■#■#■#■■ host: welcome to “global 3000”" seductive sweetness -- soft drinks are a big factor in mexico's obesity problem, while manufacturers rake in the cash. the question of ownership -- companies exploit the knowledge of indigenous peoples for profit. and mounting concerns -- people in iran face new struggles on a daily basis. since september 2022, iranians have been protesting against their country's islamist regime.

around 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands are in prison, enduring torture and the fear of a death sentence. more than 80% of the population reject the islamic republic, according to a survey of around 200,000 citizens in december 2022. reporter: raha is a very active child, says fariba badrizad. she used to be an english teacher, but giving lessons online proved impossible during the pandemic. raha gave her no peace. fariba was forced to change careers. now she sells jewelry and household goods in her instagram shop. she does it all herself -- lighting, taking photos, putting the items online. then she waits for customers.. but these days, business is slow. fariba: they're not necessary for people and they don't buy them. and about the limitation of the internet, it stopped me.

and i got depressed and i got sad. and i can't work. reporter: fariba and her husband had dreamed of a good life. he spends all week traveling around the country. fariba has to manage on her own, earning just 60 euros a month. with both salaries they come to around 250. that's not enough to make ends meet. fariba: my salary is online business. maybe one day or two days. maybe one week i don't sell anything. reporter: she doesn't dare to take to the streets against the government. in our interview, however, she deliberately doesn't wear a headscarf. she belongs to the silent majority who clench their fists in their pockets and otherwise fight for their daily bread. just like reza salehi. he delivers eggs to grocery stores and supermarkets.

he thought the job was crisis-proof. but since he started seven months ago, the price of eggs has almost doubled. reza: the government has eliminated feed subsidies. now the farmers have to buy chicken feed abroad. and because the dollar exchange rate has risen so much, producers are having problems. so my expenses have risen too. reporter: farmers, middlemen like reza and shopkeepers like ali, all have less income. and the wave of protests that has swept the country complicates the situation even further. ali: when strikes were called, people stayed at home in protest. nobody shopped. i no longer know how to pay my rent, electricity, water. reporter: well-known business journalist saeed leylaz says they are all victims of a fatal development

in iran. despite sanctions, the iranian economy has grown and made the rich even richer and the poor poorer. saeed: we have a lot of poor people. the poverty line -- it seems that it includes 25 million to 30 million people at the moment. reporter: the unrest is an additional burden on the iranian economy. banks and companies close to the regime are being boycotted in protest. many of these are owned by the revolutionary guards. they have earned well in recent years. if the regime is now fighting the protests with all its might, it's defending the islamic republic, but mainly its own financial interests. saeed: this is looting, not only corruption. you cannot imagine. between $20 billion to $25 billion u.s. of capital has been exported mainly to canada, or other

european and western countries. reporter: while the powerful send their money around the world, small businesses struggle to survive. like the metal company nab. here, they euphemistically refer to corruion an mismanagement as "economic problems." mohsen: our problems are huge and have their roots in our domestic economy. if the economy improved, all industries would benefit and everyone would get a piece of the pie. reporter: we're on our way to visit the nab factory in chalus, a four-hour drive from tehran. for the first time since the protests began in september, the authorities have allowed us to leave the capital. protests took place in chalus, too. but as in tehran, the authorities want to show us they have the situation under control again. at the plant we're told that, of course, no one protested here. managing director mansur mohammadi guides us through his empire. spare parts for the german-made machines are no longer

available due to the sanctions. suppliers from “friendly” countries such as russia or china have stepped in. so the sanctions hardly affect his business, unlike most of its customers. mansour: we have customers in india, too. but they came and said, we can't transfer money to you anymore. instead we can give you black fabric for your chadors or rice. reporter: necessity is the mother of invention. nab responded to the sanctions by finding new markets in asia and the middle east, and grew despite all the problems. but the wave of protests is an expression of dissatisfaction in iran. mansour mohammadi longs for normality. mansour: we want our nation and our government to stand together. mistakes need to be corrected and the issues between us need to be resolved, to take the pressure off us.

