every journey begins with the 1st step and every language with the 1st word published in the book. nico is in germany to learn german and why not learn with a simple online on your mobile and free to set the w z e learning course nikos free german meetings easy. romania's breadbasket is disappearing climate change and decades of overexploitation is resulting in the growth of a huge desert is it possible to stop the expansion of the sahara on the danube something like this for no reason to exist. for sure 50 maybe 100 years will also be covered with signs. can they still be prevented them when we are in an ongoing race with the sand and

climate change which the markets are. octavian birch and is an environmental activist and opposition politician from bucharest his mission is to stymie the expansion of the desert and prevent his homeland from becoming desolate this forestry expert fights nonstop for his cause sacrificing both his private life and his career he even confronts the mafia when necessary. octavian is driven because around him the

desert in romania is expanding and due to climate change the situation gets worse and worse every year there's a pick a shin across europe and there were no doesn't mean only 13th on the ground found on the ground but only losing vegetation trees and things like this behind you can see. the landfill the highest structure in bucharest and we lost. our vegetation here it was a forest in the past now become very sort without 3 just groups and things like this octavian has identified 2 culprits that are responsible for turning the outskirts of book rest into sandy plains illegal garbage dumps and deforestation planting trees helps prevent the sand from advancing further lots of trees gorilla planting is what octavian and his helpers call what they do reforestation without

official permission the work is arduous every time one arriving here we are donkey hawkers. have to fight a lot by the 1st. 30001000 of 3 here garbage in this. possible way the sand and this garbage dump has traveled 200 kilometers a desert is growing here that is already 800 square kilometers in size the san travels as far as bucharest other european countries including spain portugal and greece have a problem with 2 certification 2 octavian is determined to find a way to counteract it as a member of parliament for remaining his 3rd strongest party save romania union

octavian walks through the corridors of power he has far more influence now as an elected official than he did when he was soley an environmental activist today he's known far beyond who caressed. concerned citizens from all across the country sent him photos and videos that show the full extent of desert of the cation. this is them from the south of maine you know we saw. the honduran scape actually this year was a new one this is an ordinary landscape in the south of remain you know you see marked off farm from weaned window. bringing grown up of pollution across town from remain you know. octavian sets out to the 2 main sources of encroaching sand to the region known as

little one make here he has found people there who have taken up the fight to preserve nature he plans to meet them and later promote their cause in the capital octavian is doing pioneering work in small communities in the countryside ones that are often ignored by the authorities. i go exactly what. doubt it is a state is and is doing nothing i thought of looking on the satellite maps to see the origin of the airborne ocean and i saw those points in the on the map and i realized that i have to go to find actually what happened in the field talk with the communities and with all the stakeholders. he doesn't benefit financially from this on the contrary it costs him money actually i don't

have a financial support for what i'm doing all the money from my pocket and my pocket is very small because i mark in part of the state actually the state based me away if. you're a mum. as the city council. today octavian is pinning his hopes on a forest owner named down popescu dam has deeper pockets he earns his money by selling timber. but these trees have much more than just economic value for the entrepreneur. but you won't because when i touch this tree i feel connected to my father he planted this forest and i continue planting for him as he's no longer alive 1000 hectors were felt in the 1970 s.

for large scale agricultural projects it was my father's dream to replant the forest not only do i want to fulfill my father's dream i want to plant even more trees to remove. this part of all it has always been threatened by drought due to the sandy soil for centuries large forests prevented it from becoming a desert dam popescu wants to reverse the clear cutting of the past but climate change makes the struggle to rectify previous environmental missteps a race against time. reforestation not only offers protection from further devastation it is also a sustainable source of income these workers earn 800 heroes a day for their back breaking work that might not sound like much but it is enough to live on in this region many of them previously went abroad as harvest and seasonal workers but now they are able to make

a living here. than popescu plans to plant 100000 hectares an area larger than berlin germany. to put. down protests cohen need someone with influence in the capital who will campaign for his reforestation plan and ensure the land is his to use octavian not only has good contacts and politics as a former greenpeace member he is also well connected in europe's environmental protection movement. was. former mayor i like sundra do you know you works on gaining the trust of small farmers. and convincing them to give up their plots of land for the forestry project it's no easy feat at the start he had to push hard to win them over. which was awful but also we have 45 years of communism and cooperatives behind us and that people were dispossessed

