host: welcome to “global 3000”" deadly racket -- widespread noise pollution is harming marine life in our oceans. scorching sun -- drought in the horn of africa means ever more people there are facing extreme hunger. and dangerous friendship -- why vladimir putin has a growing fanbase in indonesia. for the past six months, ukraine has been defending a

more than 2000-kilometer-long front against russia's invasion, which contravenes international law. millions of people are on the run. thousands of soldiers on both sides have been killed or injured. many towns and villages lie in ruins. but russia's plans go far beyond ukraine. it wants to weaken the west and is seeking allies around the world to do so. russian mercenaries active in mali, for example, threaten to jeopardize the u.n. mission there, and destabilize the entire sahel region, with potentially grave consequences for western europe. and elsewhere, too, there is admiration for the supposed strong man in the kremlin, vladimir putin. reporter: they're on their way to russian class. working as taxi drivers, real estate agents, and tourist guides on the island of bali, they're used to doing business with russian tourists.

>> you have to be able to speak russian on bali. most of us work in tourism. and since lots of russians started coming here, it's important to speak russian. reporter: many russians are settling permanently on bali. 30-year-old dida is married to a russian. she has visited moscow twice. she likes russia and putin, above all. just like her friend triani. >> he is charismatic. and he has beautiful eyes. >> i think he's a good person. it takes a strong man like him to lead such a big country. >> i love putin. he is clever and, yes, very strong. reporter: russia and indonesia have had close relations for decades. russia supported indonesian independence back in the 1950's, reynaldo de archellie explains. he teaches russian studies at

indonesia's biggest state university. reynaldo: on the basis of this close relationship, indonesia and russia have developed partnerships in many sectors and fields -- in particular, from the year 2000 onwards -- from education, technology, trade, and the economy, to fighting terrorism. reporter: russia has even managed to cultivate an islam-friendly image, amongst other things by investing in cultural centers, state-managed media, and stipends. that's important in indonesia, which has the world's largest muslim population. reynaldo: under putin's leadership, islam has become a part of russia. russia's national identity now also encompasses islam. reporter: the reverse is true for the image of the u.s., budiman sudjatmiko, from the country's ruling party, stresses.

the wars against muslim-majority states like afghanistan, iraq, and libya have been stirring up antipathy toward u.s. foreign policy for years. many indonesians see the u.s. as a superpower out for global domination and to crush other cultures. budiman: as far as the war between russia and ukraine is concerned, russian is seen as the only country that has the courage to oppose western expansion plans. i overhear conversations in small stores or taxis where people say, “the west seems to want ukraine.” and that is perceived as a clear threat to russia. reporter: officially, the indonesian government is neutral. president joko widodo has presented himself as an unbiased mediator. he recently visited kyiv and the destruction in surrounding neighborhoods, but then travelled on to moscow. budiman: our response is proportionate. that's why we are against sanctions. we shouldn't isolate the country. the impact on energy and food supplies could be enormous.

we don't want to pour gasoline onto a burning fire. reporter: at the language school on bali, they're not quite as neutral as their president. there are a lot of anti-western and pro-russian videos circulating on the internet. one they all know is putin's address at the vicry day parade to mark the defeat of nazi germany. >> when i see that video, i sense patriotism, strong leadership, heroism. any country that was ever attacked or colonized, like we indonesians were, will also be able to sympathize. reporter: these language students admire putin's military strength. in indonesia, russian propaganda is falling on fertile soil. host: the eu estimates that this year, europe has seen the worst drought for 500 years. almost half the continent has

been affected. the economic consequences are huge, but the situation is not life-threatening for people there. it's a different story in eastern africa. for years, it has seen too little rainfall. drought in the horn of africa has left 4.7 million children under five in ethiopia suffering from acute malnutrition, 1.5 million in somalia, and around 950,000 in kenya. across the region, more than six million livestock have died or have had to be slaughtered. host: over 25,0000 sheep, goats, and cattle are being slaughtered by the kenyan government, and the meat distributed to families suffering from extreme malnutrition. in africa, animals are usually slaughtered to mark celebrations and signal prosperity. the meat is typically cooked for guests and friends, or at

