tv Doc Film Deutsche Welle August 31, 2019 2:15pm-3:01pm CEST
2:15 pm
we're following for you police have fired tear gas at protesters on the streets of hong kong is the 13th straight weekend of mass protests there thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators defied a police ban to march just a day after several protest leaders were arrested in a sweeping fact down. you're watching news coming up our documentary about charcoal the substance it's destroying the rain forest for fuel will come like the local environment thanks so much for joining us for news at the top to. come and follow the adventures of the famous naturalist and explore. jerusalem the racial politics on the fun while it's $250.00 the 1st day we're embarking on a voyage of discovery. expedition voyage on t.w.a.
2:16 pm
. but. hardly anyone knows how nontransparent this market really is for that one tonne of charcoal requires 5 to 10 tons of wood and. this has an enormous impact on the environment. where the wood comes from this awful terrible human rights abuses as poverty as deforestation is deserts professional ice of the. us no it's completely unacceptable that tropical rain forests are being destroyed just to produce cheaper charcoal should be happening it's madness bombs in.
2:17 pm
nigeria with 186000000 inhabitants it's the most populated country in africa this is where most of the charcoal imported to the e.u. comes from it's a huge business not only in nigeria paraguayan in south america is another big global player. according to the un over half the trees cut down worldwide are burnt to produce charcoal with severe effects to the climate. nigerian merchants praise the high quality of charcoal derived from tropical wood it's particularly durable and it's embers last much longer but these traders don't have to certify where they get their charcoal the wood could be from one of the few sustainable plantations for tropical timber in africa or it could have been illegally logged in the
2:18 pm
rainforest. kingsley ak i knew specializes in export ready to be field with charcoal. murray. chin's who want to import tropical timber to the e.u. have to certify its origins the process is strictly regulated but those guidelines don't apply to charcoal. 88 percent of the charcoal used in germany is imported nigeria alone supplies $31000.00 tons a year but most consumers have no idea what they are using to grill their sausages . there is goes to a germany and council tax the flagella. where at over a formidable. yeah. it doesn't care for their. field container all the stealable 40 feet contain a. charcoal from nigeria made in germany made possible because there are no restrictions on importing charcoal made from tropical timber to the e.u.
2:19 pm
. the spoke of garden trade fair in cologne this is where the outdoor grilling industry comes together many distributors can't see any problem with charcoal from the tropics the trade association however would rather not comment. here i'll give you what time from france has been fighting against imported tropical charcoal for years he works with the forest trust t.f.t. . they want charcoal to be processed only from sustainably cultivated forests and for consumers to easily see if they're buying charcoal from native or illegally logged tropical wood there is no transparency. but then watching the way in particular. because. some in photo spread them to give birth. but there we are prints on of their tree can create a european walking work on the wall because. if we don't do that it's good for to
2:20 pm
not be clear so for the 1st time. there's a large although all male member says it is a thought for rick us very ard. distributors who keep importing. less about the market will force their hand the moment we change the market everyone who wants to carry on as usual will be left no other choice is that all this also i think. in france t.f.t. has already managed to change the market most buyers for a large retail chains have come to reject charcoal from tropical forests. is meeting a belgian who imports african charcoal the man is convinced of his products quality and he even has a seal to prove it's been produced responsibly she can't understand the concern about tropically source charcoal. for the tide if it was either what you have to realize that there are also sustainably managed tropical forests to solidify it i
2:21 pm
don't see why these products should be banned or you do and you can't forget that the charcoal market is helping feed thousands of people in africa with the 5th seed was we'd be making things too easy on ourselves if we suddenly decided to just ban everything sourced from nigeria or john will be out of this and he could just get in asia we need to actively deal with the problem south hooley finished was not that i said i don't have a metric. in nigeria it's true that many people depend on the charcoal business in places where qualified jobs are hard to come by there they often live in the humblest conditions. people like kobe. he and his family make charcoal for a living they travel across the country as nomads and log trees wherever they can in the wild not unsustainable estates. the process is simple enough the wood is stocks covered with dirt and then let.
