0:00:01 > 0:00:05Now on BBC News, it's time for Reporters.
0:00:20 > 0:00:21Welcome to Reporters.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22I'm Philippa Thomas.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25From here in the BBC Newsroom, we send out correspondents to bring
0:00:25 > 0:00:27you the best stories from across the globe.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29In this week's programme - a new dawn in Columbia,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32as an historic peace deal is signed, ending more than five
0:00:32 > 0:00:41decades of conflict.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Lyse Doucet asks the country's leader whether the agreement
0:00:43 > 0:00:44will be a game changer.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47This is the last armed conflict in the whole of the
0:00:47 > 0:00:48Western Hemisphere.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53The oldest, the cruellest, and the Cold War is really ending.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Giving women a fair chance - Reeta Chakrabarti speaks to Chile's
0:00:56 > 0:00:58first female president, who is fighting to change
0:00:58 > 0:01:04the country's anti-abortion laws - among the strictest in the world.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06The world's most trafficked mammal -
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Alastair Leithead examines the plight of the African pangolin,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13on the edge of extinction.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16The living building aimed at bridging America's racial divide.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Nick Bryant takes a tour of Washington's new
0:01:18 > 0:01:20African History Museum.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23I think this building comes at an opportune time in America,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25to really remind it of its incredibly rich history,
0:01:25 > 0:01:30and its own contribution to that integration story.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32It's a gorgeous morning today, yeah.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Just hope the wind direction doesn't change again.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36And the human swan.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Sarah Rainsford meets the woman who is flying
0:01:40 > 0:01:42from the Russian Arctic to Britain in her battle to save
0:01:42 > 0:01:44an endangered species.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48It's beautiful up here.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51There's colours of green and gold.
0:01:51 > 0:02:01There's a fisherman there waving at me!
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It's one of the world's longest wars, but a peace deal signed this
0:02:09 > 0:02:12week in Colombia could mark a new dawn for the country.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14More than 200,000 people have been killed, and 8 million driven
0:02:14 > 0:02:17from their homes, in more than 50 years of conflict
0:02:17 > 0:02:19between the Colombian government and the Marxist rebel
0:02:19 > 0:02:28group, the FARC.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31The agreement to end hostilities came after four years of talks but,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33as Lyse Doucet reports, the people of Colombia
0:02:33 > 0:02:35will still have to agree to the deal.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37There's been a lifetime of an ugly war in the pristine mountains
0:02:37 > 0:02:47of northern Colombia.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Some of the worst atrocities took place here.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51And the scars remain.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53But people can't forget the brutality of the FARC.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55This woman's family fled the fighting, like everyone else
0:02:55 > 0:02:59here.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03They'd recruit not just men but women too, she says.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07We were all afraid we'd be killed.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10They'd make you cook for them, then kill you.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13And the fear's not gone.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16This farmer won't show his face.
0:03:16 > 0:03:22FARC murdered his two brothers, but he's ready to make peace now.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24We'll eradicate a brand-name, he says, for terrorism,
0:03:24 > 0:03:31massacres, disappearances.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I went to meet the deal's chief architect, the president,
0:03:34 > 0:03:35in the capital, Bogota.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37He told me it was a game changer.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40This is the last armed conflict in the whole of the Western
0:03:40 > 0:03:48Hemisphere.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Not yet, until it's approved.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54It won't end until October the 2nd, you get a yes.
0:03:54 > 0:04:02I'm absolutely sure that it will be approved.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07Everyone, including FARC, wants this war to end, but at what price?
0:04:07 > 0:04:10The fighters are to give up their guns and criminal activity,
0:04:10 > 0:04:10including the drug trade.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13They'll become a political party, and face a special Tribunal
0:04:13 > 0:04:14for their worst atrocities.
0:04:14 > 0:04:21The critics say they're getting away with it.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22They are not getting away with it.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25My instructions to the negotiators was, you go and seek the maximum
0:04:25 > 0:04:27justice that will allow us peace.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31And I think we struck a good deal.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33This deal promises Columbians a better future.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36No one says it's perfect, and in Bogota's main square,
0:04:36 > 0:04:41we heard worry about the way ahead.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43TRANSLATION: These people putting down their guns.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45All they've ever done is extort money, commit crimes.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47The change will be too extreme.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52They'll continue as they used to.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56President Santos told us this is the best chance for peace,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00to end 50 years of war.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01I wish it were true, she says.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Do you have a plan B, if the people of Colombia vote
0:05:04 > 0:05:06no on October the 2nd?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08We'll go back six years and continue the war with FARC.
