host: hello, and welcome to "global l 3000." today we meet souad abderrahim, mayor of tunis, an unusual position for a woman in the arab world. we visit the peruvian rainforest, where traditional farming memethods are enjoyinga modest revival. and we go to norway, which is famously eco-minded. does its sovereign wealth fund also invest sustainably? the climate crisis is slowly -- too slowly -- taking center

stage in public awareness around the globe. companies involved in oil, coal, and gas are the target of mounting criticism. more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just 100 fossil-fuel producers. the top five are petrochina, exxonmobile, bp, sinopec, and royal dutch shell. investors used to love fossil-fuels as a way to make lots of money. but now many are frightened of holding stranded assets. investment is turning into divestment. investors s are reversing cour, shedding stocks and bonds in coal, gas, and other climate-killers. norway is taking it very seriously. its sovereign wealth fund is pursuing a program of divestment. how well is it working? reporter: norway's sovereign wealth fund has assets of nine trillion norwegian kroner. that's roughly a trillion euros.

it's known as the oil fund. it invests worldwide, and is run by the centrtral bank. it w s set up 199990 d is n n the m of theund is tensureinthe. respsiblble nagement of vevenue om theheountryry oil and s resours for th benet of current anduturure generations. so what do resespoible management mean? the fund's investments have become a topic of heated debate. the norwegian parliament has barred i it from ownining stakn a range e of arms, tobobacco,d fossil-fuel firms. it hasadad to sell hololdings n huhureds of companies, in a mar r divestnt i initiive. egil: some of those companies are coal producers, either

miners or r other producers bad on coal. for those ethical reasons, close to 70 coal producers or coal companies have been excluded from the fund. porter: thatat was in 201414. ology activists at first weomomed t divestmtment by such a majojor player as s a signift move towowards responsibibl, but some are now saying that it's premature for politicians to talk up the fund's green credentials, given that there is such a long way to go. anan: the norwegian government he i is speang with two tongueues. the norwrwegian prime e ministes telling last on the 24th of may while speaking in front of thee climate striking school kids, that what the norwegian

government has done since the previous school strike was actually to divest 134 oil companies from the state-owned pension fund. so she is talking about this in climate terms, and one could ask, who is actually the boss and the person in charge here. reporter: environmental protection may indeed be a concern, butut the fund's core mandate is to preserve the wealth of the norwegian people. if the world finally turns away from oil and fossil fuels, holdings in related industries could collapse in value. marianne: we are not aiming to send a message to the world. we are aiming to take good care of norwewegian peoples' saving. and the aim of this process has been to reduce the overall oil price risks in norwegian economy. and that's that, really. this fund is not an instrument of environmental policy, it's not an instrument of our foreign policy, it's a financial instrument to take care for the

norwegian peoples' s savings. reporter: the sovereign wealth fund is selling holdings in all dedicated oil and gas explorers and producers. but for now it's keeping stakes in oil companies that are also involved in renewable energies. the backdrop to all this is that norway itself is a major oil and gas producer. those resources are, in fact, the very source of its wealth. so some critics wonder how serious ththe fund realllly is t divesting frfrom internatitional and gas corprporations. one armement to mainin invested in controversial companies is that, as an investor, one can influence corporate policy. egil: that ownership activity that is done by our manager on behalf of us is to take up certain issues with top management and t the board of those companies, and those

issues often involve topics related to environmental or socicial or government's concer, including sustainability. reporterer: stebrand groroup ia financial services company. its investment arm is run by jan erik saugestad. it's norway's largest private-sector asset manager, but less than one tenth of the size of the sovereign wealth fund. it started reducing its exposure to coal in 2013, and has committed to a specific disinvestment timetable. jan: we also communicated that not only would we not invest in companies with 3 30% of their revenue from coal, but that huhurdle will be p put down fur every second year, and by 2026 we will be out of coal. reporter: the sovereign wealth fund has investments in thousands of listed d companie. as of april 2019, it's alslso allowed to invest in unlisted green infrastructure ventures.

some environmental activivists y that should be its focus. anja: so if the ministry of finance really wants to be a part of and contribute to this growth, then what they should do is to increase the mandate for the unlisted investments in renewable infrastructure companies. reporter: the fund's mandate has been shihifting. concernsns about the e environt are gainining weht, peperhs in the face of public pressure. it could well be that t otecting norwians' wealalth and prototecting the e environment e the face of public pressure. it couldto be compatible.tecting hostst: trees may y be key o humankind'd's survival.. they absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and release oxygen. but tropicalal rainforeststs e disappearing at an alarming rate. every three seconds, 100 trees are felled. the same is happening in peru, especially in the rainforest near iquitos. our reporter tanya blut traveled

