0:00:09 > 0:00:13When he was seven, Charlie was obsessed with kingfishers.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19When he was 13, just looking at animals wasn't enough
0:00:19 > 0:00:22and he was compelled to take pictures of them.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31He got his first job as a wildlife cameraman when he was 16.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39But now he's 40, Charlie's done something that sounds crazy.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42He's bought a rainforest in Peru.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I didn't want to sit around and spend my life being depressed about
0:00:47 > 0:00:49the environment and not doing anything about it.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52So I thought, "Right, if I can do my bit,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55"then at least I know in my life I've done my bit,
0:00:55 > 0:00:56"however small that is."
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Charlie wanted to understand the issues
0:01:02 > 0:01:06and the people threatening the whole rainforest.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08IN TRANSLATION:
0:01:14 > 0:01:17But the more time he spends in the Amazon,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20the more he's convinced that saving the rainforest
0:01:20 > 0:01:24is more important than the people cutting it down.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29I just found them in the act of illegally chopping a tree down
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and the whole reason I bought the land was so that didn't happen.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39There are those that say that it's already too late,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42that human beings have poisoned the planet.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48But if we're going down, Charlie's going down fighting.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57RAIN POURS
0:02:00 > 0:02:03THUNDER RUMBLES
0:02:07 > 0:02:09It hasn't stopped raining now...
0:02:10 > 0:02:13..two days?
0:02:13 > 0:02:18And...I'm getting really, really bored of it
0:02:18 > 0:02:21because when it rains here, you're stuck because...
0:02:23 > 0:02:25..you can't get out, because all the rivers have swollen,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27so I can't drive across them.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30It's relentless.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Charlie paid £6,000 for 100 acres of rainforest,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41without seeing it first.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47This is his second visit in the last four months
0:02:47 > 0:02:52and, while he's here, he wants to photograph every single animal he can find.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58He's so angry! I don't blame him.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09But he also has a much grander ambition,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13because his land is strategically placed at the end of
0:03:13 > 0:03:17the only road for miles leading to Manu National Park.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21I suppose the thing that excites me about it is that
0:03:21 > 0:03:24of all the rainforests in the world, it is the best one
0:03:24 > 0:03:27and it's the most biodiverse place on earth.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Charlie wanted to use his 100 acres as a barrier to stop people
0:03:40 > 0:03:44smuggling trees from the world's most precious rainforest.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50But when he first arrived,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52he discovered that his own piece of paradise
0:03:52 > 0:03:55was little more than bamboo and coca fields.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59And the few guards that patrol the area
0:03:59 > 0:04:03found a message warning him not to interfere.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08IN TRANSLATION:
0:04:13 > 0:04:16What a massive cock-up.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20But Charlie's biggest problem was that the son of the guy
0:04:20 > 0:04:22he bought his forest from
0:04:22 > 0:04:24was still using the land as a base
0:04:24 > 0:04:26to illegally fell trees.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Elias, como estas? Hi.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32IN TRANSLATION:
0:04:44 > 0:04:45I don't know what I say to that.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49I'm not 100% sure I believe him.
0:04:51 > 0:04:52Personally, I don't trust him.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57If we were all too compassionate...
0:04:58 > 0:05:02..then the doors and the floodgates would open on the Amazon
0:05:02 > 0:05:03and the place would be destroyed.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It turns out that not only is Elias still using
0:05:13 > 0:05:15the huts on Charlie's land,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19he's also cleared some of the forest to grow crops.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Is it the yucca that's your main income
0:05:27 > 0:05:29or is that the illegal logging?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Charlie thought it would take less than a year
0:05:55 > 0:05:57to protect this corner of the Amazon,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00but, a third of the way through, and he's responsible
0:06:00 > 0:06:04for a squatter who's accused of logging the park he came to defend.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13It's probably not the best time for Charlie's wife Philippa
0:06:13 > 0:06:16to come and see what they've spent their money on.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18CHIRRING OF INSECTS
0:06:18 > 0:06:23She's come to inspect my... my purchase,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25see what I've bought.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Probably turn up...turn up and see what an idiot I've been.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41- There you go.- Hello!- Hello, darling.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49But at least he had the good sense to book a hotel
0:06:49 > 0:06:5330 minutes away from his 100 acres of disappointment.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Oh, wow.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56Thank you.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Look at that! Doilies.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01THEY CHUCKLE
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- Is that a lizard?- Where?- There. Did it go in there?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07It's a little tree frog.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09- Oh!- Where's he gone?- He's landed.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- Look at him!- He's saying, "I don't want you to catch me!"
