and the more we cut down the less rain there is one of the songs that they say deserts advance but they don't it's humans that make it possible things must change we must all plan. big cities are growing as a graph taking speed in senegal. in the past 60 years the country has lost around hof of its forests to urbanization. tens of thousands of hectares of woodland continue to be destroyed every year. yet in focus when they move there's a lot of pressure on the center's. population is rising there's more construction and fewer green spaces and trees were neglecting nature and that's why desertification is growing worse in our country. the result sure sure nature and more irregular wet seasons in the past the rain began in june and lasted 3 months

now and things have changed. everyone knows the trees are useful but we don't give ourselves the means to plant them as a result with operation 1000000 trees and what we're doing in the neighborhood we're introducing people to the importance of trees the importance of greenery and one day these trains will provide much needed shade offering city dwellers rest bite from the burning sun having planted 750000 trees last year nobody is aiming for a 1000000 in 2020. nature is reclaiming some areas in our cities i mean also making a comeback in another environment where you absolutely wouldn't expect its military training grow these lot secluded it is yes i use proxies military maneuvers and i slowed hand grenades in germany for instance many whereas this year following right huge on i mean training grounds birds wild caught wolves all sorts of plants and

insects more or less left to their own devices inside most german military training areas are part of a european network dedicated to preserving biodiversity. constant tank movements and artillery exercises make nature conservation at this army training ground a complicated affair before the ecologist start work the search party patrols the area to make sure there are no not explosive surprises lurking in the grass they're always accompanied by munitions expert from the german military. they found a missile its location is marked down and laser bomb disposal experts will pick it up. you have to search carefully as we use everything from small 20 millimeter ammunition to large ordinance and explosives of course it's much easier to find bombs that to find small munitions and don't forget we've been using this troop training area for 80 years so you find all sorts of stuff here. those

80 years of army maneuvers have helped create a very landscape in bomb holder or grasslands with wild herb's as well as woodlands and brush all ideal for biodiversity. grasslands are so valuable because they're hard to find anywhere else there's no arable land so no pesticides no nutrients no fertilizers this is only for military maneuvers. the army has all the heavy equipment it needs to preserve the natural environment does armored vehicle is used to take care of open spaces to make sure they don't get overgrown it tears up shrubs and flatten small trees. germany has 1400 square kilometers of land for military drills the environmental group nabu commissioned a study and found something astonishing although there are pollutants like heavy metals and kerosene residue the sites are ecologically important. didn't let some of those on or the situation in these areas is unique the exercises

create a patchwork environment there are temporary changes what we ecologists call disturbances in areas where soil is removed there are pioneer sites where rare plants can grow as well as animal species you can't find in the regular landscape. destruction by tanks and artillery creates new ecological niches says army ecologist bill 3 quarter. ponds foreman tank trails and bomb craters where frogs and newts can spawn. this is not static environmental protection. so constantly changing they're also valuable areas not in regular use by the military where nature can evolve organically zeus' not to live. in the area is used less often they deploy sheep several 1000 sheep graze all summer long in the military training ground so that's what makes sheep really useful is that they get into all

the corners under the bushes into parts of the woods we can't reach the machine can't do that the sheep prince grazing and droppings at the turf into the state that nature needs all. the sheep of spent numerous summers in the military zone and are well used to it says shepherd col hines kinkel. in the region many generally whenever they're shooting even heavy fire you'd be amazed how fast they adapt if they do get frightened they huddle together one crew member in germany large swathes of the natural environment to been wiped out chiefly through intensive farming the untamed land in army training areas is highly valuable in ecological terms in bomb order to spite the bombs and grenades this unique environment get special protection. the power of nature is amazing but we shouldn't rely too much on nature as i believe so we humans are responsible for the environmental destruction and deforestation that's happening to

drive climate change and you know africa way especially hard hit by the consequences. this is right near to let us look a ronda this small central african country has lost nearly 20 percent of its forest coverage in just the last thing is but the country is working hard to clean up its odds with recycling initiatives and a ban on plastics now begin to payments if things could provide another helping hunt if you want to take a motorbike taxi in rhonda's capital kigali for example you can pay we bung notes any will and that's just the start run the whole entrancing we've to phase out paper money. back on the road after 2 months of coronavirus induced absence motorcycle taxi drivers in the rwandan capital kigali are back to work but one thing is not as it used to be mobile payments are now

mandatory cash is a thing of the past as well as that being more hygenic drivers are experiencing other benefits to. the device means i no longer have to bargain with the client about the cost of the trip. now it's the meter that determines the fare. it's also eliminated cash transactions whenever i transport a passenger they pay electronically. this ystem has been in place since may 28000 motorcycle taxi drivers have signed up their technology behind it was developed by a brew one company. just during names on our platform and all saw they are opening a bank account so we're working with. local bank so that they can be. open a bank account at the same time and reduce studying. after signing up

the drivers get a smartphone which they pay off at a later date the devices are for processing payments and for personal use cashless payments are already in use on buses in rwanda passengers use so-called smart cards but not everyone likes them. you know i don't trust electronic transactions when i go to the bank i withdraw paper money and there was a record of that on paper. but this new system is not entirely safe. it was better before. other skeptics include market vendors who continue to work with cash but they might be fighting a losing battle because the government is. aiming to reduce the use of paper in general and that includes banknotes. the composition of always that's 6 to 8 percent is a made of paper our boys saw one of the benefit to be

a cartoon their worst cartoon that i always do or saw it has. an impact on the pace i'm sick and is going to agree. with the harvest. since the pandemic newspapers have been pushed to go digital only at 1st publisher jeannette o'meara shovel saw a decline in sales but now she sees the impact of going digital. you no longer see this paper bags in could go somewhere in rwanda so i think that is what that is offered on of the vigilante and said goodbye to the plates media. as other things stray kirsch saw when the 2 oct to the digital. system. these days traditional paper newspapers have been relegated to libraries

readers now need to go online the coming months will show just how much of a difference the going paper free measures are making in rwanda. mobile money is nothing new to africa let us see how fast the idea kutch is on and also keep our eyes open and let you know how it goes but now with going to be end for today and i'm excited that you could join us thank you all for watching i am sundered to nobody here in kampala the capital or uganda. thank you sandra it's a 5 for me to lagos nigeria we will be back next week with law inspiring stories on how we can make our planet a better place to live in spite of the pen demi see you next time and do stay healthy.

w.'s crime fighters car back africa's most successful radio drama series continues . this season the stories focus on hate speech color of prevention and sustainable charcoal production. all of a sow's are available online and of course you can share and discuss on africa's facebook page and other social media platforms. crime fighters to name now. it. was the 1st international tribunal in history. the nurnberg trial

some. 75 years ago high ranking officers of the nazi regime of morning judging by the allied forces. were the 1st criminals to be held accountable for their crimes speak. out come on down. rudolf pay a. price for. our 2 part series for the 3rd reich good luck starts nov 12th on g.w. no. legal. issues above is from. the book

the beat last summer subject the beaches the beasts the beasts . the book love and respect. it's the birth. place the be

the big . this is b w news live from berlin germany faces fresh restrictions to contain the coronavirus chancellor merkel is expected to push for a limited lockdown crisis talks with regional leaders today daily cases of 19 in germany are now expected to hit $20000.00 by the end of the also on the program. with only 6 days until the u.s. election president trump is trailing in the polls on campaigning frantically but it may be too late to catch up to more than 70000000 voters.