reporter: but online trader fariba badrizad doesn't want to wait for such a miracle. prices are rising, but her income is not. she sees no future for herself and her family in iran. fariba: i decided to emigrate, emigrate out of the country. but i don't know where, because the emigration situation is so hard. reporter: fariba badrizad wants to leave the country for her daughter's sake. around her, she sees dissatisfaction and anger growing with each passing day. host: countless products contain ingredients from nature, but who do they really belong to? many companies have researched and used natural products for decades -- some have even been patented, all in the name of profit. but what about the indigenous peoples on whose knowledge these profits rely?

don't they deserve a fair share too? reporter: bioprospecting is defined in a united nations document as the "exploration of plant and animal species for the utization of their genetic resources." it basically describes companies and institutions looking for new natural substances to use in their products. daniel: in recent decades, it's pharmaceutical companies, it's biotech companies, big agricultural companies or chemical companies as well that are claiming intelleual operty rights relating to a lot of the research and cdevelopment that they've beent are doing. reporter:ual and th're doing that through patents. the idea is that new inventions cost companies time and money in research. to help them make that back, patents give them exclusive rights over their innovation for a set period of time. suvarna: it is important that we should have a patent system also where

the industries are appreciated for their researchreporter: but it becomes more problematic hwhen traditional knowledge ofe communities is involved. take the neem tree. known as the "tree of life" in india, it has vast medicinal d healing properties. and it can also be used to make organic pesticides and fungicides. in 1995, u.s. multinational wr grace was granted a ropean patenfor neem oil used as part of its organic fungicide neemix, a brand worth over $60 million per year, according to a 2008 report. indigenous communitiesn india had already been using neem oil as a fungicide for centuries, but others profited from their knowledge. the appropriation and commercialization of genetic resources, like plant extracts, and indigenous knowledge for profit -- this is where bioprospecting can turn into biopiracy.

companies use patents to protect innovations without fair compensation for communities where the genetic material and knowledge comes from. suvarna: there should be a balance between the advancement in technology and also what is our traditional knowledge. it should be preserved. it should not be misappropriated. reporter: it took 10 years for the european patent on use of the neem compound to be overturned. but this is far from a typical outcome for indigenous communities. they often lack the funds and support to fight patents. and there are other problems, too. it can also be harmful to biodiversity. hoodia gordonii is a plant found in south africa. it's like a cactus, essentially. it doesn't look appetizing, which is pretty fitting, because hoodia is a natural appetite suppressant. the san people of the region used the plant to keep them going while hunting.

but its properties made it very attractive for business research. south africa's council for scientific and industrial research, csir, used the plant extract to formulate the molecule p57 as a hunger suppressant for treating obesity in the 1990's. the center patented the molecule and licensed it to multinational pharma company pfizer and then uk-based biotech phytopharm. no credit was given to the san people. and. daniel: there was so much interest and hype about this, the patents and the research, it was in newspapers, it was reported globally -- that it was decimated by opportunists. so peoe came out and sort of decid they were going to make money off of the removal of this plant and the sale of this plant. reporter: hoodia has had to be protected in south africa and namibia. illegal harvesting is among one of the main threats against the

plant. it took until the early 2000's for the san people to become aware of the csir patent. with help from ngo's, the community successfully campaigned for the role of their traditional knowledge to be acknowledged. under a benefit sharing agreement, they were to receive milestone and royalty payments. it's not clear how many cases of biopiracy there have been. the united nations has tried to instigate a solution under its convention on biological diversity. the aim of the nagoya protocol is to share benefits from bioprospecting with indigenous communities. rik: there's a growing recognition in general that the whole issue of nature and biodiversity is important. and it's important because consumers are more and more interested in more aware and asking questions. reporter:

