0:00:00 > 0:00:03they seek comes at a price.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10A handful of raw sapphires.
0:00:10 > 0:00:17Beautiful and valuable.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19But they also pose a threat to this, the indri lemur, one
0:00:20 > 0:00:25of the rarest animals on Earth.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Poor people in their thousands have invaded the animal's home,
0:00:36 > 0:00:43seeking their fortune in the remote forests of Madagascar.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Are you rich?
0:00:44 > 0:00:51No, not yet.
0:00:51 > 0:00:52Not yet?
0:00:52 > 0:00:53LAUGHS.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Not yet rich!
0:00:54 > 0:00:56They mine the land, but for little reward.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Very hard, the life here.
0:00:58 > 0:01:05In the rush for sapphires, there's a price to be paid.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28In Ocotober 2016 in eastern Madagascar,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31there was a chance discovery of sapphires, sparking a gem rush.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Tens of thousands of people flocked to the area.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37And we are now following the route they carved out.
0:01:37 > 0:01:46When the road ends, we walk.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51About one hour in, six to go, and I'm carrying half
0:01:51 > 0:01:57the weight these guys are.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01But in these hills there are hidden dangers.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07Disease, bandits.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13And every journey to the mine has its risks.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18Time to visit the Vatto Mesina, sacred stones.
0:02:18 > 0:02:26An offering to ancestors ensures safe passage and good fortune.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30After this the going gets tougher.
0:02:30 > 0:02:38A once narrow forest path churned to mud by thousands of feet.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43As we walk, the trees close in on us.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46And then we hear them.
0:02:46 > 0:02:52LEMURS CALLING.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57Indri, right above us.
0:02:57 > 0:03:06The mining trail leads directly through their territory.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Naturally timid, we have to go to a national
0:03:09 > 0:03:12park to get this close.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17The indris live on the fourth-biggest island on the planet,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21500km off the coast of east Africa.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24The wildlife is spectacular and rare.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29Many species live here and only here.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32It is a privilege to see them in their natural habitat,
0:03:32 > 0:03:39but for how much longer?
0:03:39 > 0:03:43This has taken more than nine hours of walking, but we are finally here.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46We are right at the centre of what is the latest sapphire rush,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49the biggest sapphire rush.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53For at least 20 years, and still they come,
0:03:53 > 0:03:59men, women and children.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Building homes of wood and plastic, creating a makeshift town
0:04:03 > 0:04:08in the heart of the forest.
0:04:08 > 0:04:18There are shops, and bars...
0:04:21 > 0:04:31..but no hospital, school or police station.
0:04:38 > 0:04:45No-one wants to be here long.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49But they will stay as long as it takes to get lucky.
0:04:49 > 0:04:59And the bluer the sapphires, the more money they're worth.
0:05:01 > 0:05:11These are poor men, working hard, hoping to get rich.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16Tens of thousands of people have moved here to clear the land
0:05:16 > 0:05:23and dig for gemstones.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28This was once virgin rainforest.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32But now look.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Mineshafts and spoil heaps scar the landscape.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39There are thousands of men right across this valley working all day,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43every day, down these pits, digging out hundreds of bags
0:05:43 > 0:05:48of sand, and all of them are looking for something no bigger
0:05:48 > 0:05:51than the size of my fingernail.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And this is what they are after.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58A handful of stones.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02It took Bruno and his team many days to dig them out.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05He comes from the other side of the island,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08more than 1000km away.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13He has invested all his money on this.
0:06:13 > 0:06:20Every morning, the work takes him down into the dark.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25The pit is deep.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Very deep.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35The job is cramped, backbreaking and dangerous.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59None of these men are locals.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01They have travelled from all over the island,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05because there isn't any work at home.
0:07:05 > 0:07:11So they come here, hoping to find a sapphire that makes their fortune.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16This one took days to find, but is worth only about $200,
0:07:16 > 0:07:21split between a team of four.
0:07:21 > 0:07:27What does it feel like when you find a sapphire?
0:07:41 > 0:07:43But it's always a gamble.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Stephane has been here for months and has nothing to show for it.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49University-educated, now he works these pits
0:07:49 > 0:07:54to support his family.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57The future, I don't know.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Do you want to be here?
0:08:02 > 0:08:04For this moment.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I am here.
