>> welcome to global 3000! can nature conservation offer tax breaks? new opportunities are opening up for landowners in south africa. in tunisia, we find out how local fishermen are fighting an invasive species of crab. but first we head to china where despite the lessons of the pandemic, climate protection still takes a backseat to economic growth. when the coronavirus crisis began early this year, much of

the world went into lockdown. factory production stalled, ships remained docked, aircraft were grounded, imports and exports shrank. finally, nature could take a breather. according to one study, in the first half of this year, carbon dioxide emissions sank almost 9 %. that's around 1.5 bbillion tons. the pandemic has offered us a chance to rethink global economics to put climate protection above profit. so far, though, there's been little sign of any real change. >> a "fridays for future" demonstration in shanghai at the end of september. just four young people have dared to turn up. 17-year-old howey ou organised the protest. she wants to see political action. china is the world's biggest c02 producer. >> all the governments are doing the biggest crime in human history. and we believe that non-violent

civil disobedience, climate activism is the only way to deal with the current crisis. >> howey's only been here for a few minutes before the police show up and tell her to move. but she's not one to give up that easily, and now looks for another place to hold a demonstration that evening. right now, the government's primary focus appears to be on economic growth. climate protection has slipped far down t agenda. primary focus appears to be on steel and cement proction are especially harmful to the environment. but since the coronavirus outbreak, the construction industry has been a major driver of the economy. uri: the idea that you can have too much investment, too many railroads, football stadiums, industrial par, roads and bridges sounds a bit

surd because most countriesoo ruggle tinvest enoh inball this kind of infrastructure. but ina for e past t years has used this kind of investment as a way to deliver very high , eye-popping gdp growth numbers. >> this production facility is a testament to the economic stimulus package announced in may. at the world's third largest construction machinery maker, staff work almost around the clock. a new vehicle rolls off the assembly line here every 25 minutes. >> it's hoped the boom in construction will create jobs. new projects have been given fast-track approval and in some 21000 projects, an environmental impact assessment wasn't carried out. coronavirus-induced lockdowns and falling exports have left many people relieved to have

any kind of job. wang: it's all good. we can build roads. and we're able to work and eat. zhai: how could we be unhappy? we have work and we can earn money. >> china has also been building new coal-fired power plants. many such projects are billed as part of an effort to combat poverty. the country currently has at least 25 coal-powered facilities in the pipeline. this despite the fact that existing plants are working at only 50% capacity. lauri: this has nothing to do with electricity demand. this has everything to do with just pushing ahead with any kind of constrtion project that creat gdp andobs in the short-term. so, coalired power plants are just a part of aigger stimulus package that has been brght out.

>> f us, reporting is nots are jusmade easy.f aigger the police follow our every move. in the end, they forbid us from filming. as a result, we can't find out how the locals feel about the expansion of the power plant. it's a sensitive topic. china doesn't want to be associated with fossil fuels. on the contrary, it is eager to be seen as a leader in renewables. >> in an address to the un general assembly, chinese president xi jinping pledged to make the country climate-neutral by 2060. a goal that environmental protection groups like greenpeace believe is attainable. despite the current construction boom. china is also the world's biggest investor in solar energy. bugoals for 2060 aren't enough for 17-year-old howey ou. her evening demonstration ends with her being brought to the

police station, where she is forced to write a statement condemning her actions. in china, criticizing the government is taboo. >> we humans are not alone in reacting to climate change. animals are, too. temperature changes have always had a huge impact on wildlife. seasonal changes keep millions of animals around the globe in constant movement. >> every year around the world, huge numbers of animals migrate tother partsf thearth. ientists eimate betwn eight land or in the skies. athey may be birds, mammals, or

fish, but also insects, amphibians, reptiles, and even minute creatures such as plankton in the sea. some species like eels and salmon only migrate twice in their lifetime, once after birth and again for mating. eels from europe meet up east of florida in the sargasso sea to spawn. some of them take up three years to get there. other species take off each year for distant lands, like migratory birds for example. when it gets too cold for them in central europe and food is in short supply, storks head to warmer regions in the south. the drive to embark on a high-risk, energy-draining journey varies greatly from one species to another. monah butterfls achieve amazinfeat, with some of them

travelling up to 3600 kilometres. they navigate using the position othe sun anthe earholds the record.ld. it travels between the north and south pole, covering around eighty thousand kilometers a year. most species prefer not to travel alone. before setting off, they gather in huge flocks or herds, that can be up to one million strong. travelling aa group haits adntages. it provides protection from attack and from hungry predators. migratory birds like wild geese save energy by flying in formation. entire ecosystems would

