hello and welcome to "global 3000" where, this week, we will be putting the un's millennium development goals to the test. that's right: time is up on "the world's greatest promise", so what progress has been made, and what remains left to be done? welcome to sauri in kenya part village, part laboratory for sustainable development the future's green growing moldova's economy the organic way . and saving germany's hambach forest -- meet the activists putting their bodies on the line.

fifteen years have passed since world leaders gathered in new york to celebrate the launch of the un's "millennium development goals": eight ambitious targets for cutting global poverty and hunger, providing clean drinking water and primary education for all and halting the spread of hiv aids. because these were supposed to be tangible, measurable commitments and not just an idealistic set of "nice-to-haves", a delivery date was set: september, 2015. that time has now arrived and so it's time for us to take stock. which goals were met, and which fell by the wayside? >> let's take a closer look at three of the 8 millennium development goals: one of them was to reduce child mortality. 25 years ago, 90 out of every thousand children did not reach the age of 5. in 2015 that figure has been cut in half.

child mortality remains a major global problem, however: every day, some 16 thousand children under the age of 5 die. another goal was environmental sustainability, including access to clean water. while in 1990 43% of the world's population had safe drinking water, in 2015 this figure has risen to 57% a moderate improvement. it means there are still 750 million people with no clean drinking water at their disposal. finally the most important millennium goal: eradicating poverty. in 1990 35% of the global population had to live off less than 1 dollar 25 per day. that figure has since dropped to 11%. a big achievement!

but 836 million individuals still live in extreme poverty. >> now, what if the millennium goals could be tesd in a quasi-laboratory environment, what would happen then? that was an approach the un were keen to try out. that's why, in africa, they created a series of "millennium villages" communits which became test-beds for new, holisc approaches to tackling poverty through sustainable development. one such village was sauri in western kenya. >> practically everyone in sauri knows jenepher owino. the millenium village project has helped her become a successful farmer. >> i learned that you just don't have to keep to one crop. because people here just used to do maize

and you do maize, and you do maize. but then, when i started doing farming, through them i learned that you can do other crops as you can see in my farm. >> in addition to training, the millenium project gave jenepher start-up seeds and fertilizer free of charge plus a low-interest loan so she could build a greenhouse. she now grows various fruits and vegetables in addition to the maize which also helps to minimize the risk of a poor harvest. plus: fruit and veg are a better earner than cereal grain. >> i believe, if i do properly other farmers will get to understand the importance of doing agribusiness, so that they just don't do it for consumption but they also do it to get money. >> jenephers owino's operations have grown so much that she's

had to recruit four full-time employees. for the last two years she's been paying for the seeds and fertilizer herself. a lot of other farmers, however, remain dependent on donations from the millennium project. after weighing, the fresh produce is sent straight to the market in jenepher owino's case via motorbike taxi. and the farmers here are far from the only ones in sauri benefiting from the millennium project. local schools had been desperately underequipped, with many children often not attending at all. the millennium project saw the arrival of textbooks and computers, plus a free school meal. and the number of pupils has now more than doubled in the last two years, explains the principal.

funding is due to run out at the end of the year, however and with it those invaluable meals too. the money his school receives from the kenyan government is nowhere near enough to cover costs. >> i would have rather appealed that they are given another maybe three years to see us through. so that they can be able to accomplish their vision they had with this institution. >> the situation leaves much that's been achieved under threat. here at the "market service centre" local farmers like jenepher owino can sell their produce on consignment another initiative set up by the millennium project. the center retains a 10 percent commission but the deal is worth it, she says, and not just financially. >> here you can see it is only one person handling all that. so not 10 of us are going to stay in the market place.

so it takes only 1 person to sell. and then they also get to learn from one another the advantage of being in a group. so they will also benefit from learning from one another how they can be able to make their agriculture much better. >> for her, the millennium project has been a blessing. but some development experts claim it's more of a curse. the billions poured in only serve to create new dependencies while leaving the respective sovereign governments absolved of any responsibility. even if funds do dry up, says the kenya project director, the projects will keep paying out dividends far beyond 2015. >> the level of maintenance will be different from what we have been doing. but at the back of my mind i'd be happy and say: at least something is there. and people have been empowered, they can now make demands to the government, because we have devolved government and demand for services in some of those places. >> jenepher owino knows that not all farmers in sauri are doing

as well as her. in her eyes, success requires both the aid programs and the right attitude as well as a lot of discipline. >> people should learn that you don't just sit and ask 'give me, give me!' you get lazy, you just sit, you have nothing to look forward to be doing as the day begins. but me, i prepare in the morning. as i prepare i know i am going to have a busy day. >> she's made the most of her chance, having gone from struggling farmer to head of a profitable agribusiness. >> the millennium development goals may have run their course, but their successors called sustainable development goals this time are soon to be announced. with this in mind, we've commissioned a series of short films profiling "the children of the millennium" teenagers who were born 15 years ago. what do they see as the greatest challenges for the future?

