way one mechanism is land concessions a system that allows for the private use of public lands david mercer traveled to the maya biosphere reserve in guatemala the largest tropical forest north of the amazon people in the village of carmelita say concessions have enabled them to live off the riches of the forest or also protecting its. deep inside the rain forest in guatemala's northern potential region edom a town searches the forest floor for riches at a town you know earns a living harvesting shot today a palm frond used in floral arrangements in europe asia and north america the value belief is part of the prize in a unique conservation strategy starting in the 1990 s. 9 communities won the right to make a living from the forest as long as they do so sustainably rosa says that her people's dependence on the forest gives them a powerful incentive to protect it. there have been many changes to our quality of life people make twice as much money harvesting shows a timber as another big allowing us to invest in social programs and infrastructure and we help all the communities by giving the

threats to its biodiversity a rising a group of scientists is working to save a number of species david mercer has more from guatemala. 30 meters above the forest floor in northern guatemala biologist ronnie garcia's team works hard to try to save an iconic animal scarlett macarthur endangered here there's only a few 100 left in guatemala forests habitat loss and wildlife trafficking have decimated their population. there were 2 mccord chicks in the midst here but when we came back to check on them they would gone but we did find with a mug's made by the equipment thieves used to climb the tree and steal the chicks at the knees to being robbed. garcia checks on the young macaw that was removed from the nest at risk from poachers his assistants hand reared it in their jungle laboratory and then placed it in an adoptive nest with a chick the same age with 2 young because now in the nest the chances of one of them surviving long enough to reproduce has doubled. my hope is this in 10 years we won't be doing any work in the field because the skeletal mccool won't need a help i hope we can shut down

species from going extinct will likely keep water animal rescuers busy for many years to come david mercer al-jazeera in a 10 what amala. it's not past the hour on al-jazeera these are the headlines the white house says it will not participate in the next step of the impeachment inquiry into us president donald trump has been given a sunday deadline to say whether he would send legal representation to a hearing on weapon city inquiries looking into whether trump abused his power by asking ukraine to investigate his political life or more from rosalind jordan in washington well the lawyer who was speaking for the u.s. president donald trump a man named pat that will any said in a letter to jerry doubtless who was the chair of the house judiciary committee that this is not just a fraudulent investigation against the president and his administration but that the committee even though it says it's trying to be transparent and to provide the president ample opportunity to defend himself is doing that iraq's parliament has accepted prime minister matthys resignation he will stay on to lead a car

locals have kept the forests intact but convincing politicians to do the same has not been easy david mercer al-jazeera in guatemala's my a biosphere reserve. the heads of an e.u. mission to malta has called for the prime minister to quit it's his handling of a journalist sophia and says every day joseph stays in the job he makes the problem worse the fokker reports from valetta. bolter is shaped by centuries of see an island fortress in the mediterranean. outside the office of the prime minister police are erecting new defenses the gulf between the public and those in power is widening by the day arriving in multi-room choose day a delegation from the european parliament here to review the crisis they purge joseph must got to step aside immediately everybody recognizes including the prime minister himself studies made some serious errors of judgment. and i would say that you know staying on longer than necessary is also a judgment error. prone minister of state must get resigned on sunday bowing to public pressure but he wants to stay on until january the 12th when i successor will be chose

as more people settle in the area poaching and other threats to its biodiversity a growing as david mercer reports a group of scientists is working to save a number of species. 30 metres above the forest floor in northern what amala biologist ronnie garcia's team works hard to try to save an iconic animal scarlet my pants are endangered here there's only a few 100 left in guatemala struggle forests habitat loss and wildlife trafficking have decimated their population at the end of the new there were 2 chicks in the least here but when we came back to check on them they were gone but we did find with the marks made by the equipment thieves used to climb the tree and steal the chicks at the knees to being robbed. garcia checks on the young macaw that was removed from a nest at risk from poachers his assistants hand reared it in their jungle laboratory and then placed it in an adoptive nest with the chicks the same age with 2 young because now in the nest the chances of one of them surviving long enough to reproduce has doubled. my hope is this in 10 years we won't be doing any work in the fi