0:07:26 > 0:07:28I've got a nice feeling of butterflies,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32like when you're a child again and you're going to get a surprise.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33Do you get excited when you come here?
0:07:33 > 0:07:35When I come here?
0:07:35 > 0:07:38- Yeah, do you get excited?- No. - Not any more?- No.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I don't know, because I don't know what to do with it.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45It's sort of like a big burden around my neck.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Ha! "Miski Paraiso"!
0:07:48 > 0:07:49That means sweet paradise.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Look! Isn't it beautiful?
0:07:58 > 0:08:01It's classic rainforest, isn't it?
0:08:01 > 0:08:02Look.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Best water you'll ever drink, that is.
0:08:16 > 0:08:17I knew it wouldn't be easy.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20I knew conservation isn't just about putting a fence around something
0:08:20 > 0:08:26and leaving it, and Charlie won't be told anything.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34'He always feels that if you just leave the natural world alone,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36'it will all be fine.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42'But conservation doesn't happen in a bubble.'
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Old chainsaw chains.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49'Whatever the problem and wherever you are in the world,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51'people are the solution.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53'You can't do it on your own.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55'It doesn't work.'
0:08:56 > 0:09:00This is all logging and cocaine-growing paraphernalia.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03That's what this land was for.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06We all sort of get very excited about all that stuff,
0:09:06 > 0:09:07it's just normal here.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11It's no different to them from growing wheat really.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Elias owns his own patch of forest,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23but the way out for any trees he cuts down
0:09:23 > 0:09:25is through Charlie's land.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30If Charlie boots him out, he'll have no income from his trees
0:09:30 > 0:09:32or his crops.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Elias!
0:09:34 > 0:09:37And if that happens, he's afraid that Elias
0:09:37 > 0:09:39will have no choice
0:09:39 > 0:09:41but to start logging in the National Park.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48- And this is, um, this is their land...- Mm-hm.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49..but they don't have...
0:09:51 > 0:09:53But it's still illegal in terms of...
0:09:53 > 0:09:55They haven't got a logging concession.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- ..they haven't got a licence. - No, so they're not allowed.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- Doesn't seem to be stopping them though, does it?- No.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04But surely if you were offered a better option, you'd take it.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10- Well, I'd have thought so.- He's not doing this because it's easy,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12he's not doing it because he's a bad person.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18I think he's just always done it.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26I just wish he'd do it a bit louder now so we can work out where he is.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33The thing is, he could be anywhere.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- Right, I suggest we go up this path and carry on.- Up.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39Well, he's got to be somewhere!
0:10:39 > 0:10:42What are we actually saying to him when we find him?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44- Uh?- What are we saying to him when we find him?
0:10:44 > 0:10:48- Hello, Elias, this is my wife. - Would you like to meet my wife?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54CHAINSAW BUZZING Elias!
0:11:02 > 0:11:03Elias!
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Elias, how are you?
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Hola. Como estas?
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Buenos dias.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23So, there's the National Park. See?
0:11:27 > 0:11:28That's my land, not your dad's.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31HE CHUCKLES Love it.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33"That's my dad's land". No, it's not!
0:11:46 > 0:11:48So, the yucca that's there now,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51how much is that worth to you, if it's a good crop?
0:11:56 > 0:11:59So, if you're pulling out 10,000 soles' worth,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I need to know what YOU make from that.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12You must make some profit, Elias, otherwise you wouldn't do it!
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Si.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:12:16 > 0:12:19When you fumigate it, how much does it cost every time?
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I do feel sorry for him
0:12:35 > 0:12:38and that's why I'm thinking, is there anything I can do to help?
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I don't want to throw people off land,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I don't want to cut off their income. What can I do?
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Is there anything I can do to try and find some middle ground?