we begin with matija from california, usa. >> i am happy because i worked really hard in school and now its summer vacation and i can enjoy, what i've done so far. my name is matija and i live in menlo park in californa in the united states. this is just some random stuff.

i only heard a few of these. i have a few records and i listen to those records, and it's really nice to listen to from the 60's and 70's. and i have my radio to listen to the newest hits of the day . i like science, because it helps people get a better understanding of the world. it helps people out if you eventually make your own discoveries. my dad he grew up basically in the ghettos of serbia and now he is here as a designer. my mom is suncica and my dad is bronko.

i really love them so much and they mean everything to me . my parents actually moved here to america from europe and then they became successful or at least i think so. well, i think the big problem in the world that we have right now is that we are not really replenishing our environment as fast as we are consuming everything. and we should focus on getting power from the sun because there is so much sunlight coming from the sun. and if we all had solar panels on our roofs, we would have so much energy and the electric cars and things that need a lot of energy would be really easy to have.

>> speaking of green energy: while germany leads the way in phasing out nuclear power and investing in renewables, one quarter of its power is still generated from lignite, also know as brown coal, which emits even more carbon than conventional coal. not to mention that open cast mining swallows up fields, villages and even forests. forests like the hambacher forst... for the past three years now, a small group of activists have been putting their bodies on the line to save this ancient forest from destruction. >> germany's coal industry heats homes, lights cities, and fuels business. but it also massively damages the environment. this opencast coal mine in extracts 40 million tons of

lignite a year.environmental activists have gone to great lengths to try to stop coal extraction here. environmentalists like mori and mila. entering hambach forest is trespassing. that's why mila has hidden her face. they want to stop the company clearing this forest to extract the coal underneath. >> we'll show you what we're going to do. we put our arms through a pipe like this. and then we'll have another pipe on the other side. and that's how we'll stop them cutting down this tree. >> hambach forest is centuries old and rich in biodiversity. but the land belongs to the power giant rwe. four-fifths of the original trees have already been cleared. the motto of these forest activists is "fight europe's biggest climate killer for every meter of land" they don't want any more trees chopped down for lignite with it's high carbon footprint. around two dozen activists live here on the edge of the forest.

once a month they welcome visitors into their camp. michael zobel is a forestry expert. he gives locals tours of the area. opinion here is divided when it comes to mining. zobel wants people to see the forest, the mine, and the activists for themselves. this forest has been here since the last ice age. of course its not all old growth. people living here have left their mark on the land. but it's an old forest. and i want it to stay that way. if you know anything about biology or forestry, then you'd know this is a really special forest. it is one of a kind in europe. >> that so much of the forest with its oaks and lilies of the valley has already been destroyed for coal mine production leaves people on the tour uneasy.

>> it's a beautiful feeling walking around in the middle of nature. then you're suddenly yanked back into reality. it gets to you. to destroy all of this, just for a couple years of coal. that's insane. this is our home. and its all getting bulldozed to the ground. villages are being destroyed. for nothing. >> rwe's right to mine this land expires in 2040. after clearing hambach forest, rwe plans to level two villages nearby. the coal the company mines is destined for a local power plant. a huge polluter, say environmentalists. but there are arguments in favour of the mine as well. lignite provides a reliable source of power. and this mine alone employs around 2000 people.

mines are an important part of the economy. mines here generate 5% of the power in germany. god gave us a great lignite deposit here in this part of the country and all we have to do to get it, is mine it. mori and mila say what god gave this part of the country is not lignite. it's the trees. like this 250 year old oak. mori and mila live in a treehouse 16 meters above the ground. the rwe can't cut down a tree, if people are living in it. the young couple have made themselves a cozy home and so far the power company has left them in peace. the future of hambach forest and the lignite beneath it is still uncertain. it will depend first and foremost on whether germany can develop a renewable energy sector strong enough to replace

polluting lignite. >> moldova has had to deal with many crises since the fall of the iron curtain armed conflict, poverty and corruption means the country is rarely completely at peace. another issue is the exploitation of moldova's nature. once known as the "fruit garden of the soviet union", moldova has been hard-hit by the overexploitation of natural resources and the consequences of the global financial crisis. once again, though, moldova's geographical location between romania and ukraine right on the edge of the european union could prove to be its strength. that's if it can work out how to break into the growing european organic food market. >> these pelicans have spent the summer in southern moldova. soon they'll fly back to africa.