empowered locals have kept the forests intact but convincing politicians to the same has not been easy david mercer in one of mahler's maya biosphere reserve for planet s.o.s. so we need to protect the lands but we also have to eat and the world's population is growing by more than 200000 people every day the global footprint at work says we're exceeding our planet's budgets consuming its resources as if we had 1.75 to live on and the food industry is a major culprit agriculture is responsible for around 75 percent of tropical deforestation worldwide it uses 70 percent of the planet's fresh water supplies 9 times the amount of much in fertilizer is applied today compared to the 1960 s. and this produces nitric oxide a potent greenhouse gas and the same fertilizer produces toxic runoff which kills wildlife and reduces the lands ability to absorb carbon and then there's all the missing from record numbers of livestock other elements such as transportation and storage on the global food system accounts for nearly 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions so how do we feed everyone in a way that sustains

species from going extinct would likely keep water malas animal rescuers busy for many years to come david mercer i'll just year in a 10 what amala. aboriginal australians have held a nation wide done spain ties to the us the 1st off it's kind in their history more than $100.00 tribes joined together in a ceremony to heal the country and spirits here is some of the sights and sounds being shared online from nation dance. music i think i. mentioned dance to connect more with robert 1st country would come together and go dance at the same time i mean you know cinco de mayo clinic the mystical going down the hall for looking after our country and checking out i'm going to license we're going to people in that connection to know that and we'll sign that we will know that we're still here. we stand together in solidarity with all 1st nations people right across the strata and we seeing and we don't respect and sisters in law because in the land that has been there since time immemorial. this is ounces here and these are the headlines they rocky parliament says a previous prime minister abdullah abdull

species from going extinct would likely keep water animal rescuers busy for many years to come david mercer al-jazeera and then what amala. gorgeous only so there's much more in everything we're covering al jazeera dot com and there's life streaming there as well. as quick recap of the headlines malta's prime minister joyce of muscat has said that he will stand down with the process to replace him to start on january the 12th he's been under increasing pressure over his government's alleged links to the murder of journalist and karana glitzy a 2 years ago he says he'll resign once his successor has been chosen earlier thousands of people marched in the maltese capital valetta him to go in iraq the parliament there is accepted prime minister i do love these resignation after he submitted his this on saturday he will continue to lead a caretaker administration for the country's president elect a replacement standing down after weeks of increasingly violent anti-government protests which have left more than $400.00 people dead but his resignation isn't expected to end the unrest as people are

stopping local species from going extinct likely keep animal rescuers busy for many years to come david mercer. voting is ended in a referendum on a plan for venice to break away from the nearby city of mestre on the italian mainland but it looks like turnout was full and well short of the 50 percent required threshold 5 votes are now been held on the issue since venice and mestre became a single administration more than 1000 years ago a campaign to set independence would help the city deal with problems like mass tourism and flooding. screaming headlines before you leave here malta's prime minister joseph muscat has said he plans to stand down and begin the process to replace him in january he's facing increasing pressure of the scandal surrounding the murder of journalist and car want to glitzier 2 years ago earlier on thousands of people marched in the maltese capital letter urging him to go and more protests already planned for monday. by the major's definitely and if it were the greatness of our country is not defined by individuals this is greater than i am i will write to the president

local species from going extinct likely keep water animal rescuers busy for many years to come david mercer al-jazeera in a 10 what amala. for more on the environment you can watch our new show planet s.o.s. here on al-jazeera on tuesday at 1630 g.m.t. . or let's get a roundup of the top stories on the edges there are rocks parliament has accepted the resignation of prime minister. mehdi you'll stay as caretaker prime minister and told the president names his replacement it's done little to calm protesters who are demanding a complete overhaul of the political system similar fulton is in baghdad it was not clear at all whether the parliament needed to vote on his resignation and all because it's not something that is mandated by the constitution but it appears that parliament convened and discussed the resignation there was no actual vote on the speaker of the parliament simply ask the members of parliament who had attended the session whether there was any objection to others up to the mat his resignation and with that his resignation was then accepted now the constitution actually says th