weddings. but in samburu, in north of the country, it has become a sign of desperation. abraham: one goat is being shared by four households, and one cow by 10 households. as the drought continues, we can support families with this type of aid relief. reporter: the drought is not jt a problem here, but throughout east africa. it hasn't rained properly for more than a year. nothing grows here anymore. people and animals are suffering from water shortages, so kenya has decided to slaughter any animals that are already weak. mancini: i have 30 cows and they are all emaciated because of the drought. if it doesn't rain soon, it will be a huge loss for me. so i've come here to sell my cows. reporter: women and children sit by a tree. they have walked for hours in the heat in the hopes of getting help for their malnourished children.

nturiaki: i took my child to hospital for treatment and was told it weighed too little. reporter: patrick doc is a nurse at the nearby ngilai health center. he tries to help where he can, but the years of drought, the heat, and the long distances make it difficult. most families only have maize flour mixed with water to eat. patrick: that's what they eat most of the time. most of them don't get these other foods because the place is very dry. so we don't have green vegetables, we don't have any other fruits. people just eat ugali. reporter: so they are slaughtering cattle. this provides income for farmers, food for the people, and fewer animals to fight over what little water is available. but it also has a negative impact on their livelihoods. it's a temporary solution for an ongoing problem. patrick:

it's all very uncertain because it only happens once in a while. obviously it will help for today, because someone is going to sell, another is going to eat the meat. so at least the householder fortunately is assisted in a way. reporter: parched earth as far as e eye can see. the people in eastern kenya's tana river region have not seen heavy rainfall for months. the majority of people here are cattle herders. they live from their animals. and so they walk hundreds of kilometers in search of water. bashir: our herds didn't manage to acclimatize when we came here. their health deteriorated massively. we're suffering because of the drought. most of the animals have died. reporter:

each day, the women of the tana river walk to a small water basin to fill their plastic containers but they can see the water levels getting lower and lower here, too. the united nations wld food program fears there uld be a humanitarian catastrophe. felix: currently over 15 million people are being impacted or requiring food assistance in the horn of africa, and if the rains continue to fail as we are witnessing, it's predicted that over 20 million people who will be impacted by the drought and will require food assistance. reporter: the drought is hitting the youngest particularly hard. unicef estimates that some eight million children between the ages of five and 15 are at risk of starvation. they don't have the strength left in their emaciated bodies to even make it the nearest aid point. higher food prices also mean smaller deliveries from the aid organizations. felix:

we've seen the cost of energy go up with the recent international situation and even the cost of production of food is something that is a major concern that this will also go up. reporter: heavy rain is what people in the horn of africa are hoping for. buit doesn't look likely, at least for the next few months. that could dramatically worsen the situation across east africa. host: planes, cars, trains -- they're all very noisy. in the eu alone, more than 100 million people are exposed to high levels of noise pollution in their daily lives. and it's not only people who suffer -- animals do, too. particularly marine life. the propellers of the more than 62,000 cargo ships on our seas create an enormous amount of noise, which can heard for kilometers around. and there are many other sources of ocean noise

pollution too. the din drives fish from their feeding and breeding areas, and, in the worst cases, it can even kill them. reporter: the ocean is a symphony of sounds, at least where they can still be heard. we humans have made the sea noisier than ever before. and the way things are going, the underwater world is set to become one thing -- even louder. with devastating effects on marine life. lindy: from feeding to predator avoidance, sensing their environment, food finding, reproduction, the whole thing. reporter: let's explore some smart ways of turning down the volume in the ocean, and find out why

