and two crime fighters tell a friend tell a friend to a friend. fighters don't miss it. germany decides to come to the. interviewed almost the front runners in germany's upcoming parliamentary elections . and now we're looking for thirty new chancellor. after germany. the candidates september twenty first. this week on global three thousand we're off to ivory coast and the new economy

a celebration where gay people didn't have to hide. in taiwan say same sex couples must be allowed to marry but not everyone is celebrating. but first we go to brazil where vast areas of rain forest are still being destroyed with devastating consequences for. the world's largest tropical rain forests are found in southeast asia the congo basin and the amazonian lowlands these green lungs represent the planet's not just 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 rain forest is the amazon basin which is mainly in brazil since one nine hundred seventy more than seven hundred seventy thousand square kilometers have been destroyed an area twice the size of joe. fighting to halt the destruction

is a risky business fifty activists were killed in brazil in two thousand and fifteen . the land around here is often ravaged by fire we joined environmental activist and the c.e.o. besser cola in the state of run donia in southern amazonia. l e z o takes pictures of the tragedy in order to tell the authorities what's going on here anything that can still move tries to escape the inferno. the smell is accurate. you know it's all about creating a new asters in the amazon rain forest is being burned down and destroy some parts of the forest die immediately in some trees and survive the fire only to fall later

many animals are killed by somebody. endless fields of soya where once a huge farce used to stand. trucks loaded with farm goods thunder along the highway. pastor lands for cattle are being extended all the time. a few small holders live on the edge of the protected rain forest area like edison and his wife and he say we explained how the agro mafia are destroying more and more of the area around their farm but they've known that for a long time they've been told to leave and received threats even death threats. but the situation is terrible that we live under constant threat that someone could come and take our life. that's hard to cope with the end. anderson leads

into the forest that's been his home and his workplace since childhood he lives off the forest he's a rubber tapper so he strives to protect it these trees provide the rubber he sells to make a living so to him and they're almost sacred. just a little further into the forest it's clear other people have been here recently the eco criminals have left their mark. they work systematically the pair explains first they create small pounce into the thicket and then mark on a map the sections of the forest they want to rob. this is where they went through and where they've marked pathways. these people know what they're doing they're foresters and first. i thought markers here to section the plots they want to later sell illegally is usable land. there's a mafia like organization behind these crimes. me.

from the air it becomes clear would at least say oh means bare spots in the rain forest these sections will be sold illegally after being conveniently prepared by the fire after all the ruined anyway they might as well be used for farming. figures from the independent environmental institute show that destruction of the rain forest increased by thirty percent in twenty sixteen compared to twenty fifteen. the problem is we might catch an illegal deforested today but he'll probably be there again next time the political will to change things isn't bad we need better laws tougher punishments for people who are repeatedly caught committing environmental crimes only that can help in the fight against deforestation in amazon. but the brazilian government would rather continue to shrink the protected areas. president to mare recently

faced corruption charges but congress voted to block the trial he escaped a suspension thirty percent of the members of parliament representing various parties are part of the powerful for. farm lobby president to marry suspected of buying votes without a hint of guilt. there's no other country with more greenery than in brazil no country in europe has so many forests. without nature reserves and conservation areas is exemplary. the situation here tells another story the long established small holders on the edge of the forest are losing everything. and the c.e.o. could not prevent that some families are now living in makeshift shelters in the town of. peasant farmers and rubber tappers have been driven out threatened even murdered there were twenty one murders in the area last year and tries to help here

too he works with the ngo. that seeks to protect the poor and nature but it's very hard in this lawless region like something out of the wild west l.a. zale was always armed and for good reason. there were four murder attempts against each with a fierce shoot out the bullets were flying they killed my son how old was he twenty one. they stabbed him from behind. ran the knife into his body. these people have been robbed of everything they have . because we need help. novel range as the original inhabitants of this region we won't respect. nothing more than not. we live off the forest and for the forest i am we ready to die for it. which is if it's just.