0:05:08 > 0:05:16That's the plan B.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19The campaigns to vote si - yes - or no, intensify.
0:05:19 > 0:05:25If the polls are to be believed, a majority does agree the deal
0:05:25 > 0:05:27is the best chance to end the war.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Even if making peace will be just as hard.
0:05:29 > 0:05:37Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Colombia.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39There are only six countries in the world where abortion
0:05:39 > 0:05:41is unconditionally illegal, where a woman can be prosecuted
0:05:41 > 0:05:43and jailed for terminating a pregnancy, whatever
0:05:43 > 0:05:44the circumstances.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46One of those countries is Chile, where the country's first ever
0:05:46 > 0:05:50female head of state is trying to change the law, introducing
0:05:50 > 0:05:56a bill to allow abortion in certain limited circumstances.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58But Michelle Bachelet is facing some powerful political opposition,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and the might of the Roman Catholic Church.
0:06:00 > 0:06:07Reeta Chakrabarti has been to Santiago to meet her.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Chile is a sophisticated nation in which some old attitudes endure.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Abortion here is completely banned, forcing women sometimes
0:06:13 > 0:06:19into terrible dilemmas.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20There are private clinics and black-market drugs,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23but not for the poor.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Pro-choice groups in shock campaign videos say a DIY abortion
0:06:26 > 0:06:32is their only option.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40When did you find out...?
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I spoke to two women who found they were both carrying foetuses
0:06:43 > 0:06:45which had no possibility of survival.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Neither was allowed an abortion, even though Andrea's
0:06:47 > 0:06:51life was under threat.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Doctors told Paula to pray, but both had to carry their babies
0:06:54 > 0:06:58for months, and give birth to them, without any hope they'd live.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03TRANSLATION: I felt just like a zombie, like the walking
0:07:03 > 0:07:05dead, who just had to get up every day
0:07:05 > 0:07:06without wanting to live.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10It was torture.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13For my part, I feel powerless, having to live this process
0:07:13 > 0:07:16after having my daughter declared unviable.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18I suffer unnecessarily, not just me, but my family
0:07:18 > 0:07:28as well, until this day.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30Hello.
0:07:30 > 0:07:31Hello.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34President Michelle Bachelet is on a mission to change things.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Previous governments have tried, but her bill to allow abortion
0:07:36 > 0:07:39in some cases has gone much further than any other,
0:07:39 > 0:07:40and has majority public support.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42I told her what had happened to Paula and Andrea.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45I think it's awful.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49It's awful because I have friends who have gone
0:07:49 > 0:07:51through that process, and usually, it really sort
0:07:51 > 0:07:52of emotionally destroys the person.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55There are some people who might be able to live with that,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59and that's OK, but there's a lot of people who really are destroyed
0:07:59 > 0:08:06emotionally afterwards, and their lives are changed forever,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08so that's why we do believe they should have the
0:08:08 > 0:08:10possibility to decide.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12But change is slow, and President Bachelet's bill
0:08:12 > 0:08:17is limited in its scope.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19It only allows for abortion in three particular circumstances -
0:08:19 > 0:08:23if a woman's life is in danger, if the pregnancy is the result
0:08:23 > 0:08:29of a rape, or if the baby has no chance of survival.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31None of this goes down well with the Church, which fears
0:08:31 > 0:08:34the bill could eventually usher in abortion on demand.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39Many of its flock agree.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Gloria is one.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46She was raped as a child by a cousin and was pregnant at just 12.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50The family arranged for a termination, which she says
0:08:50 > 0:08:53she has never recovered from.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56TRANSLATION: In my case, if I had a choice, I would have
0:08:56 > 0:08:57had my daughter.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00But it wasn't my choice.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Abortion scars you for life.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Before and after.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06It scars you negatively for life, and nothing good
0:09:06 > 0:09:07comes out of abortion.
0:09:07 > 0:09:16Nothing.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Her church is part of the organised campaign against the
0:09:19 > 0:09:20government's abortion bill.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Gloria tried to take her own life several times, and her church
0:09:23 > 0:09:27has proved a haven.
0:09:27 > 0:09:34A typical service here is as much rock and roll as religion.
0:09:34 > 0:09:44But the message on abortion is clear.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Michelle Bachelet wants to change both the law
0:09:47 > 0:09:49and entrenched attitudes in this male-dominated society.
