>> welcome to "global 3000!" when the taps run dry. costa rica has a water supply problem. promised land for anti vaxxers. the germans flocking to paraguay to avoid covid shots but first, coal that only seems cheap. we meet the people in india paying a high price for the country's mining industry. ♪ in 2020, 7.7 billion tons of coal were mined worldwide.

that's around one ton for every person on earth. coal-fired power plants produce electricity. coal is also used to manufacture steel, needed for cars, ships, bridges, cranes and many other types of machinery and everyday items. in 2021, coal produced 14.7 billion tons of co2. that's 40% of global carbon emissions. most coal is mined in china and india. and both countries have plans to expand their operations. dw reporter aditi rajagopal went to india's coal mining district of korba, where the industry's having a devastating impact. ♪ >> you can't really see anything except mines, all the way to the horizon. that's huge! ♪

>> crops don't grow here, nothing does. >> it is disgusting. >> the government now wants us to leave. where should we go? >> this is a violation. this is historical injustice at all levels. >> so, i am here in india, where two-thirds of electricity still comes from coal, which is considered the cheapest fuel. i want to find out its true cost. oh my god! this is crazy. corba district, central india , is a major power hub, and home to some of the biggest mines on the planet. india is the second largest producer and consumer of coal in the world, after china. and the demand for energy is rising faster here than anywhere else.

unlike in the u.s. or the u.k., where natural gas was found, india currently has no large-scale replacements for coal yet. with its abundant reserves, and no major alternatives, coal remains the cheapest and easiest source of energy. ♪ but burning coal is already driving emissions dramatically up worldwide, and the pollution from the toxic smoke is now responsible for 1 on 5 deaths globally. arguably, the most dire impacts of coal mining are local. i am going to go and meet communities around here to understand the impact of coal. we're on our way to a village so remote that it's not even on the map. and fact, it's not even a road. this is one among tens of thousands of villages that lie

within india's mining belts. around two-thirds of the region's inhabitants are tribal or indigenous. kendai village is literally sitting on a mine that has hollowed out the ground beneath it. the 31 indigenous families here live with the consequences of their extreme proximity to a coal mine every day. malmati is a member of the tribe here, call the pando, and was born in this forest. she wants to show me what has now happened to their source of fresh water. it's completely black, full of ash. >> this goes directly to our fields, and our crops don't grow. nothing does. it's a huge problem. it just settles there, just like it has here.

>> the stream here is toxic , thick with the ash that remains after the extracted coal is washed, as well as with remnants of dynamite that was used to blast the ground. the coal mining company was asked to provide fresh piped water instead, but that is filthy too. even animals can't drink, how n we? when we drink it, everything hurts. we get headaches and fevers with this water. [protestors chanting >> while we were talking things , were getting heated on the other side of the village. the people from the mining company have seen people with cameras come here so they have come to inspect the water. of course, the tribal community is very angry that they have only come today, and so things are getting pretty intense. >> you've made an agreement with us, but don't do anything.

>> what they want to explain, is that this is the kind of water they have to drink every day. so this boy is filling a bottle of water to send back with these representatives to their bosses, so they can visually see the kind of water that comes here, and that these people are forced to drink. so we went to the mine next door, to give them a chance to respond to allegations of pollution and hear their side of the story. we had permission to film in the underground mine weeks before we went but when we got there, they refused to speak to us or let us film. it's just really disappointing that we're not allowed in here. ramesh sharma is a renowned independent land rights activist who works to improve legal and institutional support for communities here, which are at the risk of losing their lands to mining. ♪ we sat down for a chat about why the country is still investing in coal mining.

>> the reason why the number of coal mines has actually increased in an alarming rate over the past few years, is because there urbanization, is a massive urbanization, there's a massive demand for the power. but that's not an excuse, because i would say, that depends on our consumption pattern, our whole consumerism. so if you are not really ready to listen to the people who have actually suffered, the people who are the victims, the people who have actually sacrificed for your power production, for getting 24x7 electricity in the big cities, we can't say that some villages have to live in the dark. so this is our moral responsibility, to listen to all of those people. >> we contacted the coal ministry to address the allegations of the people we met in korba. but they did not give us a date to be interviewed in the weeks before the publication of this piece. driving through the coal belt, we saw defunct mines

everywhere, where extraction once boomed, but now nothing remains but blots on the landscape. wow, it's completely barren. there used to be 2 villages that were here, before the mine came and set up around 22 years ago. but now the villages have gone, and the mine has shut down. and there's nothing left here, no people, no forests, no coal. ♪ mines normally have a lifespan of only a few decades, as the deeper you go, the less economical it becomes to operate them. so new ones open, while hundreds silently shut down across the country. this entire land behind me would have once been expansive forest, full of biodiversity and home to a number of indigenous communities. when you factor in the social and environmental cost, coal

doesn't seem so cheap anymore. ♪ >> protests against covid 19 vaccine mandates have grown louder and more radical in many countries as the pandemic continues. truckers in canada joined by thousands of supporters, locked roads and all but halted trade with the u.s. until the police moved in. in europe, belgium saw violent clashes between police and anti-vaxxers. protests have also been widespread in germany. and some people have even gone to extremes to avoid getting vaccinated. >> a wave of german émigrés has been descending on paraguay for months. the majority of them oppose vaccines. on my flight down, the german families were easy to spot -- most of them didn't want to talk to me. one mother criticized berlin's coronavirus policies, but said she didn't want to be filmed.

