0:00:12 > 0:00:16When he was seven, Charlie was obsessed with kingfishers.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22When he was 13, just looking at animals wasn't enough
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and he was compelled to take pictures of them.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33He got his first job as a wildlife cameraman when he was 16.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40But now he's 40, Charlie's done something extraordinary.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46He's bought a rainforest in Peru.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48I didn't want to sit around and spend my life
0:00:48 > 0:00:51being depressed about the environment and not doing anything about it.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54So I thought, "Right, if I can do my bit,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57"then at least I know in my life, I've done my bit."
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Charlie wants to understand the issues
0:01:01 > 0:01:05and the people threatening the whole of the Amazon.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18But after nearly a year in the rainforest,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20he's seen first-hand the poverty
0:01:20 > 0:01:23that drives people to cut down the trees.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30How you doing?
0:01:30 > 0:01:34And now he's responsible for much more than a battered piece of land.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50There are those that say it's already too late.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54That nobody cares if we wreck the planet.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00But if we're going down, Charlie's going down fighting.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Welcome to camp.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11These are...tents for kit.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13And there's my tent,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15which is, look, I mean...
0:02:16 > 0:02:18That's just embarrassing, isn't it?
0:02:18 > 0:02:21But why keep it tidy?
0:02:21 > 0:02:23My mum's not checking, is she?
0:02:23 > 0:02:25And then just down here...
0:02:26 > 0:02:28..that's the path to the bathroom.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I say bathroom, I mean gorgeous,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34crystal-clear, mountainous stream.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44This is Charlie's third trip to his rainforest
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and for an animal-obsessed cameraman,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50there are few better places to spend your time than the Amazon.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Look, come over here. Look, look at this!
0:02:57 > 0:03:00This is a full-on swarm of army ants.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Every single creature that's stuck in this is going to die.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And it's going to be chopped up
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and taken back to the den, called a bivouac.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Look, something's been killed here.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18These are actually my favourite kind of army ant, these ones.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20They're called Eciton burchellii.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22They might look little, but they are
0:03:22 > 0:03:26one of the most important creatures in the rainforest.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28They're what's called a keystone species.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30They're coming onto me now.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Really hurt when they bite.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35Argh!
0:03:35 > 0:03:36Yargh!
0:03:39 > 0:03:42But what's cool about them is that they're actually considered an environment.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48You've got the high Andes, the rainforest,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52the cloud forest, the lowland rainforest and army ants.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Because they are basically, a moving ecosystem.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00And all around us are ant birds.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04And they feed on the insects that are trying to escape from the ants.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Two or three stings will kill one.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10So they spend their whole lives right on the edge of that risk.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12If they make a mistake, they're going to die.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Very cool.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24Charlie paid £6,000 for 100 acres of rainforest,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26without seeing it first.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30He wanted to use the land as a barrier
0:04:30 > 0:04:34to stop people getting into Manu National Park.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I suppose the thing that excites me about it is that,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40of all the rainforests in the world, it is the best one.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43And it's the most bio-diverse place on Earth.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Although Manu is supposed to be a protected area,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53it is being illegally logged.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55And Charlie's land is strategically placed
0:04:55 > 0:04:57at the end of the only road for miles.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01But when he first arrived,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04he discovered that his own piece of paradise
0:05:04 > 0:05:07was 100 acres of knackered secondary forest
0:05:07 > 0:05:09and a large field of coca.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16The few guards patrolling Manu discovered a sign
0:05:16 > 0:05:19warning Charlie not to interfere.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25But his biggest worry is that an illegal logger called Elias
0:05:25 > 0:05:28is still using the land to support his family.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Is it the yucca that's your main income,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35or is that the illegal logging?
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Do I value protecting Manu
0:05:52 > 0:05:56more than I value a family?
0:06:05 > 0:06:08I probably value Manu more.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Charlie knew he'd have to act tough to protect the Amazon,
0:06:16 > 0:06:17but when he went to kick Elias out,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Yeah!
0:06:24 > 0:06:26How are you doing?
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I think the worst thing was when Elias told me
0:06:43 > 0:06:45he had a disabled daughter...