0:09:49 > 0:09:55Women are seen as citizens of second class, and not full citizens.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59She faces political as well as social challenges,
0:09:59 > 0:10:05but Chile could now be on the cusp of giving its women the choice
0:10:05 > 0:10:09their mothers were denied.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Reeta Chakrabarti, BBC News, Santiago.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13It's two years since Britain's Royal Air Force joined
0:10:13 > 0:10:15the military campaign in Syria and Iraq.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Now the crews have been speaking for the first time
0:10:18 > 0:10:23about their missions against the so-called Islamic State.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26They say they've carried out more than 3000 sorties and have come
0:10:26 > 0:10:27under fire many times.
0:10:27 > 0:10:36Jonathan Beale reports from the RAF base in Akrotiri in Cyprus.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38These are the crews leading Britain's fight against
0:10:38 > 0:10:41so-called Islamic State.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44The RAF's already carried out more than 1000 air strikes
0:10:44 > 0:10:45in Iraq and Syria.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51We watched as they prepared to do war.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52We can't identify them to protect their security
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and their families back home.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Well, we know it's a dangerous job, and we know that
0:10:58 > 0:10:59the threat is there.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01There's always a sort of feeling of adrenaline as you're
0:11:01 > 0:11:03about to go and do the job.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06They fly missions both day and night from their base in Cyprus,
0:11:06 > 0:11:11armed with missiles and bombs.
0:11:11 > 0:11:18They've already dropped more than 2,000.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24But, for the first time, the RAF has also confirmed
0:11:24 > 0:11:27that their aircraft are getting fired at too, by the enemy they call
0:11:27 > 0:11:28Daesh.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Every aeroplane that flies flies into those sort of danger areas,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33and on certain instances, UK aeroplanes have been
0:11:33 > 0:11:34targeted by Daesh.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37At no stage has Daesh posed a threat to the aeroplane that
0:11:37 > 0:11:44has been catastrophic.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47They also have to stay alert as they search for new targets.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Each mission can last seven hours or more.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54Even above Iraq, the skies are crowded.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Over Syria they also have to keep an eye out for Russian warplanes.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59We're flying over northern Iraq, where this RAF tanker is refuelling
0:11:59 > 0:12:02British warplanes that are providing close air support to Iraqi
0:12:02 > 0:12:06troops on the ground, who are pushing now their way
0:12:06 > 0:12:08forward is to Mosul, and we've just seen one of the RAF
0:12:08 > 0:12:17tornadoes return, having dropped one of its weapons.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20And this is the cockpit video of what that bomb hit.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24A barge being used to ferry a truck bomb across the Tigris River.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Are you ever worried about mistakes?
0:12:26 > 0:12:29You know, we have a great deal of trust in our weapons that we use,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and the success rate, and in the training
0:12:31 > 0:12:32we've all been given.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36It would be too flippant to say it's just a day in the office,
0:12:36 > 0:12:41but it's what we are trained to do.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44In Iraq, the RAF's efforts are now focusing on the liberation of Mosul,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48an offensive that will begin within weeks.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50It's Daesh-Isis's last stronghold in Iraq.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53They controlled nearly half of Iraq two years ago.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Now they're down to just 10%, and it's one remaining city.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01So we have the very real prospect of them being pushed out of Iraq.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06Two years on from the first British air strikes in Iraq,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and there may be signs of progress, but the mission's not over,
0:13:09 > 0:13:14and defeating IS in Syria will be harder still.
0:13:14 > 0:13:21Jonathan Beale, BBC News, at RAF Akrotiri.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Now, you've probably never heard of it, but the African pangolin
0:13:24 > 0:13:27is the most trafficked mammal in the world.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29There are fears that the unusual creatures, whose characteristic
0:13:29 > 0:13:31scales are used in traditional Chinese medicines,
0:13:31 > 0:13:38could become extinct.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40But now new measures have been announced at the Convention
0:13:40 > 0:13:42on International Trade in Endangered Species to protect
0:13:42 > 0:13:43most species of the pangolin.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48Alastair Leithead reports from Nairobi.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50It's the most trafficked mammal in the world,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and you probably don't even know its name.
0:13:52 > 0:13:59Pangolins are usually nocturnal, and very shy.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02They only eat ants and termites, and the demand for their scales
0:14:02 > 0:14:06for traditional medicine is driving them towards extinction.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08The pangolin is the most endearing, mystical, unbelievable species
0:14:08 > 0:14:16of animal you're ever going to encounter in your life.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19For Asians, they use the scales in a multiple range of purposes,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21from cancer to swelling to arthritis.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27They use the pangolin body.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29They put it in wine and they pickle the body.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31There's a whole array of different things.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33And so the Convention on International Trade
0:14:33 > 0:14:42in Endangered Species, or CITES, will ban the sale.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Elephants are also being hit incredibly hard by traffickers
0:14:44 > 0:14:52and poachers, and again Asia is the main market for their ivory.