2:22 pm
these so-called kilns seal off most oxygen allowing the wood to burn down slowly in about 11 days it's reduced to charcoal side i will cost that i asked song it down produce about $200.00 within a month. we don't enjoy the walk to enjoy the world. level most times when you come back you are tired. most of us used. for one tonne of charcoal the workers need up to 10 tons of wood most of the energy escapes as acts as heat exhaust leaks from the piles and the surrounding soil is contaminated with toxins. the forestation is
2:23 pm
a huge problem in nigeria. a study by the un food and agriculture organization found that $410000.00 hectares of forest were cut down each year. not only does that have a major impact on the climate it also leads to erosion and the forming of new deserts. but the forests aren't being destroyed just to make charcoal they're also being cleared for farmland and yet 87 percent of all trees logged in nigeria are used for firewood or charcoal. harry hoffman is a scientist for years he's been concerned about the charcoal production in africa. it's the only way they can make a living during the dry season towards the end of the dry season before they return to their fields if there's nothing left to pay for school so they go to the forest and cut down trees to make charcoal they can sell on the street corner even if it
2:24 pm
is illegal. when they do they risk their fields drying up. back to germany. is the wood specialist at the world wildlife fund today he's brought bags of charcoal to the tune an institute in hamburg to once trade restrictions for charcoal and he's backing up his arguments with facts if it were up to him importing illegal timber into the e.u. would be banned as with the charcoal produced from it so god called and his colleagues want to see just how much wood from tropical forests these bags contain . there's a lot of pressure from consumers not just for these products coal in particular is almost a cultural asset for germans finding a legal wood in their charcoal would leave a bad taste in their mouths that's mistress' businesses can't afford that if you realise that a few months or years ago this product wouldn't have gained such broad attend.
2:25 pm
to date importers don't need to show that the wood for their charcoal was legally sourced and any product information on the back doesn't show the country of origin either. is one of germany's leading specialists in determining what. he can say where the charcoal is for play can discern which type of wood it was made from even if it is imprinted on the back. he instantly recognizes some native trees species. before i put it under the microscope i do appreciate. sometimes i use a magnifying glass to determine what type we're dealing with. i've already dug a bit out from the bottom of the bag and as you can see what makes chunk also special is that unlike wood it's brittle to. break it off a creates these clean edges and i can look at those with my magnifying glass.
2:26 pm
here for example we have an ash tree. this bag doesn't contain any tropical timber other bags do. when. you swing by the nearest gas station to pick up a bag of charcoal of course you have no idea how far it has traveled already and what ecological footprint it has left behind. the entire forests are being cut down in countries like nigeria or in eastern europe and sometimes even protected forests are being plundered when that has an immense impact on the ecosystem or biodiversity and on the climate overall we need to act. we care we have briquettes. here we have a product that we're looking at. you know yes. this is pure charcoal. here we have a different product with the slogan for the sake of the environment it's the c o 2
2:27 pm
neutral. inspects 20 bags and. then had bought in various hardware and grocery stores in many cases it's evident the wood isn't needed. before just because i've had a look at them under the microscope i can't say for sure these samples would definitely have tropical origins kind it's not that simple but i can say that the ones i've looked at definitely not from regular wood. so we know for certain that it isn't. compressed bearcats are especially hard to examine they consist mostly of coal dust and starch but even here the expert is able to find traces of wood. demit totem and if identifying would species is called would anatomy we identify types of wood based on their anatomical structure or model the people have been
2:28 pm
examining plant structures for 2 or 300 years what's important is to have reference material but they aren't. that's why the kunin institute of wood research stores thousands of samples of various trees. but in spoke to him that plays on the structural features we can see here we can definitely say this word is not from a temperate or even boring old reacher boy as who rushed out. that means this charcoal was definitely tropically sourced. 8 of the 20 bags they examined did contain wood from rain forests. that amounts to 40 percent of their samples 6 5 bags even contained red list species of endangered or restricted blood. the findings are upset ng for your highness tannen of the world wildlife fund. not
2:29 pm
the innocents who feel this is been a topic for so many years to find such a catastrophic results here in germany was shocking it can't go on like this in. many distributors won't take responsibility for their products origin sustainable cultivation environmental protection labor laws none of it matters. but important ones cost and seduction costs are much much lower than operating a colliery here in germany or england so that makes it attractive to transporting it over the ocean from nigeria to germany or europe is a fairly small portion of the total cost to untie what they can some cost in others and. most germans have no idea that their charcoal is sometimes produced with people's bare hands through and colby would never have guessed that he's talking was used to german sausages for many industrial make use of power from.
