>> welcome to global 3000! this week, we find out how young people in uganda are turning their dreams into reality . >> we learn about a potential solution for global food waste and we meet a photographer documenting the effects of global warming in the sahel. >> more than a third of our planet is made up of deserts and dry lands and that percentage is rising.

every year, an additiona 7000 square lometers o feile landurns to sert: the in causeare defostation,vergrazi, and the ovuse of wer resoues , all owhich deete the soil of essentl minera. with temperatures set to rise over the coming decades the rate of desertification is likely to speed up considerably. water scarcity is already a problem for one billion people, most of them in africa. the 2020 world risk index says the situation particularly precarious in the sahel region. lake chad in west-central africa, people here have lived from farming and catching fish for thousands of years. it appears idyllic at first glance but one of the world's biggest environmental catastrophes is unfolding here. twenty years ago, the lake's surface shrunk by 90%, and now climate change has brought

extreme weather that's destroying the local farmers' livelihoods. photographer andy spyra is working on a photo project that documents the effects of climate change on the entire sahel region. spyra was the last reporter in the region before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. back home in germany, africa's problems seem far away. nevertheless, they have a direct impact on europe. >> 80 million people live in the sahel region. their livelihoods will be taken away in the coming years and decades. the people here have to go somewhere, and go they will. it's just a matter of where. >> on lake chad, spyra experienced first-hand how the climate tastrophe d to conflicts,ars, terrosm and anarchy. extreme weather is getting worse, harvests are failing, and large parts of lake chad can no longer be traversed.

because nature can no longer provide for the people here, there are intense fits over the remaining resources. entire villages have been burned down. >> we were in two villages that ended up at war with each other, and it was clearly about resources. it was about access to water, access to food, and fishing rights. the weapons they used were as archaic as the spears, bows and arrows. thsands of people die on lake chad each year due to the regional conflicts that have embroiled the region. >> andy spyra has photographed in syria, afghanistan and in the balkans. he shoots with a wide angle lens, which means he has to get close up to people. spyra's work isn't limited to farmers. he also photographs warlords, islamic extremists, women who have been raped. he understands the interplay between hunger, war, and religious extremism from seeing them first-hand, including on

lake chad. >> boko haram drives around the lake at night and recruits young men. the offer of 500 dollars and an ak-47 is very enticing to someone whose liveliho is disappearing. >> spyra also went to nigeria, where the conflict between the nomadsnd the farrs has bee eslating forears. 's now one of the bloodiest civil wars in the world. for a week, spyra accompanied muslim fulani nomads as they drove their cattle herds southward during the dry season. but dwindling pastures caused the situation to explode. when fulani herds grazed on farming land, the farmers shot the cattle. the nomads burned down the farmers' villages in retaliation. both believe they're in the right, and the government is unable to resolve the conflict. >> later, we heard the other side of the story.

we went to the christian farmers and listened to their version of what happened. this one village called bare was completely destroyed by the fulani people. dozens of people were massacred, people were decapitated, and they took the heads with them. it was very brutal. in mali, internal conflicts led to a military coup. troops marched through the streets of the capital bamako and forced president keita and prime minier cissé to resign. not even deploying the german militarywhich habeen in e country r 7 year couldn't prevent the total collapse of the government. in march, andy spyra was in mopti, an area that was once popular among tourists. today, the region is isolated,

and millions of civilians suffer violence. there are caliphates and ethnic militias, but no government. mali hasn't been safe for quite some time. >> we went to visit with the prime minister, and there was an armed unit a kilometer long. at least a hundred vehicles drove there, just to visit the village. that says a lot abousecurity there. >> more than 2 million people from the lake chad region have fled due to hunger, war and extremism. andy spyras' provocative pictures show the impact this has on people, and how violence leads to trauma and devastation. they have no choice but to flee, and they won't be the last. hunger is on the rise all over the world it now affects around 820 million people and yet, some 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year. in developing countries this is ten down ta lack of infrtructure for