collapse without animal migration. salmon swim from the sea into freshwater streams and rivers for the purpose of mating. after spawning, their bodies decompose providing a rich source of nitrogen fertilizer for trees and plants. alaska's forests wouldn't survive without the salmon, they provide 80 percent of the nitrogen there. but climate change is affecting migratory behavior. the change has brought winners and losers. the atlantic cod is being pushed further north, as the ocean water heats up. mackerel on the other hand love the warmer waters. they've been able to expand their habitat hundreds of kilometers further to the north. just like the bee-eater, which is native to southern and south-eastern europe. it can now be found further north, in germany. other newcomers are causing problems. the asian tiger mosquito has brought dengue fever to europe, a disease that

can be life threatening to humans. as more fish and birds move nortand southwards, the tropics are losing some species. this drop in biodiversity caused by climate change is so having economic pact. by the middle of this century, south ea asia willave far few. and migratory birds are also changing their routes. many storks are no longer flying to africa for the winter, stopping in spain instead. others that were considered migratory birds in previous decades, such as blackbirds and starlings, are now staying in

>> natural wildlife migration central eis one thing.r round. but what about when animals migrate unnaturally on aircraft or boats for example, as goods make their way around the planet in our globalised world? europe has around 12,000 non-native species of plants and animals. some of these have proliferated. take the racoon. formerly found only in north america, racoons are now common in europe and japan. some invasive species pose a threat to native wildlife. and are tough to get under control. >> fishermen out before dawn, plying their trade in the gulf of gabès. the bay on tunisia's east coast is around a hundred kilometres long. in recent times, the fishermen have had to stray ever further

from the coast to catch fish. abdallah: i've been a fisherman for 38 years. a lot has changed in that time. twenty years ago we used to catch loads of prawns. but in recent years, there have been repeated events that have reduced our catch. the latest problem was the blue crab, they wiped out everything. >> the first blue crabs were spotted here at the end of 2014. it's a species that was previously unknown in tunisia. their numbers increased rapidly, and within eight months the crabs had become a real menace. they would cut the fishing nets, eat the fish and devour anything else they could find. they became such a problem, that the fishermen nicknamed them "daesh," after the notorious militant

group islamic state. the blue crab is native to the indopacific region. they came here via the red sea and the suez canal, like most of the roughly one thousand non-native species that have reached the mediterranean. because of climate change, the waters here are now also warm enough to support tropical species. mohamed nejmeddine bradai has spent decades studying the migratory patterns in the mediterranean. mohamed: we're especially interested in learning about invasive species, because they threaten the biodiversity of all our seas. and it's a phenomenon that we're seeing increasingly in the mediterranean. scientists estimate that a new non-native species appears roughly every nine days. that's significant. >> at tunisia's national institute of marine sciences and technology, olfa ben abdallah and her team are studng the blucrabs. e scientis are keen

learn more about this destructive reoduce, a how do thdo the crabs impactther speci when th arrive in a new area? to help answ these questions, they're analysing the contents of the crabs' stomachs. olfa: the blue crab is an extremely voracious species. the crabs are basically insatiable. they'll feed on all kinds of prey. they'll eat prawns for example, but they'll also eat cephalopods like squid, and they prey on the fish that live in the gulf of gabès that are important for the fishing industry. but the blue crab could also pose a threat to another, much larger marine animal, the sea turtle.

the mediterranean is home to three species of turtle, all of which are endangered. they gather in the gulf of gabès to feed and to spend the winter. to the north, kuriat island an important nesting ground r the loerhead turtle, which lays its es at just few tes on t island. throughouthe entire mediterranean, the number of nesting places has dropped pidly, with the animals being disturbed by bright lights and tourists. when they first hatch, the babies weigh just 20 grams. without a hard outer shell, they are completely defenceless. only one in a thousand survives. many get eaten by fish and crabs. and now of course there's a new predator in town, the blue crab. just a few kilometres away on the mainland, hatem is currently being cared for. the adult female is more than 30 years old.

she's malnourished and has a large fishing hook inside her. a fate suffered by many sea turtles. the scientists here say injuries from boat propellers are also common. they found these pieces of plastic in hatem's faeces. the pollution of the seas is another huge threat to the turtles. around two thirds of the animals examined here have plastic inside their bodies. the scientists record and keep everything they find. olfa: a turtles are very important for the marine ecosystem. they maintain the balance in the foodchain. the loggerheadurtle, for examfish, jellyfish.ng. it makes sure no individualuscs, species can take over. if things start to tip out of balance, the sea turtle helps

to get things back into equilibrium. >> one of the biggest threats to the sea turtles is the fishing industry. baha landed in a fishing net as bycatch. once the juvenile turtle has recovered and is able to dive for food again by herself, she'll be released back into the sea. but first the scientists want to take blood and tissue samples to analyse her dna. the data is needed for an international research project, studying the effects of plastic pollution on sea turtles. meanwhile, efforts are underway to curb the numbers of blue crab. a tunisian company called golden fish is now making money from the invasive shellfish. other companies along the gulf of gabès are doing the same. in other parts of the world,

