Hello and welcome to the latest edition of eco africa the environment magazine. Coming to you from a show in austria state southwest nigeria im here to bring you new an Inspiring Stories on Environmental Issues from all over africa and europe but im not alone with me its my calling from kenya shout thanks mc im sat on the money and a very warm welcome to you this is what we have lined up on the show today. We join scientists who travel through the democratic republic of congo to find out more about its unique labs. We visit a supermarket that tries to reduce food waste by ignoring sobeit. We find out how a bunch of fans in south africa can help protect people from taking a bubble. Its no longer news that nigeria generates a lot of waste and the country needs challenges with high. How to manage this waste whether you are recycling or reusing. Challenge of managing the ways is there now across the country and across the world have had their ways can be turned to well we also have that waste can be turned to beautiful things but is it possible to sit in your house in one place and make the wealth or make the beautiful thing yes it is thanks to this wall student of the Government Girls College and duty who have come up with. Those turning the waste to these beautiful things or paying money for waste and those generating the waste lets go see how their work. Wastes over three Million Tonnes are generated annually and nigeria its an environmental disaster and a Health Hazard only twenty to thirty percent of the waste is collected for recycling and reuse. These teenage girls from a boob job want to change that police lois and just tina have created an app that they hope will make a difference in the way people deal with their garbage its called the green world tech app in utah was. To make life easier. Because people always. Used. To help me by asking us to do. And this is how the app works a form is sent to an administrator who responds via email the prospective buyer then goes to pick up the refuse or instructs the seller where to deliver the packaged waste. The app is still in the test phase so far only friends and neighbors can use it different types of recyclable waste are rewarded with a system of credit points credits can be redeemed for instance for drinking water. I brought betsy. Plastics for plastics and my god for each plastic is one point. Two ten so at least five states are not feeling great is good to go. Stella was a chick who has founded an ngo where girls can go after school to improve their math and Technical Skills here they also learn to program the app and create a Business Plan for the system. Most of the student actually have been the one who got. The bias because they actually went online and searched within our environment to see who and who uses plastic. And so they did it themselves i do think it will help them do it. The girls who want to clean up nigerias waste hope to go public with their app soon their goal is to sign up at least two thousand users in the First Quarter of twenty eighteen. People and surprisingly very important for the ecosystem and the people and in the democratic republic of congo are one of the Worlds Largest tropical people land areas but they are not being protected like they should be shot. Thats right but now its about to change thanks to the help of scientists from englands together with greenpeace they go on an expedition to raise the level of environmental awareness off the local population. The start of a new day in the democratic republic of congo. Behind the village is done swamp land satellite images have revealed the existence of a peat bog here in the forest biologists say its one of the most important ever discovered thats why a team of british and congolese scientists have embarked on a joint Research Project getting to the peak both involves an arduous hours long hike through the swamp everything is soaking what english geography simon lewis has been surveying here for years trying to better understand the development of the bug which began forming tens of thousands of years ago made up of decomposed plant material the piece held some surprises for the researcher is that this is peak bodies so this is the partially decomposed plant matter that is a store of carbon so. It is now sampled every fifty centimeters and this is three metres to three metres deep water surprises and we thought the peat here would be maybe fifty centimeters maybe one metre maximum and actually weve got much deeper so that suggests that potentially we havent done all the work yet but potentially theres even more carbon stored on this side of the congo river. The scientists now calculate that the bulk is far bigger and deeper than they originally estimated the peak is up to six meters thick in places and covers an area about the size of Great Britain thats why maintaining the area is so important for the environment. As you see there is the rounding the forest to the forest. During the conference talking the conference song. Stuck in cabins and book ground by i must turn you to count one and under and if you want this forest thats. Times releasing the calm one more common in. The forests of the congo basin around the ever increasing pressure. Similar primeval woodlands and asia have already disappeared and deforestation is now also a threat in this part of africa. Illegal locust taking down more and more trees meanwhile the government is granting licenses some according to