0:06:47 > 0:06:49..I didn't believe him.
0:06:49 > 0:06:55And I actually thought he was using that as a tool to try and, er...
0:06:57 > 0:06:59..sway me.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03And then when I met her, I felt so cynical and guilty
0:07:03 > 0:07:05for making that assumption.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Charlie promised his family that this would be his last trip
0:07:13 > 0:07:15to Peru for a while.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18But unless he can work out what to do with Elias,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20he will have achieved nothing.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27And to make matters worse, the park guards think that while he's
0:07:27 > 0:07:31been away, somebody has been smuggling trees through his land.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Do you know these guys? Do you know who they are?
0:08:36 > 0:08:38By allowing him to stay on the land,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Charlie may have given Elias and his friends
0:08:41 > 0:08:45the perfect cover story to continue logging the park.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Of all the things I've encountered while I've been out here,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Elias has been the most complex.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I'm sort off stuck between wanting to boot him off
0:09:01 > 0:09:04because that's, I suppose, what my original idea was,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and knowing that morally,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08it would be reprehensible for me to boot him off.
0:09:08 > 0:09:14So now, what do I now do to sort this situation out?
0:09:14 > 0:09:18But it's got me thinking, if nothing else!
0:09:24 > 0:09:26I could just walk away, that's the other thing.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29And if I walked away from it,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33the only loss would be the money I'd spent on it
0:09:33 > 0:09:36because the land would still exist in exactly the same way it did before.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45There are countless people like Elias throughout South America
0:09:45 > 0:09:48who rely on the forest for their survival.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54But if they carry on hammering the Amazon at the current rate,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58then within 200 years, the rainforest will only exist
0:09:58 > 0:10:00in a few protected areas.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10And the crazy thing is, we don't even know what we're losing
0:10:10 > 0:10:15because modern science has studied less than 1% of the Amazon.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17COCKEREL CROWS
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Don Alberto is a shaman for the huachipaeri tribe.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24He believes in a world that cannot be seen.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26A world of spirits.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31And part of his role in the community
0:11:31 > 0:11:34is to heal the sick and mend the soul.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Though his methods look ridiculous
0:11:47 > 0:11:50in a world where medicine comes out of a bottle,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53many of our potions have ingredients found in the Amazon.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58And Charlie has asked the Don to take him
0:11:58 > 0:12:00on a tour of his medicine cabinet.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Oh, well, I'll take them anyway.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00If this can cure cancer, why doesn't the world know about this?
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Worldwide, there are 3,000 plants that have been
0:13:20 > 0:13:23identified as being useful in treating cancer.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26And 70% of them are only found in the rainforest.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Our world of concrete and glass is so removed from nature
0:13:33 > 0:13:37that Alberto's connection to the land seems alien.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43Personally, I have a great big spiritual hole in me
0:13:43 > 0:13:46because I don't believe in anything
0:13:46 > 0:13:48that I can't have proved or see.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56Don Alberto has a patient whose left arm is paralysed.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02He uses chanting and tobacco to channel nature's energy
0:14:02 > 0:14:06and calls on the spirits to help him diagnose what is wrong.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Do you think it's through experience that you can work out,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37make diagnoses, or do you think it's the plants speaking to you,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40or the forest speaking to you and giving you the knowledge
0:14:40 > 0:14:41of maybe what's wrong with him?
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I think it's very easy to romanticise the idea
0:15:13 > 0:15:17of Amazonian, shamanistic medicine.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21And I think it's very easy to romanticise it
0:15:21 > 0:15:24over the top of our own medicine and actually...
0:15:24 > 0:15:29we can't forget that our medicine is unbelievably good.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34We are incredibly good at curing things and making medicines and...
0:15:34 > 0:15:38I think we're a lot better at it than he is.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40It sounds awful, doesn't it?
0:15:40 > 0:15:44But his approach and his explanation to me
0:15:44 > 0:15:49is that the actual compound is only one part of the process.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53And there's another whole pile of elements,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57both physical and spiritual, that need applying as well.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33How are you feeling? Has it made any difference in the night?