to the region and found that logging has increased there over the past decade. but that may be changing now. reporter: the jungle around iquitos is home to more species than almost anywhere else on earth. it is a kind of paradise, but it is under threat. just 15 years ago, giant trees grew near the city. now they are floated down the river from further away, because there are none left here. deforestation is on the rise. logging yields valuable timber, in which there is a large illegal trade. and forests are being cleared for large plantations. but smallholder farmers also cut down trees, as they have done for centuries. like here in tres unidos, not far from iquitos. the farmers clear the land by

hand, tree by tree. then they burn them. it's a common practice throughout the region. alan: it's bad for the environment. it releases large amounts of greenhouse gases. deforestation in the amazon region is continuing, as is soil erosion. burning timber shortens the nutrient cycle. it kills the macro and the micro fauna. the erosion means the rain washes away more and more soil and the land becomes useless. reporter: initially, the ash actually makes the soil more fertile, but only for one season. the following year, crop yields generally are smaller. the farmers move on, leaving behind fields that are little more than sand. alan: when you see tv reports about the great biodiversity of

plants in our region, you might think the soil in the amazon is fertile and good for farming. but only 4% or 5% of the land is suited to agriculture. that's why farmers have to burn the biomass, to provide the soil with carbon that crops need to grow. reporter: cutting down trees is not optional for thehe people living here. it is a key element in their farming practices. at the same time, they are gradually destroying the very basis of their livelihood. nelson: we didn't even have to pour gasoline on it. we'd let the wood dry for three months. we only burn when the wind isn't too strong, otherwise the fire could spread. my children anand i keep watc. a couple of times, the fire got too close to our house. we doused it with lots of water. but when the fire is further away, we just let it burn. everybody around here does it.

everyone in the area. reporter: most farmers here grow pineapple, bananas, or yucca. this kind of monoculture tends to deplete the soil. eder pérez has farmed this land the conventional way for five years. now he's learning something new. the chaikuni institute, an ngo devoted to permaculture, has started a pilot project in the region to stop fields being cleared d by burning. it introduces what it calls chacra integral, an organic farming method in which the land is cleared of weeds and plants are prununed selectively. silvia: we're tapping ththe fort here to create a c chacra integral. without burning. and we've planted a lot of plant species. edible plants, medicinal plants, timber, and fruit trees.

reporter: the organizatition ss it is working with local communities to reactivate knowledge frfrom pre-colombian times. ancient wisdom that was passed down by word of mouth within a few families on hohow to farm e jungle sustainably and keep it healthy. silvia: indigenous people don't burn their fields. my mother taught me how to set up a chacra integral. you can see that this farm wasn't burned. it has a lot of organic matter. here you can see leaves and branches that haven't been burned. it's been composted, so that the soil retains its moisture, microorganisms, and other tiny creatures. reporter: setting up a chacra integral requireres a lot of knowledge of the rainforest plants. which ones need lots of light, which ones grow in partial

shade, what are their life-cycles, what kind of soil do they need, and how far apart should they ststand? silvia: this is cotton. it also has medicinal uses. this is cedrela. the wood is used in construction. and yucca, you can eat the roots. this is a young banana plant. reporter: the chacra integral concept is designed to provide a wide variety of foods in every season. once it is up and running, it lasts longer than burned fields, and produces more. workers and farmers in the area are being trained so that they can pass on what they've learned. alfredo: i'm looking forward to this.

i know that i will produce more and plant on the land again and again. i'll be doing it like this. here there's been no burning. we harvest some of the plants, and we leave some for them to dry out and be used as fertilizer. the main thing is that the harvest is better, and it's better for the environment. reporter: it's a win-win situation, using ancient agricultural expertise to restore the power of the jungle. host: we now head 300000 kilotersrs soueaeast to meet a teenager i ithe capital l of brazazil. host: we now head 300000 kilo>> i am a global teen.et a

beatriz: my name ibeatriz abu soares schmitzand d i' 1515. i ve in n asilia. i like playing g guitar, ridingy skates, , and going out wiwity friends.

the biggest global problem, to me, is the water scarcrcity tht is a aecting dififferent regios in thehe world. i'm not afraid of many things. i am afraid ofof thunder andnd ghtning, and i'm a litittle afraid o of snakes. going out t with my frieiends, enjoying life, going out to parties, but most of all being with my family.

host: a global issue that st won't go away is the underrepresentation of women in politics. there are more than 190 states, but only 23 have a woman as head of state or government. three illustrious examples of women in high office, sahle-work zewde, the president of ethiopia. jacinda ardern, prime minister of new zealand. and angela merkel, chancellor here in germany. in the arab world, there are no women running a country. and most of the 22 capital cities have men as mayors. however, in tunis, a woman was elected as mayor almost a year ago. reporter: out and about among the people. this is souad abderrahim in her element.