2:30 pm
make use of it's like this before. they also make use of charcoal. also people taking it from they find us there but i don't know what they use it for all we use it for them on the ticket system. koby and his workers get $3.00 for each bag of charcoal even in nigeria that's not a lot of money but the supply chain in africa is low transporters sorters distributors everyone wants to turn a profit the jobs are highly sought after. most jobs provided out of all body level at a $0.60 south what chuckled each of us is one of the few jobs that actually brings jobs down to the rural areas to the local woman to people who otherwise they have no education have nothing to fall back to they have nothing.
2:31 pm
for the. then here is the lesson there's really no major industry here to cry to call me boss branch i call that oswald wanted to work because the other thing. and this sector is growing. just one study estimates the market could be one top to $12000000000.00 by 2030 with $12000000.00 people working at it that's a shadow market close to the money made in that sector will stay with a powerful distributors solution and paying. the money isn't made in nigeria it's made in europe. over here we have the products we're ready to ship to places like poland this is ready what about the continent. in 2015 alone exports from nigeria to poland grew by 51 percent.
2:32 pm
but i'm biased from africa most times they're repackage and their sale to walk. on trees for land is a very big haul that by a lot of the interim markets. the charcoal is shipped to europe in containers the t.n.t. organization has seen to it that less nigerian charcoal is imported to france but exports to poland are on the rise here conservationists say charcoal from tropical wood is simply repackaged and distributed throughout europe. what continues his search in poland. for loan that up forces. we are here to see if this factory really does produce charcoal at all some of the we want to know if all the wood was locally sourced and processed. or. this is in
2:33 pm
our previous visits to poland. we learned that some only pretend to be producers. actually imports charcoal repackage it and then sell it. and then they claim it was produced here in their factory said. today on t.v. and his colleagues are visiting europe's largest charcoal producer once the company grease ground has 3 factories that produce 15 percent of all the charcoal consumed e.u. wide. the managing director is guiding a tour through the facilities. the conservationists want to find out if all the charcoal is truly produced here in poland or if it's mixed with charcoal from tropical woods. for kids the most important clue is a look in the business books he's interested in the amounts of charcoal and wood coming and going so far he's been acting on behalf of french chains that have
2:34 pm
committed themselves to offer only sustainable charcoal. and that the forest trust checks that no tropicals would find its way into the backs of. their biggest difficulty is figuring out how many tons of wood the company needs to produce one ton of charcoal. based on the method employed the amounts can vary greatly. now it's p.-l. of these job to estimate how efficiently the plant works and compare the wood purchases with the charcoal sales competition in this sector is fierce as is the temptation to cheat with illegal african charcoal. when the countries keep production costs down and companies manage to buy raw material from dubious sources then they can earn higher profit margins on the import and trade when done by import of them hunt for them. it's. just.