0:08:06 > 0:08:13But when I don't have money to live here, maybe
0:08:13 > 0:08:17I will go back to my home.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Do you have family, children, a wife?
0:08:19 > 0:08:25Yeah, I have a wife, one daughter, and three sons.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Yeah.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30And you come all the way here to help them?
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Yeah, that's why I came here.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38What do you want for them, your children?
0:08:39 > 0:08:47I want them to have a good life.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52It is not greed which drives men here, but poverty.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57Madagascar is one of the poorest countries on earth.
0:08:57 > 0:09:0380% of the population lives on less than $1 a day.
0:09:03 > 0:09:10There are few jobs for men like these.
0:09:10 > 0:09:20Keen eyes sieve and search, a promise of wealth in every handful.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Have you found any sapphires?
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Many, but not very good.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33So are you rich?
0:09:33 > 0:09:40No, not yet, not yet rich.
0:09:40 > 0:09:47But the wealth they seek comes at a cost.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49The mines eat away at the forest.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51The villages that spring up pollute the water,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55and threaten the habitat of the indri lemur.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00LEMURS CALLING.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01Can you hear that?
0:10:01 > 0:10:04That's the sound of indris singing.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06They are on that side of the valley and are singing
0:10:06 > 0:10:10to the indris on this side.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13They are critically endangered and they only live in a very
0:10:13 > 0:10:16small area of Madagascar.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18They cannot survive in captivity.
0:10:18 > 0:10:28So when they're gone from here, they're gone for good.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31We travelled to Mitsinjo, a conservation project
0:10:31 > 0:10:36where the indri are able to thrive.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41The biggest of all the lemurs, they spend most of their lives
0:10:41 > 0:10:46in the trees, eating and sleeping in the branches.
0:10:46 > 0:10:53They produce few young, only breeding every two or three years.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55This is extraordinary.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57These indris come down from the forest canopy.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01They live in small family groups.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04This is a group of five, two adults and three juveniles.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07They eat nothing but leaves and seeds.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11They need a bigger range, a large territory to live in.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14So as the forests are cut around them, they have to retreat
0:11:14 > 0:11:17to smaller and smaller areas.
0:11:17 > 0:11:23But when those forests are gone, they will die out.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28In this park, our guide is one of the world's most foremost
0:11:28 > 0:11:35authorities on lemurs.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21That's really sad.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23He's horrified by what we show him.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25You can see the scale.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Yeah.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28It's huge.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Oh, yeah.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26And make no mistake, this is all illegal.
0:13:26 > 0:13:36On paper, the land is protected.
0:13:37 > 0:13:47But the authorities seem unwilling or unable to stop it.
0:13:48 > 0:13:55Here in Madagascar, there are fortunes to be won or lost.
0:13:55 > 0:14:01The miners who dig up sapphires sell them on to dealers.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04They call this man 'The President'.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07He holds court, waiting for the sapphires to be brought
0:14:07 > 0:14:12to him so he can inspect them and offer a price.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Notice the torch - every dealer needs one -
0:14:14 > 0:14:18and the rings - you'd have thought business was good.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23But far from it.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32But getting a good price for sapphires means
0:14:32 > 0:14:35keeping them safe first.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40This man stores them in his mouth because,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44he says, he has no pockets.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46TRANSLATION:It's calm here but beneath the surface,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48there's fear too.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51He said they need security because when you walk from the city,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55from town to here, there are some people who attack you.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56Bandits?
0:14:56 > 0:14:57Yeah, bandit.
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Is he scared?
0:14:58 > 0:15:05Yes, yes, we are afraid of that.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Sapphires are sold in England, in France, for rings...
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Yeah.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12..necklaces.
0:15:12 > 0:15:13Uh-huh.
0:15:13 > 0:15:21Do you think those rich people understand your life here?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I think they, yeah, they understand the life
0:15:24 > 0:15:31here but they don't care, maybe.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34When I talk about the government, the government in Madagascar,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38you know, they don't care about us.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Deep in the forest, a day's walk from the nearest road,
0:15:42 > 0:15:52the authorities can seem remote, indifferent, and powerless.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Vibrant, polluted, and poor - Antananarivo,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Madagascar's capital city.