lake beleu is a paradise for birds especially for the many endangered species here, among them the great egret. but not all the fauna around the lake is native to it, says aurel lozan, an expert on biodiversity. some are invasive species, and they pose a threat to the vegetation. >> this seems to be a migratory locust; this is a pest. and the fact that we found it here means, that it penetrates from souther regions to here, which means, it's a result of changes in environment, probably climate change, climate warming. >> added to the global environmental problems are

moldova's regional ones: agriculture is encroaching on the lake. >> in fact, lake started to degrade very rapidly, especially during the last decade. and this is because of the sediment, which comes from the agricultural field through an artifical built channel. the production methods of industrial farming are having a major impact on moldova's environment and biodiversity. about three quarters of moldova's land is under cultivation, and pesticides and artificial fertilizers are widely used. monocultures of corn and sunflowers are leaching the soil which then requires even more artificial fertilizer. it's a vicious circle. viorel gherciu has set out to change that. he's president of pro rural invest, an ngo that promotes

organic farming and produce. >> in ten years, if we will say that 20 percent of agricultural land in moldova is under organic agriculture, it will be great. >> can europe's poorest country afford organic agriculture? with an average monthly income of some 220 euros, not many here can afford to eat organic produce not even in the capital, chisinau. even so, the government supports organic farming, with a view to increasing exports to the european union. these berries are a way to grow money on trees: aronia, or chokeberries. they taste sour, but are said to possess healing properties. >> i drink the juice myself, and last summer, i didn't need any medicines at all.

>> it's a health food that helps. i see great potential for it. >> viorel gherciu gave this farmer his organic seal. it has no official status in the european union, but it still seems to have attracted potential customers from the czech republic. they may be able to help in acquiring the equivalent eu certificates. >> the reason why we are here is that we would like to increase the range of products we offer and sell more products to the czech republic and to the eu. >> viorel gherciu is on the road again. pro rural invest supports 28 organic farmers with advice, certificates and customer referrals. viorel gerciu helped the monicol company obtain grant money to

send delegates to a food trade fair in germany. it's an opportunity to network. >> the best market is germany, netherlands and switzerland. and uk now increases much more sales in organic. and we have much more inquiries. >> the biggest market you said is germany. >> over 160 people work for monicol, and double that number during the harvest. the boss has plans to produce more fruit free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. he sees it as a growth opportunity. >> moldova has the chance to produce more organic food, because in the financial crisis, much land was abandoned, there was no use of chemicals, any pesticides.

now we have to focus to offer organic products it is possible, and i believe it will happen. >> the environmental organization ecovisio demonstrates cultivation methods for organic agriculture at a special garden near the capital. lots of young people come along. many want to learn organic methods for their own gardens. >> i noticed that people tend to duplicate practices when they see something that works somewhere else, thats why here even the workshops we try to run, try to make it as practical as possible. >> organic farming helps protect biodiversity, including even the tiniest organisms in the soil. and it makes use of them. >> organic agriculture means using biodiversity to serve

humans. these means, that no chemical used, which is good, particually good in terms of raising awareness among population. >> all this has put environmental protection on moldova's political agenda. the little republic even recently established its first national park. it includes fields and villages, but nature takes priority. sixty percent of the park's area is forested. more forest is being planted, and wildlife is returning. >> ants they came from the forest nearby to this plantation. in probably in years and years the forest will come and become a true forest. >>environmental protection, organic farming and reforestation are just three ways moldova is embracing ecological policies. >> the road to a cleaner environment is long and rocky.

an uphill struggle familiar to all who have tried to implement the ambitious millenium development goals. next week we'll be putting the education goal under the spotlight, in ethiopia. for a few years now, the country has been setting up a higher education system, with a string of new universities emerging. ethiopia understands the importance of higher education for sustainable economic prosperity. the buildings are ready. but what about the lecturers? tune in next week to find out. hope you'll join us then for the next edition of "global 3000." until then, it's goodbye from me and the rest of the crew in our studios in bonn, germany.

steves: from the destruction of world war ii, europe has steadily rebuilt itself into a forward-looking

and united continent. with the creation of the european union, economic integration has made another devastating war unthinkable. there has been a massive investment in cutting-edge infrastructure projects. efficient high-speed rail systems tie europe together. superhighways and stunning bridges further enhance the continent-wide transportation system. within cities, sleek subways move millions underground. on the streets above, public transit reduces traffic congestion. and nearly every city is creating traffic-free pedestrian zones, making urban life even more people-friendly. as the world grapples with climate change,

europe is taking a leading role in developing alternative energy sources. and while still preserving the historic character of its cities, europe has found a way to integrate innovative architecture into the landscape, giving the old world a modern face. and the human face of contemporary europe is more diverse and vibrant than ever. even as this continent of 500 million people unites, it's finding ways to allow its rich mix of cultures to celebrate their unique identities. from norway to greece and from portugal to bulgaria, people are proud to preserve their distinct languages, foods, and traditions.

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