♪ host: welcome to "global 3000." divers recently thought they'd discoverered a new reeeef in e mediterraneaean. but what appeared to be bright colorful corals were in fact mountains of plastic waste, swaying in the currents. humans have put their stamp on the planet, and it's not always been a pretty one. a report from the united nations says biodiversity is declining at a dangerous rate. more than a million n species could soon b become extincnct. there's alalmost no placace on h that's beeeen spared frorom hn

mountas, s sucas in ththe kurdh h regi of nonorthern iraq. it's one of the most conflict-ridden areas. borders drawn after world war i left the kurdish region straddling four states -- turkey, syria, iraq, and iran. this has resulted in uprisings, violence, and wars that still continue today. most rececently, against so-cald islamic state. over the decades, millions of people have been displaced. some fled to isolated mountain areas. kurdistan's wildlife has also been badly affected. many species are now endangered. but there's new hope in the qara dagh region of northern iraq, thanks to dedicated conservationists. reporter: summer temperatures can exceed 40 degrees celsius here in the qara dagh in the kurdistan region of iraq.

that's why biologist hana raza and her colleague koresh ararat like to get an early start. they're looking for traces of the biggest predator here, a leopard that's considered the top of the food chain. reporter: the persian leopard is virtually invisible. people who live here in the mountains of qara dagh know of the leopard, but very few have ever seen it. even hana raza, who's been working and doing research here for years now, has never encountered a leopard in the wild. that's why they use camera traps. hana: so, this is the wild goat. we get a lot of pictures of them on our camera traps, which is a good indicator of the prey available for the persian leopard. this is one of the r reasons wy

different mammal species, and also a lot of birds. we have the wild goat, we have the greyey wolf, jackal, fox,, wildcats, the asasiatic wildcats well. rereporter: the leopards have o compete with wolves for their prey, and occasionally other leopards. but persian leopards have become very rare in these mountains. hana: so this leopard is the the persian leopard in 2011. thisis one is a new individual that we discovered in qara dagh in 2017. and this way we know for sure that we have three adult leopards living and roaming

these mountains. reporter: worldwide, the population of persian leopards is estimated at less than 1300. the graceful yet ferocious big cat is listed as endangered. the conservationists climb the steep rocky terrain as often as possible. they haven't given up hope of spotting a leopard on one of the other cliffs. this is its main hunting ground. hana: this is a typical habitat for the leopard. the persian leopard normally prefers oak forest and rocky areas. so, what they do is when they hunt, they normally sit on a tree or under a tree and looking out and overlooking what is going on there, and then once they locate a prey, they just jump down the mountain. it is easier for them, because they are so powerful and they jump so high as well. and once they are lucky to get a prey, then they drag it onto a

tree, and then that's where they eat it. reporter: the fate of the persian leopard is dependent on its habitat. four decades of war, violence, and human migration in iraq have left their mark on both people and animals here. hana: the strength of the leopards could be compared to the strength of human beings, especially kurds who withstood a lot of conflicts and unrest in our region. my family is a peshmerga family. peshmerga are freedom fighters. those who fought against saddam hussein. so, i was born in the mountains while my parents were actually fighting against the regime, and my connection with nature and the mountains goes that long.. and i felt that as i grew up, that my parents fought for the mountains, but now there is nothing to see on the mountains. so i am striving to see wildlife back again on the mountains. like, if you see this mountain

without animals, then there is no point of it. reporter: for years now, hana raza has been negotiating with iraqaqi authorities to estababla protected area in qara dagh. her efforts seem to have paid off. 2300 hectares of mountainous terrain are to be designated a nature reserve for the leopards. the locals have to be convinced as well. years of unrest have forced people to leave, so there aren't many left. and the younger generation often look for jobs inin the big citi. but atta mohamed saleh stayed. atta: for me, the leopard is a kind of natural heritage. i'd like to see more of them in these mountains. reporter: the new nature reserve is also meant to attract tourists, a much needed source of income. a tourist lodge is currently being built with the support of

