Hello and welcome to the latest edition of eco africa im now tigray in Lagos Nigeria im here to bring you interesting and Inspiring Stories on Environmental Issues from across africa and europe but i am not alone my colleagues sharon joins us on my will be kenya hello sourly. Thanks anti im sharing my money in Nairobi Kenya welcome to the show heres what we have lined up for you today. We meet environmental activists were trying to save north salt the capital of mauritania is on the Atlantic Coast much of it is actually below sea level on the sea level is rising in kenya we find out how a Solar Energy System is lighting up a group of communities and in senegal with just who are coming together to do something about environmental degradation. First in nigeria in the country around just to be precise its a wetland area where they also used to be mined say now and the government and local organizations are trying to create new jobs by helping people set up face fox lets go take a. Chill my okafor does what she loves the most nature would seem she runs a Conservation Organization in a former mining area near the city of just one of the projects of the even Creation Care Initiative is a fish from commercial business and kusa vision ism is a perfect fit for carful the site has an old team mine insights alice transform into a fish farm in one thousand nine hundred six to produce fish for commercial purposes there was a change in management and things when left to deteriorate we have come into management and aim is to raise fish and cause of the that. The fish farm breeds primarily catfish until last year the fish thrive on organic feed this wet mud for example attracts instead they lay their eggs in its. Bred in small ponds the fish will later be transferred to these larger. Monitoring the mole is Michael Dunn Jim are. They checking the water levels if you also make sure the fish do not fall prey to local coaches. Who know all their farms definition inside know well. The eating Creation Care Initiative also includes a plans nursery the seedlings will be planted around the pond and in a nearby forest that aim is to restore a landscape destroyed by hundred years of mining students regularly participate in Data Collection and bird ring game to discover a new species charm okafor is grateful for every helping hand some of the data we have collected are. Birds. And insects. For the insects we identify the insects found in the farm and all the data being in the lice and reports are being made from it and hopefully will make scientific reports paper us that could be plugged published in journals as well okafor has always had an interest in nature and wildlife and interest shes eager to pass on to her son she firmly believes that a healthy environment is vital for Healthy Living conditions driven by i believe that god plays humans on earth to take you of the environment she sees our work as simply doing her duty. We hope that our project concept aparna project true which we can get tempted by we true train all the fish from those who could go into conservation up a culture. Of the six months the fishes saw at the local market in joss its an organic and affordable protein rich food put your mocha for this is just the first step she hopes to one day find the funds to expand the project to the neighboring community. No smell no noise no diesel no admissions i mean ferry has gone into service on the rebound the sally connecting germany on one side i love the other one special about the ferry. Is that it is by electricity. You know that ferries can go green. Ships are responsible for almost four percent of Global Climate change emissions german company. Is doing something about it. It manufactures electric ferries. Such as the santa maria ferry that traverses the mosul river. It doesnt need any petrol doesnt emit smelly fumes and its silent. Electric batteries as well as Solar Energy Keep the ferry going the whole day. Forty five passengers and several cars fit on the santa maria. Its slightly more expensive than the usual ferry but its worth it. The electric drive saves fourteen thousand liters of petrol every year. And above all it keeps the air clean. If youre also do you a bit tell us about it. This is our website or send us a tweet. Tag doing your bit here your stories. Not cuts used to be a fishing village and home to a few hundred since it became the council of. The population. A minute. And he faces so many environmental problems sea level is rising the coast is eroding a lots of sand hasnt removed from the june for use in construction weakening defenses against the ocean sharon is a whole city going to be washed away. I fervently hope not environmentally is that doing that best to protect the city there getting young people involved and walking just that belies the course of the do lets take a look. Alone palm tree among rows of dusty buildings trees and plants in general are rare here making shade a luxury in the mauritanian capital chaat. Those seeking respite from the beating sun have no choice but to huddle in the thin shadows cast by buildings. But thats all about to change at least in this street. A group of local young people are set on completely redesigning it. Theyve developed a model for the street as they foresee it. That this will. Make the city green is a project run by the citys Cultural Center together with a German Development agency. Only suggested planting trees on the streets. Theyll provide shade but if we put benches around them that also provide a place where skill pupils to hang out together. Discussing a possible ban on cars driving down the road in your corner when i come up with how i did that if they are what you there is you know there could be on and worth and. The problem is that people here chop down trees for their animals which isnt good. Here so that. Theres a lack of understanding here that trees and plants are important for the climate and when i love that were going to us is the city council needs to start doing its bit to clearing away the rubbish and spreading awareness about the issue is out to be. A new upshot has many other problems to deal with the city is built on a solid flood large parts of it are below sea level and when it rains here it pours turning the dusty ground into a huge lake. Streets into rivers not look problem. Im not sure that our main concern used to be siltation but since two thousand and nine because of Climate Change the water itself has become an issue weve had flooding here thats covered eighty percent of the city water is now our biggest problem and the people of the cut you want to impact it probably isnt the sort of the young activists have collected photos documenting the flooding mixed up with trash and sewage its a breeding ground for disease. Heavy rains are becoming more common here and pushing up groundwater levels the water literally gushes up from below into the city. And theres