Hello and welcome to the latest edition of it caught up because im now a tiger 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 our joins us on my will be kenya hello sourly. Thanks entry. In Nairobi Kenya welcome to the show heres what we have lined up for you today. We meet environmental activists who are trying to save. The capital of mauritania is on the Atlantic Coast much of it is actually been all 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 just who are coming together to do something about environmental degradation. First leicester in nigeria in the country around just to be precise its a wetland area where they also used to be mined say now the government and local organisations are trying to create new jobs by helping people set up face well thats going to take a. Chill my okafor does what she loves the most nature watch and 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 crews of asian ism is a perfect fit for car for the site as 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 left to deteriorate but we have come into management and aim is to raise fish and because of the. The fish farm breeds primarily catfish until last year the fish thrive on organic feel this wet mud for example attracts insects they lay their eggs in its bred in small prawns the fish will later be transferred to these larger food. Money turned a mole is michael. Today is checking the ocean levels you also make sure the fish do not feel free to local coaches. You know all their farms different inside now well we doesnt have anything that we are to give them. So enjoying in the habitat is good for the eden Creation Care Initiative also includes a plant 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 to discover a new species charm okafor is grateful for every helping hand some of the data we have collected are. Birds planned and insects for the. In the farm and all that thats been in the rice and reports are being made from it and hopefully will make scientific reports pay pass that could be plugged publishing. Okafor has always had an interest in nature and wildlife an interest shes eager to pass on to her son she firmly believes that a healthy environment is vital for Healthy Living conditions driven by a believe that good place humans on earth to take you of the environment she sees our work as simply doing her duty. We hope that our projects constant aparna projects true which we can get tempted by we true train all the fish from those who could go into conservation up a culture. Of to 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 with 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. But. 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. Dates 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 actually. If you are also doing 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 large insania population. A minute. And he faces so many environmental problems sea level is rising the cost is eroding a lots of sun hasnt removed from the june for use in construction weakening defenses against the ocean sharon is a whole scene going to be washed away i fervently hope not environmentally is that doing that best to protect the city that getting young people involved and walking to stabilize the coast on the dunes lets take a look. Alone palm tree among rows of dusty buildings trees and plants in general a rare here making shade a luxury in the more tenuous capital no luck shot. 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 it will. Make the city green is a project run by the citys Cultural Center together with a German Development agency. That is not only suggested planting trees on the streets. Theyll provide shade but if we put benches around them that also provide a place reskill pupils to hang out together. Discussing a possible ban on cars driving down the roll out in your corner when i come up that how i did that if they are you there is one of their own 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 ask if the city council needs to start doing its bit to clearing away the rubbish and spreading awareness about the issue is that to be. A new uk shot has many other problems to deal with the city is built on a salt flood large parts of it are below sea level and when it rains here it pours turning the dusty ground into a huge lake and streets into rivers look problem. Im not sure that our main concerns 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 the policing. Of the young activists have collected photos document in 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 chaat along the Atlantic Coast close to the city. For years the German Development agency g. I is it has been working with local n. G. O. S to try and curb this homegrown problem with. 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 june theyre extremely tough and able to cope with the salty water and the lack of nutrients in the sun the 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 rich 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 anchor the water in the commodes that moves about twenty centimeters this has disastrous effects on the wooden bases of venices buildings a local Pressure Group has italy to take action. Every time talk id paolo put took so 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 he. Sure this piece of wealth Cultural Heritage wont survive as a photo backdrop alone. And that its 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 nations paolo lives from tourism. He now conduct special tours to draw attention to the citys problems like in his own district where rents are rising as flights are used as holiday homes driving phoenicians out. The cruise ships are also a huge problem activists to follow micheletti is outraged not only do these huge vessels flood the city with day trippers that also threatening the citys very foundations. The movement of the ships propellers has a piston effect. Churned up all the clay and soft 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 from around the. Uk 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 thora ts 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 and 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. Neighboring 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 lads grieve the experts from a university off loud rock in Central England walk together with the residents to install. Greed the people often. Get lighter that does not rely on viral meant to be helpful kerosene and electricity from the even cheaper. Is a selftaught electrician. Until recently has only reviews. And now he knows a thing or two about lithium ion batteries. Like this one. The problem of the. With the buzzer and then the. Beeping sound. Williams works carrier is new power station which is powered by rooftop Solar Panels Energy stored in 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. Are on the way to invest. The project was launched by two british universities. Damon frost a battery specialist from oxford explains how to update a battery software. The new batteries are ready for testing and eventually theyll utilise use nocked of batteries which is more Cost Effective and environmentally friendly. And once their programs 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 will be more of a 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 sites. Use a feedback is key for further project development. Connect into the National Power 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 all the rooftop solar cell cant even power through. Every. Deal he might be in i think the bulbs that i received a much brighter than the one i had before and the batteries. He in are now. Needed. To a. Committee meeting in the village provides feedback these people were expecting. To read your theory is only half a minute. So say for most villages the batteries can only follow the light bulbs and radius so we are taking and the must make until they reach us. In fact they dont have enough power so we have agreed that they are going to charge and bring more power to help the community. The team 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 uses will contribute about four euros a month into the village electricity. Project manager john terry 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 a ready 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 can then be used to pay for the costs 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 curing service is the million device its much too small to meet launched unmanned many found most consecrated instead they still drive into the city to have to do. Most the project generates more revenue theyll be able to get a larger. William carey is an event is thinking about ways to use the Green Electricity they generate in the village for more commission needs its. 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 im all. Right sharon local organizations called dimitrov clubs are being set up in san diego and several other countries in africa where women man on young people come together to work on bringing about change in their communities one example might be in developing a project to protect the saw from erosion lets take a look at how these clubs work. Head 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 Communities. 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 to me before we had no say at all on matters in the village and. I am. Sorry booboo with its one hundred sixty residents laws 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 im cool wouldnt you. Say yeah the environment has become an important issue in the village since the club started and you know of it 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 him in your report. The next day they