locals have kept the forest intact but convincing politicians to do the same has not been easy david mercer al-jazeera in guatemala's my a biosphere reserve. well still ahead here the al-jazeera news prime minister plans to keep his job for another month but the e.u. says that threatens to derail investigation plus. a mantra thomas in beijing with the world all get such a festival happening this week in amsterdam i'll be looking at why it is that it's chinese projects like this one dominating the awards. and radiation hotspots could interfere with next year's take you live pics peter we'll have that story in sports if you stay with us. head there we have another bit of snow across the northeast of the united states not just the last 24 hours but really for the last 3 days it is now find a caring out of the picture but not before the damage was done hundreds of flights were delayed boston's that day and it may look very nice all this snow on the trees however when you get snow on the trees guess what the branches come down and then you have power outages thousands of generals much of the nor

year stopping local species from going extinct keep animal rescuers busy for many years to come david mercer. in a 10. for more on the environment you can watch our new show planet s.o.s. here on a 0 on choose day at 1630 g.m.t. . all right when we come back why russian politicians pushing for a law to criminalize domestic violence are facing threats. on the streets across latin america but for different reasons we'll have a report from chile. plus in sports action from the southeast asian games as host philippines stopped to rack up the gold medals. december of 0 as this year comes to an end we look ahead to 2020 and the stories that may shape the year people in power investigates the shocking treatment of disabled people in eastern europe to care homes and exclusive look at the world's largest conference on a child be in rwanda will be efforts achieve an aids free africa a true part series charging china's rise of the 21st century superpower. un leaders will gather in spain to discuss issues about climate change and examine the possible global solutions join us for live coverage to somebod

phil mercer, in sydney. davidho runs the wave 0cean b&b in mallacoota was forced to flee to the beach when the fires struck, and joins me now. just tell me, what is going on right now? well, it's evening now, so people are settling a little bit. behind us, it's still fire. fire trucks are filling up from the inland here, a bit of salt water. still trying to douse the fires. occasionally, another house goes, u nfortu nately. occasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. not just houses occasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. notjust houses but people we love and care about and it's their dreams going up in smoke. this is a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. we know the danger is when we live out in these areas. yes, it's been dry but these are eucalyptus forests. they've been selected by fires over many centuries. we know the dangers but the reality is we know it but we don't really know it. when it goes off, it's horrendous. i'mjust thinking, i don't want to ever go through this again. i think i'l

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. earlier, i spoke to david jeffery.b&b in mallacoota and had to seek refuge on the beach when the fires struck. i asked him what the situation was like now. well, it's evening now, so things are... ..people are settling a little bit. behind us, there's still active fire. hooter. that there is fire trucks filling up from the inland here, a bit of salt water and everything, still trying to douse the fires. occasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. notjust houses but people we love and care about and it's their dreams going up in smoke. this is a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. we know the dangers when we live out in these areas. yes, it's been dry, but these are eucalyptus forests. they've been selected by fires over many centuries. they're the only ones that survive, everything else has gone over those many centuries. so, we know the dangers, but the reality is we might know it but we don't really know it. when it goes off today, it's horrendous. i'm just thinking, i don't want to ever go through this agai

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. daviduns a b&b in mallacoota and was forced to flee to the beach when the fires struck the area. david, thank you once again for speaking to us. we can see what is happening behind you. describe what you can see and what you have seen in the last few hours? u nfortu nately, in the last few hours? unfortunately, that's not good, it's someone‘s dreams going up, their precious house and hopefully the people are not there. the authorities are going out and collecting water here, doing what they can. it feels like a dream, just unreal. the authorities have been amazing, honestly. ijust want to say, your prayers are being answered. we had a bit of rain. behind me, where there are so many houses... after the initialfront that came through, 4000 people here we re that came through, 4000 people here were safe. dealing with the wind and all sorts of things... what we didn't realise, what happened next was just house after house after house. it wasn't one house burned. it was that bad... it's not abou

