k host: welcome to “global 3000”" landfill refigured -- we discover a very special natural park in new york. costly existence -- people in tunisia are mastering their country's crisis. and tough decisions -- how ukrainians are keeping their country running, despite the war. russia's war on ukraine continues unabated. infrastructure has become a key target, especially the country's power stations.

many regions of ukraine no longer have access to electricity. people there are in for a cold, dark winter. but the effects of the war go well beyond the borders of ukraine. millions of people are suffering its consequences. hunger is on the rise, inflation has led to price hikes, the global economy is in crisis. together with un-tv, we asked people in ukraine how they are dealing with the immediate impact of war, and what decisions they face when it comes to survival. reporter: ukraine -- the world's breadbasket. the war has cast its long shadow on this fertile land. what is it like to be a young farmer here in wartime? yevhen: all around here, they're our fields. reporter: 24-year-old yevhen grows wheat, corn, beetroot, and vegetables

on his 600-acre farm. but with ukrainian wheat struggling to exit the country because of the war, his summer harvest is still stuck in storage. the price of yevhen's grain has plummeted by more than 40%. yevhen: now the price of my grain is 5000 to 6000 hryvnia per ton. that is way lower than break-even point. so, i will need to hold it in storage and hope that something will change. reporter: the mood is tense in yevhen's household, not least because russian missiles have been falling in the nearby fields. his mother and brother depend on him, and he feels the weight of the world on his shoulders as he strives to keep his business afloat. although some exports of ukrainian grain have resumed since august 2022 under the black sea grain initiative, relief is not yet on the

horizon for yevhen. yevhen: it's great that this opportunity to ship out our grain exists. let's hope that it will continue and stabilize these prices on the market. reporter: so far, over 11 million tons of grain and foodstuffs have been able to leave the ukrainian ports under the initiative. but before the war, the country had been shipping five million tons of food every month. for yevhen, less sales revenue means even less money to buy fuel, which has doubled in price, and fertilizer, which has almost tripled, if you can even find it. to keep operations running, yevhen is faced with some very hard choices. yevhen: we had to cut the amount of

fertilizers due to their high cost. we just cannot afford to use them as we did before. so, we need to optimize production costs by cutting fertilizer and pesticides. reporter: with next year's yields also in the balance, yevhen may struggle to pay his farmworkers' wages. some of his staff only arrived in the region in the past few months from eastern ukraine, where the war rages on. yevhen has given these “internally displaced people,” or idp's, a job and a place to stay in this little apartment on the farm, and feels the responsibility to keep going, for them. yevhen: here's where the idp's from kharkiv live, and they are currently renovating. we will have to paint here, finish the floor. there will be other furniture here too, a new bed has been ordered as well.

we help as best we can. rerter: there are 6.5 million people displaced by the war in ukraine, and many of them are living in nearby lviv. the city has been a place of refuge for those fleeing, but the signs of the war are visible everywhere. lviv native natalia was a successful businesswoman. she and her husband decided to invest in agriculture one year ago, using her savings to buy a 380-hectare farm 30 minutes from lviv and grow barley and soy. the timing of her investment could not have been more difficult. natalia: we are new in this business and after the full-scale war began, we faced an increase in all the production costs linked to grain cultivation. but we didn't stop. we are working, and we will continue to work, believing in

our success and that it is good work for a good cause. reporter: natalia is convinced that farmers have an essential role to play in sustaining a country and a people at war. but how much longer will she be able to sustain her business? natalia: the harvest must be exported and sold. but the volumes that ukraine exports today are very small compared to before. there are simply crazy queues at the border and logistic costs eat up most of the expected profits. reporter: back at yevhen's farm, it's all hands on deck as the young farmer struggles to keep operations going. he has been forced to look for additional sources of income. one is to rent spaces on his farm to produce toilet paper. this enables him to pay salaries and for other

necessities on the farm. at 24, yehven's future remains wide open. despite the daily struggles, he continues to believe that he can contribute to the renewal and prosperity of his country by doing what he loves best -- farming, with a poetic bent. yevhen: since childhood i have always loved farming, and today i work the fields, the way a poet writes a book. reporter: the grain on which yevhen has built his livelihood is a lifeline for his community, but also for so many people around the world. what course will he, and millions of others in countries far away, be able to chart in an unprecedented cost of living crisis for his generation? host: prior to russia's invasion, ukraine exported more than 40 million tons of grain every

year. the majority was shipped out from the black sea port of odesa. the war put an immediate stop to that. and it wasn't until an agreement was reached between the two sides in early august that freighters were again able to leave odesa and bring much-needed grain to the rest of the world. it's still far from enough. and, as is too often the case, it's the poor who are suffering the most. reporter: near the city of kairouan in northern tunisia, najwa selmi supports her family single-handedly by making a traditional soft bread called tabouna. it's 40 degrees in the shade and it gets even hotter when she fires up the outdoor oven. this is what she does every day, so long as she can get