0:12:47 > 0:12:50At the moment, I don't know what that is. There might be something.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55Maybe I can buy his yucca crop off him as a sort of parting gesture.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59But I don't like the fact that I am now responsible for...
0:13:00 > 0:13:03..playing an important part in these people's lives.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05That's not why I did any of this.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06I didn't...
0:13:06 > 0:13:09It wasn't part of the bargain as far as I was concerned when I bought it.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23He knew he might have to fight to keep people out of Manu,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27but Charlie never imagined his land would still be in use
0:13:27 > 0:13:30or that his decisions could change the life
0:13:30 > 0:13:31of a family living in poverty.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39'I think he finds people difficult sometimes and complicated.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43'It's much easier if you can go off with your camera,
0:13:43 > 0:13:45'put a lens between you and people
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'and then you can be in your own safe little world.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52'It's always been his escape.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56'It's always been his escape. Relationships are complicated,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58'people are complicated.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Charlie fell in love with the rainforest
0:14:03 > 0:14:06because he spent years here photographing animals.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12And before Philippa goes home, he wants to show her
0:14:12 > 0:14:16how extraordinary the Amazon is if you remove the human beings.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20I'm taking Philippa up to one of my favourite places
0:14:20 > 0:14:24in the world, which is an oxbow lake called Cocha Salvador.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26I know the family there very well,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29so it's kind of like I'm going to see some old friends
0:14:29 > 0:14:30and take Philippa along.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33They just happen to be otters rather than people.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38PIPING SQUEAK OF OTTERS
0:14:40 > 0:14:41SQUEAKING OTTER CALL
0:14:43 > 0:14:45I got some otters.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Yeah, I've got them. Oh, my God!
0:14:49 > 0:14:50HE CHUCKLES
0:14:50 > 0:14:52OTTERS SQUEAK
0:14:56 > 0:14:59The giant river otter can grow to six feet.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03It is one of the most endangered mammals in the Amazon...
0:15:04 > 0:15:08..and there are perhaps as few as 1,000 left in the wild.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16I just have this weird total obsession with them.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18I could just gaze at them for hours.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23These guys just love each other.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27They never stop looking after each other and grooming each other
0:15:27 > 0:15:29and playing with each other.
0:15:30 > 0:15:31A perfect little family.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36And they'll die for each other.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Charlie's obsession with animals began when he was seven,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54not long after his father died.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02'When his dad died...
0:16:03 > 0:16:09'..it made him mistrust human relationships slightly in the sense
0:16:09 > 0:16:14'that for any child, losing a parent is so mind-blowing,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17'is so massive.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20'And when you're a child, it changes your whole view of reality.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26'But, yeah, his escape route'
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and ultimately, controlled environment,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30is in a hide with a camera.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Though Charlie has spent his life in the most remote corners
0:16:37 > 0:16:41of the planet, he's never had to deal with local people.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46But if he's going to work out what to do with Elias,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49he can't just sit in a tent and hope he'll go away.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56So after Philippa has gone back to England, Charlie decides
0:16:56 > 0:16:59that he needs to understand the issues threatening the Amazon
0:16:59 > 0:17:03from the point of view of the people cutting it down.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Though he sees illegal loggers as dangerous criminals,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15it's almost impossible to police the whole forest,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19and the Peruvian Government hardly even try.
0:17:34 > 0:17:35Mm. OK.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Yeah. OK, horrifically painful.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Up to 80% of the timber exported from Peru
0:17:45 > 0:17:47has been cut down illegally.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52And like many loggers, Beto owns his own land
0:17:52 > 0:17:55but he doesn't have a permit to remove the trees.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09Very nice.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11Si!
0:18:13 > 0:18:14It sure is.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17SONG IN TRANSLATION:
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Beto has already felled a number of trees
0:18:51 > 0:18:54but he needs help to take the timber into town
0:18:54 > 0:19:00and has hired his friend Modesto and his trusty vintage truck, Rambo.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03- Como estas? - Hola. Como estas, Charlie?- Hola.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13Si.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16I'm looking forward to it.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18THEY CHUCKLE
0:19:43 > 0:19:44Salud. Gracias.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19CHAINSAW BUZZES
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Although it's against the law for Beto to take wood from his land,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36when you're working with chainsaws in the middle of nowhere,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40getting caught by the authorities isn't your biggest worry.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08I'm not naturally someone who wants to go and immerse my life
0:21:08 > 0:21:10into the lives of strangers.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14However what I do is I think of images
0:21:14 > 0:21:17and that actually gets me excited and gets me in.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Jesus Christ!