is for vacation ananfor havingg fun, but actually i can promise that this regionon is very saf. reporter: but the first visitors are not the guests they were hoping for. oil reserves are believed to be situated along the border of the protected area. even though the oil company is considering ways to support the reserve, drilling would nevertheless be inevitable. after half an hour, the unwelcome visitors leave. hana: my personal thinking is that oil and oil exploration is one of the biggestst negative impacts on the environment, and no matter how they try, they would still leave a big footprint on thehe environmen. reporter: the isolation of the mountains in the kurdistan region is the best protection for iraq's leopards. only if the area is left untouched, says hana raza, does the spirit of the qara dagh have

a chance. hana: my vision for this future and especially t the conservatn of wildlife, particularly,y, iso have a a network of protecected areas established for our region, to have prosperity, and to have more peaeace for the lol people, and the local commmmunities that live around them, and also for the wildlife. host: this week's global ideas is also about species protection. the number of insects worldwide has fallen drastically. agriculture takes a big share of the blame. our reporter mabel gundlach went to morocco to find out about a research project that hopes to

benefit farmers and insects. reporter: these coriander flowers attract a lot of insects. researcher stefanie christmann is delighted to see them. after all, they're essential for pollination. here in morocco though, many simply view insects as pests. now a scheme designed to e educe farmers about the need to protect them has been introduced. simply planting strips of wildflowers, as is often done in germany, isn't the best solution here. stefanie: this wildflower strip is a nice approach maybe for rich countries, but it is not scalable to low and middle income countries. so we decided to select a middle income country with a well-developed agricultural sector like morocco, develop a model for sustainable and scalalable pollinator protectin here in morocco, and then scale it out to the other countries.

reporter: unlike other common insect protection plans, the focus here i is on enablinig farmers to generate an income from everything they grow. farming with alternative pollinators, or f.a.p. for sht,t, is e name of the plan. it works like this -- three quarters of the land is used to grow the main crop, like eggplant, for example. cultivated around it are plants that attract more insects because of their colors, shapes, and when they're in bloom. the farmer can also sell them. as a control, there are fields on which only the main crop ows. that way, the researchs s can assessss the effectitiveness oe intervrvention. ahlam sentil is a phd student on christmann's team. here she's collecting insect samples that will later be examined in the lab. when it comes to protecting pollinators, she says economic arguments are just as importrtt

intaining the diversitity of e ahlam: iwewe talk ly a about intereststed. but if we talk about increasing their yield and meanwhile we can conserve the pollinators, then they will be interested. so i think that t the f.a.p. approach is s the best approacho provide all those things to the farmers. reporter: stefanie christmann works at an institute in the moroccan capital rabat. it was here that she developed f.a.p. she says the consequences of global insect disappearance could be dramatic, such asas ls of food crops, soil erosion, and even human migration. stefanie: we mightht get intna world which is not peaceful anymore. in all areas, because everybody will be affected. and i think we have to start thinking on pollinator loss and on pollinator protection also in terms of keeping global peace.

reporter: the thousands of samples she collects help scientists gain an overview of insect populations. >> we can, for example, take this one. this is a mason bee. so, the mason bees, they will make nests above ground. reporter: the researchers have been studying eating and brbreeding behavavior. they've also shown farmers how to spot insect nests. stefanie: we did interviews with farmers. they dont t recognize nenests. so for this we have to go to the field and to show them nests, to make them see their landscape and their fields with the eye of a pollinator. also, when they have a large monoculture, like, kilometers of cereal fields, from the point of view of a wild pollinator, this is a sahara.