another threat to new york shot along the Atlantic Coast close to the city. For years the German Development agency g. I. Said has been working with local n. G. O. S to try and curb this homegrown problem. Large amounts of sand have been removed for use in construction work toward a newer chart has expanded massively in recent years its only really existed since one thousand nine hundred ninety eight and back then it had a population of just five hundred today its one million which has meant a lot of sand being removed for Building Work thats created gaps in the dunes and leveled them so those that we still have need to be stabilized. Tamarisk bushs have now been planted on fifty hectares of juice theyre extremely tough and able to cope with the salty water and the lack of nutrients in the sunday ground. Their job is to reinforce the dunes and protect new york shot from the dangers of rising sea levels. But its only a city of venice is known for its beauty the renaissance by lissas its free its Cultural Heritage but it is in danger that the million tourists where the historic city every year extremely large cruise ships are a problem if a ship drops and. The water in the commode moves about twenty centimeters this has disastrous effect on the wooden bases of venices buildings a local Pressure Group has only to take action. Every time talk. Crosses the reality bridge he cant help but wonder where did his charming city go one thats now overrun with millions of tourists how can vanish protect itself from the onslaught hes sure this piece of Cultural Heritage wont survive as a photo backdrop alone. My love for the city makes me seek out places and people who are keeping venice alive because there are enough people who are doing the opposite and steering the city into trouble and waters. Because they get up and then go to. But like most venetians paolo lives from tourism. He now conduct special toast to door tension to the citys problems like in his own district where rents are rising a flat so used as holiday homes driving phoenicians out. The cruise ships are also a huge problem activists to follow micheletti is outraged not only did these huge vessels flood the city with day trippers that also threatening the citys very foundations. Remain. The movement of the ships propellers has a piston effect. Churned up all the clay and saw it from the lagoon floor causing it to be gradually washed into the open sea. But as a result venice a city built on wooden platform is slowly sinking and could eventually be completely submerged but micheletti isnt giving up his Citizens Initiative has managed to prevent further cruise ships coming into venice. On the bus and on the surface when a ship like that goes by the water level in the nearby canal sinks by around twenty centimeters and then rises again straight away due to displacement this hugely powerful force away at the foundations of all the palaces churches and bridges. But not everyone in fairness is happy about micheletti initiative the paltalk dorothys invested millions of euros in modern cruise terminals now due to the success of the protests only half of them can be used. For four years weve been listening to these fears that our ships could even plow right into venice i can only keep reassuring people even with the biggest ships the chances of that happening are zero. Nevertheless in the future large vessels weighing one hundred thousand tons or more will be diverted to a. Bring industrial port leaving the Historic Center and water taxis but it will take years for the port to be ready and there are still issues concerning air pollution. So for now nothings really changed. Every year there are still thirty million tourists who swarm fantasist fifty five thousand residents. But of the cemented paradoxical but the best tourist for venice is the one who stays at home. More than with a thirty million visitors a year. Something radical has to happen to reduce the number of visitors and the venetians will have to sacrifice some tourist dollars if they want to save their beloved city. Back to africa in kenya santis from a British University have set up a Pilot Project in the countryside the project called song provides even far from large grieve the experts from the university of laugh in Central England walk together with the residents to install a local solar greed the people often. Get lighter that does not rely on viral meant to be helpful kerosene and electricity from. Even cheaper. Is a selftaught electrician. Until recently has only reviews or beads. And now he knows a thing or two about lithium ion batteries. Like this one. Of the problem of the better. With the buzzer and then the. Beeping sound. Williams works the carrier is new power station which is swallowed by rooftop solar panels and edges stored inland batteries in a central hub cables transport power to standard cells which provide electricity for the village of smaller batteries. Twenty percent of the households in a career i was gripped with batteries all of us are on the way to in that. The project was launched by two british universities. Damon frost those are battery specialists from oxford explains how to update a battery software. The new batteries are ready for testing and eventually theyll utilise use knocked of batteries which is more Cost Effective and environmentally friendly. And once theyre programmed the batteries will need further updates. These guys are doing hard core repairs where theyre taking chips off and putting new new Electronic Components on when we go to using used batteries more or refurbishment where you can easily take a battery sell out and put a new one in colleagues and Caroline Hansen wants to take a look at the battery use on the site. Use a feedback is key for further project development. Connect into the national car grid is too expensive for most of the villages and very one juror couldnt afford the one hundred fifty euro price tag plus another monthly fee for power consumption of. The rooftop solar cell cant even power through the. Deal he might be in i think the bulbs that i received a much brighter than the one i had before and the battery is an easy time. Is it on now when i load the needle. To a. Committee meeting in the village provides feedback. People were expecting a higher rate your theory is only half a minute. For most villages the batteries can only power the light bulbs and radius so we are taking and the must be continually reaches. Now here you probably dont have enough power so we have agreed that we are going to recharge and bring more power to help the community. That change from england will develop more powerful batteries in the coming months but first theyll have to solve some technical problems in the system. Then all users will contribute about four euros a month into the village Electricity Community project manager john kerry says it takes about five years for the investment to