The planets largest pool of captured carbon dioxide. But over the decades, vast areas have been deforested, as people look for timber, pastures, farmland, and minerals. The largest single area of rainforest is the amazon basin, which is mainly in brazil. But since 1970, more than 770,000 square kilometers has been destroyed, an area twice the size of germany. Fighting to halt the destruction is a Risky Business 50 activists were killed in brazil in 2015 alone. The land around here is often ravaged by fire. We join environmental activist elizeu bercacola in the state of rondonia in southern amazonia. Elizeu takes pictures of this tragedy in order to tell the authorities what is going on here. Anything that can still move tries to escape the inferno. The smell is acrid. Its all about creating new pastures. The amazon r rain forest is beg burned down and destroyed. Some parts of the forest die immediately. Some trees initially survive the fire, only to fall latater. Many animals are killed. Endless fields of soyoya, whe once a huge forest used to stand. Trucks loaded with farm goods thunder along the highway. Pasturelands for cattle are being extended all the time. A few smallholders live on the edge of the protected rainforest area, like ederson and his wife. Elizeu explains how the agromafia are destroying more and more of the area around their farm. But theyve known that for a long time. Theyve been told to leave and received threats, even death threats. The situation is terrible. We live under constant threat that someone could come and take our lives. Thats hard to cope with. Ederson leads elizeu into the forest thats been his home and his workplace since childhood. He lives off the forest hes a rubber tapper so he strives to protect it. These trees provide the rubber he sells to make a living, so to him, theyre almost sacred. Just a little further into the forest, its clear other people have been here recently. The ecocriminals have left their mark. They work systematically, the pair explains. First, they create small paths into the thicket, and then mark on a map the sections of the forest they want to rob. This is where they went through, where theyve marked pathways. These people know what theyre doing theyre foresters and topographers. They put markers here to section the plots they want to later sell illegally as usable land. A a maalike orgrganization is behind these crimes. From the aiair it becomes clr what elizeu means bare spots in the rainforest. These sections will be sold illegally after being conveniently prepared by the fire. After all, theyre ruined anyway. They might as well be used forr farmining. Figures s from the indepenendt Environmental Institute ibama show that destruction of the rainforest increased by 30 in 2016 compared to 2015. The problem is, we might catch an illegal deforester today, but hell probably be there again next time. The political will to change things isnt there. We need better laws, tougher punishments for people who are repeatedly caught committing environmental crimimes. Only that t can help in the fit against deforestation in amazonia. But the b brazilian governmt would rathther continue to shrk the protected areas. President temer recently faced corruption charges, but congress voted to block the trial. He escaped a suspension. 30 of the members of parliament representing various parties are part of of the powerful farm lobby. President temer is suspected of buying votes without a hint of guilt. Theres no other country with more greenery than brazil. No country in europe has so many forests. What we do here with our nature reserves and conservation areas is exemplary. The situation here tells another story. The longestablished smallholders on the edge of the forest are losing everything. Elizeu could not prevent that. Some families are now living in makeshift shelters in the town of machadinho. Peasant farmers and rubber tappers have been driven out, threatened, even murdered. There were 21 murders in the area last year. Elizeu tries to help here, too. He works with the ngo pastoral da terra that seeks to protect the poor and nature. But its very hard in this lawless region, like something out of the wild west. Elizeu is always armed, and for a good reason. There were four murder attempts against me, each with a fierce shootout. T they killed my son. Ng. How old was he . 21. The stabbed him from behind. They rammed the knife into his body. These people have been robbed of everything they have. We need help. As the original inhabitants of this region, we want respect. Nothing more than that. We live off the forest and for the forest. And were ready to die for it. 8000 square kilometers of Brazilian Rainforest were destroyed last year. Thats nine times the size of berlin. The bare patches in the amazon rainforest are continuing to grow. Earlier this month, some 40,000 people hit the streets of sydney, australia, demanding the right to samesex marriage. Now a postal referendum could up the pressure on parliament to change the law in their favor. Meanwhile, in many other democratic nations, gay and lesbian marriage is already permitted. Some, like germany and the usa, took a little longer to agree to it, but they got there in the end. Not a single country in asia, however, allows samesex marriage. At least, until now. In may of this year, Taiwans Constitutional Court ruled that the ban violated fundamental human rights. May 24 was a day of joy for gays and lesbians in taiwan. Thats when its Constitutional Court ruled that the civil code was incompatible with the constitution because it doesnt recognize samesex marriage. The court gave the Legislature Two years to rework the law. Hsieh chenglong builds sets for a Television Soap opera. He lives with his boyfriend, and has campaigned for samesex marriage for years. The court ruling