environmental groups under g. P. S. Circumstances but as local populations grow so does the need for the land to plant for instance farmers like valentina gobo say they have no choice to acquire new fields they say they have to drain at least some of the most. Where it is we have to maintain a balance between preserving nature and survival yes we need alternatives to deforestation but its not that easy. To see. There are no projects in place to help people pursue other livelihoods thats why the Environmental Organization greenpeace has stepped in to support the scientists financially and logistically and to teach the villages more about why Environmental Protection is vital a Government Official explains the difficulties the country is facing. We would have to provide aid to the people here so they dont take resources from the forest but such projects cost money money the government doesnt have. Thats why we need the Financial Support of the international community. The activists say its imperative to develop a strategy that provides Financial Support for the entire region otherwise the congolese authorities will continue to permit looking which will eventually lead to the release of vast amounts of sequestered c o two. Internazionale lives we need to find International Solution is not only to help these countries protect these primeval forests but also to further study the peat bogs in order to protect them because they contain huge amounts of carbon. Which there are some thirty billion tons of carbon trapped in there and thats the equivalent of three years of total global emissions from coal oil and gas combined. The scientists have finished for the day but it will take months to record an underlies all the data theyve collected providing more insight into one of the largest carbon reservoirs on the planet in east africa there are many healthy native vegetation. On the african eggplant how about they have had to compete with supposedly what im quote modern visitable is like the tomatoes now scientists from kenya and germany have teamed up and realize that this is a big mistake because the traditional visitable varieties are rooted in vitamins and minerals the research wants to explore the cultivating methods for native vegetable varieties and the al making them easier to grow theyre now hoping for a revival of the traditional visitable. Filling from germany and google from kenya share a passion for indigenous african leafy vegetables. This up with our plans are very interesting because of the whole new treaty while you look for example for the african koolhaas called going to the wood course and really we can see that in the body and also like wes to. Become educated so we wouldnt worry and i am going to. And then theres amaranth the seeds and the leaves are edible and theyre also rich in protein and ion the plants can survive with very little as are dealing has proven in this greenhouse in berlin she grows various types of amerind here and conditions that simulate the african environment. Does india not on sundays or the emirates plant im testing i keep them at fifteen to twenty five percent of their Water Holding capacity and you can see how well the leaves develop even with a minimal water intake. Because you want down here theyre a bit dry but at the top the plants look amazingly healthy things like this wouldnt be possible at all with Something Like corn which needs a lot more water kinds. Of this but. In many regions corn and other foreign plants have taken the place of indigenous vegetables. To get those scientists in germany kenya and tanzania researching ways to change that as a horticulture expert at google has already been helping farmers in his home country of kenya he realised one of the main problems is the loss of plants after harvest and hes looking for solutions here at the university of berlin the problem here is that they slums are packaging all of this with little bows and when bodies are faced with them also it means that there is barrier so dont hear what is happening at the bottom is theres a lot of especially in this because all the conditions the use of what would we do with this just this when it was most of the world in the west hes testing alternative packaging in this Environmental Chamber at the university he can regulate the temperature and humidity. Together with handling he then investigates in a lab how the different climate conditions affect the vegetables they dissolve the leaves to see how much of the nutritious content is left after theyve been harvested transported and stored which packaging best protects the flavonoids and nutrients. The results from the amaranth plant are plain to see when you. Butted in for example use of packaging like these are supposed to be a big big about that i should do the got the bugs this going to pocket the material will help in the preserving the nutrient conses elicia gogos Research Also shows that exposing the vegetables to additional u. V. Light after harvesting increases their shelf life he wants to research this point further humbled universities expertise and technical equipment help him in his Research Like this High Performance liquid chromatography machine. Or its very close office to get it really really expensive and that is why i had to come yet and learn how to extract and use it for analysis of gravity time and are familiar questions. The international Research Project has given the plants a new lease of life their