and they cannot cross, a as we cannot cross by footot sahara. reporter: wheat t does not ned insectcts to reproroduce, so e bumblebees are luckyky if they find any flolowers in the vast fields, especially since, unlike honeybees, they can't fly very far. one problem is the growing tendency toward monoculture in morocco as the country modernizes its agriculture. a government agency is cooperating with the f.a.p. team. it says the insect protection model can easily b be integratd into the country's agricultural planning. malika: i think f.a.p., or the inclusion of wild pollinators sn agriculture, f fits in perfecty with the minisistry's current strategy. it involves making agriculture more intelligent in the face of climate change..

reporter: agriculture in the face of climate change. the agency now offers training based on the f.a.p. model. farmers learn that plalants tht rely on pollinators usually consume less water than wheat, for example. that's useful to know, because in the future water will be even scarcecer. stefanie: we cannot train the farmers now what to do in 2050, but we can educate them in a way that they are able to respond to the reality they will have then. and sustaining pollinators will definitely increase the climate change resilience of their livelihood, and the more knowledge they get on pollination protection, the better. reporter: farmers as insect protectors. based on the current data, the model seems to be working. stefanie: yeah. so, let's check in the zucchini. it is in very, very good condition. very good. reporter: the farmers make more

profit from the areas with more pollinator-friendly plants. this is the second year that mohamed chokri has been farming using the f.a.p. method. mohamed: our income has increased, a and with it, our lives have improved. we benefit from m it. we can sell more. previously, we only sold wheat, vegetables, and pulses. now i know that i can grow different products. as well as other vegetables besides the traditional ones. reporter: chokri wants to use the method on a much bigger field in the future. and if other countriries adopt e f.a.p. model, the impact on insect populations could be significant.

host: coral reefs cover an area of around 600,000 square kilometers worldwide. they grow almost exclusively in warm, tropical seas. the reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, with 60,000 species discovered there so far, including thousands of different fish. the reefs may be home to up to a million animal species. but rising sea temperatures are causing what's known as coral bleaching, with fatal consequences. fishing harms biodiversity, too. and garbage poisons the marine life in the reef. turning things around is a big challenge. reporter: with its breathtaking beauty, belize is paradise on earth. or at least, that's how it looks. >> we're eating pig today. you guys want some pig?

reporter: but t e country's most prized posssssion li undederwer -- the e incredible biodiversity of its 7000-year-old coral reef, the second largest in the world. the reefef was dying, , but isw gradually y being broughght bao fe. monique vernon is one of those fighting on its behalf. she can't think of a more wonderful job, she says. even as a child, the 25-year-old knew she would one day become a saver of reefs. monique: what i feel like when i go to work is like, "yes." when they call me and say, "alright, we're gonna go do this here, go check the corals here," or whatever it is, i'm like, "alright, let's do this, let's rock this, let's rock today." reporter: in the coastal village of plasencia, locals survive on fishing and tourism, both of which depend on the reef. monique: you know, i come out on this trip many times, many days, and i say, "man, i am so blessed." and i look at everything that is in front of me and i think, "i

hope one day this doesn't become a memory." reporter: beneath the surface, it's clear why the reef is struggling. the corals have been dying off. e seawaterer is too warm, , to acididic. and the frequent cyclones have wreaked havoc. hehere, climate e change is tug evererything grey.y. together w with marine b biolot and the frequent cyclones have lisa carne and her organization fragments of hope, monique is re-building the corals. lisa: we're overdue, and so there's no time to waste right now. the corals are basically like the forest in the sea, so just like the trees in the forest provide habitat and shelter for so many other animals, the corals do the same on the reef. reporter: very meticulously, after much research and carell sectioion, ty takeke aew fragagments of some e especiay hardy, quiuick-growing c cora. then t they plant ththem in new places.