of their land and only had it returned a few years ago a lot so then we came along and asked them to make their plots available again. in the 1st village as we approached the people were very reluctant we returned with the mayor and officials from the ministry of agriculture to show them we meant what we said we were there we didn't want to take their fields away from them we just wanted to work with that we got off with a 10 years later we gave them wood to sell what they gave us sand and we gave them back a forest and we kept our word of the go. after him but you have to have some temporary money thank you we are always available to answer questions that are better landowners come to me and ask why is it like things how do you explain not why did it happen like this with us how do you just talked about that. aleksandra do you know you also owns a plot of land that he wants to offer to done for reforestation here don demonstrates how the forest affects the climate. it's

relatively cool today only 30 degrees. let's see how hot the ground is 53 degrees normally at this time of year the air temperature is 40 degrees and the ground is 70 degrees chips. this summer it wasn't as hard and sunny as it usually. which is why alexandra do know you was able to grow watermelons in his field here. this was an exception to the rule in the last 3 summers nothing grew on this desolate sand in the blazing heat it's just not possible in places where there are no trees and the land can't be arrogated. another temperature check this time in the shade of these fast growing acacia

planted only a few years ago just a few metres from the fields. dropping $27.00 degrees and is now at $23.00. a 30 degree difference between the forest floor and the open field after several hot summers the climate is relatively bearable this year is the soil . not usually this summer is different after many dry years that's a real exception as it's rained once almost every week everything is usually bare at this time of year normally this would all be parched dry and you'd see dunes bordering the forest with the. rock or the sands layer it is quite the cure isn't. the sand is very deep i don't know how deep it goes we dug up 2 metres once and there was still saying we didn't reach any stone. at the end of a long day octavian returns to his hotel deep in thought not only is he battling

the ever expanding desert he also has to deal with corrupt officials who do business with the waste mafia it all takes its toll. this holder is praying for force before because for a moment to think that you have friends but. things are going to be. march but often usually. they disappear. but it is more difficult to disappear in the middle of the not. sure sure location if something happens just follow the dislocation and search for my body and things like this. and do my best with their lives of course battling for others for my parents for my family before my girlfriend it's very difficult. to. be uncertain fates of a little boy like here propels him forward in the former bread basket of romania it

is now so dry that the yields from wheat and corn harvests are very low a few fields are still tended to but only to collect in you subsidies farmers reveal privately was the small town of double lena is located in the center of desertification in the lake here the only plant that still thrives here is the watermelon not only is the sandy soil ideal they also need surprisingly little water what bordeaux is to french wine leaner is to remain in melons but there is a limit to what they can withstand the entire harvests have withered under the blazing sun here too we can see the effects of climate change.

but octavian suspects that climate change is not the only reason for the devastation the cause of the desert is the case and goes by. much further down introduces him to ian spirit the mayor of the small community of seeker who is at the forefront in the fight against the expanding desert. the mayor uses this map to explain to the tavi and how the sand spreads from west to east. in 50 to 100 years the sands will have taken over all of southern romania if the desert is not stopped bucharest will also be covered. march forests can still be seen and all the maps from the 19th century they were planted by eon spirit and ancestors to protect the soil the fear of the little while

a clear being silted up is not new. the problem has existed here for centuries and centuries ago say this was once a sea floor a body of water reached up to here leaving a long chain of dunes. about 300 years ago when people noticed that the sandy soil was slippery and planted trees that. they created huge forests from us here in to the jew valley what happened to the force of the forests were cut down under communism and the land was used by a great culture you know how it was back then in order to gain more farmland a whole lake was drained in this region and a complex irrigation system was created and really get. how does the else already deal with the situation today the institute for

agricultural research is run by the romanian state director are really eddie a cone who understands that the climate is changing and is conducting research on fruits that can be grown in the sand. through a civilian was that we are looking for alternatives aside from melons of course melons from our trademark both in romania and abroad. but we also need to develop new trademarks for the region so that farmers have alternatives in the future for me and growing melons as a short term business. she's reargue trying to teach the farmers to invest in long term enterprises for example in orchards or berry bush plantation in his desk there are men who. it was from this very building that the state once dictated to farmers what they should plant nowadays the emphasis is on teaching the.

class 3 types of peas different types of peanuts we have cultivated all of these here. she and this is our traditional wine. this also grows in fairly dry conditions large is the quantity. the institute has many large fields which are regularly inspected by her. a wide variety of crops are grown and tested here under the hot sun for example chinese dates kiwis peanuts beans raspberries black berries and several types of wine all part of the agricultural program that the institute runs as they try to adapt to the new conditions more heat and less rain.