0:21:27 > 0:21:29MEN CHATTER
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Mm-hm. OK, I'll try.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Oh, OK, like that.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45Oh!
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Oh, Jesus Christ!
0:21:53 > 0:21:56CHARLIE GROANS
0:21:58 > 0:22:01I'm too tall. Can't get the balance.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07I can feel my back going.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19OK.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Agh! Me no fuerte.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23MEN LAUGH
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Ever since I was a kid, I was a wildlife photographer -
0:22:38 > 0:22:40it's what I did -
0:22:40 > 0:22:44and I'd never really bothered to move outside of that.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51But I'm suddenly more interested in them.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53I don't know why I'm suddenly more interested in them,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57I suppose I've been learning more about them.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59I say "them", I mean people!
0:23:07 > 0:23:12Over 50% of Peru is covered with Amazon rainforest,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17and life is so densely packed here that every couple of kilometres
0:23:17 > 0:23:20has more species of tree than most of Europe.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24And each tree supports
0:23:24 > 0:23:29thousands of other plants, animals and insects.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35MEN CHATTER
0:23:53 > 0:23:54Mm.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Do your kids ever come out and help you here?
0:24:26 > 0:24:28It must be tough for you, Beto,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31without your wife and kids being here.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Because they fetch the highest price,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03large hardwoods are increasingly rare in Peru,
0:25:03 > 0:25:09and Beto's been saving one to help pay for his children's education.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23HE KNOCKS Sounds dead to me.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34This thing to me is so precious and beautiful but...
0:25:36 > 0:25:38..when you ask me what I think of the tree,
0:25:38 > 0:25:39that's what I think of the tree.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Does it not bother you that this is illegal?
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Because I know it's your land, isn't it?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47But you're not allowed to cut the trees down on it.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24No?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26BETO CHUCKLES
0:26:30 > 0:26:32I wish I was rich enough to pay you not to.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36But if I paid you not to cut this tree down,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39paid the next guy not to cut the next tree down...
0:26:39 > 0:26:42If I was rich enough, we could not cut any of them down.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44THEY CHUCKLE
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Hmm...
0:26:48 > 0:26:51BIRDSONG
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Muy bonita.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06That's gorgeous.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Si.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Gracias.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Beto's obviously spent his life in the forest
0:28:40 > 0:28:42and has a real understanding of it
0:28:42 > 0:28:43but I don't believe in God,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46I don't see the forest in the same way as he does.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48But I don't think either is right or wrong.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51It's kind of nice to just hang out with him
0:28:51 > 0:28:53and hear what he's got to say about it...
0:28:56 > 0:28:59..because it's... You know, he has a love and respect for the place
0:28:59 > 0:29:02and I think he finds it compromising that...
0:29:03 > 0:29:05..that he has to cut trees down.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09But equally, I think that's just what he has to do.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16You know, these guys do care about the forest,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19and I completely admit I'm wrong about the situation.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41It's horrifically dangerous, what they're about to do.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44And you know, if this thing falls on you, you're dead,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46there's no two ways about it.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05I'm amazed. They're all standing around it.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07They're saying to me, "Keep back,"
0:30:07 > 0:30:10and they're all sort of standing in a ring around it.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Don't know where it's going to fall, though.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23RUMBLING AND CRACKING
0:30:25 > 0:30:28MEN SHOUT
0:30:28 > 0:30:29There we go, there we go.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31CRACKING
0:30:37 > 0:30:39MEN CHATTER
0:30:39 > 0:30:40The thump!
