and by that i had to be. along. with that machine of. my body which. really matter. do you feel that there's more danger living on the edge of the forest versus people who live in the camp.

that. i sort of to look has not got a lot of them but. i've been lucky. and. not only do people feel more secure they are also more sensitive to the elephant situation saving the animals is now even part of the school's curriculum off even though i still. am feeling. the objective is not to build on this momentum. recchi was already taking steps to find a permanent solution to the problem beginning with an in-depth scientific study of the elephants migratory habit. we are planning to put radio caller on the elephant this will give us valuable data valuable science to have

a better management of the whole situation once the exact migration route is no the goal is to clear a path for the elephants so that they can migrate unhindered once again of course we want to open the cordoned off from last possible that are solving the issues that we need to consider before doing that it will take about 100000 people. people to move somewhere else that would be an immense logistical challenge but as human refugees continue to resettle around the world full moves are needed to reduce the impact on local animal populations what i've seen here gives me hope that animals do not always need to be victims of conflict and that a peaceful coexistence is possible. there are over 40 armed conflicts happening in the world today. each of them will leave a dangerous environmental legacy. and we can see that protection the environment is

a norm and something which we do there are standards in place yet you're in conflict it's almost that anything goes you can cause whatever damage you like and there's no accountability there's no redress. we see very severe damage to many countries in many different ways damage to infrastructure such as serious risks a water facilities over extraction of resources. tax on industrial sites causing bust massive pollution so you can have these impacts there's going to spiral on and last for decades after the conflict ends. when iraq in 20162017 islamic states at $530.00 oil wells on these bend for 9 months covering hundreds of square kilometers in fallout and pollution. dealing with helltown nation caused by these fires it's going to take years. so for the last 10 or 15 years we've seen increasing interest from governments around to actually environmental relation to conflicts it's got to me fair it's got to me fostex know all the conflicts of merriment embalm spandau mission many ways and that has consequences. so unless we

focus on the environment you're in conflict and it's storing up a lot of problems in feature. we live in a turbulent world where conflicts and climate change are threatening our environments and the scary part is that the crops ruined for food are increasingly finding it hard to survive and in some cases they're going extinct. crop diversity is essential for food security and has declined by 3 quarters since in 1000 hundreds. but there is an insurance policy a global network of seed banks these are. backup repositories of seeds which safeguard their biodiversity and can be turned to in times of crisis. when more broke out in syria in 20111 of these vital stores came under threat. on

the outskirts of aleppo the team of scientists charged with maintaining the seed bank were forced to abandon their work and flee the country. but they never gave up hope. when some of them resettled just over the border in lebanon's bekaa valley they began rebuilding their collection. i'm traveling to the i car to seed bank to meet one of these scientists dr alisha had the ira good to see it too what happened to the seed bank in aleppo syria it became possible to access to the gym by all 3 of the premises and public 2015 because of the ban access to the sent by the armed group on tolling the area. they stole the vehicles they stole the lot of equipments nothing left in the head call to action the buildings and the duma. the war forced 5000000 refugees out of syria right

now it's not safe for a doctor so how did to continue his work at home. how hard was it to leave that seed bank behind i spent more than. 27 years of my life for going to the gym bag so it's a like you someone who left behind the babies or a long long history we dealt with them day by day we knew everything about the behavior of those plants in the fields in the plastic houses even in the dream bangs time effort made by everybody. both syria and lebanon lie in the fertile crescent which is where farming began. it makes this part of the world an ideal place to work on safeguarding future food supplies this is the center of origins or we can probably the center of the drama see cation because it's gone things all the forms of crops like. we lentil

chickpeas all these crops originated from this area. i want to get a closer look at the operation dr mariana yes big leads a team of 20 scientists including 3 who have relocated from syria. their task is to painstakingly rebuild the syrian seed collection the seed vault here has a capacity to store 130000 seed varieties for over 100 years. the seeds are preserved by freezing them at temperatures of minus 20 degrees. all right. there we go. there was called. sea can see here sound pools of the fresh crops are being conserved we're looking here. and you know me this is the heart the hard week that is used for pasta making

so we have a big collection of this and so i just decided for pasta say fear that you're going to get your thoughts that it's all the cups are here you have here barley a very important crops when you talk about dry areas and you talk with the 3 main crops which are we to talk about rice and you talk about corn so these are 3 main staple food that most of the right you are using so important place this is a treasure these are important samples that we have to make sure they are surviving they are monitored they are available to the international community. there are $1750.00 strategically placed seed banks around the world each keeps a backup copy of their collection at the jewel in the crown of seed banks norway's fall of our global vaults. dubbed the doomsday vault it is built into the side of an arctic mountain so that the seeds can be frozen without the need for power. over