2:35 pm
while importers pay very little for their raw material european producers must dig deep into their pockets for the wood. producers traders everyone looks to cut corners to make sure that i can meet those prashad auctions that are forced onto them by the market by consumerism and unfortunately got often leads to the cheapest would be illegal wood getting into the system. the largest producer in europe states that it's wood is purchased from native forests that's a big cost factor in the book there's lots of ward what's important is that the wood is actually from this region cultivated sustainably and so that it can be labelled as responsibly producing charcoal from. native wood from responsible forestry that means the amount of wood that can be logged is limited to how much can really grow. european foresters have known this
2:36 pm
principle for centuries that's how they responded to the massive clearing of forests in the early 18th century they call it sustainability. of gold from this region. despotic operates. from fire to make sure the charcoal is as sustainable as the managing director said it was their next appointment is with the forester again checks the production books and the woods origin. to make sure the forests are large enough to supply the amount of wood the manufacture needs are you know he takes careful note of the numbers of hectares the age of the trees and the amount of wood extracted. from the 4 as they plant or they're not for always. places he hasn't found a bug in the system yet but he keeps asking the manufacturers. quality manager and
2:37 pm
the forester both take all his questions. unlike in africa the amount of woodland in the e.u. was growing. in poland it went from 8800000 hectares in 1990 to 9400000 hectares in 2015 that only works with truly sustainable methods. p.-l. . is very pleased with what he's seen here. they have a forest cultivation plan set up for 10 years to fill with a registry for each logging so. and that way they know exactly how much wood they're allowed to take from each plant do dismiss means traceability right back to
2:38 pm
where it was felled and we know they've been cultivating sustainably for years disorder here for example is 60 years or so for the. wood for guilt free charcoal. thanks to the traditional forestry guidelines for modern technology and careful documentation this forest will continue supplying as much wood as it does today for centuries to come the market 0 percent of what he didn't know. is that it's fullest and that there's plenty of wood right here in poland that you don't need to buy it in africa. that out there is enough deciduous trees to cover the demand for charcoal was that sort of. hopes to someday find charcoal in supermarkets that is only produced from
2:39 pm
sustainable what but in europe there are many sustainable manufacturers like this one in poland and companies that produce charcoal and electricity i think exception to the rule and so he sets off for france. one of the most modern charcoal factories in the world is here in the region. the region is also home to vast deciduous form. and yet france still imports most of its charcoal. this manufacturer wants to prove that producing charcoal in france can in fact be profitable. you know what it lacks in size the business makes up for in innovation. the french government supports it with subsidies. the managing directors were even invited to the world climate conference in bonn in 2017 to talk about eco friendly charcoal production at home and in developing countries. i'd also this word here comes from the forest park east of sun. thanks to modern
2:40 pm
technology they only need 2 and a half tons of wood for each ton of charcoal they produce that means they can preserve 40 percent of the wood in comparison the earth mounds in africa only have an efficiency rate of about 10 percent interest meaning their kilns require 4 times the amount of wood. but there. is already offered to help if i have been taking. the charcoal is dried in huge baskets with the excess heat given off during production. first album was to sit up. here is proof that we're able to make renewable charcoal just all it takes is sustainable forestry and today's technology. that using this method produces charcoal electricity and heat products at once from one single resource
2:41 pm
for celtic also for this up what's what makes this product competitive and profitable in europe of what it is. this size provides 10000 homes with steady electricity. the tropical charcoal producers can only dream of having such a modern plant. the home. world wide filed where experiencing the deforestation of several 1000000 hectares each year or this is that is so much and so relevant that it makes up about 15 percent of manmade carbon emissions by $28.00. satellite images reveal that 30 percent of africa's oldest national park has already been destroyed. the wrong a national park is very old and has been particularly affected by people illegally extracting wood to produce charcoal. that's
2:42 pm
a study in. the wrong guy national park lies in the eastern part of the democratic republic of congo. the charcoal produced here isn't export it 97 percent of the people in the region use it for cooking and heating the areas surrounding the national park have already been cleared. according to the world wildlife fund 90 percent of the trees fell here are used to produce charcoal. over 4 years ago this whole area was full of trees but now 4 years later all the trees have been cut down and not only that even the roots have been pulled out of the ground these from. the world wildlife fund foresters are shocked. the demand for charcoal is so high in this region that even digging up and charring tree roots is worth the effort. any
2:43 pm