it's called micro-fragmentg.g. fit ththe cols arere c into small pieces. these are the fragments of hope. and time is of the essence. the divers plant the smamall pieces o of living cororal amone dead ones. several times a ekek, theylacece the e coral pieceses in prepad cement, , as they needed a see foundation. moninique: this seseems like at of work, but it's for the future, and that's all that matters. rereporter: arouound 80% of thte fragmements survive.e. these ones have been growingoror 18onthths. lifefes returninand attracting more life wi i it. a school o of sardines, , fr examplple. the fish need the corals. edlin leslie is a fisherman, like his father and grandfather before him. and his son is set to follow in

his footsteps. edlin watches the pelican. it shows him where his bait will go. edlin: i grew up out here. i quit school from 15 years old and i started fishing with my dad. but this is my school, the ocean. reporter: edlin also sees himself as a reef protector. he would never use large fishing nets, for example. they kill too many animals and corals. edlin: if you don't have a healthy reef you don't have any fish to go after. you know? the reef system protects the fishes. if you don't have the fishes cleaning these corals and stuff like that, the corals will die, too. reporter: edlin is dedicated to fifishing sustaiainably. not t everyone is.s. he protects the crayfishjujust it's notot yet fishingng seas.

though he's not so forgiving with the fire fish. edlin: this kills all the little fishes that live around the corals and groom the corals. reporter: the belize government has now divided the reef into zones in order to protect it. you u can only fish h in yourn area, to a allow species to recover.r. that's what edlin is committed to. edlin: we've got to protect, or else the future is not going to be here for our kids, you know. if you conserve as much as possible, the future will be beautiful. reporter: edlin was among those putting pressure on the government, such as when it handed out exploration licenses to oil companies. images of the catastrophic oil spill in the gulf of mexico in 2010 shocked many here into action. edlin helped organize petitions. the u.n. supported the campaign. only then did the government back down. edlin: we don't want oil in belize. we want no dredging, no oil plants, nothing like that on our reef, because one little oil spill and the whole reef will be dead. reporter: the people of belize are fighting for their reef.

monique takes stock k of the fafaed coral shehe'll soon fid w homes fo the redonations.ors' work is they proudly sw w us theesulults ofof eight yearsrs' work. coral covehas increased from just 6% to over 50%. all the hard work is worth it. the reef has been able to recuperate. lisa: this is not solving the climate change crisis. all this is is a little band-aid buying us some time for the coastal community people here. monique: i say it's all about political will. i think we can do this if we have the people behind us. we can do this. reporter: a long day draws to a close. edlin sells his daily catch to a fish restaurant. from the sea, fresh to the plate. now monique's coral has to take firm enough hold that it can

withstand any storm that comes its way. host: once again, our reporters were invited to take a glimpse inside one of world's living rooms. this time in pune, india. nitika: : welcome. thisis is my husbaband. > hello. nitika: we l live in thiss

bebeautiful placace/home in p. and we have e somehow foununde bebest of friendnds each otot, ch other.s. and think kr i'll tl yoyou why this paintin. there is chaos all around. there'e's fire, therere's ang, therere's hatred.. but buddddha, he is alall calmd he is wiwith inner peaeace. and d i love that t about this paintiting. so n no matterer how much chaou haveven life, you can alwaysys find happiness. ♪

so this mirror is one ofhehe eces t that ve managed t carry overer from my chihildhoo this home.e. this b belonged to m my mother. my father hahas purchased d it , 60 years b back. and d to bring thihis here ano look into this mirror, i somehow managed toto steal thosese mems and keep i it with me. thank you so much fofor comingo our place,e, to our humbmble a. happinesess, we wish y you hea, and we wish h we can see y you n on. host: thth's it for r "global 303000" this weeeek. we'd love to hear from you. e-mail us at global3000@dw.com, or visit us on facebook. you'll find us under dw women.

see you next time. bye-bye. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

narrrrator: on thihis episode of "earth focus," two cities-- freetown, sierra leone, and san francisco, california-- continents apart, vastly different culturally and economically, yet facing the same struggle to adapt to rapid urbanization, all set against the backdrop of a dramatitically changing climimate. [film advance clilicking]