0:16:57 > 0:17:01A shaman doesn't learn about the forest from books or science.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05The forest speaks to Don Alberto.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08And there's one plant more important than any other
0:17:08 > 0:17:12to open his mind to the energy flowing through nature.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24DON ALBERTO LAUGHS
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Alberto is brewing an infusion of 12 different forest plants
0:17:44 > 0:17:47that will give Charlie a glimpse of the world he sees.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Plants talking to people? Er...
0:18:36 > 0:18:37- ..a load of old- BLEEP.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40HE CHUCKLES
0:18:40 > 0:18:41I'd love to think it wasn't.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44I suppose that's why I'm here, I want proof. I want some proof.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58According to western science, Ayahuasca activates
0:18:58 > 0:19:00parahippocampal areas of the brain
0:19:00 > 0:19:03that are involved in processing emotion and memory.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07Don Alberto describes
0:19:07 > 0:19:11how forest spirits will talk to Charlie in a dream
0:19:11 > 0:19:13and show him his true path.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22HE CHANTS
0:19:53 > 0:19:58Snakes, wasps, spiders, crocodiles.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01There were a lot of animals in the visions,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06but the only ones giving me messages were actually the rainforest animals.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08HE CONTINUES TO CHANT
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Whatever he did, it worked!
0:20:13 > 0:20:15It really worked.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22What I wanted to do was go on a journey
0:20:22 > 0:20:24to discover more about the forest.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28And it irritatingly, was about me.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38The understanding of myself
0:20:38 > 0:20:42and being given this understanding by the creatures of the forest
0:20:42 > 0:20:44was the most enlightening
0:20:44 > 0:20:48and profound experience I've ever had.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50It absolutely blew me away.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58And what I realised is that,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02- although I have what- I- think is a knowledge and understanding of the world,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04I will happily admit that it might not be right.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08And I look at Alberto in a different way.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12I know a bit more. I wouldn't say I know, but I know a bit more
0:21:12 > 0:21:14about what he's talking about
0:21:14 > 0:21:17when he talks to me about the forest spirits.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Because essentially, I've seen them.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42The rainforest sustains a culture and understanding of the world
0:21:42 > 0:21:45that we've almost forgotten.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49It may contain medicines that could save millions of lives.
0:21:50 > 0:21:56Who knows how many species of plant and animal make their home here.
0:21:56 > 0:22:02In fact, it's almost impossible to comprehend how much is being lost.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06And whatever's being done to save the rainforest,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08it just isn't working.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Before Charlie goes back to his land,
0:22:28 > 0:22:29he wants to see for himself
0:22:29 > 0:22:32one of the biggest threats facing the Amazon.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36And so he's travelled over the border to Brazil.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48About three hours on this road now.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52What's getting me is the...
0:22:53 > 0:22:57..the scale of the deforestation here.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Well, it's not deforestation, it's annihilation.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04It's just massacred this place in every direction, as far as I can see.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14It's hard to imagine these endless fields were once full of life.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18And it's all been wiped out to accommodate just one animal.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24COW LOWS
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Charlie's going to spend the next couple of weeks on Dino's farm.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Compared to most ranches in Brazil,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44300 head of cattle is tiny.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48But Dino still needs the help of all four of his sons
0:23:48 > 0:23:51when it comes to vaccinating this year's calves.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Ah! You're so desperate to see me fail, aren't you?
0:24:14 > 0:24:16CALF LOWS
0:24:38 > 0:24:42It's kind of like playing rugby, but cattle rugby.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59It's crazy.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04Take one of the world's most complex ecosystems
0:25:04 > 0:25:07with the highest diversity of animal life on Earth
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and, you know, you reduce it to this...
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Grass.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Doesn't really get more basic than that, does it?
