>> hello, it's time for your weekly brief on the global issues that affect us all. welcome to "global 3000." i'm michaela küfner, and here's what's coming up waiting and anticipating -- will president obama finally give the go-ahead for a new oil pipeline to canada. nowhere to go, how the inhabitants of nigeria's floating slums fight eviction and caught between droughts and flooding, how bangladesh

suffers under the effects of climate change. "keystone xl" is not just any pipeline. for its supporters this multi-billion dollar project is a job creator and an important step to more energy independence. for its critics it's a sell-out to the oil lobby. the keystone pipeline already connects canada's main oil source, those tar sands in alberta with the oil refineries in the southern united states. plans for the new "xl" route mark a short-cut that would allow faster delivery of more oil on a direct route towards the gulf of mexico. it's all up to u.s. president barack obama. if he signs off on the project, canada's oil sands exploration will be boosted. if not the oil companies would have to start lobbying all over again. the political battle is on with a lot at stake.

>> what do we want? >> climate justice! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> march 2014, protests at the white house in washington. demonstrators are fighting plans to build the keystone-xl-pipeline which would transport oil from canada to the u.s. they say it will have a devastating effect on people and the environment. >> my family members and community are dying who are working in the tar sands and now they are trying to bring this destructive development through british colombia and to the world which is something that i would put my life on the line for. >> along with the other protesters, she's determined to stop the project from going ahead. she's travelled from canada to be part of the demonstration. canadian, as well as other international energy companies, are increasingly tapping into unspoiled natural habitats

harbouring enormous fresh water reserves. to get to the oil, they dig deep into the soil. billions of liters of water and solvents separate the oil from the earth. the process produces toxic waste and leaves landscapes barren. we've got a picture of what it looks like from the air. now we want to check out the process on the ground. we accompany workers on christina lake in the province of alberta on their way to the plant. cenovus is among the few companies which do not conceal their operations. the oil sands lie hundreds of meters beneath the soil. instead of surface mining, cenovus has come up with an alternative method of accessing the oil. >> we inject steam deep into the ground to soften the oil which is like frozen honey.

that allows us to then pump then the oil to surface and allows us to produce a very large area underground with very little ground disturbance. >> the technique does not damage as much forest land. the company also tries to recycle most of the water. but the process does leave behind some highly-contaminated water. the automated process takes place around the clock. the company plans to double production in the coming years. but that growth will only be possible if the oil can be transported to consumers, especially in the united states. that's why the oil industry is lobbying for the keystone-xl-pipeline. >> the oil from our facility will go to enbridge which will then get transported through the pipeline down to hardisty which will then go down to the states and to the refinery. so we hope that keystone xl will go through and help increase our shipping capacity. >> for the energy giants, it's

worth the effort. they could make billions if the project goes ahead. the glass towers of calgary, the largest city in alberta, are home to several big oil companies. many of the executives say environmental regulation is already strict. >> we have one of the strongest regulatory systems in the world. before we ever build a project we are required to put together an integrated application that looks, not only at the recovery of the resource, but also looks at how we will protect the environment. >> that's a claim that the environmental organisation greenpeace rejects. w e visit their office in the province's capital, edmonton, about two hours away from calgary. >> the regulations are very weak and are getting weaker all

the time because the industry has done a very effective campaign to gut can the environmental legislation and to gut our protection when it comes to water. in addition to that we have very poor enforcement. >> greenpeace says oil producers are rarely taken to task for destroying the environment. together with representatives of the native american cree nation, they're planning to protest in every major canadian city in may. >> the beaver lake cree alone have sighted over 20,000 treaty rights violations in their traditional territory. we are seeing members of fort chipewyan getting sick and seeing members of their community die. and then the traditional territory is either being destroyed or is being rendered inaccessible because of tar sands development. >> government officials in the say they're committed to protecting the environment and listening to the cree's concerns. >> one of the things that i will be doing in the near future is setting up an

environmental council of elders from first nations across the province so that we can take traditional land knowledge from first nations and partner with western science and come up with some solutions. >> but how do ordinary canadians feel about the oil industry in their country? we head to edmonton to find out. >> i think its good for alberta. i think its being managed well in terms of environment right now. >> i mean its pretty obvious that it is terrible. i think that is obviously pretty commonly known. >> it has to be done responsibly but i feel we need it as a country and as continent. >> i think you can make a lot of money from oil sands but to the environment may be it is harmful it is not good. >> generally, the oil industry can rely on the government's support here. after all, more oil means more money and more jobs for alberta. officials say even if the keystone xl-pipeline does not get the green light, they will