0:16:00 > 0:16:07From here, the country's elite monitor the sapphire rush
0:16:07 > 0:16:08with great interest.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The sapphire trade is a sensitive issue here.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13The government really doesn't like to talk about it,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15and some journalists have been arrested for trying
0:16:15 > 0:16:17to expose the nepotism and corruption at its heart.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20The authorities claim they are trying to regulate the industry.
0:16:20 > 0:16:28But still, the illegal mining goes on.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31In recent months, ministers have talked of reform, to tighten the law
0:16:31 > 0:16:35and control small-scale mining.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38But NGOs working in conservation say what really stops effective
0:16:38 > 0:16:42policing is a lack of money.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48Officials on the ground can't even buy fuel for their vehicles.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51These are in national parks, often, where it's happening.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55The authorities seem powerless.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Yes.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02Unfortunately, most of the sapphires, gems,
0:17:02 > 0:17:07even gold rushes that we've had have been in protected areas,
0:17:07 > 0:17:14sometimes national parks.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17And it's all illegal, of course, but then,
0:17:17 > 0:17:22there is very little capacity to enforce legislation
0:17:22 > 0:17:27generally in Madagascar - especially in very, also remote
0:17:27 > 0:17:32areas, because you have, I mean, they are usually remote areas
0:17:32 > 0:17:38so it's even more difficult to enforce the law in this case.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Do you think the government wants to enforce the law?
0:17:42 > 0:17:44I wouldn't dismiss also that there is maybe a lack
0:17:44 > 0:17:49of willingness to act.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Which means gems from illegal mines continue to flow to the capital
0:17:52 > 0:17:58and on into backstreet workshops.
0:17:58 > 0:18:06Here, skilled hands and sharp eyes work to unlock
0:18:06 > 0:18:08the value of the gems.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Stones will go through several pairs of hands before they reach
0:18:11 > 0:18:14the capital Antananarivo and a place like this, where they're cut
0:18:14 > 0:18:18and polished for export.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21A stone sold by a miner for £25 will be sold
0:18:21 > 0:18:24by a dealer like this for £250, and when it is in the US
0:18:24 > 0:18:27or in Bangkok or in Dubai, will go for more than £5,000.
0:18:27 > 0:18:35Shaolin is happy to show this stock.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40The mining may be against the law but the trade isn't.
0:18:40 > 0:18:46This is his favourite, sold in the US for more than $2 million.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Some sapphires are mined legally in Madagascar
0:18:50 > 0:18:53but how can a buyer know?
0:18:53 > 0:18:55The truth is, they probably cannot.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Most big dealers come from Sri Lanka or Thailand.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01In Shaolin's view, they buy up Malagash sapphires
0:19:01 > 0:19:06to pass off as their own.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28But now, there are calls for greater transparency,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32demands that each gem be traceable to the mine it came from -
0:19:32 > 0:19:37a worldwide agreement to reform the trade.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40There could be some kind of international regulations
0:19:40 > 0:19:46on the trustability of gems.
0:19:46 > 0:19:53So that, at the retailer's side, you can know where this came
0:19:53 > 0:20:02from and how it was produced, whether it was in a sustainable way.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06So you would call for some kind of international accord,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10rather like that which regulates the trade in diamonds?
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Yes, yes - and we have started this discussion
0:20:12 > 0:20:18with the Malagasy authorities.
0:20:18 > 0:20:24It has just started, so I think that with also
0:20:24 > 0:20:30international support and pressure, this discussion could move
0:20:30 > 0:20:31forward more quickly.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32How urgent is that need?
0:20:32 > 0:20:40That would be urgent because we are not protected
0:20:40 > 0:20:43from the next rush.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47It can happen anytime, anywhere in Madagascar.
0:20:47 > 0:20:57And so, it would be urgent to act, it would also help us in the future.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59That sounds like a good place to start.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03But for Jonah Ratsimbazafy, the lemur expert, real
0:21:03 > 0:21:08change can't wait.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11We're almost out of time.
0:21:37 > 0:21:47There are valuable gems beneath this red soil.
0:21:51 > 0:21:58Unique wildlife in the trees above.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03The question for the people of Madagascar is how do
0:22:03 > 0:22:12they profit from one without destroying the other?
0:22:12 > 0:22:17And for those who buy sapphires, it's impossible to know the real
0:22:17 > 0:22:23origin, or the true cost of the gems they wear.