♪ >> welcome to "global 3000!" indigenous people in southern chile are combining old traditions and new ideas to save local forests. evermore container ships are threating both climate and planet. and: sri lanka's cash crisis is pushing people to the brink. sri lanka is experiencing its worst financial crisis since gaining independence in 1948. the effects are being felt

across the country, with food and fuel shortages commonplace. much of the crisis is self-induced. while the pandemic has had an impact, government policies are also to blame. these include implementing sweeping tax cuts in 2019, when the economy was already mired in debt. then, in early 2021, with its coffers depleted, the government banned the import of artificial fertilizers, with devastating effects on harvests. although the ban has now been lifted, the situation remains chaotic. and there's little sign of an end in sight. it is early in the morning and this lagoon. riyurin ferdinando is on his way to see. fishing has provided him with a livelihood for decades. but now he is struggling to make ends meet. >> this month we''ve had almost no income. and it's the second month in a row. of around a hundred fishing

boats, recently only about ten were going out to sea. in the past few days, not one single boat went out. >> that's mainly because no fuel is available. a problem that affects nearly everyone in sri lanka and poses huge problems for fishermen. the big catches are out in the open sea. along the coast the nets catch barely anything. >> the best hauls are about ten kilometers off the coast. due to the current fuel shortage , we can only go up to five kilometers out where there are , fewer fish. and we can't go to different spots like we usually do. >> boats line up at the fuel station. the situation is the same on land. the fishermen are hoping for new fuel deliveries.

russia's invasion of ukraine has caused global oil prices to soar. sri lanka can barely afford oil imports, so supplies are sporadic. >> for the past five to seven days, there hasn't been any fuel. before that, we often had to wait two or three days. it's getting worse and worse. just in the past month, the situation has become disastrous for us fishermen. >> that has triggered protests and violent clashes in recent weeks. many people blame the government led by the rajapaksa family. prime minister mahinda rajapaksa has stepped down, but his brother gotabaya has refused to give up the presidency. experts warn that sri lanka could be facing national bankruptcy, because it holds more than $50 billion in us dollar-denominated debt. >> historically, if you look at it, i think this is the worst period that should link is undergoing.

and it is going to get even worse. now that there was this massive excess demand which ended in driving the rupee down. >> inflation has risen sharply in recent months. many people can barely afford the most basic necessities. the economic crisis has turned into a food crisis as well. >> the last five months, fuel prices have doubled, and then we also expect electricity to go up, we expect kerosene prices to go up, which is what public transportation normally uses. some people use it as cooking fuel as well. so it is very, very unaffordable for many people. >> tourism is also suffering. the sector was just starting to recover from the pandemic, when the next crisis hit. hotels along sri lanka's picturesque west coast are nearly empty. here at echo hotel in bentota, manager nishantha unuwita says just eight of the 90 rooms are occupied.

>> this crisis is only fresher longer, but -- it's only for sri lanka. but if we say we can't do anything with the crisis, it is not our way. we have to bring the guests. reporter: while many smaller hotels struggle to get food supplies, this hotel has been lucky. large suppliers ensure that the restaurant remains open. and guests barely notice the effects thanks to emergency power. the lack of basic necessities is impossible to overlook. >> nowadays we don't have much power cuts. only two hours and 20 minutes. in the morning, one hour, in the evening, one hour and 20 minutes. so we are using the generator. for that, also, we need fuel. >> the lack of basic necessities is impossible to overlook. even at the hospital where

indra kulathilaka works as a pediatrician, only a few medicines are still in stock. she doesn't believe they'll last much longer. >> it's a sad situation. who knows what will happen? with the children, you know? without the drugs. they cannot be controlled. studies will go down. i really can't think about it. >> the catastrophic economic situation in sri lanka is affecting the work of doctors and nurses. they used to be able to do nightshifts on call. that's no longer possible now because a taxi to the hospital has become too expensive. >> just in the doctors room, and only in the early morning,