find other ways of transporting the oil. >> the fact of the matter is while we want to do business with the americans, if keystone doesnt go ahead we are looking to go east-west or to the west coast. we will get product to market eventually. >> pipelines are already being built all around canada. a decision about the keystone xl-pipeline is expected in the coming months. obama's decision will have to weigh up questions of employment and energy independence against his own comment that climate change is one of humanity's most pressing dangers. time now for a glance at what's in store for you when you're on the lookout for a tasty snack on the go. this week we head to a stall on the indonesian island of bali where the climate is mild but

watch out for those spices. for today's snack, we're heading to the fishing port of padang bai. most of the town's inhabitants are hindu. indonesia is famous for its spectactular religious festivals. balinese cuisine is particularly famous for one thing. it's spicey hot! sambal is a spicy sauce made mostly of chili peppers and tomatoes. it's the basis of a super-spicy snack, ayam pelalah, balinese-style chicken. >> it's the longer chili. it's not spicy. that one smaller, more spicy.

very spicy. that one, green one. very spicy. it's the balinese-style chili. dana budi often comes to visit his sister illu's kiosk right at the harbour. the chili is crushed and fried in coconut oil. for the uninitiated, it can cause stinging in the eyes and shortness of breath. our camera-operator has to step away! >> it's good cooking. smelling it is better! >> illu goes next door to pick up another important ingredient, fresh chicken. it's mixed together and fried with the sambal sauce, onions, garlic and herbs. voila!

our snack is ready. today it's fairly quiet. but one loyal customer comes every day, illu's niece, samilla. she doesn't think ayam pelalah is spicy at all! what does our reporter think? spicy! thank you. everything's ready for the influx of customers later in the evening. for now, we say goodbye. when the ferry from the mainland arrives later on, padang bai will be teeming with activity. according to the united nations, one in seven people around the globe live in slums. and the one thing they fear more than the conditions they live in is when the land they live on suddenly attracts interest from developers. and that's the case in makoko, nigeria. it's a unique slum because it

floats on the shallow lagoon of the capital lagos. but now the government is eager to reclaim what it now sees as a prime waterfront location. for a community that lives in fear of eviction, a floating school has become a beacon of hope. home to more than 15 million people, lagos has become a major business hub. nigeria's vast oil reserves are attracting investors from all over the world. rents have skyrocketed. the government is pleased. it wants to showcase lagos as a modern, developed city, but it's got one big image problem. makoko, a slum with a difference. it's built entirely on water. residents call it "venice for the poor." more than 100,000 people live here. for them, this is daily life. whether they're going to the bank to open an account or

heading to the phone shop, they travel everywhere by boat. most people make a living from fishing. they're terrified of being driven out of their water settlement and onto dry land. but authorities consider makoko the pariah of the city. they want to get rid of it. noah shemede is considered one of makoko's leaders. he was there when thousands of his neighbours' homes were destroyed. all that remains are some wooden posts. >> they start from this edge and demolished 300 houses on this side. and they make people homeless. that was the point where they killed one of our chiefs. >> when the chief refused to leave his home, the police shot him. locals were threatened with

chainsaws. noah filmed the entire incident on his mobile phone. after that, authorities halted the demolition of the settlement. but no one here knows if, or when, they'll come again. in an attempt to improve the image of makoko and convince the government not to demolish the settlement, locals have built a "floating school." it's 10 meters high and floats on 250 plastic barrels. it was designed by a nigerian architect. there are still no pupils or teachers in the school though, since the government says it was constructed without a permit, but noah and the local community are proud. for them, the building presents a beacon of hope for the future. >> this building for this group is like a prototype of the kind of building we can build. we

can build 100 of these to cover the front of the community. so people passing through, will be seeing this kind of building. out of all these hundreds of buildings, we might have clinics among them, community centres, i hope playgrounds among them. >> this is how the entrance to makoko could look. it's not an unrealistic vision either, construction would not cost much. and it would mean locals could stay in their homes. it's not just about saving homes though. makoko desperately needs a new school. it's only got one at the moment. and it only has space for one percent of makoko's children. right now, 4th grade is having a math lesson, while on the other side, 5th grade is doing english. noah went to school here. now he's one of the teachers.

he tells us that the children attend classes in shifts. the youngest pupils come in the morning, while the older ones arrive in the afternoon. but they only have capacity for 300 children. >> every child in nigeria deserves an education, wherever they are. we are on water. that doesn't mean we don't deserve an education. they deserve to get an education in their environment. they are eager, very happy to go to school in their environment. >> but the call for access to education has been left unanswered for years. makoko means "place of the outcasts." but that's not how people here feel about themselves. the settlement has been around for 200 years. most of the residents were born here, just like their mothers and grandmothers. many of them have never been outside of makoko. they don't see a reason to leave. they have everything they need here from floating boutiques to stationery shops and a supermarket.