reputation has been changing in africa for some years once considered food for the poor than our fashionable super food. Oh my wifes. So to get over there africa. And. Well the cooking the amber and the least of it and it was delicious its similar to spin it if you just put a little bit of melted butter and a bit of salt and its just have a. Healthy tasty and easy to grow researches are namond with these african vegetables and want to spread the word to the masses. Trust is a huge topic here in nairobi theres hardly any form of recycling at all eco hero of this week wants to tears that he set up a company that separates. And recycle them its a good way to protect the environment and and money. Employees from Tucker Tucker solutions collect triste twice a week and can give me a poor schooling neighborhood on the outskirts of nairobi so isnt carrying a decided to use attack attack a service she lacks the function of the company recycles the truck she collects known and the customers really i was ok with the way they work. But i really like this initiative. And the sox are also better. In their cleaner than been. On the market doesnt attack attack a solution serve six thousand households in and game me now by coming worried several firms have realized the commercial potential of collecting try shit in poor neighborhoods the trouble is most of the garbage and on illegal dumps back attack is the only company there but also recycles its trucks take twelve tons of trash every. Day two of the sorting center and game pack attack a by the way is a swahili word for trash donald powerful holds who is swiss founded the company in twenty eleven he lived in nairobi as a teenager and knew about its garbage problem a startup is backed by a number of International Development aid organizations it is now starting to break even pattern house wants to expand its operations we would want to become like a wholesale waste manager so we want other companies to come to us but now in order for joint center vies them we need to be able to accept their waste at a very low fee and so we need to become more and more efficient each sort of processes four hundred kilograms of trash a day if they manage more they get a bonus there are one hundred people on the payroll roof one year from accounts based pay is the equivalent of only one hundred euros a month still she likes a hard job and that she is doing something for the environment the past three years of being here at. But she was like they were. Because there was a lot is deducted and at the moment. The company now has clients across the city including shopping malls and hotels it is looking for move firms to take the materials it recycles in our country like you can you know to embrace it so much there is taking part of it so its making sure people understand what what we do and making sure people embrace using more recyclables creativity and flexibility i needed to make a recycling operation like this work in nairobi. Usually track poor residential customers the prizes for collection i staggered as a company would always like to charge more if possible but that doesnt work like its especially in low income areas you need to be able to charge very little otherwise people just dont have the ability to sign up pack attack a solution. Comes to an International School in nairobi to talk to the kids about the importance of recycling and Environmental Protection bread good schools separate tries not many schools of school households do that in kenya parents love the fact that we have. That we do this and that when we say with hoping that children will be responsible citizens responsible global citizens and we are actually doing this certainly not showing parents around before we knew to the school and theyve been very impressed in the games and in fact somebody said to me once i chose your school because i saw the parents. The company also holds workshops at regular king and schools to raise awareness of these issues but so far few of them have chosen to separate their triage recycle. Its not a short term approach but over time they will be the ones who will hopefully you know push things towards recycling on a larger level so if you create that awareness early on i think thats helpful Going Forward happen hold social enterprises taking root attack attack a solution sprites work and have stay environment its helping to solve very material problems and also to change attitudes in society. And not lets look at one of the wost forms of waste in europe tons of particularly good food are thrown away every day much of it lands in the bin the simply because the what on court used by date has passed which isnt always the best way of telling if something is spoiled or not but there is one shop that wants to change this trend mt knows well yes indeed the shop is located in the heart of german capital burley what their Business Concept is serving food past sell by date and preventing food waste is a way of doing their bit for the environment. Theres a supermarket in germany that doesnt care about sell by date. One point three billion tons of food are wasted every year thats about a third of all that is produced a startup in berlin wants to see that change rafael sammer has established his enterprise together with friends his supermarket surplus sells leftover products and produce that is past the Expiration Date but is otherwise perfectly edible and they even deliver. The owners want to attract customers