hold of the ingredients. najwa: if i have no semolina, i can't earn a living and i can't support my children. last time there was a shortage for three months, i couldn't cope. my husband can't work, he is sick. i had no choice in order to survive. my kids are growing up, and their needs are growing too. you can see how the situation is now, with the prices getting higher, it's difficult to just get by and getting harder to take care of them. reporter: across the country, people are struggling to buy bare essentials. eggs, coffee, vegetable oil, and milk -- all are in short supply, or selling at such high prices that many have to pay on credit. najwa: believe me, right now we are eating only bread and olive oil. we can't afford any vegetables from the market or anything else. reporter: in the capital, tunis, there are few outwards signs that the country is in the grip of food and fuel shortages linked to

the war in ukraine. but with shipping supplies disrupted, basic goods are unavailable or unaffordable, like the soft wheat and barley from russia and ukraine that tunisia depends on. and although for now, tunisia's mills are busy and the silos are still full, there are still supply problems for many. baker mohamed lanoussi knows this all too well. when there's not enough flour, he has to close shop and send workers home. mohamed: it's a big problem. if i order eight tons, they only give me one. they say you need to wait and then when i tell them i can't work and i might close, they say, ok, close. >> the prices are going up. poor people can no longer afford anything. it's like the world is on fire. reporter: it's early morning in kairouan. najwa selmi is hard at work,

preparing dough to make a small batch of flatbread, just as her mother taught her. she might not even be able to do this soon, the longer the ukraine war and the threat of global economic recession drag on. najwa: it is not just the flour. there is no oil, and there is no firewood, which is essential for me. i have to go really far to look for it. sometimes i find it, and sometimes i don't. reporter: she's also worried about her eldest daughter, who wants to go to university. najwa: she shouldn't have to think that she is inferior to the other students. but she doesn't have clothes like theirs, she doesn't live like them, she doesn't even have a cell phone. but what can i do? reporter: and the problems are only just starting for her youngest

daughter. najwa: i can't afford to buy her books, nor a school bag, stationery, not even clothes. reporter: najwa selmi is desperate for her daughters to have a better life. najwa: i pray to god for them to be successful. my only wish for them is that their needs will be met, especially the essentials. i'm not asking for luxury. reporter: her goal is to expand her business. najwa: i would like to build up my store and sell more items like spices and detergents, which would help when there's no semolina available to make bread. it would help me be able to feed my family, so we don't have to ask for help from others to survive. reporter: in the meantime, many young tunisians are risking their lives, leaving their country in

search of a better future. trying to cross the mediterranean sea is often deadly. najwa selmi's eldest son recently managed to reach italy. all she knows is that he's safe. for now, the family's well-being remains entirely her responsibility. host: expanding landfill sites are a growing problem across the globe. every year more than two billion tons of trash get added to them worldwide. if not properly sealed, these depots emit methane, a huge problem for the climate. waste disposal is respsible r 20% of mhane emissions in theu alone. that'stilf landfills are transformed into wildlife habitats. but it's possible to capture the methane and even generate

energy from it, giving former dump sites a truly green future. new york's staten island is planning to achieve just that by 2036. reporter: ecologist josé ramirez is ready to check the camera. he's carrying out his own version of a neighborhood watch. every new form of wildlife he spots is a sign that nature is reclaiming this former garbage dump. what are you looking for? josé: today, we're specifically looking for otters. north american river otters are known to frequent this location. we haven't found any on our cameras yet, but have observed them in the field. we've recently put this camera out in hopes that we would capture the family of otters that we found here earlier in the spring. reporter: the otters haven't returned. instead, there's an opossum and an old friend. josé: this is deer 148, so this deer was tagged quite some time ago.

this is a male. reporter: this is freshkills, wide open country close to manhattan. garbage from new york was dumped here for more than 50 years -- 150 million tons of it. it was once the largest garbage dump in the world. the remains of the twin towers also ended up here after 9/11. today, it is sealed off. josé ramirez grew up nearby. he can well remember the putrid stench that regularly hung over staten island. now he is documenting the return of nature. josé: freshkills is really just one of our crown jewels. it is the only truly expansive grassland habitat that we have in our entire region. now what we're doing at freshkills is bring these grasslands back and also make sure that they are feasibly managed for biodiversity and our specialized species, like

grasshoppers, sparrows, northern harriers. reporter: the park is officially scheduled to open in 2036, by which time the mounds of garbage should have been swallowed by greenery. the first visitors are only allowed to enter in small groups. >> we're walking on garbage right now. there were a lot of landfills in all five boroughs. one by one, those all closed down. so, you see here, 2200 acres, that's almost three central parks' worth of land. reporter: this group includes many former residents. for them, it's a journey into the past. griselda healy raised her children here and, she says, endured the stench for far too long. griselda: it's huge, it's vast. we never came close to it. i never could touch the ground or look at it. it's amazing. just a huge territory. marisa:

it's very emotional. i'm a native staten islander. and i grew up living pretty close to the landfill, now becoming a park. it's really moving to be here now and to think of a new beginning, a new life. and to see -- like, i just saw a butterfly, and i was like, oh, my gosh. you know, it's -- ahh. reporter: today, new life is being breathed into the former garbage dump. choreographer kathy westwater is taking the audience on a very special trip. kathy: we're physicalizing a sort of process that is happening within the landfill. and maybe that is a form of a metaphor. i think there's this form of rebirth within all of that. how things come apart, come back together again, matter.