freshly-harvested food. as a result, on average 6 to 11 kilos of food are wasted this way, per person per year there. in industrial nations, that figure is 10 times greater. retailers and consumers often toss out food just because it no longer appears fresh. extended the shelf-life of produce could improve the situation for all. >> fruit and vegetables rotting in fields, or during transportation to consumers. according to the un food and agricuural organation or fao, se 14 pernt of fo is lost after harvesting and before it reaches the market or retailer. >> so if you go to a particular country or particular village, you are likely to see varying levels of food losses.

and these, depending on the situation, could go up even to 50 percent if you're talking out fruits and vegetables; for example if the farmer does not find a market for that product in a timely manner. now, this is a he amount of food and if you convert itnto monetary quantity, it's a lot. and if you convert it monetarily, the loss tthe environment or the environmental impact, that's also huge. when thahappens, wer, pesticidesnd resourc used for tranortation are all wasted. some 7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to food loss and waste. the main causes include probms with trsportation and refrigation. e path fm harvest to kitchen table is a race against ti. a california-based company, apeel sciences might be able to help. founder james rogers and his

team have developed a liquid that cou extend th shf-life of uits and vegetaes. >> apeel is a little exactly ke it sounds peel and we ply it tthe surface of fresh produce. you can't see it. you can't taste it. you can't feel it. but it slows down the factors that cause t fruit to e. >> ihelps evenithout refrigerion. apeel is a liquid coating that dries into a kind ediblekin. the coating helps the produce last up to four times as long. that buys time time to transport the produce, tstore it, and to eat it before it spoils. apeel is based on lipids and other natural compounds found in fruits and vegetaes. they're extracted and blended

into a tlor-made sution. >> and by combining them in the ght ratios, when thedry, th dry into an arrangement that allows us to control the factors that cause fruit to ag which are basilly water going out and oxygen going in. so same marials. wee just teaching them a new trick by finding the rig formula to apply to different kinds of produce in order to give thethe same kd of protectionhat you ha on a lemon, oa cucumber or on an avocado. >> dutch wholesaler ture's pride sellsome 120,0 tons of fruits and vegetables a year. they import from 59 countries especily latin ameca. in rotterdam, the imported pruce contins to ripen befo it's sort, packed a ipped to t retailer. spoilage and waste is a common problem in the industry, but the company hopes to minimize

these losses in the future. a consumer throws food away, they actlly bought it and they don't use it and that costs money. so in thchain, if we don't throw it away, you don't spend that money wrongly. with apeel we careduce foo waste with 50 rcent at t retail level. food that us to land in the trash can now be sol every day, nature'pride treats six tons of avocados with apeel before sending them to supermarket shelves across europe. the main customers are in scandanavi germany a the netherland nature's pride is the first companin europe to use apeel. they're planning to start treating other kinds of fruits and vetables soo asragus is cing by air by using ael, it mayive them the psibility tgo by boat. and that is, of course, sustainably fantastic. so there's lots of opportunities. >> so far, the new technology isainly beinused by lae mpanies.

smaller ones can't afford it but apeel says it's planning to change that with a new business model in which retail chains and supermarkets pay smaller producers and rmers to instalthe necessy set-up. in return, they'll receive longer-lasng produce. farmers in places that haven't had access to national and international markets uld also benefit. so the opportunity ito be able to use apeel to reduce the transportation costs and incrse the quality. so it's not aid. it's a way f a small pducer whgrows someing that's intrincally valuab to collect some of that value. >> extending the shelf-life of produce will help but it won't end the problem of food loss and waste. for that, transportation and refrigerion systemwill also need to be improved and expanded. and consumers will have to stop throwingood away d start only buying wh they'll actual eat.