with low prices and while the selection is still currently limited to the start of popes to have more suppliers onboard soon. Because if theres one thing they dont like its seeing good food go to waste. Like that. If you are also doing your bit tell us about it. Visit our website or send us a tweet. As tag doing your bit we shared your story. So imagine that you come home from work and when you go into the kitchen you find a huge babu and completely trash in the place this is what frequently happens to residents of south africas Cape Peninsula local baboons break into the homes searching for food but a new noninvasive method of deterring the im most known as virtual friends is hoping to solve the problem once and for all. Its an almost daily occurrence for many residents leave in on and around south africas. But boones from Table MountainNational Park venturing into the city and surrounding suburbs and in search for food pats riley has seen her fashion of the monkey a busy. Yes there are a lot of them in care town and they come into your house and they make an awful mess and you just gotta live with it but not too bad they have been in my house quite often. Theyre not aggressive are their father aggressive and theyre not really interested in you they were looking for food thats what theyre looking for. To keep the primates out of Areas Conservation is from the Human Wildlife Solutions organisation have been tested a new strategy g. P. S. Collars used to track the movements once the monkeys get close to town the team place high part speakers in strategic positions play sounds of animals and predator sound you play calls pertaining to all predators the long course on the princess sounds of being killed theyre scared to go. At a few bangs from a bear. Reinforces the scariness and the void. The sounds include could you enter the us and basses in distress but also predators such as lions leopards and hyenas the aim is to create what is known as a landscape of fear an imaginary boundary that the monk used to not dare to cross in the village of her minus the system seems to do the job weve noticed in the last two weeks since the team arrived with what they call the virtual friends we had like literally never been for the last two weeks and we will be saying is there are magination over there certainly never being but there are certainly and i will be and. The new method is an improvement on Previous Solutions until recently the pesky primates would have been shot and this new system however can be just one tool among others says biologist and baboon specialist justin orion nonlethal methods include weve been through fencing and theyve had some success to this field ranges you know herding the billions away from the urban space that includes bearing is with people in includes nonvertical fences but whats common to all of these is that no one of them and thats ever proven to be one hundred percent successful they beings are so adaptable to the wildlife or so and predictable that all of them have weaknesses and its about having a toolbox approach following a positive initial results Human Wildlife Solutions plan throughout the system in other kip town suburbs in this way they want to achieve that fewer and fewer animals shot dead. Well thats all the time we have for todays program we hope you why inspired to help protect our environment in your own way to find out more about visit our website my name is sarah and its goodbye from Nairobi Kenya and indeed if youre involved in environmental projects and want to share your story get in touch with us email social media platforms thank you for watching look forward to seeing you next. Southwest. Wrong we found out two years ago that she has a heart condition. It has got worse in the last few months ago and she only has a year to live this is only one hospital in africa where surgery is conducted free of charge. I am afraid to make it. Fifteen minutes. They know look we. Dont even know how we feel. Im not a real person but im still just in pieces so. Scientists around the world are working to measure or emotions. Hopefully i can be helpful piece of salt. The virtual person as a therapist. Or a robot as a teacher. Neither would have human empathy. What does a king need to do to create empathy and a medical context that i disclose more information to the person or to computer in this case. A few years and lets finish the installment dealings of the instruments that steer us and whoever can control these feelings has great power over us. Algorithms instead of feelings measuring emotion starting december sixteenth on day w. Theyre black and living in germany. Shes reminded what that means on a daily basis presenters like this not being able to blend in and i was gonna. Be you know different than the rest. She travelled across germany to meet other black people and to hear their stories. It seemed as. I grew up in a white family in a white neighborhood it was definitely a challenge. She decided to put me up for adoption. So. The main thing was to keep your head down and your mouth shut of course of the face like this i could never completely disappear if you see all these stereotypes about africa its good to see you. Do something for your country but youre still the black and white. Afro germany starting december tenth d. W. Donald trumps former National Security advisor Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the f. B. I. About his contacts with a russian diplomat