was hotly discussed by the team at his tv studio. Things are fine here. Just one colleague had a hard time with everything he was hearing on the media. Then we had a talk, and now he accepts that im gay. And we get on really well. Hsieh chenglong says it is important to talk about things with the people you work with to explain what you stand for, and why samesex couples should have the same legal status as heterosexual ones. When colleagues ask why i fight so hard, i always cite an example. Last november my boyfriend had an accident. I had to go to his father to ask for r a power of attorney, soi could make a decision on my boyfriends behalf. Even after he was given the power of attorney, the hospital refused to recognize it. Its been a long struggle for gays and lesbians to gain recognition and acceptance in taiwanese society. These people were demonstrating against equal rights for samesex couples. Such dememonstrations were hed for monthshs, every Time Parliament discussed the issue of equal rights and gay marriage. A lot of prejudice and misinformation was disseminated. Marriage for homosexuals means making sex a Public Affair and not just regarding homosexuality, but also bisexuality and group sex and all kinds of other perversions. Its all entirely unacceptable. Nevertheless, taiwan is one of the most liberal countries in east asia with respect to gay and lesbian rights. Discrimination in education and the workplace has been illegal for a decade or more. Even the kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalist party, is changing. Jason hsu is one of its mps. And hes working to update the papartys conservative image. The reason why samesex marriage should be incorporated in civil code is because it is human rights. We will just amend the code and then incorporate the rights in there. We accompany hsieh chenglong to the home in a suburb of the capital taipei that he shares with his partner, liu hsingkuo. Their parents know they live together. Many other gays and lesbians still keep their families in the dark. This couple say they just want their way of life to be considered normal, with all the rights and obligations everyone else enjoys. We want to be like a regular straight married couple. We want insurance, inheritance, and Health Care Rights like everybody else. Their tatattoos stand for bg bear a and little e bear. Theyre a substitute for wedding rings. Daily life for gays in taipei is not all pain and secrecy. In this neighborhood, life is quite relaxed. Lawmakers now either have to amend the civil code so it no longer bars samesex marriage or establish a new law specifically about it. A special law is also a form of discrimination. That should not be necessary. The clock is ticking. Within two years from may, a legal solution has to be found. What the lawmakers come up with will show just how progressive taiwan is. Marriage for all its a dream thats still out of reach for gays and lesbians in over 70 countries worldwide, where homosexuality is against the law. In seven of those countries among them nigeria, somalia, iran, and saudi arabia the punishment for it can be death. In africa, homosexuals suffer widespread discrimination, which is why in ivory coast, one particular day can bring a brief sense of relief. Theyre out on the streets in high heels, dressed as innocent schoolgirls accompanied by a wayward friend, or as the girl next door. All these ladies are on their way to the event of the year in the small city of bounoua. Frederic about is here with a few girlfriends, just like always. This time around hes gone for the housewife look. I like my style. In the heat, this kind of dress is way more comfortable than something tight. I feel good like this. But wait a minute. Men in Womens Clothing . In africa . Where raw manliness is seen as a virtue, and women often are denied a say . This festival is all about celebrating different cultures. Our aim is to bring different social groups together. Officially, the Lgbt Community doesnt belong to these different groups, even if its an open secret that the festival is an unofficial christopher street day celebration. But not everyone is in a celebratory mood. Here, at the headquarters of the Aid Organisation alternatives cote divoire, employees are fighting for gay rights in the ivory coast. Claver toure is the organisatitions director. Hes often insulted and called the gay president. We offer refuge to young people who come here with bruises or even worse. They are often abused by their families, simply because they are gay. Claver toure has been working to protect the rights of homosexuals for years, in the hope that things may someday improve. He deals with open hostility on a regular basis. His apartment was set on fire, but the police didnt do anything. Officially, there is no law prohibiting homosexuality in the ivory coast, unlike most other african countries, but toure says that doesnt mean its allowed. In the evenings, the employees meet up for a drink in a local pub. Not everyone here is comfortable that were here with our camera. Claver denies that the carnival in bounoua is a vehicle for homosexuals. But would he prefer to have a proper christophpher street da . Whats the point of demonstrating for gay pride in africa if youre stigmatized for being gay . If youre cut off from society because of it . If you get depressed or commit suicide . Who would want to take to the streets and shout out loud that theyre proud to be gay . The streets of bounoua are buzzing with excitement. The men are in their element. Its all good fun. Frederic about is enjoying the show with his son, who is dressed as a girl. This is all about love and brotherhood, and everyone is happy in their own way. Today, anything goes, whether its just a bit of fun, or expressing your secret desires. But whats it like normally . Normally