>> this week in global ideas we look at employment oprtunities. how can jobs be created for young people while at the same time protecting our planet and its resources? just outside the ugandan capital kampala, our reporter julius mugambwa visited a learning hub which encourages young people to turn their creative visions into reality. >> our house collapsed. my only beloved grandmother died because from the injuries she suffered . so i turned my painful past into a motivation. i never knew that what i am doing would turn this big, to me and to the environment. >> felt unlod, i felt discriminated against because of my often falling sick from malaria. i am now part of the solution in my country. >> two people, each with a vision. joan nalubega produces soap with a scenthat repels mosquito according to t un, every two

minus a chilunder the agof dies of maria. >> even if i'm not saving all the kids that are suffering right now, at least i'm saving the ones that i can. >> johary kavumas founder and direor of the green siness upcle africa,hich builds hous out of rycled plastic bottles. >> we are transferring the waste cris in africa into employment opportunities for marginalised groups of people, so ware constrting afrdable homes. >> kavuma and nalubega are graduates of the social innovationcademy or na for short. it's located in the town of mpigi, about 30 kilometers uth of ugaa's capital kampala here young people, including orphans and street kids, learn how to develop their ideas into successful businesses. due to the covid-19 pandemic, only a few students ar currently le to atte clses on campus.

>> it's not giving tm inrmation like a teacher is is what you need to d this is the right answer, but helpinthem to diover their own answers. to understand what the next sts are, what the goals are, how can they achieve them, what they want to achieve. >> german social entrepreneur etienne salborn founded sina in 2014 for people who want to build their own career paths. the academy is financed by donations. it's been over ten years since salborn met joan and johnmary while volunteering in an orphanage. they've known each other a long time. salborn quickly realized that a lot of young pple in ugaa ve no form work. the cotry has e of the yogest andastest-grong populations in africa. especially in uganda, ople are not always prepared to wk gether to esent themlves, to ask critical questions to

fi their ownolutions, thr own answers. d we are learning that at sina and that's why often not everybody will becoman entrepreneur, but many of our scholars who have been at sina have found jobs. >> one of the solutions led to kampala, where plastic waste is a huge problem. 350,000 tons of trash accumulates in the ugandan capital every year and only half of it is disposed of. much of the plastic lands on th trash dump. recycling isn't common here. johnmary kavuma pays young trash collectors to gather bottles that he can then use to build houses. >> every time that i come here i give some money to other people to recycle and keeping our environment clean. it gives me a lot of hope that the future generation will inherit a healthy planet that we have protected from plastic

waste. >> earth is prsed into the plastic bottles to make bricks. many women work for kavuma's business, giving them e chance to earn their own money. >> our wages were ised recently. now i can pay my daughter's university tuition, and give her the opporunity to graduate. >> kavuma says the houses are cool inse even on t days. s businessas already constrted morehan 100 buildings, using over 3 million plastic bottles the process. due to the coronavirus pandemic, commissions have slowed, but there is funding coming in from abroad. >> we are revising o dierent soluons so we n survive as a company. however, we also havsome people who ce along to support us.

for example we got some funding from ikea and acumen, that cided to support us, especially in the era of covid 19. this won supplies joan nalubega with lemon grass, a key ingredient in her soap. so she brings bars by these days for free. before the covid-19 crisis, she sold her soap to tourists and hotels for a higher price, so she could keep the price down for locals. now that there are hardly any tourists, she's expanded her online business. it helps that the soap's effectiveness has been scientifically verified. >> in the past, often got sick with malaria, especially children. since we've been using the soap, it's been a while since anyone here has had malaria. >> the refugee settlement nakivale in western ugandait

provides shelter for more than 100,000 people who fled the violence in neighboring countries such as south sudan. many people have lived her for years, inclung victor figi . together with etienne salborn, he brought the sina model to nakivale. finding rk tendso be even harder for refugees than for young ugandans. a few of victor's trainees have already been awarded prize money music festivals. >> in the nakivale rugee settlementthere are a lot of young people with dormant ills. people who do not have chances to go to school and also nonk opportunities. >> we come to realize that refugee artist can not only depend on aid. but they can also be doing someing else, earn a living.