e blue cb is a dicacy. so they're now being caught, taken apart and frozen, ready for export. last yr alone, the company sent out 60 tons of crab and ab meat. most othe cusn asia. but the blue crabs are also pular inpain and ily. inhe capit tunis, we visit another laboratory. this one focuses on developing aquatic bioproducts. the researchers here study marine organisms to identify natural substances that could be used in cosmetics and other applications. they found that the meat of the blue crab is rich in various proteins. by turning the crab meat into a powder, they've developed a protein-rich food supplement. so now the blue crab has an appeal for the domestic market

too. the blue crab all but destroyed the livelihoods of many fishermen. but now it's become a source of income, allowing the fishing industry to survive. and by catching and using the crabs, this invasive species is being kept under control off tunisia's coast. >> in this week's globaldeas we go to south africa to learn how tax breaks can promote nature conservation. something that's easier than it sounds. south africa is famous for its wildlife, for vast areas of almost untouched land. now an ngo there is working to turn much of that into nature reserves. we met up with two of its teams in ncandu in the east of the country, and kamieskroon in the west. no combine harvesters. -- >> no plantations. no crops. no combine harvesters.

88 % of land in south africa is not suitable for agriculture. it's too rugged, too dry, and too uneven. 8but everywhere you look, youis notsee life in abundance.ure. the cotry boasts rich biodiversity. but how best to preserve it? in south africa, environmental protection is chronically underfinanced. that's where candice stevens comes in. she's a tax specialist at the ngo wilderness foundation africa. she wants to encourage landowners to turn their holdings into nature reserves. the government offers a tax incentive to do so. candice: what you are doing here is looking after south africa's

natural wealth in the public good. >> yes. candice: and so there is that unique tax incentive to benefit that biodiversity. so even as you plough many time effort and energy into looking after this and farmers might think you don't get anything out there is a special tax incentive, just to get a little thing back. >> this man has already converted his land into a protected area. he can write off the cost of the purchase over a 25-year period. candice: that extra cash in pocket would be able to give a little bit more financial sustainability for you to manage this in perpetuity. so that you can put a little bit more into it, which would be your decision and you know what needs to happen on this side. >> absolutely. >> photographer koos van der lende purchased the land five years ago, and has taken countless pictures of the area since then. it rarely rains here. but when it does, the landscape is transformed into a pageant of color. another special feature about this area of land is that it could act as a corridor for

wild animals since it's located between two different protected areas. d'ruell: we are standing here roundabout on the northern border of it. to the west and south stretching down to namaqua national park and then to the north east perpetual goegap nature reserve. and here you can see the proposed corridor linking the two protected areas. >> the karoo region of south africa is home to more than five thousand species of plants. and some 40% of them can only be found here. koos: a bit of the last purple, because the rain season is gone now. and this will be the final flowers, we had some beautiful rain a couple of days ago, so it refreshes a little bit. but slowly it will go down now. >> once upon a time, this area was farmland.

koos: the history is going back for a long time, since the 1700s, with the settlers, the pioneers, that farmed here, with a high rainfall. due to global warming that diminished quite a bit, and it just became impossible for the people to make a living with cattle and agriculture. and they had to sell, and that's why we bought the farm for conservation. >> with climate change threatening biodiversity, candice stevens has not found it difficult to persuade other landowners to follow suit. having grown up on a farm heelf, she'sdept at communicatg the advantagesf the tax scheme. candice: tax is not everybody's favourite subject, and when tax season rolls around it's not like everybody is overjoyed. so my experience with landowners is that they understand that

there are implications to tax legal and financial. and so they want fully to understand, what the tax incentive means to them. >> dozens of landowners have signed up to the scheme. her first experience of implementing the program was in the kwazulu natal province. in order to protect the land, locals introduced a herd of cattle. the animals serve an important function. keeping the grass short helps prevent wildfires in the dry season. but it's just the start. garth: we are waiting for the time when the whole nature reserve will be fenced, and in that time we will slowly introduce game, starting with zebra, springbock, eland and wilderbeest, and those type of animals. and once they are established,

slowly the cattle will be removed and then the animals will be free to run on the whole nature reserve. >> the tax rebates that candice stevens has been promoting have gone some way towards addressing the shortage of funding for environmental protection in south africa. and in the future, she's hopeful of further progress in this development. candice: conservation work can become the mainstream. and become something, that is part of everyday life and not something that is separate. and with additional finance, that's sustainable, it means, that we are protecting biodiversity on a scale, that we haven't done before. and if we can answer that global challenge wh all the resources, that we have in our disposal, might just have a ance of saving theorld ound us. >as always, we loveeceivingrom "gloyour feedbk.is time.

right and check us out on facebook, see you next week. take care. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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