0:30:52 > 0:30:54And then there's a silence. Complete silence.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02And then you get all these guys, you get their excitement,
0:31:02 > 0:31:07because they've just felled a tree, so they're all excited now.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00When we finally cut that tree down, there was this moment of sadness,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04as they realised that it was dead all the way through.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10And, I think, particularly for Beto, who'd had it earmarked, because it
0:32:10 > 0:32:14was going to make him a fair whack of money for his kids' education.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22The weird thing was, I was very sad that the tree had come down,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25but I was also very sad for Beto, as well,
0:32:25 > 0:32:26that it was completely worthless.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36SONG IN TRANSLATION
0:33:13 > 0:33:15APPLAUSE
0:33:16 > 0:33:19LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:33:24 > 0:33:26LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:33:29 > 0:33:33'What am I going to do with my land? If I fight'
0:33:33 > 0:33:34to protect the forest,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37it's going to have an impact on these people's lives.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39'I'm still resolute about that,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42'but it's made me, I suppose, slightly more conscious
0:33:42 > 0:33:45'that, if you stop people illegal logging,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48'firstly, they're going to have to go somewhere else and,'
0:33:48 > 0:33:51secondly, you're cutting off what's important to them as people
0:33:51 > 0:33:56and, you know, I suppose it's not without its cost.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06Just like Beto or Elias, Charlie makes a living exploiting
0:34:06 > 0:34:11the natural world. He supports his family with a camera,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14rather than a chainsaw, but in their own way,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17his images damage the environment.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24Charlie's pictures show us a world that doesn't exist any more.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29It's a fantasy that we all want to believe...
0:34:30 > 0:34:35..because these pictures tell us all is well with planet earth.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40To purely photograph wildlife
0:34:40 > 0:34:43presents the world almost in a bubble,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46and in a slightly optimistic bubble -
0:34:46 > 0:34:49a world that's better than it actually is.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55'I mean, the only way I can ever really communicate
0:34:55 > 0:34:59'my understanding of this place is to just be honest about it
0:34:59 > 0:35:01'and look at the reality
0:35:01 > 0:35:05'of how everything is - good and bad - and look for the truth.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13'Because I've seen it first-hand and, as a result, you'd be a fool
0:35:13 > 0:35:15'not to try and do something. You'd be wrong if you didn't.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17'That's why I'm here.'
0:35:21 > 0:35:26In the last 20 years, over five and a half million acres of rainforest
0:35:26 > 0:35:29have been destroyed in Peru.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32That's nearly 700 acres a day...
0:35:33 > 0:35:35..cut down for crops...
0:35:35 > 0:35:36cattle...
0:35:36 > 0:35:37timber...
0:35:37 > 0:35:39and gold.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42So, how low profile do we go with this camera?
0:35:43 > 0:35:44- DIRECTOR:- Why?
0:35:44 > 0:35:49Why? It's a world full of illegal activity
0:35:49 > 0:35:51and a lot of people here won't want to be filmed.
0:35:53 > 0:35:54- DIRECTOR:- Oh, it'll be all right.
0:35:56 > 0:35:57I'm not sure it will.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00HE LAUGHS
0:36:03 > 0:36:0650 miles from Charlie's land
0:36:06 > 0:36:10is one of the many towns built in pursuit of gold.
0:36:11 > 0:36:16It has a reputation for booze, prostitution and violence.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20But if you strike it lucky,
0:36:20 > 0:36:25gold can bring you in one day what many Peruvians earn in a year.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35Charlie's here to spend two weeks living life as a gold miner,
0:36:35 > 0:36:36with Erasmus.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Wow!
0:37:23 > 0:37:24Ooh...
0:37:33 > 0:37:34Wow!
0:37:39 > 0:37:43There are over 40,000 gold miners in Peru
0:37:43 > 0:37:48and, though Erasmus is legitimate and has all the correct paperwork,
0:37:48 > 0:37:5198% of mines operate illegally.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Si! There it is.
0:38:26 > 0:38:31It's so small, it's almost imperceptible.
0:38:36 > 0:38:37Wow! It's so tiny.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43My God, these are heavy.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53Every 16 hours, the mats are rinsed and shaken out...
0:38:55 > 0:39:00..before the gold-bearing sludge is scraped into a barrel.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43So, he's mixing the mercury with the sludge?
0:39:51 > 0:39:54- Una hora?- Si.- Si?!- Una hora, si.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27Mercury poisoning can result in brain damage, kidney damage,
0:40:27 > 0:40:32lung failure and, possibly, miscarriage.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Illegal miners dump nearly 30 tonnes of this heavy metal
0:40:36 > 0:40:37into Peruvian rivers every year.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43And a recent study found that many people in local communities
0:40:43 > 0:40:47had mercury levels in their bodies five times the safe limit.