this might also be good for the climate. underwater soundwaves travel extremely fast, and up to thousands of kilometers. sound is essential for almost all marine animals, from whales to jellyfish. animals use sound to communicate, to navigate, and to find mating partners, or prey. but hearing what these creatures need to hear is getting increasingly difficult. some marine life is currently exposed to noise levels that can destroy their sense of hearing, literally render them deaf, or kill them. lindy: it's like you're walking around in a fog. so that's a pretty serious effect for animals that depend on sound so much. reporter so why a the oceanbecoming noisy? e factor is offshore wind farms, and wind energy is generally a good thing. but installing offshore

turbines creates areat deal of noise. in the north sea, it damaged the hearing of porpoises, driving them away from their feeding and breeding grounds. michael: the foundations are most likely big steel piles, and they must be driven into the seabed by hammering or impact pile driving. and this causes underwater noise, which is more or less comparable as a starting aircraft. reporter: the sounds emitted by the pile structural elements smashing into the sea floor travel several kilometers from the source. but help is on the way. compressed air flowing through tubes on the ocean floor around the piles creates bubbles that rise to the surface, forming a tight insulation curtain. fewer soundwaves manage to penetrate the barrier, leading to a 90% reduction in volume. thiss how things sound without an air bubble curtain.

and this is with an air bubble curtain. michael: the challenging issue is that you have to live with the offshore conditions, wind, waves, weather conditions, currents and so on. reporter: but thanks to tighter regulations, the curtains are now almost standard for construction off germany's north sea coast. and interest is also picking up in the u.s., the netherlands, and taiwan. implementing bubble curtains costs just 1% or less of the total investment for an offshore wind farm. so wind turbines are one thing, but there's a bigger problem -- container ships. international shipping is by far the main source of noise pollution in our oceans. the culprit -- and the potential solution -- is the

ship's propeller. domestic pressure cookers work by controlling the steam pressure inside them, pushing up the temperature at which water boils. the resulting higher heat means faster cooking. on a ship's propeller, the opposite happens. not with food but with the water, an effect called "cavitation." max: due to the fast motion of that propeller through the water, locally, the pressure is extremely low, so that at ambient temperature, the wer boils and creates vapor bubbles, and these bubbles grow, and these bubbles shrink and collapse. reporter: th generates noise levels comparable to a rock concert on dry land. the solution has the potential to be good news for the climate, and the profit margins of big shipping companies. essentially, fewer bubbles can mean lower fuel consumption. in 2017, denmark-based maersk retrofitted the propellers and engines of five vessels,

primarily to save fuel. but their sound emissions also dropped by 75%. this add-on device improves a vessel's flow in the water, which according to its maker, means less cavitation, and fuel savings of up to 8%. but installation isn't cheap, and shipping firms are rarely obliged to make the changes. with cargo prices currently very high, they prefer to keep ships in operation rather than investing in a retrofit. max: for many ships there could be savings possible, especially due to the fact that each ship needs to go to dry docking each four to five years. reporter: to incentivize ship operators, the port of vancouver has cut port charges for certified quieter vessels by as much as half. but the loudest offenders are seismic air guns. the fossil fuel industry uses them to locate new oil and gas

fields in the ocean. their sound waves are as loud as a spacecraft and can be heard hundreds of kilometers from the source. for days, sometimes even weeks or months, these tubes fire out compressed air every 10 seconds. with every blast, two thirds of all zooplankton larvae within a kilometer of the explosion drop dead. they ensure the health of the ecosystem. lindy: air guns are incredibly wasteful. ey're way too loud for what they need to do. reporter: ironically, the fossil fuel industry is itself conducting research on more environmentally friendly methods for its surveys. one technique is called marine vibreis, whichenerates t requir signals v vibration instead of an explosion. one the result is more of aine constant hum rather than a big, sudden blast. lindy: an air gun is so strong it could rip your arm off, whereas

a vibroseis on land you could put an egg underneath it and it won't break. reporter: initial models suggest that the impact on marine life would be just 10% of that of an air gun. the likes of exxonmobi totalenergies, and shell may have their eye on another advantage, however. marine vibroseis can also map oil and gas in shallow waters. but doesn't this sound paradoxical? more sustainable methods to find more fossil fuels? lindy: we really should not be searching for oil and gas under the ocean anymore. we really need to make the green transition. that's the main solution. reporter: there are plenty of options for reducing marine noise pollution, but more progress is needed on the regulatory front. in 2011, germany introduced one of the world's first noise limits in place to protect north sea marine life. air bubble curtains are now standard there, and the industry is doing fine.