that's rik kutsch lojenga, executive director of the union on ethical biotrade. it's a membership-based organization that helps companies comply with the protocol and awards them with a certification on tir produ if they do. rik: a lot of these regulations are still new, are still under development, or sometimes unclear. reporter: still, on land, there is a framework. one that extends around 200 nautical miles from a nation's border into the ocean. beyond is a new frontier for exploration, and potential exploitaon. e high seas offer an babundance of possibilities. marine organisms can live in extreme pressure, temperatures, darkness. animals like sponges produce chemicals that have the potential to treat cancer. the global market projected for marine biotechnology by 2025 is $6.4 billion, with the

potential for use in pharmaceuticals, chemical, and biofuel industries. nations are currently trying to figure out how to share the ocean's resources equitably. countries in the global south don't want to be left behind. biodiscovery, bioprospecting -- however you want to call it -- to make scientific and technological advancements -- well, it's clear that we need it. rik: it has very, very significantly contributed to kind of human well-being. if you look at all kind of medicines, they are based on natural remedies, they are based on bioprospecting. so, bioprospecting is perfect, is important, will remain very importanin the future. reporter: but it has to be done in a way that is fair to the biodiversity-rich nations where these solutions are found. one way is by creating guidelines on what can be patented and how. companies and research institutions should work with

indigenous and local researchers, developers, and marketers. working together gives both local communities and companies alike the opportunity to profit. it also ensures the protection of the species, providing us with the means to make advancements in technology, health, food security, and beyond. host: access to clean drinking water is a human right. yet around two billion people around the world don't have it. this most important resource has long been big business -- something food producers are well aware of. in 2023, the industry expects to generate $334 billion of revenue. international food companies like nestlé, danone, and coca-cola buy up water rights for low prices in order to manufacture their bottled water. but climate change, droughts, and overuse mean groundwater

supplies are dwindling. in some countries, sugary soft drinks are now cheaper than clean drinking water. reporter: a serenade in honor of their friend who died much too young from diabetes. the mariachi play at funerals for diabetics all too often. fermin: there are so very many. especially during covid-19, a lot of people with diabetes died. miguel: lots of my relatives have the disease. friends and other musicians. reporter: diabetes is the second leading cause of death in chiapas. the state is known for its rolling hills, quaint villages, indigenous culture, and its coca cola consumption. not everyone has electricity. the tap water is often undrinkable. coca cola, however, is available everywhere. two liters of the soft drink

are drunk per person every day here -- a world record. the number of deaths caused by diabetes doubled between 2011 and 2021. doctor marcos arana checks what is on offer at a school kiosk and finds only junk food. he says the companies target children deliberately. marcos: we know from studies that these products make up almost a third of the total calories consumed by children. coca cola is the most widely available soft drink. reporter: arana speaks of “coca cola colonization.” through aggressive marketing, the fizzy drink has even hijacked mayan ceremonies. shaman pascuala diaz says that it appeases the gods. her patient also suffers from diabetes. many healers replaced alcohol with soft drinks because they seemed to be the lesser evil.

coca cola now accompanies the prayers of bygone generations. sugar is not the cause of her patient's diabetes, she says. pascuala: this woman has anxiety and dreams a lot. it has made her sick. that's why i do this cleansing. reporter: junk food is readily available here and has come to replace the traditional diet of maize, beans, and chili. and then there's the water problem. coca cola is permitted to tap more than a million liters of water every day, all approved by the state, says marcos arana. fizzy drink is often easier to get than clean drinking water. marcos: nobody is monitoring how much water is actually being taken. there's no oversight. the growing scale of production at this plant puts the supply

for the rest of the population at risk. reporter: the company refutes this, saying it is not taking water away from anyone. instead, it donates water tanks and recycling containers, and has reduced the amount of sugar in many of its products. the neighboring state of oaxaca is not relying on that. teacher diana lopez has declared war on soft drinks. one in three children is overweight. she counts the spoons of sugar in a single glass of soda. diana: we drink this amount of sugar in a single glass. does it sound like you should drink that? reporter: the children learn how soft drinks are harmful to health. but in many families, coca cola is a by-word for hospitality. a law in oaxaca prohibits the sale of junk food to minors. however, its implementation has