reporter: dancing on the garbage left behind in prosperity's wake. marisa: it was beautiful. i kept looking around and seeing how the dancers were moving with the motion of nature, how the wind was moving and everything, and they were also -- the reeds were little dancers, too. reporter: amid the skyscrapers of manhattan, we meet the man who has already designed a park in the middle of new york. once a railroad track, today, a popular refuge for people, animals, and plants. but unlike the high line, freshkills is a long-term project for james corner. it can take up to 30 years for birds and grasses to reestablish themselves on the mounds of garbage. james: even though that looks green, i think an ecologist would probably count about 100

species. we've allowed the whole system to biodiversify itself. there are now tens of thousands of species that you could count there, and it will get more. reporter: josé ramirez discovers new animals and plants almost every day. he's also spotted endangered birds of prey here. josé hopes that with the return of nature, the image of an area long considered a forbidden wasteland will be transformed. josé: there are perceptions of the park that are negative, and that's understandable, given what the communities here have gone through over the decades. but to see people really appreciate, as they learn more about what we're doing here, that kind of drives what we do here every day. reporter: in freshkills, the return colorful and diverse wildlife is a small victory for nature,

and the community. host: every second, two people, worldwide, turn 60. that's 58 million men and women per year. by mid-century, one in five of us will be over 60. today, it's one in nine. life expectancy is also increasing. in more and more countries, babies born today can expect to reach at least 80 years old. so what do we do with all our old folks? keep them in the thick of things. in japan, there are even experts who specialize in this very topic. reporter: few people wake up this excited. seven-month-old lena is a bundle of energy, and she'll need that energy today. that's because she's going to

work. here in the city of kitakyushu, the baby girl will be helping to entertain the elderly residents at the moyai seiyukai nursing home. lena's future clients are looking forward to meeting her. local school children have already been along to provide some entertainment, but the nursing home management believes that the tiny tots will have an even bigger impact. 30 infants have been recruited. when lena's mother heard about the scheme -- and the nursing home director's unconventional ideas -- she signed up for her daughter. and now, lena is about to make her debut. director kimie gondo is instantly won over.

she offers ideal working conditions and says lena can come whenever it suits her. kimie: here's the contract and job description. we'd like you just to walk about the facility. would you just please sign here? reporter: lena can hardly wait to get to work. kanae: at least she's not crying. we'll see how she reacts when she meets the older folks. reporter: they are eagerly awaiting their visitor. >> hello. reporter: a shy greeting at first, but

lena soon warms to the task. kimie: the residents are transformed. the mood lightened right away. they'd already asked me beforehand, are the babies coming today? it's just wonderful. reporter: lena has proved to be a natural talent. kimie: here, lena, here's your reward. thank you for your service. reporter: it's a new diaper. kimie: and here's a gift certificate, an ice cream for mommy.

thank you very much. reporter: the residents are keen to see lena again. kyoko: they always make me happy. i've also raised children. they're so cute. taizo: you get all nostalgic. when they come to visit, it takes us back to that chapter in our lives. reporter: the elderly residents here often have company. the facility also hosts events for people from the neighborhood. many residents have dementia, but that doesn't mean that they have to be lonely. kimie: the idea is to open up the facility. there should be a constant coming and going, with people running into each other, like in a small town. reporter: the nursing home also hosts its own radio program.

the show is recorded once a month. the residents talk about whatever's on their mind. tsukimi: people always rave about life in the countryside. they have no idea how boring it is. reporter: lena clearly enjoyed her first day at work. kanae: she's learning how to interact with other people, with the elderly and with children too. some things can only be learned through contact with others. reporter: in that sense, lena probably learned a lot today. but now she definitely needs a nap. host: and that's all from us at “global 3000” this week.

drop us a line with your comments. we're at global3000@dw.com. and we're on facebook too, dw global ideas. see you soon. take care. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

01/02/23 01/02/23 [captioning made possible amy: from new york, this is democracy now! juan: my modest contribution, i decided, would be a voice from another part of new york. not writing about outcast neighborhoods but from them. not simply to entertain but to change. not after the fact, but before it when coverage could still make a difference. amy: today, an hour with juan gonzalez.