we got back, we take a wash and then come back. [protestors chanting] >> due to the worsening situation, people have been taking to the streets for more than two months. riyurin fernando vows to keep on demonstrating until things improve for him and the people of sri lanka. ♪ >> in 1956, the first container was loaded onto a ship and sent off to sea. today, there are an estimated 38 million such freight containers in use. around 5,400 ships carry them to their destinations. the invention of shipping containers made sea transport simpler, and, above all, cheaper. globalization would be unimaginable without it. today, 90% of all goods are transported by ship. in 2020, 1. 85 bbillion tons of goods made -- 1.8 5 billion tons of goods made their way around the world in containers. which is far from good news for our climate.

>> take a look at your standard t-shirt. where does it come from? the label says "made in turkey or mexico, or bangladesh." but that is only part of the journey. the cotton probably comes from lubbock, texas; it's then woven, treated, bleached, and dyed across the ocean, in china, cut and sewn into a t-shirt in bangladesh; sent back to the u.s. a couple of clicks later, it's traveling across another ocean, say to berlin, where it's sold for 4.99 euros. it sounds like madness, but it's actually shipping. shipping is so cheap that some aspects seem absurd. >> for example: it rains 24/7 in belgium. yet, we buy water that is bottled in the south pacific. >> fish gets caught in the north sea, it then goes frozen to asia, where it's filleted and sent back. >> but there's a hidden cost to these curiosities. the full price of shipping is being paid by the environment.

in relative terms, shipping is very efficient. transporting one ton of cargo emits 16 grams of co2 per kilometer. it's over ten times that by road. and by air it's a lot more. but in absolute terms, it's an absolute nightmare. >> it's the sheer distances that mean that those emissions stack up and become a problem. >> lucy gilliam works for "seas at risk," an association of ngos working to protect the oceans. >> 80% of ships are burning heavy fuel oil, which is a really thick viscous, polluting fuel. it's one steaway from tarmac. >> the industry emits as much as all the coal plants in the u.s. and just a bit less than aviation.

but somehow, shipping escaped scrutiny. >> shipping is the only sector that doesn't pay for its carbon pollution. >> faig abbassov leads the shipping program at transport and environment, an ngo campaigning for cleaner transport. >> it's the only sector that doesn't pay taxes on fossil fuel s that uses. it doesn't pay vat. recently, global leaders agreed to impose a 15% minimum corporate taxation rate. there was one sector that was exempt. that's shipping. >> but how can that be, given the scale? ships handle some 90% of global trade. then there's a strange little enigma. imagine something going wrong on a japanese-built, american-owned tanker, sailed by a philippine crew, managed by a cypriot, sailing from china to canada in international waters. who do you blame well, maybe panama? ♪ >> panama, marshall islands, liberia, bahamas, malta.

those are five countries which you don't really hear about on a daily basis, right? they are not really big powers in global politics or even economics. they are the kingmakers when it comes to shipping. >> that's because of a system lled "fl of convenience." the practice began during the prohibition era. selling alcohol in the usa was illegal. so passenger-ship owners began registering their ships in panama so they could serve drinks on board. >> people always say that the oceans are lawless. they're not lawless. the law of the sea is several hundred pages long. >> rose george is a journalist and author who has written extensively about the shipping industry. >> but the problem is that there is very little enforcement. any modern ship owner can rent a flag from any country in the world, fly that flag on his or her ship. and then that ship is a little piece of that country, so is governed by that flag.