>> i buy goods on the mainland and sell them here. it's going well. it's enough to keep the kids fed. >> makoko's electricity is supplied by generators rather than a grid. blackouts are common. adeyemi, who owns a hairdresser salon, tells us that makoko is a peaceful place. he says there is hardly any violence because everyone knows each other. >> i grew up here and i'm happy here. i earn my money through fishing and as a hairdresser. my children were born here. i don't want to live anywhere else. >> noah and the rest of the community hope that the floating school will convince authorities not to demolish makoko, a simple idea that could save thousands of people's homes and livelihoods.

for most of us, caring more about the environment means recycling, driving less or making sure we reach for those eco friendly products in the supermarket. but how reasonable is it to ask some of the poorest people in the world to sacrifice? especially when key factors like climate change or river management are beyond their control? in bangladesh that's exactly what's happening and it seems there's no alternative for this generation, if the next one is to have anything left to fight for. bangladesh, the land of rivers. with nearly 160 million people, it's one of the most densely

populated countries in the world. but the battle for resources is causing species to die out. pollution is destroying rivers. and wetlands are drying up. in the last few decades, these areas have undergone a huge transformation. people are beginning to recognize the need to take action to save the environment. 30 years ago, syed azher would see hundreds of dophins on the boral river. today, he needs to be patient if he wants to catch a glimpse of a single one. >> in our village people they call it si-su. actually si-su means child. >> ganges dolphins are often solitary creatures. when the rainy season comes,

they move upstream. but that puts them in danger. >> due to climate change and other factors, our important rivers, where the dolphins live are most silted in important areas, so they migrated here and there, and became endangered. >> and people are responsible. dams and locks have wrested as much water as possible from the land, cutting off the natural paths of dolphins and fish. bangladesh lives off its fertile alluvial deposits. almost half the population works in agriculture. paddy fields dominate the landscape. nowadays, the wetlands no

longer live up to their name. the land has dried up and the fish are gone. for people in the pabna region, it's a disaster. more than 300 men and women are digging out a dried up branch of the river by hand. nasima akram is helping. >> my job is to look after the worries and concerns of the workers. if one of the babies cries i check on them and if someone is thirsty, i bring them water. >> the project allows people like nasima akram to earn some money. the scheme aims to restore and protect 34 wetlands. >> so many endangered species will reappear after the re-excavation those disappeared before. after the re-excavation they will come again, they will breed again, and biodiversity will increase in such way.

>> but to make it work, the fishermen need to take an active role. it's up to them to conserve the stock of fish. but the small amount they manage to catch these days is hardly enough to live on. ramcharan halder has been fishing here for over 50 years. >> we caught them all, sold them and wiped them out. that's how it is. the fish have disappeared and we are in despair. there's no longer any connection to the rivers. >> he's worried about his children's future. when he can, he helps out with the environmental protection project. the poles are designed to stop nets being cast. it's an ideal spawning area for

fish. birds and bats find a refuge here. this evening, nasima akram has arranged a meeting for all the women in the village. the project has allowed her to learn new skills. she wants to get things moving. as a woman, that takes courage. >> the biggest change for me personally is that i never used to go out. now i address other women, speak about the environment and think about how we can preserve the flora and fauna of the wetlands. i also occupy myself with women's rights. i didn't know anything about all that before. but not everyone can afford to take part in sustainable farming. many people have simply moved away from rural areas to work in the bangladeshi capital, dhaka.

some former fishermen now make a living pulling rickshaws. overpopulation and a battle for resources are not the only issues which present a problem to the german project co-ordinator, ottilie mooshofer,. >> the dilemma we're facing is that often feeding the population here in bangladesh comes at the expense of biodiversity. that's a challenge because there are poor people here who really rely on these resources to survive. and at that point it's a question of whether or not you can afford to do without the final 20, 30 percent of your catch. >> nasima akram and her family have made a commitment to do just that.

at least as long as the project is running and they can make money from it. >> the fish catch here has already fallen by 75 percent. if the rest of the stock is to be protected, the fishermen need alternatives. and what about the ganges dolphin? there are now three protected areas for them. >> sometimes some people try to harvest them, but fishers protect them, that is he positive sign, they are trying to conserve in this area. but we have, have to do for them. because we just started. >> and that was "global 3000" for today. thanks for watching and bye bye!

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