pay for itself and then the local paul station going on through the community its already been able to acquire an electric incubator and a grain mill that the villagers can vent Business Services create an income stream that income stream cannot be used to pay for the costs of the of the Capital Building the having the fast pace of buying all this equipment and for the continual expansion a maintenance of the system when im Caring Services the million device its much too small to meet launched him and many farmers consecrating instead they still drive into the city to have to bring in. One of the project generates more revenue theyll be able to get a larger. When kerry is already thinking about ways to use the Green Electricity they generate in the village for their commission uses. Now we had west a semi go where people are trying to take fate into their own hands when it comes to fighting Climate Change and environmental degradation mt knows them all thats right sharon local organizations called dimitrov clubs have been set up in san diego and several other countries in africa where women man and young people come together so work on bringing about change in their community is one example might be developing a project to protect the soil from the erosion lets take a look at how these clubs work. And sat in and weve been invited to a meeting by the chief of sorry booboo village there already for demitra clubs here there are two thousand across africa set up and funded by the United Nations food and Agriculture Organization and the Global Environment facility the discussion groups help promote participation and initiative within Village Community. Encourages the women to speak out its still unusual for them to have a say in policy. Today the young womens club is discussing a proposal made by the young men to build stone barriers to stop soil erosion. Well talk about everything that affects the village with younger and older men equally. And even more importantly how we present our point of view at the Village Assembly along with other demitra. Where our opinion is taken into consideration for decisions about their Village Community i mean thats the biggest challenge before we had no say at all on matters in the village. Sorry booboo with its one hundred sixty residents lies at a distance from the big cities. Many of the crops are ready for harvesting but once again there wasnt enough rain which means not enough corn when it does rain the water rushes over the barren soil deforestation has left the soil loose and easily washed away. Thats the topic of discussion at this village meeting opened by the chief. One after another the four demitra clubs present their opinions and proposals. Not all the villages in the region have been willing to join the project but here the young people like oh not too dim have made a lot of progress while im cool wouldnt you. Say you know the environment has become an important issue in the village since the club started. We have to keep everything in and around our homes clean. Without high job and theres no health and theres a community and weve made sure we keep our wells in better condition otherwise we have no water during periods of drought not for us nor for the communal gardens look weve already Found Solutions to these issues he yelled at in your report. The next day they Start Building the stone dikes to contain the rain water that flows through the aim is to make the soil around their village fertile again. M g o two jello. Supervises the more than sixty demitra clubs in the region hes managed to enlist the local Farmers Association to help the villagers set up the system of trenches. Nearly all the small channels that collect rainwater from the surroundings and up here its like a delta and evil at this point the water has enough force to wash away the fertile soil from the cultivated land. And. Soon theyll plant trees here to restore the areas around the village the head of the demitra project in senegal says this is an ideal case the two Biggest Challenges for the villages are getting local authorities to help and sourcing materials. And the but by before in the long term there has to be direct exchange of information between the Village Communities and the authorities so that they can also find out whats happening on the ground. Thats also a challenge for the dimitrov. Making themselves known to authorities and pushing their ideas and plans without us coordinators but this is a three day so. The two young demitra club leaders from sari booboo have been invited to take part in a chat show at a Community Radio station. A mother of four is asked to tell how they cleaned up the village after the rain swept garbage into their homes and connected dam talks about the brief rainy season and his dried up cornfields. Demitra club leaders hope that local radio stations will help spread their ideas and efforts to other villages. Thats all for today on eco at africa we hope that you have been inspired to help protect the environment to find out more about the show check out our website my name is sharon buy from me in Nairobi Kenya. And if youre involved in an environmental project and would like to share your story getting thoughts meet us via mail or social media thank you for watching and i look forward to seeing you again next time on what africa. Byebye from Lagos Nigeria. Combed. The soul. The but. The but. Thanks to our kooks is this music. And if it is whos making it. Meeting the pioneers of saleyards. Next. Exploration of the beach fifty. Dollars. Center. Discovery. Video and audio podcast language course is going to be a center at media center w dot com. Chamblee person biodiversity. Has said that the current goes into the city of terrorists in the last five months so we are happy and global i. D. S. Presents on science from all over the world. Traditional knowledge this is a trio good if you use it to make it see it will help ease pain if it. Projects i live on the coast i feel its my duty to protect the area and thats why i bring my students here at the end to love nature as an aids patient. Our strategy is based on the traditional lifestyle of the people as a way of preserving the environment for future generations out of get us a. Global ideas on Facebook Trust and im telling. You to a good. Deal weve done to reduce carbon on them but. Because several people have all been living with one hundred. Will still havent. Been accused bonded or isnt cool. To cold. Otooles told me he would be the boldest little bit and recalled the little girls. Life this is a freak because the troubled mind for really hopeless who was a little before the author of the book lived through. The u. S. Ambassador to the u. N. Nikki haley has warning iran that the world will be watching its actions in response to antigovernment protests she made the comments during an emergency meeting of the u. N. Security council but iran and russia