0:40:49 > 0:40:54Somewhere in there... is a whole lot of gold.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56I can't see any.
0:41:44 > 0:41:45OK.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56I'm not sure which way the wind's going. I'm trying to work it out.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58I think it's going that way.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01Because mercury's one thing, but mercury vapour
0:42:01 > 0:42:03is a much more dangerous proposition.
0:42:22 > 0:42:23It's gold.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43That's 650 soles - about £175 -
0:42:43 > 0:42:47which isn't much, really, for 24 hours' work -
0:42:47 > 0:42:54staff, camp, fuel...everything else.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04It's very beautiful.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28The Peruvian Government has recently cracked down on illegal mining,
0:43:28 > 0:43:33and some predict it will reduce gold exports by up to 25%.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36But the threat of 12 years in jail
0:43:36 > 0:43:40seems unlikely to stop people willing to risk their lives
0:43:40 > 0:43:42working in these poisonous pits.
0:43:45 > 0:43:50Besides, the quota system has done little to stop illegal logging.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02With the mine not delivering, Erasmus has decided to change
0:44:02 > 0:44:06the suction pump and stem the leaks in the soft piping.
0:44:17 > 0:44:18I'm working as hard as I can.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40Come on! There we go!
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Woo-hoo!
0:44:44 > 0:44:47We're going to get some gold! HE LAUGHS
0:44:47 > 0:44:52You know what's weird is? I've got all excited about finding gold -
0:44:52 > 0:44:56well, them finding gold, not me, I don't need any gold.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59You forget all the problems, all the environmental stuff
0:44:59 > 0:45:01that I'm banging on about and worrying about
0:45:01 > 0:45:03and you just get fixed
0:45:03 > 0:45:07on sorting this stuff out and getting some gold out of it.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09But you become a bit obsessed.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28The gold needed to make a single wedding ring
0:45:28 > 0:45:32produces over 20 tonnes of toxic waste.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38But, of course, most gold doesn't end up as jewellery.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43Most of it is buried in bank vaults,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47because we can't think of a better way to prop up our economy.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52The Bank of England alone has 4,500 tonnes of the stuff.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58But even in this desert of mud and mercury,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01there is some life that is returning.
0:46:15 > 0:46:16Argh!
0:46:16 > 0:46:18HE LAUGHS
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Something's bit me!
0:46:24 > 0:46:27The old mining pits are not only used for bathing,
0:46:27 > 0:46:31they also provide a handy supply of fish.
0:46:31 > 0:46:32You got one!
0:46:32 > 0:46:34- Piranha?- Si.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:46:39 > 0:46:40Yeah? It's good with chips?
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Just going to take the hook out.
0:46:44 > 0:46:45Look at those teeth!
0:46:45 > 0:46:50Ooh, you so wouldn't want to get your fingers stuck in that.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55These must be what bite me when I go for a swim.
0:46:55 > 0:47:00It makes you realise just how many piranhas there are in this lake.
0:47:00 > 0:47:01Argh!
0:47:01 > 0:47:03CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:47:04 > 0:47:05Yes!
0:47:05 > 0:47:06Gotcha!
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Look at that. I think that's the biggest one of the day.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12CHARLIE CHUCKLES
0:47:14 > 0:47:17This piranha will have mercury in it.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19It will get eaten by something else.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22I don't know the cumulative effect of all these ponds
0:47:22 > 0:47:24in the forest full of mercury.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I can't imagine it's actually very good.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30As well as us, cos we're drinking out of it
0:47:30 > 0:47:33and washing in it and washing our clothes in it.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Most of them are desperate people and decent people.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54You know, I look at Erasmus and I can see he's got his failings.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56He's money-grabbing
0:47:56 > 0:47:58and he's probably not the best person in the world
0:47:58 > 0:48:02to his staff, but, equally, he's 55,
0:48:02 > 0:48:05he's got no pension, he's got no healthcare. He's got nothing.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10So, it's, sort of, make or break now for him over the next ten years.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14While he's got the physical strength to keep going,
0:48:14 > 0:48:19he's got to make enough money to sustain him until the end.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24And you can see it in his eyes that that ain't working at the moment.