a thousand square kilometers of brazilian rain forest were destroyed last year that's nine times the size of berlin the bear patches in the amazon rain forest are continuing to grow. earlier this month some forty thousand people hit the streets of sydney australia demanding the right to same sex marriage now a postal referendum could up the pressure on parliament to change the noise in their favor. meanwhile in many other democratic nations gay and lesbian marriage is already committed some like germany and the usa took a little longer to agree to it but they got back in the end not a single country in asia however allows same sex marriage at least until now in may

of this year taiwan's constitutional court ruled that the ban violated fundamental human rights. may the twenty fourth was a day of joy for gays and lesbians in taiwan that's when its constitutional court ruled that the civil code was incompatible with the constitution because it doesn't recognize same sex marriage the court gave the legislature two years to rework the law szechenyi long build sets for a television soap opera he lives with his boyfriend and his companion to a same sex marriage for years the court ruling was hotly discussed by the team at his t.v. 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 i'm gay and we get on really well.

shechinah long says it's important to talk about things with the people you work with to explain what you stand for and why same sex 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 a power of attorney so i could make a decision on my boyfriend's behalf. even after he was given the power of attorney the hospital refused to recognize it it's been a long struggle for gays and lesbians to gain recognition and acceptance in taiwanese society. these people were demonstrating against equal rights for same sex couples such demonstrations were held for months every time parliament

discussed the issue of equal rights and gay marriage a lot of prejudice and misinformation was disseminated. marriage for gays and lesbians means making sex a public affair and not just regarding homosexuality but also by sexuality and group sex and all kinds of other perforation. it's entirely unacceptable. nevertheless taiwan is one of the most liberal countries in east asia with respect to gay and lesbian rights discrimination in education in the workplace has been illegal for a decade or more. even the kuomintang or chinese nationalist party is changing jason is one of its m.p.'s and he's working to update the party's conservative image. reason why same sex marriage should be incorporated.

because his human rights so says human rights gay people are no different than heterosexual people so we were just a man that the code in our civil law and. in corporate the rights in there. we accompany long to the home in a suburb of the capital taipei that he shares with his partner. 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 and. that are to stand for big bear

and little bad they're 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 same sex marriage or establish a new law specifically about it. there was. a special laws also a form of discrimination that shouldn't be necessary. the clock is ticking within two years from a legal solution has to be found what the lawmakers come up with will show just how progressive taiwan is. now rage for all it's a dream that still out of reach for gays and lesbians in over seventy 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. out on the street 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. frederica blue is here with a few girlfriends just like always. this time around he's going 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 too.

but wait a minute men and women floating in africa where row mammy nesa seen as a virtue in women are often denied a say. the kind of. this festival is all about celebrating different cultures our aim is to bring different social groups together was. officially the anti bt community doesn't belong to these different groups even if it's an open secret that the festival is an unofficial christopher street day celebration. but not everyone has an a celebratory mood here at the headquarters of the aid organization elton and he of course d'ivoire employees are fighting for gay rights in the ivory coast. is the organization's director he's often insulted and called the gay president. and i was rather funny since refusing we are for refuge to young people that come here with bruises or even worse because. they're often abused by their families

simply because they're gay it will cause them to be so. clever it away 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 didn't do anything officially there's no nor prohibiting homosexuality in the ivory coast unlike most other african countries but touré says that doesn't mean it's allowed in the evenings the employees meet up for a drink in a local pub out everyone here is comfortable that we're here with our camera levy denies that the carnival and the nuber is a vehicle for homosexuals but would he prefer to have a proper christopher street day. one of us in. custody yet what's the point of demonstrating for gay pride in africa. that if you're stigmatized for being gay

you know that. if you are cut off from society because of it just say if you get depressed or commit suicide who would want to take to the streets and shout out loud that they're proud to be gay. ok yet if you have to that's good. the streets have been no abo thing with excitement. the manner in their element it's all good fun. frederica who is enjoying the show with his son who is dressed as a girl. so long this is all about love and brotherhood. and everyone is happy in their own way. you know was.