0:25:21 > 0:25:27Since 1970, over 140 million acres of rainforest
0:25:27 > 0:25:31have been destroyed in Brazil, just to raise cattle.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35But once the big trees have been removed,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37there are no nutrients from the leaf litter
0:25:37 > 0:25:43and no shade from the canopy, so the land slowly dies.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46The easiest way to keep the farm going
0:25:46 > 0:25:48is to destroy more forest.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Dino's sons have selected an area
0:25:51 > 0:25:54they're going to burn down in the next few days.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58It's going to be quite a big operation, they're telling me.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01I think even they're nervous about it, it's so big.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05BIRDSONG
0:26:05 > 0:26:06I can hear a screaming pea heart,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09which is an amazing-sounding rainforest bird.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14BIRDSONG
0:26:14 > 0:26:20Oh, can you hear that? That is the classic sound of the rainforest.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24BIRDSONG
0:26:24 > 0:26:26That's...
0:26:28 > 0:26:29That's the sound.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I'm going to stop because I don't want to cry in front of these guys.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38It's weird, isn't it? It's the sound that's killing me,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41not the... Not what I can see.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46It's the sound of that crappy little brown bird.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52The Brazilian forestry code
0:26:52 > 0:26:56is considered by many environmentalists to be a joke.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Though 80% of private land is supposed to remain forest,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01the law is largely ignored.
0:27:20 > 0:27:21Is it dangerous?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52HE EXHALES
0:27:55 > 0:27:57It already looks apocalyptic.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59I can't imagine what it's going to look like when it's on fire.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02It's completely normal to them.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05This is like, you know, using Excel
0:28:05 > 0:28:08or doing photocopying in an office to them.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14And I'm worrying about a piddly 100 acres.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18It does put it into perspective.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Just being in Brazil makes me realise how pathetic
0:28:25 > 0:28:27and insignificant my bit of land is.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Trees that produce oxygen
0:28:37 > 0:28:41have been replaced by cows that produce methane.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45And the damage this does globally
0:28:45 > 0:28:46is far greater than the pollution
0:28:46 > 0:28:51caused by every engine in every car on the planet.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Totally irrelevant what I think, you know,
0:28:58 > 0:29:02when I'm worrying about it or depressed about it, it's rubbish.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05You know, I just think, "Screw me, screw what I think."
0:29:05 > 0:29:07There's a big problem here.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Whether I'm depressed about it or not...
0:29:10 > 0:29:12the problem is still here.
0:29:31 > 0:29:3530 years ago, Dino came to the Amazon as a landless peasant.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40At the time, the Brazilian Government was giving away chunks of the rainforest
0:29:40 > 0:29:43to anyone brave enough to tackle this new frontier.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49This is my kind of farming, herbs.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51You've got everything. You've got coriander!
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Mm! That's really good!
0:30:03 > 0:30:04How do you kill the pig?
0:30:10 > 0:30:11So, you hold it down and...?
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Does it make a lot of noise?
0:30:17 > 0:30:18- Meh!- Meh!
0:30:18 > 0:30:20CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:30:28 > 0:30:31I don't know why I'm laughing. I don't want to do it.
0:30:39 > 0:30:40Are we going to do it now?
0:30:40 > 0:30:42SQUEALING
0:30:42 > 0:30:44(Ohhhh!)
0:30:48 > 0:30:52That's actually just... It's completely freaked me out.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54We were just wandering in the garden
0:30:54 > 0:30:57and then suddenly, we're smacking a pig over the head with a hammer.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03That's so weird. Really, really weird experience.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05I don't know why, it's so normal.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07I'm a human. I should be able to kill a pig.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Why hang around? We were going to kill a pig, let's kill a pig!
0:31:24 > 0:31:27He's definitely the boss. He's almost like a sort of mafia boss.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31And his sons all do what they're told.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33But to run Dino's kind of business,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36which is hard and needs serious labour,
0:31:36 > 0:31:41to have four strong sons in their 20s and 30s is ideal for him.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43ANIMATED CHATTER
0:31:45 > 0:31:48But not only that, this place is lawless.
0:31:48 > 0:31:49This is the Wild West.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54So to have that level of protection,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- I- think, is exactly what he needs.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59No-one is going to mess with his family.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21LAUGHTER
0:32:52 > 0:32:53Not like this.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Lots of people would be horrified at what you're doing.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Because people don't like chopping down the forest.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21It's a weird feeling I'm having today.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27I feel...I feel like a bit of a fraud.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29So my brain is telling me,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32you know, this is wrong, I should say something,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35but on the other hand, they're some of the nicest people I have ever met.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Everyone is happy and smiling all the time.