0:48:25 > 0:48:31Miners usually get up to 25% of the gold they find,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33but with so little being produced,
0:48:33 > 0:48:35no-one's getting paid.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50Did we have success? We did a lot of work.
0:49:58 > 0:49:59Si.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05It's tiny.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18GENERATOR RUMBLES
0:50:32 > 0:50:35CHAINSAW BUZZES
0:50:42 > 0:50:45The rainforest to the gold miners is just a resource.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48It's just a place that you can find gold
0:50:48 > 0:50:50and there happen to be a load of trees here.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14I think some things are just very wrong.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18I think this is one of them.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23I've been bumbling along...
0:51:26 > 0:51:29..getting to know people, getting to know their side of the story.
0:51:34 > 0:51:35And, er...
0:51:39 > 0:51:40..I don't know.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44I just don't... I don't really care about people sometimes.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Now I just feel...complicit in it.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07And I haven't come here to chop trees down.
0:52:11 > 0:52:12I don't know.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17It's one thing watching other people do it,
0:52:17 > 0:52:20it's another thing doing it yourself.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23I mean, let's be honest, what am I going to really find out...
0:52:26 > 0:52:28..by doing it myself?
0:52:31 > 0:52:34All I'm going to do is become complicit in something
0:52:34 > 0:52:38that I fundamentally disagree with.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Regardless of the social issues,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43regardless of however nice people are, regardless of the fact
0:52:43 > 0:52:45that people have to live...
0:52:47 > 0:52:49..I still don't agree with it.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51And if that's called judging, then, well, so be it,
0:52:51 > 0:52:52then I'm judging, but...
0:53:01 > 0:53:08In 2008, the financial crisis sent gold prices through the roof
0:53:08 > 0:53:09and the number of trees cut down
0:53:09 > 0:53:12to find a shiny yellow metal tripled.
0:53:14 > 0:53:20Since then, 90,000 acres of rainforest have been scratched away,
0:53:20 > 0:53:25and 180 tonnes of mercury has bled into the rivers.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Not even Erasmus is immune to this hell.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40It doesn't matter who's to blame...
0:54:41 > 0:54:45..and it doesn't matter that it's complicated.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Time is running out...
0:54:50 > 0:54:53..and tough decisions have to be made.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Charlie can't protect his corner of the Amazon
0:54:58 > 0:55:03and at the same time allow an illegal logger to use his land.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12When he gets back to Manu, he heads to Elias's house
0:55:12 > 0:55:16to tell him it's time to leave the land.
0:55:22 > 0:55:23Hola?
0:55:24 > 0:55:27Hey. Como estas?
0:55:30 > 0:55:33Hola! Como estas?
0:55:33 > 0:55:35GIRL CHATTERS Yeah.
0:55:37 > 0:55:38Hello!
0:55:38 > 0:55:40Como estas?
0:55:48 > 0:55:51I just thought I'd come and say hi,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54meet your family. GIRL CHUCKLES
0:57:13 > 0:57:16- DIRECTOR:- Charlie? Still want to kick them off the land?
0:57:16 > 0:57:18Nope.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23No, this has just made my decision...
0:57:25 > 0:57:27..infinitely more complicated.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34'I was all agreed, in my own mind, that I was going to chuck Elias
0:57:34 > 0:57:37'off the land, until I went round to his house.'
0:57:39 > 0:57:43- You know, what sort of- BLEEP - would I be if I did? There's no way.
0:57:48 > 0:57:55Behind every horrific story lie a bunch of perfectly decent people
0:57:55 > 0:57:57just trying to survive.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03Next time...
0:58:03 > 0:58:05The park guards put pressure on Charlie...
0:58:11 > 0:58:13..and there's hope
0:58:13 > 0:58:16in the last place on earth he expected to find it.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27Go on an interactive journey with the Open University,
0:58:27 > 0:58:29to explore the challenges
0:58:29 > 0:58:30facing the rainforest.
0:58:30 > 0:58:32Go to...
0:58:36 > 0:58:39..and follow the links to the Open University.