are in an ongoing race with the sand and climate change. that is why we are experimenting here with new irrigation technologies but above all with new plant species some of them are very promising we actually have good climatic conditions here comes very early in this area can plant seed potatoes in february and harvest new potatoes as early as april. before our really idea of the expanding desert is actually more of a blessing than a curse properly harnessed sandy soils can yield exceptionally good produce. aroma of the fruits that grow in sand is stronger than in normal soils the sugar content is much higher due to the strong sunlight and high temperatures they give the fruit its flavor color and quality.

in the region be saved by embracing climate change and making the best of the dessert if occasion. tavi in a seriously considering this approach as well he wants to discuss it with experts from the world wildlife fund but one thing is certain growing other fruits will not improve the climate in the area and the devastation could continue. that's why you really are poor you and your assistant deanna played out from the w w f are focusing on the complete restoration of little lake. in addition to reforesting they plan to reestablish a huge lake one that was drained in the 1970 s. to make way for farmland. that look that was a lake it went on for kilometers in both directions if the danube were allowed to

flow through its old flood plains again lake put tello would also fell appear within a few years. the w w f already revived this romanian lake large wetlands and the danube delta were successfully restored here to natural habitats were destroyed to create farmland today fishery and tourism are flourishing the combination of plants and humid conditions could secure the standard lake patel low and keep the desert at bay. that is what it could look like here again octavian is campaigning for this and bucharest local author artie's however do not support the project the state leases large areas of land here to international agricultural corporations octavian wants to know who it is that profits from this he's determined to find out his activism

is well known and romania he has tangled with the mafia and organized poachers as well as with corrupt politicians his projects receive a lot of attention. and approval which both protects him and amplifies his voice. octavian begins the last leg of his journey the worst is yet to come riven ari is the 2nd epicenter of romania's just certification an old coal fired power plant has supplied the grid for almost 50 years it's surrounded by refuse from coal mining and the toxic sound has spread far beyond the region climate change accelerates the consequences of this environmental pollution. but there is reason for hope denude and his son catalin have been working for years to turn these dead and landscapes into living ecosystems again denote headed the

region's forestry office for many years and his son catalin has a doctorate in forestry both are researching plants that can bring the nature here back to life. or mark rasch. barren desolate landscape as far as the eye can see octavian is speechless at 1st then angry he reminds himself that this is exactly why he began this journey a man made desert in the middle of an area that has already threatened by drought and no off already and the whole country seems to care. the adjacent land also look that desolate once but with the help of dino and cut early in dino nature has reclaimed the land so it is possible to revitalize the area. on this great park we have only. covered by. hundreds of hectares.

and besides we have an example a very good example how nature. could harbor. we've green. my mission how my mission is how to make people to understand this big picture how to involve them in the ecological action then to make them understand the 3rd which you go through the growth it is throwing our body and our land through. our freshwater actually. here to the dino cars have used occasions they are the 1st line of defense. once a healthy layer of humans has formed on the ground in the forests native trees can be planted again. but how long does that take. a month or so just

planting the acacia stabilize the soil in reduced tell you how the fear article i wrote my doctoral thesis on planting in toxic soils. and i can choose i like medicine for these areas because to phycological how after about 20 to 30 years you can then replace them with my. burial and nothing about all. other don't go in that direction. you consider it worth it actually does not exist. this is. the 3rd on top of. each game and there is the 1st the those are the 1st family matter thought for food media matters this is the 1st step to cover this before this his head now buzzing with new ideas and concrete solutions octavian heads back to the capital back to

the heart of politics he now needs to win over a powerful supporters but it won't be easy because environmental protection projects are not money makers in the short term so why does he sacrifice so much of his time for the common. good what dr samir. i don't have a proper answer because the came from inside me. doesn't mean there are a lot of if or when i'm doing something that i like it and that i love it and i have 5 charities all those it's a for filling me with a lot of energy and hope that some of some of things bad things will be change in the next in the future and a close future. in the desert is still advancing in romania. but it has for made a bow and creative opponents 1st and foremost octavian bear china.

was determined to fight and protect his homeland against.

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place. blame. is day devaney's live from the me and mass protest as saying they're on did good thousands of people return to the straights to demand the military give up power just one day out to police a fire on a demonstration killing 2 people also coming up u.s. president joe biden declares a major disaster in texas and promises help the people they are reeling.