0:33:39 > 0:33:40And...
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Oh, God, look! There's another beautiful tree.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57You going to cut this one down?
0:34:02 > 0:34:03Why not?
0:34:13 > 0:34:15HE LAUGHS
0:34:15 > 0:34:16Obrigado.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20There is some hope.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23MUSIC PLAYS
0:34:52 > 0:34:54I'm going to have to man up a bit, aren't I?
0:34:54 > 0:34:56I'm going to have to do some man work.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58LAUGHTER
0:35:32 > 0:35:35These guys must think I'm so weird, not knowing how to do this.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Yeah!
0:36:03 > 0:36:06Oh, the seal of approval!
0:36:13 > 0:36:19This is what all of this is all about.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21A hunk of meat.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24And the amount of rainforest that goes into this...
0:36:24 > 0:36:26is pretty astonishing.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32When you look at all the products that the forest gets cut down for,
0:36:32 > 0:36:33they're all luxury products.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36Cocaine, gold,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40high-quality Brazilian beef,
0:36:40 > 0:36:41mahogany.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43All these things are luxury products.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47They're not products that anyone round here particularly,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50you know, is desperate for or needs to survive.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52They're all getting shipped off around the world.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54To us, really.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12ANIMATED CHATTER
0:37:13 > 0:37:16It's so fatty, it's so good!
0:37:23 > 0:37:26I bought some land in Peru. Only 100 acres.
0:37:26 > 0:37:27And there's a guy living on it
0:37:27 > 0:37:31and he seems to be still cutting it down.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34What do you think I should do with it?
0:38:11 > 0:38:14His dad owned it. He grew up there, he's been there all his life.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19And I kind of feel like a rich gringo is coming along
0:38:19 > 0:38:22and pushing him off his land.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Even though it's mine.
0:38:31 > 0:38:32Si.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53No-one looks after it.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56That's why I'm trying to work out what to do with it at the moment.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46We shouldn't live in a world where Dino has to do this
0:39:46 > 0:39:48to get himself out of poverty.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53And that's why it's not his fault.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56There's absolutely not a single shred of blame in me
0:39:56 > 0:39:59for anything that he or his family do here.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Which surprises me.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Would I cut down the Amazon if I was in his position?
0:40:13 > 0:40:14I don't know.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18To feed my sons.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Christ, if my kids... I suppose if my kids were starving
0:40:29 > 0:40:32and I had to do it and I had to provide for them and I lived here,
0:40:32 > 0:40:34then, yes, I suppose I probably would.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51Hola!
0:40:51 > 0:40:54ANIMATED CHATTER
0:41:44 > 0:41:46LAUGHTER
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Everyone's desperate for me to light the fire.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:42:14 > 0:42:15No, you do it.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18You're the expert!
0:42:25 > 0:42:26Whoa!
0:42:30 > 0:42:33That quick and that simple.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41WHOOPING
0:42:52 > 0:42:54Already I can feel the heat coming off that thing
0:42:54 > 0:42:56and it's about 50 feet away.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Everyone's getting the hell out.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Oh, no, he's not, he's going in to start some more.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18BIRDSONG
0:43:24 > 0:43:27LAUGHTER
0:43:29 > 0:43:32FLAMES ROAR
0:44:27 > 0:44:29Do you know, the more I see this stuff,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32the less value I put on my land.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36I just think..."What's the point?"
0:44:39 > 0:44:41You look at what Dino has burnt down.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45A much larger area than my bit of land.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53The scale of this place is unbelievable. It's...
0:44:55 > 0:45:00It's almost impossible to show the scale, the enormity of this place.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03Just the drive to get here.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06And I've got this piddly little pinhead of land.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10You just think, "What's the point?"
0:45:16 > 0:45:20I mean, at the very basic level, buying my land was utterly pointless.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Yeah.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07We've got loads of money sloshing around doing nothing,
0:46:07 > 0:46:09even though we're in a recession.
0:46:09 > 0:46:15There's still billions of pounds being chucked into the wrong areas.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Where I come from, you know, everyone knows the problems,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28but the most people do...
