Beijing says it will host "green Olympics" next month. But the water needed for the greenery is taken away from farmers in the provinces around Beijing.

Thousands of trees have been planted in Beijing, new parks have been built, and in the weeks until the opening ceremony on August 8th, 40 million flowers are being planted alongside roads and at the Olympic venues.

All that "greenery" needs water of course – and that is usually in short supply in Beijing. The authorities have come up with a plan to transfer water from a neighbouring province, Hebei province. Locals there are angry. The plan also highlights much broader problems with China’s water policies.

Report: Ruth Kirchner

The Pantanal wetland is one of the largest annually flooded savannas of the World. Cuiabá, which lies in Brazil, north of the Pantanal, is host city of the INTECOL International Wetland Conference. Wetlands are important carbon sinks. If they are destroyed further, experts fear a "carbon bomb" could explode.

“Pantanal” is Portuguese for “swamp". The Pantanal wetland is situated in the triangle formed by Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. The town of Cuiabá borders the Brazilian part of the Pantanal. This year Cuiabá was chosen as host city for the INTECOL wetland conference.

Every four years scientists working in the field of wetland conservation come together to discuss the latest studies, conservation politics, and mechanisms to sustainably use wetlands. Dr Paulo Teixeira is the co-chair of the INTECOL. He calls wetlands a carbon bomb that could potentially have a dangerous impact on our climate if their destruction is not prevented.

Interview: Nina Haase

The Pantanal is one of the areas declared by global conservation group WWF to be a key-eco-region for the protection of the earth's biodiversity. It was one of the areas featured in a Deutsche Welle feature series on WWF Eco-regions, in which Living Planet talks to the people involved in conserving the Bolivian side of the Pantanal wetlands.

Report: Robin Cubie