3000000000 people on the planet cook with work and it's not just cooking used for heating too it's essential to them and there's no way of replacing it that's. producing wood sustainably requires space space they don't have the population and africa will quadruple by the end of the century capacity limits are often exceeded now. one big problem is the lack of infrastructure only 3 percent of the people living in the huge city of goma and its surrounding villages have access to electricity cooking with gas would be easier healthier and more eco friendly but charcoal is often the only source of energy they have. people need to be certain that they'll have gas when they need it otherwise they can't cook it's a crucial source of energy for many people and it will be for a long time to come. the last 10 years have seen
2:44 pm
huge forest areas vanish the w w f workers are certain the ongoing political conflicts in the region are contributing to the deforestation here. this all used to be forest monkeys lived here now there aren't any left. to save the national park the w w f workers want to turn around their charcoal market and are reaching out to all parties involved even the transporters they ride their bikes 30 kilometers to the next city community. she keeps. going to some of the focus is beside the love here they say it costs $20.00 and in goma it costs $23.00 and it was the luckiest so we asked them if they produce the charcoal themselves but they just buy it to resell it and. lash it. to. the destruction of the free roaming
2:45 pm
a national park is immense the region is one of the most densely populated in all of africa and the conflict in neighboring rwanda have only made matters worse countless refugees are seeking shelter and using charcoal for cooking. the world wildlife fund in goma is very engaged in the topic of chocolate. chip and his team hope for lasting peace in order to save the national park. vigil accordion city since 1906 this region has gone through a lot of unrest to produce those before that there were the looting wars from 1902 onwards is here and then came the 1st liberation more than 1906 that forced many to flee if she's all that had an impact on the environment but this went on for them. in goma the number of residents has nearly doubled in the last 7 years. especially
2:46 pm
due to the many refugees who have come. only 11 kilometers separate the city from the national park so it's no wonder that 80 percent of the charcoal used here is illegally sourced from virunga. like in most places in africa the charcoal business here is also a shadow market. that dealers buy their charcoal in villages and then sell it here. for enough that i've got a good price range depends on how old the tree was that used to make the charcoal you know what i was told from young trees cost $20.00 u.s. dollars so. the older the trade the more energy it supplies and the higher the price like you are going to be. or. retailers prefer cheaper softer charcoal because they can sell it in
2:47 pm
small portions new some households buy the higher quality tougher charcoal and i personally deliver to the wholesale dealers. just as in europe here too it makes a difference where the wood for charcoal is from but it's also just as important to reduce the charcoal consumption. the men and women of goma stove are contributing to just that with direction from the w w f they conducted several tests and studies that helped them develop a particularly energy efficient of and it only uses half as much charcoal as a traditional oven. under the metal plating is a clay core that is bakes the 1st time the oven is used. the 1st use should be for something that needs to be cooked for
2:48 pm
a long time that's the case for most things called regularly here such as bins song by corn fufu so yes i do mind that long 1st use bakes the clay cole was. sorted out . the demand for efficient cooking is huge go musto has produced and sold more than 80000 often since 2009. they've even delivered their product to the capital kinshasa. that what. we produce a lot we used to make 7 ceramic inserts a day now it's 3035 even 150. this customer just bought her 2nd goal must of the savings have made a noticeable difference in her household budget. the oven manufacturers smart marketing water over straight away.
2:49 pm
some households were uncertain about how they would cut their coal consumption in half it was that we asked them how much they used with their traditional style a bit they'd answered 2 bags so we told them to go and buy 2 bags and when i do we give the mouse died as a credit and tell them to use it and pay us at the end of the month yes that then by the end of the month they realize they still have one bag of charcoal left. and what you now call is that in my. view one bag less a month each family can save one and i have tons of charcoal over the 2 year life expectancy of a stove and it's affordable the cost can easily be paid off in a month. at the end of the month families are left with more money. with official cookers it's possible to drastically reduce per capita charcoal consumption.
2:50 pm
sustainable charcoal production on the other hand is more difficult outside of the national park hardly any trees are left and inside armed rebel groups from rwanda have a tight grip on charcoal production they wouldn't dream of giving up this critical source of income. a powerful stand lives in a small village on the edge of a one gun national park he still clearly remembers when the rwandan rebels came into his village and turned everything upside down ever. but they invaded the park and cut down all the trees. since then the environment has been out of balance is to kill 3 mean we don't have any rivers or streams and then the dry periods of become longer. in the city disapproval engine that's when we decided we need to plant trees and some decay for
2:51 pm
look i'm a camera started looking for partners who would help us in the city it's easy for. you to give us a parisian. became their trusted world wildlife fund partner he's a forester and knows what it takes to create a plantation. to live if he's sick in full to. settle a sleeve you need to keep a close eye on the seedlings lip learn so they reproduce at the right time. youthful mystery must be planted at the beginning of the rainy season or did be the last as would be. if you missed your window even by just a few days of your plantation might not survive in the vicinity of. the w w f support plantations across the region with their eco project.