>> the international maritime organization is the only body that can set policy for the entire sector. it's a un agency tasked with, among other things, fighting climate change. but it has done the opposite. >> there are multiple reasons. first of all, at the imo, member states are normally represented by their ministries of transport. they want to promote shipping, aviation and so on and so forth. climate and environmental challenge has not been , traditionally speaking their , domain. that's the domain of the climatministry othe environmt ministry. so this is a kind of structural problem. >> and policies are rarely put to vote. the imo prefers to rule by consensus, which gives louder voices a de-facto veto power. >> and number three: the industry has powerful lobbying associations that literally sit in national delegations, and in many cases, put pressure on the governments. >> 30 percent of its representatives are not

policymakers but businesspeople, the highest number in any u.n. agency. >> for example, in the past ten years, the german delegate to the imo was very ambitious. and then the person got a call from the ministry saying that you need to dial down because one of the german shipping companies wasn't very happy about the ambition that germany was driving at that time. ♪ >> we've managed to build ever bigger ships to exploit economies of trade that have enabled industries to create the one euro bikinis and t-shirts that are just so cheap, that people think of them as disposable. and that's been facilitated by cheap shipping that doesn't pay for its pollution. ♪ >> when it comes to emissions, there is absolutely no excuse for how slow the shipping industry has been to address that.

it's absolutely shameful. but momentum for change is building. >> it's recognized that we can't solve climate change without also solving the emissions problefrom shipping. >> the european union is taking a leading role to force companies to reduce emissions. and innovation can be a huge help. >> we believe technologies such as batteries for short-distance vessels, green hydrogen, or green hydrogen-based fuels can fill that gap and fully decarbonize the sector. >> but it takes good timing and effort to turn a tanker around, and the imo has displayed neither. >> shipping hasn't shown that it can move swiftly when it comes to reforming itself. >> we think that it's possible. it is doable, but it's not going to happen on its own. there needs to be regulations that mandate the switch to those sustainable behaviors, sustainable technologies. the shipping companies need to adapt.

greener ships would be far more expensive. but a german conservation group has worked out that those t-shirts would cost just 2 cents more. >> two children. two continents. one giant problem. >> [speaking foreign language] >> how will climate change affect us and our children? learn more at dw.com/water. >> in this week's "global ideas," we look at how crucial it sustainable lifestyle is when it comes to fighting climate change. our chilean reporter met up with members of an indigenous tribe who are using creative means to retain the original

forests of their homeland. >> these are among the last of their kind. deforestation and climate change" called numbers to dwindle. they are among the oldest tree species on earth around at the time of dinosaurs. they still grew on the land of the pehuenche people. isaac and his family collect pinenuts. his and says it has always been this way. >> we are pehuen ches. so we lived where we live. we are surrounded by trees and mountains. >> pehuenche means people of the arancaraia. they once lived in seclusion in the mountains. but when the first disappeared,

they moved. during the last harvest season, she collected 400 kilos of pinenuts the pinenuts are eaten boiled or roasted, or made into flour, puree, or coffee. most of the harvest is sold. >> it can be a very hard way to make a living. we don't get enough money for our products. the price of pine nuts never goes up. this year, the price per kilo should be 5000 pesos. because there were so few of them. but no one wants to pay that. at the same time, the prices of other foods go up and you have to pay the asking price in the market. reporter: in order to tend their cattle

over the summer, the huenchunaos built a small hut up in the mountains. they own about 500 hectares at 1600 meters above sea level, at the foot of mount khutrao khutrao. it is also where the araucaria trees they harvest grow. the small livestock farm is a second source of income. isaac huenchunao also hopes to make money from tourism. he recently started offering hiking and skiing tours, so visitors can witness the volcanic landscapes and untouched forests of his homeland. >> i had the idea to strengthen the community through tourism, and especially to allow young people to make use of tourism. so that no one can come from outside and make rules about how tourism should operate here. that goes hand-in-hand with

protecting our culture and our way of life. >> isaac huenchunao sees it as a great opportunity to create jobs and new income at a time when many young men and women are still moving away. life in the mountains is hard, and there are few educational opportunities. of the region's approximately 1.7 million indigenous people, more than a third already live in the capital, santiago. that exodus means that indigenous culture is in danger of dying out. isaac huenchunao hopes that tourism might help reverse the trend. ' we're the ones who take care of nature. latin america's indigenous people are the guardians and protectors of most of our natural resources. there are people from outside who come to destroy them. >> many pehuenches are mistrustful of outsiders.