0:46:28 > 0:46:31is feel bad about it.
0:46:31 > 0:46:32They don't do anything else.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01Yeah. No, I get that.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03And that's why I don't blame you guys.
0:47:05 > 0:47:10- I grew up being told that these - BLEEP- are cutting down the Amazon.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13And then I meet you, I meet your family
0:47:13 > 0:47:16and you're some of the nicest people I've ever met.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18And, er... I take it all back.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22But it changes my view on everything.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33LAUGHTER
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Perhaps it's to be expected
0:47:42 > 0:47:45that in the badlands of Brazil's Wild West,
0:47:45 > 0:47:49one of the devils burning down the Amazon would tell Charlie
0:47:49 > 0:47:52that he has to keep fighting to save the rainforest.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59After all, Dino knows better than anyone what we're losing.
0:48:00 > 0:48:05It's a great big responsibility that I've landed myself with.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08And personally, I think it would be irresponsible for me,
0:48:08 > 0:48:12now that I've taken on this burden, to walk away from it.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21It's absurd how much money human beings will spend
0:48:21 > 0:48:26on destroying the planet and how little we'll pay to save it.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29You could buy the whole Amazon
0:48:29 > 0:48:34with the money Britain spends on the military in just three years.
0:48:37 > 0:48:38But if you buy the rainforest,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41what are you going to do with all the people?
0:48:46 > 0:48:49With only a few weeks before he has to return home,
0:48:49 > 0:48:53Charlie tries to get to know the very man he has seen as the enemy.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57A man who has spent his entire life cutting down the forest.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01Right there, and then looking up the path, yeah?
0:49:01 > 0:49:03- Ah, yeah, yeah.- Yeah?- Yeah.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Elias, you asked me what I do, well, this is what I do.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08I film wildlife, I film animals,
0:49:08 > 0:49:09I take photos of animals.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11And back in England, I sell those pictures.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13And that's how I make my living.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21OK, Elias, rather than me sticking it up,
0:49:21 > 0:49:22I want you to do it. Here you go.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24Hm. Yeah.
0:49:24 > 0:49:25HE LAUGHS
0:49:25 > 0:49:27I can't wait to see your results.
0:49:30 > 0:49:36I suppose I knew Elias by reputation before I knew the man.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40And, um... So the first encounters with him,
0:49:40 > 0:49:44I was always... I was always scared, I suppose.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47I don't know why, looking back at it now.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50But the more I've got to know him, the more I like him.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53He's... He's a good guy.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Ah! Well done! It's there.
0:49:58 > 0:49:59Really good, Elias.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08Ah, yeah, look at that. Yeah, yeah.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11You gave them some yucca.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Yeah, perfect.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16OK, Elias, let's see what you've got.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19Ah, there we go, look at that!
0:50:23 > 0:50:24CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:50:24 > 0:50:26You nailed it.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29That's your first wildlife shot, Elias.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38One of the things I think I've learnt about the rainforest
0:50:38 > 0:50:42- is that all the- BLEEP - that are destroying it...
0:50:43 > 0:50:46..every single one of those that I've met are nice people.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50- They're not- BLEEP- at all.
0:50:53 > 0:50:54Hola!
0:50:54 > 0:50:56It's good to see you guys again.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Como estas, Elias? Bet you're glad you're not working today.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02HE LAUGHS
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Up here?
0:51:06 > 0:51:07Wow!
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Ah! Well done, Elias!
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Yeah. Well done, Elias.
0:51:23 > 0:51:29My photography a year ago was 100% animals.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39And now...it's 95% people.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48I've gone through this whole process of understanding people.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50People I never really liked and wasn't that interested in.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55And I've realised that people ARE the solution.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59And that is a monumental change in me.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15After nearly a year in Peru,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17Charlie has finally realised
0:52:17 > 0:52:22that the way to protect his land is to invest in people.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30When I first came here, all I wanted to do, to be really honest,
0:52:30 > 0:52:32was get you off the land
0:52:32 > 0:52:38and try and stop any logging, any hunting, any activity on it.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40I just wanted it to stop. And that was...