been stalled. diana: however, if we sent any child into a shop, they would be able to buy sugary foods, because the vendors don't know. the authorities are not doing their job. reporter: who is enforcing? often no one. activists also have to contend with the widespread belief that coca cola has healing properties. tania: we are a country with poor water quality. you can find soft drinks even in places where there is no electricity. people become addicted to sugar. reporter: back in chiapas, doctors face an overwhelming wave of diabetes cases. it is a mammoth task educating people and testing their blood sugar, because many people don't know that they have the disease. darwin gomez feels abandoned by politicians. darwin: we need to educate children

better. they are the future of our country and could help fight this problem which is considered a global pandemic. reporter: shaman pascuala diaz ends the spiritual cleansing with a soft drink. but not coca cola, she says. pascuala: a lot of people only drink coca cola, but too much sugar isn't good for them. reporter: but the pineapple soda also contains sugar. the road back to healthy eating is long, and kicking bad habits is the hardest part. host: the un's commission on the status of women says the covid-19 pandemic was a crisis which hit women and girls especially hard. the pandemic saw a spike in domestic and sexual violence against women, as well as a

rise in teenage pregnancies. street artists in zimbabwe are using provocative murals to spark debates about women's rights. reporter: at this studio in zimbabwe's capital harare, graffiti artists are working on concepts to help stimulate debate on social issues made worse by the pandemic. their focus is on problems affecting women and girls. they first visualize their ideas with sketches on paper and on the computer, before they set to work on the murals. nyasha: for us, it's a re-imagination of our future, a reimagination of our contemporary life, and also going back to traditional knowledge systems. there's been a lot of -- during the covid times you realize that we took herbs and we took concoctions that were used 200 years ago, 300 years ago that

have been passed down through generations. so, that showed us the importance of traditional knowledge systems. reporter: the graffiti artists have been painting murals on the streets of some of harare's poorest neighborhoods. their imagery incorporates the faces of influential women. the hope is to inspire young women and girls who have been negatively affected by the pandemic. in zimbabwe, the number of teen pregnancies rose sharply during the lockdowns. over 4000 girls did not return to school when they re-opened in early 2021. girls' and women's rights advocates say the arts are an effective way to communicate and to spark change. antoneitte: based on the learnings and experiences we had from covid-19, there needs to be a concerted investment in

developing messages that are relevant, messages that are informed by experience and evidence, messages that harness the power of the arts, both the visual and performing arts, to propel messages around girls' rights, to propel messages that ensure the protection of girls. to also put forward messages regarding sexual and reproductive health rights and information. reporter: the pandemic has also shaped zimbabwe's urban street culture. through the fashion collective “fabrik party,” young people are exploring issues around identity that took a back seat during the pandemic. ulenni: during covid we sat down, everybody had enough time to look into the internet and see what is going on. we could not place ourselves in any space. it was just random. but now after all that, we asked ourselves, how do we create an identity for zimbabwean street culture?

reporter: fabrik party has developed into an art movement that brings together graffiti artists and fashion designers to explore new possibilities for collaboration. ulenni: when people spent two years locked down, we missed that element of community. an element whereby you can collaborate and work as a collective. we used to do that. during covid, we did it online. but soon after covid, people realized the importance of collaborations and collective work. reporter: at the height of the pandemic, the artists raised awareness of covid-19 by painting murals encouraging people to follow health regulations, like wearing masks and social distancing. they drew on the star power of influencers, who they painted wearing masks. the artists plan to keep working with the concept to spark conversations about what

humanity can learn from the pandemic. host: and that's all from us at “global 3000” this time. write to us at global3000@dw.com, and visit us on facebook, too. see you next week. take care. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,

from berlin. hamburg in mourning. eight are dead and several wounded adam mass shooting at a jehovah's witness center late thursday. the latest development. also ,iran and saudi arabia agreed to reopen diplomatic missions. the surprise agreement was brokered by china, and the deal could have