the mayor of tunis is adept at giving swift and clear orders. she tells the men that the pavement needs to be extended. next, it's off to a market in sijoumi, one of the city's poorer districts. as one of only a handful of female mayors in this part of the world, she's considered somewhat of a trailblazer. but most people here are simply interested in how she can help them. whether they're looking for a permit, an appointment, or a job, the mayor's priority is to listen to the concerns of the people. mayor abderrahim: i see the real problems on the ground. it's very important for me to listen to the residents because the people here have placed their trust in me and i'd like to reciprocate that. reporter: the city has built a new market hall to stop the

proliferation of illegal vendors. but renenting a spaces expensive. many people are unhappy about that and want the mayor to take action. and of course there are other issues, too. >> i say congratulations on the election, but i'd like it even more if she found work for my children. they just hang around on the street. reporter: the population of tunis is on the rise. having been in office for a year, souad abderrahim has tackled a range of issues, both large and small. she wawants to focus on solvig practical problems, whether that involves installing street lighting, improving waste disposal, or transportation. the mayor also acknowledges the significance of a woman having this job. mayor abderrahim: of course, i'm proud.

but the elections weren't easy. people were always questioning whether a woman n really had itn her to manage e the city. reporter: the 54-year-old's rise to power is all the more significant because of the party that backs her. ennahda describes itself as muslim democratic. its decision to support an ununveiled woman in her quest o become mayor of the country's capital city went againstt perceptionons of the pararty's islamist leanings. mayor abderrahim: there are a lot of prejudices against our party. such as we want to banish women to their homes and force them to wear veils. my message is that none of that is true. none of that appears in ennahda's election manifesto. reporter: but not everyone is convinced by these kinds of statements. lawyer fadoua braham doesn't

believe that the party is as progressive as it claims to be. fadoua: it's all a facade. the ennahda party and the islamists in tunisia are very clclever. they selected a woman who doesn't wear a veil in order to show that, voila, they're now an open, progressive party. reporter: souad abderrahim says she's used to criticism. while some accuse her of masking ennahda's islamist agenda, others in more conservative camps accuse her of espousing the very opposite. this woman asks her if she's ever read the koran and is taking her to task for not wearing a veil. the mayor replies that such a decision should be left to the individual. the ennahda party is keen to present itself as worldly and open, and now describes religion

as a personal matter. the shift away from so-called political islam is considered a strategic political move, one that will endear it to a larger cross-section of society, specifically to those who would traditionally have shunned an islamist party. rached: political islam was a response to tunisia's dictatorship. but now we're reacting to the shift t towards democracy. that's why we separate politics and religion. and that's why democratic islam exists. reporter: this is the view souad abderrahim has from her desk. not everyone here supports her political ascent. but she is determined to prove her critics wrong. in a former r life, she workrks a manager in the pharmaceutical industry. now she wants her policies to do

the talking. mayor abderrahim: here in tunis, we have become role models f fr tunisisian, and all arab wome. we have shown that women can contribute to political life. reporter: time now to head to her next appointment. since the arab spring, tunis has become dirtier and more chaotic. souad abderrahim wants to do her bit to change things for the better. that means battling bureaucracy as well asas preconceptions. host: before we go, there's just enough time for something savory in our series global snack. repoporter: grilleled meat s popular ththroughout thehe bal. like cevapi. one tradional recipe comes

fromom banja luka. it's bososnia herzegovina's secd largest city. this relaxed neighborhood draws both locals and tourists. along with shops and outdoor chess, it's also home to obelix, which h started ouout 40 yearso as a butcher's shop. tomislav eic is the grandson of the founders. he breeds cattle and slaughters the animals himself. this way he manages the entire production chain, to ensure his beef is the best. tomislav: banja luka cevapi is specific to the region. it's different from all other kinds. a patty measures five centimeters by two. e recipe i is a closely guguard sesecret. and we use only top-quality meat.

rereporter: the e flatbread iso plplaced on the e grill, so tht takes on t the meaty arorom. add some salad and sauce, and e cevapi is ready to serve. obelix sells around 500 portions a day. a large helping with 200 grams of meat costs the equivalent of three euros 30. >> this is the place to come. repoporter: a kebabab with flatd eses down ll w with beer.. in b bosnia herzegovina, cevapis considered something of a national dish. host: that's all from "global 3000" this week. but we love hearing from you.

write to us at global3000@dw.com and follow us on facebook, dw women. see you next time. take care. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

narrator: on this episode of "earth h focus," the illegal lumber trade is a multi-million-dollar business spanning the globe. in the northwest united states, scientists are using innovative methods to stop lumber from enentering ththe country, w whin brazil, violent clashes have erupted at the source, where indigenous groups are trying to stop poachers from decimating their forest.