today anything goes whether it's just a bit of fun or expressing your secret desires but what's it like normally. you don't ever want your time normally you can't walk around like this you're not allowed to do what you want people would think you're completely crazy. at the alternative headquarters in the country's economic capital abidjan that's an embarrassing about. thirty. years. and we do this kind of thing often just to get rid of the stress that we can't get rid of openly in the way that we like says he's got it here. thank you no let it all out but you can't do that anywhere else. you know. daily life is

a game of hide and seek most gay people are conventionally married trevor tells us but that's 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 they're persecuted for being gay so that they can claim asylum in europe. all my demanded after my flag was set on fire they asked me if i wanted to leave so i said no i don't 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 my love. who is carnival celebrates the kind of tolerance that club they would love to see in daily life it's the chance to be crazy for a day the person you really are.

marriage fold what's your view what's the lore in your country tell us on facebook follow us on d.w. global society. this week will ideas we're off to malaysia a country with high energy consumption and serious air pollution in big centers now the government is keen to make the country and its economy more environmentally sound but first it needs to convince consumers and it's hoping a new eco label will help a reporter best and heartache headed to the capital kuala lumpur to find out more. if only it with this quick and easy to get around malaysia's capital city. in reality rush hour looks more like this c o two emissions produced by traffic i

want to malaysia's biggest climate killers but that's all set to change. for example with this electric scooter. it was developed by the malaysian company clean my. room. there especially proud of the high performance batteries they designed themselves. the power direct drive on the model is six kilowatt the batteries that we uses for kilowatt hour this is one of the technology breakthroughs that we have achieved so far not only campari in malaysia i would say that can bring to the wall. the malaysian government supports companies that bring eco friendly products on the market like a clean mike. the financial aid and tax breaks are supposed to help malaysia become

a green a country. but over the past three and a half years only four hundred scooters have left the factory at around three thousand seven hundred euros they cost twice as much as conventional models but. i will be says more there right now is two of the two to go for their feet because the most heavily used dualists right now the biggest is kentucky fried chicken care see if they are using it for home deliveries they serve police patrolling using a bite and we also have a local council and fossilman team going around patrolling the roads we have not entered a consumer market so far as only for the fleet customers that are already in use at the malaysian ministry of energy with support from the g i said germany's international cooperation and development agency the government wants to promote other green products with an official label to guarantee that green credentials

more than eight hundred fifty items already carry the mikey john mark the project is called malaysia green technology and is overseen by the ministry of energy. but cost is proving to be an issue. when you go to the market for example they're looking at how much this costs in comparison of course so there is still a challenge there. unless we have economies of scale being can we can produce this green products at scale then we can reduce the cost. right now the government is the main customer for the certified eco products. the biggest fifty percent of the g.d.p. comes from the government so the government needs to set the direction it's set example with the government it will stimulate the market in introducing green products he says for private and green purchases based on the registrations that we have on the market joe we can see that the money is

increasing every month for pains for example green beans green building materials. more and more companies want to jump on the eco bandwagon but all the products worthy of the government's eco label that's decided here at the renowned serum institute in kuala lumpur. every candidate for my he. is put through its paces to make sure the product really is eco friendly. this detergent is up next. the company claims that support at this biodegradable so we haven't been tested on the bio degradable deep according to get hold of some of. the sample is mixed with a bacterial culture. if the sample hasn't dissolved within twenty eight days the detergent twente be granted the label.

the criteria that have to be fulfilled for the eco label a tailored to conditions in malaysia. not only with respect to health and environmental sustainability but also with respect to economic feasibility. different anteaters different culture due for an acquirer months and different standard of living so that it has to because he didn't because otherwise he said that the high like the shepherd the second north that work on three may not be able to do it so they have to move into the economic situation of the country and how they can read the. label because they fully believe. that nobody can come and nobody can pick it up so you defeat the purpose of a vehicle but. the next step is to establish uniform ecological standards by region . the german development agency is also supporting malaysia's neighboring countries

indonesia thailand and the philippines. because the more people buy eco friendly products the better it is for the environment. that's all for today thanks for joining us we always enjoy hearing from you so write to us at global three thousand d.w. dot com or on facebook follow us at d w global society. take care and see you next time.