one reason is that after chile's independence, the military marched into their territory and expelled them. they were left with only a tiny sliver of their original land. instead, it was mainly european settlers who were granted land. to this day, many forestry and agricultural companies are located on pehuenche land. this causes conflicts. the indigenous people have long been demanding their original territory back, and an end to the environmental degradation. >> there's still this rejection of outsiders. we are an integrated people who were once massacred -- we are an invaded people who were once massacred. and that was not all too many years ago. my grandfather still remembered it. it is still very much alive. that's what makes it so difficult for the mapuche to allow tourism.

>> that isaac huenchunao doesn't want too much tourism either. it should provide the indigenous community an income, but not replace their previous way of life. >> it wouldn't be good for conserving the ecosystem or our culture. if a community just lives from tourism, then its culture becomes folklore. anyway, there is other work, like collecting pine nuts, and working the land and the summer pastures. >> he has already convinced his aunt, juanita huenchunao. she plans to make extra money by running a small inn. >> people could come for lunch. i could serve them sopaipillas or mate. >> that right now, it is winter, so she and her husband live in their house in the valley. it has running water and electricity. they also keep their animals here until spring. they mostly survive on supplies

and savings left over from summer. >the couple's four children have all moved away to the cities. one of their sons lives more than a day's bus ride away. his mother hasn't seen him in over a year. >> as a mother, it doesn't make you happy. you don't know how they are. what they need. whether they have enough to eat. sometimes it makes me very sad. >> she hopes that tourism may bring some of her children back to the village for good. but for that to happen, a lot would still have to change here in the pehuenches' mountainous home. >> for this week's global snack, we try something"

tasty in south africa. on route 27, an hour's drive from cape town, the "r27 roosterkoek" snackbar serves up delicious freshly-baked treats. its speciality are "roosterkoek," a bread snack with a filling, that's been made here in the western cape for centuries. ♪ "rooster" is the afrikaans word for grill. "koek" means cake. the dough is made from flour, water, yeast and a pinch of sugar. ♪ the dough is kneaded by hand and then baked on a grid over hot coals. keeping the optimal temperature is an art in itself. caspar moss tends the fire. he's an expert at getting the coals just right.

>> if you make roosterkoek, you need to be very specific and make sure that your fire is not too hard. it cooks very quickly, so you have to turn it over quickly and regularly so it doesn't burn. but you also need to make sure it is cooked throughout. so your coal's heat needs to be 100% perfect. >> when you tap the roosterkoek and get a hollow sound, it's done. once they've been tan off the grill, the bread needs to cool for ten minutes before the fillings are added. they're delicious just with better, but fillings include egg, bacon and onion, as well cheese, mincemeat and biltong - dried, cured meat that's popular in south africa. ♪ depending on the filling, a roosterkoek costs between 30 and 75 south african rand, that's about 2 to 5 euros.

up to 3000 roosterkoek are sold every day. the snackbar gets especially busy at the weekend. it's a popular snack among both locals and tourists. >> i think it is the fact that it is made on the fire. south africans love, absolutely love making food on the fire. we "brie" everything. so, it´s the bacon, it's the egg,, it is the soft egg. it is the fact that it is traditional, it comes from this area. it is elective. it's something that we all love. >> roosterkoek taste best when they're still piping hot. ♪ [chatter] >> and they say that the roosterkoek at route 27 are the best around. ♪ >> that's all from us at "global 3000" this week. do send us your views and thanks for watching. do send us your views and comments, write to

global3000@dw. com and check us out on facebook too, dw global ideas. see you next time. take care! ♪

brent: this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight, the u.s. president, the saudi crown prince, and a fist bump. the u.s. president arrived today in saudi arabia and offered no handshake, instead, a fist bump to the prince that he once vowed to make a pariah. also coming up tight -- russian missiles rain down on a ukrainian city and russian airstrikes have claimed more than 20 lives. a german