taiwan is introducing a similar regulation. quieter is better for the environment. but without incentives or new laws, the industry has few asons to change. host: when tropical storms move across el salvador, the country can be hit by up to 50 centimeters of rain per day. that's more than in many european cities all year. storms are becoming heavier and more common. climate change is wreaking havoc with the country -- rising sea levels, drought, hurricanes. a local environmental initiative is encouraging action in el salvador. small changes for a big goal -- protecting the habitat of both people and animals. reporter: paradise on the brink. for thousas of yea, ngroves lined this pacific coastline, but rising sea

lconservationists from the salvadoran centre for appropriate technology already see the grim reality of climate change. ricardo: these mangroves dried up just last year. and over there were old mangrove forests, but look now, only sand. these mangroves behind me are over 30 meters tall because the sea hasn't gotten this high yet, but levels are rising. reporter: the people who lived here had to abandon their homes. like so many in el salvador, they had no choice but to flee rising sea levels. he founded cesta 40 years ago. with people in the region, he works to raise awareness of environmental issues.

adam: we're not just aiming to raise awareness among others, but also amongst ourselves. we believe that cesta's projects to reduce plastic usage, and everything that causes pollution and rising temperatures, are all important when it comes to reducing climate change. reporter: many wild animals species here are endangered. and now their habitats are being destroyed. ricardo: climate change is a global problem. but it's caused by the world's richest people who consume far more resources and generate more greenhouse gases. put it this way -- the world's elite owes poor people a massive environmental debt. and it's the poor people who suffer most from climate change. reporter: this inequality is reflected in the lives of many women in these small communities around san salvador. cesta is training them how to farm organically. despite el salvador's fertile

soil, more than 70% of its food, including fresh produce, is imported. as a result, co2 emissions from transport and storage are high. in recent years, women like verónica del rosario echegollen de perez have started to grow their own vegetables and fruits organically. it's now their main source of income. about 80 female farmers are taking part in the project. as a result, supplies of regional fruits and vegetables have significantly increased. verónica: we announce our harvest to the community, then we go around selling our produce from carts. we sell a lot. we can provide for ourselves, and there's always still some left over to sell. reporter: often the regional produce includes varieties of crops

that don't grow elsewhere. the women who farm exchange knowledge and also seeds. this protects biodiversity. ongoing training is offered free of charge as part of the initiative. today, people have gathered from five different communities. many of them would like to take part in the project. they've noticed how native seeds often prove more resilient to rising temperatures. walter: we use native seeds and want to farm organically. one example is using mulch from native fruit trees to shield soil from sunlight and evaporation. this keeps the earth moist, so it makes the crops more resistant to climate change. reporter:

living in harmony th nature was a tenet of the ancient mayan civilization which inhabited this region. for ricardo navarro, this is important. he wants to restore harmony with the country's natural and cultural roots. ricardo: these small changes will remain so unless more people join in. like the force of a hurricane. at the end of the day, its power comes from many small water droplets working together in a coordinated way as one. reporter: even if change is slow, this growing environmental movement is inspired and determined. they will never give up the fight for sustainability in el salvador, or the fight for the country's future. host: and that's all from us at “global 3000” this time. thank you for joining us. did you enjoy the show?

let us know. write to global3000@dw.com. and you'll find us on facebook too, dw global ideas. see you next time, and until then, take care. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,

berlin. western powers slammed the so-called referendums as a sham. they say russia will face the outcome to face -- swallowing up 50% of ukraine's territory. woman