>> its important to us that our son has a good upbringing. if things get worse in school, for example, we would rather take him out before he gets exposed to all of this terror. >> paraguay is the top emigration destination for vaccine opponents. in 2021, at least twice as many german émigreés arrived as in the previous year. they're attracted by the liberal corona-rules and entry policies, and by the many germans who already live there. are there really so many vaccine-opponents coming here, and why? a german who arrived 25 years ago has observed the onslaught of anti-vaxxers to paraguay. he'd rather they not recognize him at all and asks to remain anonymous. >> they think they can do whatever they want here. they don't have to get vaccinated, and then they try to convince the locals not to get vaccinated either. the way i see it, it isn't good for the reputation of the

germans who have been living here their entire lives. they are stirring things up quite a bit. >> most of the german expats are drawn to hohenau, a large german community seven hours from the capital by car. on the way there, we make a rest stop and meet an expat from stuttgart who has his own restaurant. he sees the vaccination issue quite differently. >> everyone should do what they think is right, and i'm not going to do it. and if i can pass that message along, i do so -- i say others shouldn't do it either. >> he says today is his birthday and asks us if we would like to come back again in the evening. >> tonight between 80 and 100 people will be showing up. the place will be full. no one will be wearing a mask. and nobody will be vaccinated either. >> that evening, i am amazed at the number of germans before me, right in the middle of paraguay. it's a meeting of both old and new expats.

what is it that drives people to emigrate to a country with a high crime rate, whose language they hardly speak? we're not welcome by most of the guests. when we turn on the camera, some leave the party. the host tries to explain. >> they're not crazy about the german media. when the camera is off, some guests get much bolder. hostilities, conspiracy theories, crude insults toward our team. we need to cut this short before the situation escalates. as we're leaving, we slip into a side-conversation with a young couple that just emigrated. they weren't especially prepared, but were open for something new. >> it was actually a very good friend who called us, who at some point was just fed up with germany, and asked if we were interested in emigrating with him. >> emigrating was always the plan. >> yes, it was always the dream, you could say covid was

just the catalyst. >> yes, the current situation in germany is very tense. here, there is a bit more freedom. >> in hohenau, you don't have to look hard to see evidence of the newcomers. there are moving containers everywhere, and the containers reveal where their owners came from. dozens of houses are under construction. the owners are all german, according to the contractors. they said at the swimming pool we'd find even more of our compatriots. and indeed, brothers kevin and boris neugum arrived with their parents and grandparents in october. they burned their bridges to germany, selling their house and quitting their jobs. exactly how they're going to support themselves in paraguay, remains unclear. >> our current thought is to maybe buy a small piece of land and become farmers. kevin knows that many germans here are unvaccinated, just like him. i would like to know what's holding the family back.

>> we are a bit careful. we would rather question than follow the crowd blindly, read a lot, question everything, what the consequences are and finally make our own decision on whether or not to do it. >> the brothers would like to introduce me to your family, but another german is hanging around us. he listens in, and then persuade them against doing it. the visit with family neugum is over. news of our presence has gotten around in the well-connected german community. all further attempts to contact new arrivals are unsuccessful. we know from the newspaper that the mayor of hohenau has spoken critically of the many unvaccinated immigrants. his comments have reaped a good deal of hatred online. a city employee explains that they don't want to endanger the good relationship between germans and paraguayans, but the new arrivals are a risk for everybody. they are actually in greater danger here than in germany.

>> we paraguayans feel it's a civic duty to get vaccinated. we know we won't be able to get our normal freedoms back unless we're vaccinated. we can only advise the foreigners to get vaccinated, because in this region, the medical care isn't that good, and those who have been vaccinated are the ones who will get preferential treatment in the hospital. >> at the hohenau weekly market, we again meet germans who have lived here for a long time. they're amazed that paraguay has allowed in so many un-vaccinated in the first place. >> the many who are now arriving are mainly coming because they don't want to be vaccinated, let's be honest. but paraguay will tighten things up, i am sure of it.

>> and indeed, paraguay suddenly announces stricter rules. it makes the covid-19 vaccine mandatory for anyone traveling into the country without a right to stay. dozens of un-vaccinated travelers are turned away already in the first few days. as for those who managed to make it in before the new rules, they now can't leave, or it'll be a one-way trip. at least, until they're vaccinated. ♪ >> our reporters have discovered yet another delicious global snack. this time, in tunisia. ♪ >> in the very north of africa, lies bizerte. the tunisian port city has been an important maritime and trading center for more than three millennia. to fortify themselves between meals, residents here like to eat lablabi.