2:52 pm
knows the people here well and understands that close contact with local chieftains and mayors is just as important as a tree nursery. is also an advocate. on the hills this will help us fight erosion. with the. water there flows down the slopes and destroys our fields i'm looking. at even tears houses down. the advantages are already visible after just a few years the w w f was successful now 103 nurseries 13000 hectares of plantations and 9000 farmers have joined the project. geoff a village chief is also convinced of the advantages ever since the project began he's been working to persuade the 6700 families in his tribe to plant trees in
2:53 pm
order to secure the villages future. plantations they taught us a different way to cut down trees and build homes the next you would do for that way we can produce higher quality charcoal that we can sell in goma for a higher price that's ok. i am pretty. but a breeze through looks so we have charcoal we can cook with our sounds. and we can sound. good and that will pay for our children's education and for medical treatment. and also for food. today he's showing others how to plant trees to protect the fertile soil from
2:54 pm
erosion and landslides. in 5 years these little saplings have become fully grown trees perfect for producing charcoal. when they're ready for harvesting they provide a clean legal alternative to trees from the national park. is so we can save the national park if we plant more trees said the end of the same time we reduce our consumption our use of charcoal. though. i'm a. proven methods for coal making have doubled the amount of charcoal we can produce. combine that with our improved stove does it equip and we're saving on both ends. of the lid on them on the one hand we're improving charcoal yield some
2:55 pm
with while on the other or using less charcoal. though the soup 1st so basically we're raising supply and lowering demand. but yes the charcoal makers have learned that drying the wood for 2 months before charring it is more effective for. this dense pile will be covered with dirt later and set on fire then to lation shafts to light the pile and it chimney made of old barrels will double the amount of charcoal this kiln can produce for in addition the quality will be much higher for. 15 percent of the charcoal used in goma is sourced from the w w s eco makana project the long term goal is to raise that to 30 percent. the farmers have already begun to notice a positive effect on the environment the progress of course to be there ever since
2:56 pm
the project started we've noticed an upward trend for example the times for planting used to be messed up as we risk losing our crops thanks to the plantations we planted with the eco mccotter project we've seen the ecosystem restore itself. that's good. we can now go back to planting based on the old calendar don't go. but 30 percent is all this plantation can cover. it wouldn't leave enough room for farming. the project has helped slow down the destruction of the national park but it can't stop it altogether further solutions still need to be developed and new energy sources tapped into. back to france the charcoal pioneers are working on making their method more attractive for developing countries. lower wood requirements reliable electricity
2:57 pm
and quality charcoal together these 3 things might be able to save the wrong a national park. the charcoal visionaries and. are convinced that all it would take is enough political will to reach a sustainable solution for africa's charcoal problem. without the correct circumstances however they don't want to introduce their method. of birth of. the process plantation programs are a necessary condition for setting up a factory like aus in africa may have a growing share jewels supported by the government or local groups would make that absolutely possible. one particular advantage is that they not only have charcoal but electricity too. if it's an insult.
2:58 pm
to many people in africa charcoal is a necessary energy source in europe it's central to the grill culture. efficient production and sustainable forestry can make charcoal a renewable resource only the combined efforts of governments businesses and consumers can stop the destruction of our tropical forests. who. are of slow. that ridgeley to. play better than most of the southern spain chats listen to the couple in charge simply be
2:59 pm
playing the role it's been 13 years w. . the sex maker. raring to meet. if there is any erotic event but remember you have to find it between the alliance. the literature 1st 100 german must rates. september 1st 19 says. jenison invasion of poland touched off world war 2 and. 18 years later the heads of states and governments commemorate the suffering of its minute victims. the sermons in
3:00 pm
poland. sunday dublin. place. place blame. business v.w. news live from berlin hong kong demonstrators to find the authorities police fire tear gas and blue dye crowds in the 13th straight weekend of mass protests thousands of own democracy demonstrators ignoring a police ban to march on the streets also coming up a controversial to citizenship list published by the indian government could leave nearly 2000000 people stateless we'll talk to a reporter for the latest.
42 Views
Uploaded by TV Archive on