mercer, bbc news, sydney. earlier on breakfast, we spoke to david jeffery who runs a b&b in mallacoota and was forced to flee toeach when the fires attacked the area. 0ne lesson is do not go back, under any circumstances, until it is 100% safe. the homes can be left, because, honestly, what's happened, we have had, not what house has been, it is what house has survived, it has been house by house by house by house. the bed and breakfast that we own, sarah and i, we own it, and it, over here, and i don't know whether it is there. they think it could be at the moment. but has been horrendous. we've watched fires are spread along this for sure, jumping the tea tree, and we've watched home after home. we will have more on those fires throughout the programme. the government says it will raise concerns with the authorities in cyprus about the fairness of a trial of a british woman convicted of lying about being gang raped. lawyers for the 19—year—old insist she was pressured by police into changing her story. they say she wasn't given a fair trial, and they plan to appeal. katy austin has been following the story. t

mercer, bbc news, sydney. the fires are also having a devastating effect on wildlife. professor davidational university in canberra. you are near the area where many of the fires are burning. thank you for speaking to us here at bbc news, professor. first off then, talk us through the impact these fires are having on ecosystems and the wildlife? well, these are no doubt unprecedented fires in a0 years i've never seen unprecedented fires in a0 years i've never seen anything like this, where we have a pharisees and in south—eastern australia that starts in september. and it's still blazing. we know in east gippsland, on the border between new south wales and victoria, we will have catastrophic fire conditions today. the impact on ecosystems is enormous, we are seeing some systems that should never burn being burnt at very high severity. and the impact on wildlife is also massive. which ecosystems? would you talk as do that a bit more? there are a whole range of ecosystems in new south wales, subtropical rainforest that are being burnt that shouldn't be burnt. in east gippsland, in victo

mercer, bbc news, sydney. the fires are also having a devastating effect on wildlife. professor davidts at the australian national university in canberra. some people have estimated that we have directly lost to half a billion individual animals but i think people need to recognise that, not only are animals directly burnt in fires but also habitats change was often made it is unsuitable for animals to continue occupying the places they used to and, u nfortu nately places they used to and, unfortunately in australia, we have also have problems with feral animals like cats. wildlife has to deal with the direct effects of fire, the loss of habitat and also the impacts of these feral animals so the impacts of these feral animals so quite catastrophic effects on a range of animals. we're talking about huge of reptiles, native birds, large number of animals, upwards to 8000 or more and koalas and other animals such as the greater glider which is essentially a small gliding koala. those animals are already in steep decline as a consequence of high temperatures, logging, now fire so those an

mercer, bbc news. we go now to one of those people affected. davidfery runs a b&b in mallacoota and was forced to flee to the beach when the fires attacked the area. just tell us what is the very latest and how has it been for you there is yellow you can see the firies are going out there right now, they are getting cheers, because the fire fronts are reported on earlier, we got saved, really, from that horrendous initial front. but what has gone on since we spoke has been spot fires. we actually had a big section of bush that didn't burn over here to my right, called shady gully, but got on fire when people we re gully, but got on fire when people were thinking about going back to their homes. we don't know yet who has gone back and who hasn't. one lesson is going to go back under any circumstances until it is 100% safe. the homes can be left. because, honestly, what has happened, we have had... it has burnt house by house. the bed and breakfast that we own, sarah andi the bed and breakfast that we own, sarah and i own it, and its over here and i do

mercer, bbc news, sydney. back to the news that boeing has announced that its chief executive dennis mullenberg has resigned and will be replaced by the current chairman, davidcriticism in the aftermath of two major accidents involving boeing‘s new 737 max, in which a total of 346 people died. our international business correspodnent theo leggettjoins me now... it has been a hellish year for boeing. one obvious question is why now? i think dennis mullenberg's departure was inevitable at some point. he presided over an era where boeing came out with its flagship aircraft which we now know contained aircraft which we now know contained a floor, which never should have got past regulators, and it was allowed to continue flying after the first of those two catastrophic accidents. the plane was allowed to keep lying and another one crashed in ethiopia. he has come underfire for presiding over an era where the company put reduction rates over its safety, according to people. it says safety is its number one priority, but there has been a lot of criticism to dennis mullenberg‘s response and his attempt to spread brain and say the accidents were part of a chain of e