1000000 c varieties are stored here so when the syrian seed bank was abandoned due to the war dr yes because team were able to recall their backups so that this is it was made to reconstruct our connection we did treat it from small bark we brought part of it here to 11 or you could build our collection here we could make it available again for researchers. all the seeds that come here are tested in the lab for viability some are then cross-bred to increase their resilience and improve productivity. they have to make sure of 2 things 1st that they are free of diseases 2nd that they can actually germinate they can produce plants they're alive and working with. c each one of those sounds to have at least $85.00. out of 100 that sprout and give have. the brush that's not fresh.

the seeds are thriving. but back in syria the war has decimated the country's ability to grow food one of the goals here in lebanon is to create a healthy seed collection to help ensure the future of agriculture in syria when the conflict ends. up here from the roof i can see that there are fields there are greenhouse is there is even some cattle and it's not just about saving the seeds but also testing that trying to find out the best variations that can withstand climate change and secure our food supplies in the future. this region has been struggling with worsening drought for decades. the dry soil in lebanon a similar to serious by testing seeds in the harsh conditions here doctors how they and his team can be confident that the crops will be resilient enough to survive the arid syrian farmland. what are these plants right here this is a wind we this is opposed to domesticate and wheat they are very unique and very

volatile for a while then you can close it because they have adopted already to the hotshot environment and that has very very useful genes to overcome climate change afaik diseases out frost he. with climate conditions changing the biodiversity found here is vital not only for local but also global food security. already one of the wheat strains bred here has proven resistant to a disease known as yellow rust and has been sent to the us where crops were failing to fight it. but with global warming seed banks themselves can be vulnerable. what's worrying is that melting permafrost is even threatening this vall bar doomsday vault. research shows that the arctic town in which it's based is

warming faster than any other. which makes the work being done in lebanon even more critical. 25 syrians in the same number of locals attend the farmland here. so it looks like they're doing some really important work over here can i give them a hand yes of course they are doing hand weeding. seems that modern science hasn't quite figured out an alternative to getting down your hands and knees and just getting your hands dirty so we're just looking for the weeds we don't want weeds interfere with his experiments we want to make sure that his crops grow right and we have to also be careful not to hurt the crop so the weeds kind of grow in between here so you really got to have a good eye. a so good. but. but then fannie and i had a civil lawsuit on him from the ishi and stuff he'd been over with.

dr ali has invited me for lunch meals are of course the final product of the crops grown here it's a chance for him to tell me more about the life in syria he was forced to leave behind this is actually the. nice memory everybody had a role for leading because we had. failed infested biota wonky unit had decided to go all together the breed the. international the scientists the technicians assistant their labors even the tea lady contributed to that when they happy days it was happy days one of the most beautiful days and you're sure you'll go back yes very confident go back cause i should go back. and nothing like home. it would've been easy to write off the card a seed bank as just another casualty of the syrian conflict but the hard work and

dedication of ali and his team have ensured that their work transcends the conflict and is able to continue to play a vital role in protecting global food supplies. environmental for lots of food can linger for decades but what is being done to heal the damage. the charity hainault trust have cleared nearly a quarter of a 1000000 mines from cambodia helping to make over 6000 hectares of land safe in farming. in cameroon almost 50000 trees to planted on degraded land around mina wow count which shelters refugees escaping violence in 1000. until after 50 years of conflict in a. sco was able to protect colombia's gibby cattail rain forest a former guerrilla stronghold. declaring this rich spider virus arian to be

a world heritage site. in the midst of war the consequential damage to the environment can easily be overlooked but if we don't act to protect our natural world be nothing left to fight for. a $150000000.00 trees disappear every year into the clothing that we all wear from uk cycling to say that for instance the famous yellow dress fade from blue jeans. to conserving the world's dwindling wetlands 3 of the aids world's global bird migration of life intersect right where we are the basic discovered a treasure trove it is one of the most special wetlands on the planet after ice ecosystems inland it announces the era on the deserted streets of they've become familiar figures couriers on bicycles delivering food or medicine to lock down

colombians most of them here are venezuelan migrants a micro me some mother of 4 says contagion is always on her mind not of them receive health insurance for their work and exposing themselves and very few seem to have it yet there may be a bright side people who look down on them as own skilled migrants now say they're essential to control the virus i receive messages on the out saying that we are you know so i was a nurse back what i am doing is not all that different from my passion helping others. beyond going fight between donald trump and the golden state because of trans philosophies he used indelibly drawn to conflict for and expose his contrasting ideologies on immigration the environment economic and cultural issues trump is calling attention to the failure of the blue state model the battle grounds for the 2020 alexis people in power reports on trump plus his california on

al-jazeera. where. i'm about to send in doha with the headlines an al-jazeera hong kong police say they want the arrests of 6 pro-democracy activists living in exile as china steps up in force mint over its new national security law they include former u.k. consulate worker simon chang who says he was tortured by chinese authorities for information about hong kong's anti-government protests also on the wanted list as prominent opposition figure nathan law he fled to london for fear of persecution under the new legislation samuel choose is a us citizen and another of the activists wanted by hong kong police.