0:52:41 > 0:52:43That's what I wanted to do at first.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45I don't want to sound horrible for saying that,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49but you were, to me, the big problem. Yeah?
0:52:49 > 0:52:52So I suppose the big thing I realised
0:52:52 > 0:52:55was that you are also part of the solution.
0:52:55 > 0:52:56And this was the key thing I realised.
0:52:56 > 0:53:02And...that's why, if I want to try
0:53:02 > 0:53:06and make that land good land again, make it good forest again,
0:53:06 > 0:53:07I need you to help me.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13So what this all boils down to, Elias, is me making you an offer.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18I want you to re-forest that land,
0:53:18 > 0:53:20to re-plant the trees in it.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24And for doing that, I will pay you
0:53:24 > 0:53:26slightly more than you get from your yucca
0:53:26 > 0:53:28and your illegal logging activities.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30And it's up to you to think, "Right, do I want that?
0:53:30 > 0:53:32"Do I want to work five days a week for this guy?"
0:53:32 > 0:53:34Can you do it? Do you want to do it?
0:53:59 > 0:54:03You see, Elias, you're an expert on trees.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06LAUGHING: I couldn't ask for someone better to be doing it.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25I think we can take that place and we can make it something special.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28And, you know, in my ideal world,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31something that YOU could be proud of
0:54:31 > 0:54:34to see growing rather than cutting it down.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36Yeah, I'm pretty chuffed.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45I'm trepidatious. I'm not stupid.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48There's a very high chance of failure.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52But I'm not going to let that cloud my excitement
0:54:52 > 0:54:55about the whole idea of Elias working with me.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59And, yes, it might fail, but I do trust him.
0:55:00 > 0:55:05As well as paying Elias, Charlie is going to bring in experts
0:55:05 > 0:55:08who understand how to restore damaged rainforest.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11Look at that! A little rainforest there.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34They're going to plant a mixture of hardwoods
0:55:34 > 0:55:36and fast-growing softwoods,
0:55:36 > 0:55:41as well as bananas and other crops that can grow alongside the trees
0:55:41 > 0:55:44and provide Elias with a second income.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49With any luck, he'll be self-sufficient within five years.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01I think the thing about this is it's so simple and symbolic,
0:56:01 > 0:56:05planting trees, but it's who I'm with here today doing it.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09And...I'm doing this with Elias and THAT'S the key to this.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13Not putting trees in the ground and letting trees grow, it's who I'm doing it with.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17Come on, Elias, give me a hand. We'll do it together.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19We've got a lot more of these to go, Elias.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21We've got a whole rainforest to plant. We can't stop now.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23LAUGHTER
0:56:23 > 0:56:26Well done! Muy bien!
0:56:35 > 0:56:39Charlie didn't find a way to protect the national park,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42but in this corner of the Amazon,
0:56:42 > 0:56:44he has already made a difference.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56Watching Heydi and Elias,
0:56:56 > 0:56:58I felt quite proud.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08I suppose it hits me in a...
0:57:10 > 0:57:14..sort of, um...a very happy way.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Because it was a very nice moment to watch.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21But there was something really wretched about it...
0:57:23 > 0:57:24..as well.
0:57:27 > 0:57:31Because it's not solving a massive problem,
0:57:31 > 0:57:33it's solving a very tiny problem.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35And it hasn't even solved it yet.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42But...I feel like at least I'm doing something,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45even if it's just one tiny, small thing, which this is.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52All we can do is hope, isn't it?
0:57:53 > 0:57:56- Actually, no, that's- BLEEP. - It's not all we can do is hope.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58We can get off our arses and do something.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04ANIMALS CHITTER
0:58:30 > 0:58:33Go on an interactive journey with the Open University
0:58:33 > 0:58:37to explore the challenges facing the rainforest.
0:58:37 > 0:58:39Go to...
0:58:42 > 0:58:45..and follow the links to the Open University.
0:58:50 > 0:58:53# I'm going to fight them all
0:58:55 > 0:58:59# A seven nation army couldn't hold me back
0:59:00 > 0:59:04# And I'm talking to myself at night
0:59:04 > 0:59:07# Because I can't forget... #