♪ and they get it here. >> my name's hassan saidani. i'm 22 and have been working here with my uncle for almost 12 years. >> lablabi is a baguette, topped in different ways and freshly prepared. ♪ vital ingredients are the hot chili paste harissa, and chickpeas. soaked in water the night before, they're cooked in the morning. customers then choose additional toppings. such as spices, cooked vegetables -- garlic, sardines, olives and tuna.

♪ demand is huge. saidini prepares one lablabi after another. what makes this sandwich so popular? >> i like the taste, how spicy it is, and chickpeas are good for you. i just like how it tastes. it's not as unhealthy as other sandwiches that contain burnt oils and lots of fried ingredients that aren't fresh. i feel this one is better for you than other sandwiches. >> at prices between 1 and 1.5 dinars, barely 50 euro cents, it's affordable, too. lablabi has a long tradition in bizerte. >> it began in the 1970s. lablabi started to appear in small roving carts like this one and met with great success

here in bizerte. people here like it and buy it frequently. this type of sandwich is different than in other regions. lablabi is unique to bizerte. >> so hassan saidani supplies bizerte's residents with fresh lablabi every day from 5:00 a.m. onwards! ♪ >> the population of costa rica has more than doubled over the past forty years and now stands at 5 million. the cities are growing fast, and encroaching on the rainforest. farming g is also taking up more and more land. all that is having an impact on costa rica's water supply. for our series "global ideas," dw went to the outskirts of the capital san josé to explore possible solutions.

>> no matter how much ricardo rubi turns the tap, nothing comes out. he'd like to wash his hands after a long day at work. >> often, we have had water in the mornings, for work, but then none in the afternoon. nothing comes out of the tap and we have to wait until 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, even 9:00 at night before we get any. so the dishes will have to wait, too. >>t's the same for thi entire neighborhood. one reason is increasing urbanization. there aren't enough pipelines and a modern water treatment plant is still under construction. three-quarters of costa rica's population lived here, in the greater metropolitan area surrounding san josé. increasingly, it's encroaching on nature. >> this river originates high up in the central volcanic

mountain range, in the middle of the forest. but it immediately runs through farmland and meadows used to raise livestock. then, right after that, comes the edge of the city which is steadily creeping outwards. and straight after that, it gets swallowed up by the dense urban area. >> manuel guerrero's water fund "agua tica," works to protect water sources by bringing together farmers, public institutions and environmentalists. it's supported by the german government's "international climate initiative." >> you can't drink the water from this river. it's completely contaminated. in many places, toxic chemicals are dumped into it. waste from agriculture, the breeding of livestock, waste from urban areas or industry is all discharged into the river.

>> tre's no syem in plac yet toreat the wer properl and there's no system to collect and reclaim the water. >> treating the water one thing. but manuel guerrero and his partners are mainly concerned with how water is used and protecting the supply. so they work with farmers, and support their efforts to develop sustainable farming methods. that includes protecting woodlands. three decades ago, large swathes of forest were still being cleared to make way for grazing land. today, the farmers know that forests are key to protecting water sources. >> my grandfather was the first to farm this land. we've been producing milk here for around 40 years. my father heads the creamery. for the last two years, i've

been working here and learning all about dairy farming. >> the farm's 200 cows are always put out to pasture in different places, to give the grass time to recover. this also helps to spread their dung and urine more evenly, reducing drinking water contamination. "finca robles" is a model for sustainable farming in the region, especially as the effects of climate change become more obvious. >> we're definitely affected by climate change. it rains less now. we used to get more rain, especially during the rainy season. and the dry season is now drier still. over the years, the climate has changed. and when the grass doesn't grow we have to buy feed, and that increases our costs. ♪ >> karla brealey and her family have committed to keeping one-third of their farm covered with woodland.

in return, agua ti's water fund pays them compensation, equalling roughly 5% of their income. three years ago, they planted cypress trees here. >> the forest is so vital, because that's where the water reserves we rely on are found. there are many water sources in these woods. the trees preserve this water by absorbing it. so, for us, this resource is hugely important. we've managed to combine pastures a woodlands on our terrain. and the trees provide shade in some places and conserve water in other >> farmers who transform part of their land into a forest ecosystem can play a key role in protecting costa rica's water supply, says manuel guerrero.

>> the farmers realize that they stand to benefit from adopting these environmentally-friendly practices and moving away from traditional-style, intensive farming, which produces many harmful substances. and this then reduces the sources of pollutants entering the water. >> that there is still a long way to go before that water is sure to reach the cities. at 6:00 in the evening, ricardo rubi still hasn't seen a drop. >> water is the symbol of life. you can't live without water. it's frustrating. >> but he at least stored a little water in advance, both for himself and his two dogs. he collects water for them in plastic jugs. because here, every drop counts. ♪ >> that's all from "global 3000" this week.

thanks for joining us, and don't forget to send us your comments. you can write to global3000@dw.com, or visit us on facebook, at dw global ideas. see you next time!

brent: this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, there's the war in ukraine is expanding, russian missiles have hit the airport at the western city of l love eveviv -- city of lviv. also coming up, today, a rare public appearance by russian president vladimir putin complete with unfounded claims