you cant walk around like this youre not allowed to. People would think youre completely mad. At the alternative headquarters in the countrys economic capital, abidjan, theyre celebrating a birthday. We do this kind of thing often, to get rid of the stress that we cant get rid of openly in the way that wed like. Here, we can let it all out, but we cant do that anywhere else. Daily life is a game of hide and seek. Most gay people are conventionally married, claver tells us. But thats not for him. And he refuses to tolerate questions from his neighbors. He says his sexuality is a private matter. He also says he knows of men who pretend that theyre persecuted for being gay so they can claim asylum in europe. After my flat was set on fire, they asked me if i wanted to leave. I said, no, i dont want to leave my country. I want to fight for equal rights here. Exile is not an option. The ivory coast is my home. I have the right to live here, no matter what job i do or whom i love. Bounouas carnival celebrates the kind of tolerance that claver would love to see in daily life. Its the chance to be crazy for a day, or the person you really are. Marriage for all whats your view . Whats the law in your country . Tell us on facebook. Follow us on dw global society. Y. This week in global ideas, were off to malaysia. A country with highenergy consumption, and serious air pollution in big urban centers. Now the government is keen to make the country and its economy more environmentally sound. But first, it needs to convince consumers. And its hoping a new ecolabel will help. Our reporter Bastian Hartig headed to the capital, kuala lumpur, to find out more. If only it were this quick and easy to get around malaysias capital city, kuala lumpur. In reality, rush hour looks more like this. Co2 emissions produced by traffic are one of malaysias biggest climate killers. But thats all set to change. For example, with this electric scooter. It was developed and produced by the Malaysian Company eclimo. Theyre especially proud of the highperformance batteries they designed themselves. In the power direct drive on the motor is 6kililowatt, the batttteries that we e use is 4 kilowatt hour. This is one of the Technology Breakthroughs that we have achieved so far not only comparing to malaysia, but also comparing to the world. The malaysian Government Supports companies that bring ecofriendly products onto the market like eclimo. The financiaial aid and tax bres are supposed to help malayisa become a greener country. But over the past three and a half years, only around 400 scooters have left the factory. At around 3700 euros, they cost more than twice as much as conventional models. Our Business Model right now is to go for the fleet customers who heavily use twowheeeeler. Righght now the biggest is kentucky fried chicken, kfc. Kfc are are using it for home deliveries. There is a police team papatrolling using the bikes, d we also have a local Council Enforcement team going around patrolling the roadsds. We have e not entered the coconr market. So far its only for the fleet customers. Theyre already in use at the Malaysian Ministry of energy. With support from the giz germanys International Cooperation and Development Agency the government wants to promote other Green Products, with an official label to guarantee their green credentials. More than 850 items already carry the myhijau mark. The project is called malaysia green technology, and is overseen by the mininistry of energy. But cost is proving to be an issue. As when you go to the supermarket for example, theyre looking at how much this costs in comparison. So there is still a challenge there. Unlessss we have econonomies of scale, w we can prproduce these grgreen prododucts at scale, the can reduce the costs. Right now, the government ii the Main Customer for these certified eco products. Thehe government is the biggt purchaser. 15 of the gdp comes from the government. So the government needs to set the direction, set the example. With the higigher purchases frm the government that will stimulate the market and introduce Green Products and services for privavate green purchasers. Based on the registration that we have on the myhijau, we cn see that the demand is increasing. The demand for paints, for example, green paints and Green Building materials. More and more Companies Want to jump on the eco bandwagon. But are their products worthy of the governments eco label . Thats decided here at the renowned sirim institute in kuala lumpur. Every candidate for myhijau accreditation is put through its paces to make sure the product really is ecofriendly. In this detergent is up next. T the Company Claims that ts product is biodedegradable. So we are going toto test the biodegradability potential accocording to the oecd test memethod. The sample is mixed with a bacterial culture. If the sample hasnt dissolved within 28 days, it wont be granted the label. The criteria that have to be fulfilled for the eco label are tailored to conditions in malaysia not only with respect to health and environmental sustainability, but also w with respect to economic feasability. Different countries have different cultures, different requirements, and different standards of living, so this has to be considered, because otherwise, if its set too high, like germany, then second or thirdworld countries may not be able to adopt it. So we have to look into the Economic Situation of the country and how they can adapt with the ecolabel, because if you put too high then nobody can comply and nobody can pick it up so it defeats the purpose of having an ecolabel. The next step is to establish uniform ecological standards by region. The german Development Agency is also supporting malaysias neighboring countries indonesia, thailand, and the philippines because the more people buy