>> but tre have alsoeen tbacks. becausof covid9, a sin branch in south africa had to be put on hold. nevertheless, etienne salborn remains convinced that sina ll play a rt in more succs stories,ike those johnmary kavuma and joan nalubega. >> i have a vision to make my country a better place. i have a vision to make africa, instead of running away from it, to make a better place. >> if my grandmother happened to see me now, i know she would be proud of me. >> stick to your own agreements! the words are simple: the concern is deep. the agreements are of course those set on climate change in paris in 2015. the fridays for future protests have turned into a worldwide movement of people, young and old, calling for governments and individuals to get a handle on global warming.

it is, they say, our shared responsibility to act. something one community in northern finland has taken to heart. heart. >> this is northern finlan near the baltic coast. after hitting the sauna, nothing beats a quick dip in the cold rir. >> very reeshing. when y're here ithe water, you rely feel li a part of natu. >> wlive rightn the midd ofature. we can enjoy the water, pick berrs and go hting. it's important for us that we can grow our own food here, and that we have the forest, and access to nature in general.

>> this town's name is ii, spelled ii. it's just as simple and straightforward as the town itself. a few roads, two supermarkets, and just under ten thousand inhabitants. ii is considered one of europe's greenest communities. the town has managed to reduce its co2 emissions by 80 percent. >> in iiit's becomclear to us, th climate cnge isn't on the way it's already here. and we've understo that it's not just the big players that have to make the change. we have to be rt of the chan as well. >> the key to their ccess has beenreating inntives, so at everybo does their part. in finland's daycares and schools, children are taught how to protect the climate. >> it all began with the project.

we tried it out in three schools. thchildren mitor the wer d electricy use anget paid hf of what ey've save the school on those utilities. then they can buy something with the money the project was so scessful, it wasxpanded toll the schools and daycare centers in ii. >> in the past ten years, residents in ii have reduced thr energy csumption b half. e childrenave used t moy saved buy toys, plas en a pootable. >> thehave to me out. ose are e carrot >>o, they ve to go. >> the town of ii is surrounded bynspoiled nure, as we as some of europe's largest peat bogs. for centuries, peat was burned here as a source of energy, but they're also vast reservoirs of co2. protecting them keeps that co2

out of the atmosphere. businessman yuha hulkko is from ii. he bought large tracts of the nearby peat bogs and made them protected areas. >> we can only change if every person and every family does their part, whatever they can. doing large and small things is what wneed to help fight climate change. >> some of scandinavia's tallest wind turbines are located in ii. non-renewable energy, heating oil that pollutes the air for example, has been banned. ii relies on its own wind and water, and produces ten times more green energy than t town needs. anii earns fr million ros a year selling its leftover electricity. >> we've had many discussions about wind energy, about the noise. for example, thelight on the countryside and how wind turbines disrupt communityife. >> 60 new wind turbines are being planned for construction around the outer edge of a primeval fort. not oneree

has been fellehere in th la hundred yrs. >> you won't be able to conceal the wind turbines. they're 300 meters high and set up only a few hundred meters from this spot. >> it's our common goal to protect nature in li. we neethe wind power, but we also need to protect the surroundings. it's like a puzzle. in the end, we have to put all of the pieces together, to find the best compromis >> protecting the climate is indeed a massive puzzle. what impact can a little town have on such a global problem? a big one, accordingo the people oii. for one thing, they can set a good example. what works for a remote corner of finland just might work for the rest of the world too. >> that's all from us at global 3000 this week! we'd love to have your thoughts on the programme.

do drop us a line to hyperlink mailto:global3000@dw.comglobal30 and don't forget we're on facebook too dw women and dw global ideas see you soon! take care!

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