0:14:52 > 0:14:5430% of Africa's elephants have been lost in seven years,
0:14:54 > 0:14:55and the killing continues.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57But conservationists are divided about what to do.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Zimbabwe and Namibia wants to sell their stores of ivory
0:15:00 > 0:15:02to raise money for conservation, but their proposal is unlikely
0:15:02 > 0:15:12to win widespread support this week.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Kenya made its position very clear earlier this year, when it set more
0:15:17 > 0:15:20than 100 tonnes of ivory alight, saying it's worth nothing
0:15:20 > 0:15:21unless left on the elephant.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Well, this is all that's left now of the ivory that was burned,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26but it's a technique that Kenya has used before.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28This much smaller pile dates back to 1989, the last
0:15:28 > 0:15:32major poaching crisis.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35It was the first time this was done, and it sent a very strong
0:15:35 > 0:15:37signal around the world.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41The sales of ivory from some of our Southern African brothers
0:15:41 > 0:15:48have resulted in an increased demand for ivory across-the-board.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Rhinos are also being targeted.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Their horns are worth more than twice their weight in gold
0:15:54 > 0:15:59on the black market.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01The proposal to open up sales is unlikely to pass.
0:16:01 > 0:16:09Most countries believe the best way to save the animals is to stop trade
0:16:09 > 0:16:11and destroy the market in countries like China and Japan.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14It's not just about protecting African wildlife, of course.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Over the next ten days, trees and plants, reptiles
0:16:16 > 0:16:18and undersea creatures from across the world will all be
0:16:18 > 0:16:20discussed, and the more endangered species protected.
0:16:20 > 0:16:29Alastair Leithead, BBC News, Nairobi.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Its designer has described it as "a living building for the black
0:16:34 > 0:16:35American experience".
0:16:35 > 0:16:37President Obama opened the United States' first
0:16:37 > 0:16:39ever National Museum of African American History
0:16:39 > 0:16:40and Culture this week.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42It's a striking, modern structure, and it's been built by a Brit,
0:16:43 > 0:16:44the architect David Adjaye.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49He took Nick Bryant on a tour of his iconic project.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52This is a building that not only occupies the last vacant plot
0:16:52 > 0:16:55on some of America's most honoured land,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57the National Mall in Washington, but seeks to fill a gap
0:16:57 > 0:16:59in America's national memory.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03For decades, African-Americans have campaigned for a museum that
0:17:03 > 0:17:06tells their epic story, opened by the country's first
0:17:06 > 0:17:09African-American president.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13It's sort of changed my career, changed my life, actually.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16The architect is British, David Adjaye, who sees
0:17:16 > 0:17:20this as his opus work, and rather than designing
0:17:20 > 0:17:23a monument, he set out to construct a living building that contributes
0:17:23 > 0:17:25to the ongoing racial debate, that reflects the ongoing
0:17:25 > 0:17:28struggle for equality.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I think this building helps to really allow people
0:17:30 > 0:17:32to understand each other, and to understand how people
0:17:32 > 0:17:35are interrelated in many ways, and how the path
0:17:35 > 0:17:45forward is not separation but understanding and coexisting.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52I think this building comes at an opportune time in America,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55to really reminded of its incredible rich history, and its own
0:17:55 > 0:17:56contribution to that integration story.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Inside, the building chronicles and often traumatic
0:18:00 > 0:18:01journey into freedom.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02The shackles and whips of slavery.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04The clenched fists of the Black Power salute
0:18:04 > 0:18:05at the Mexico City Olympics.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08But it's also a celebration of how black culture has come
0:18:08 > 0:18:09to define American culture.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11These are all real.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Nothing here is a reconstruction, so that really is Chuck Berry's
0:18:13 > 0:18:16original Eldorado Cadillac.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19So has it been a challenge for a British man to help tell
0:18:19 > 0:18:21an American story?
0:18:21 > 0:18:25I try not to think about that, because if I did, I would collapse
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and I would probably need therapy, because it's a very weighty subject.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31But I think what I bring to it is a professionalism
0:18:31 > 0:18:35about what I believe architecture can contribute to that issue.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37The building is steeped in symbolism.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40The form evokes an African crown.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43The lattice work recalls the ironwork of freed slaves
0:18:43 > 0:18:45in the American South.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Windows look out over landmarks of the freedom struggle,
0:18:47 > 0:18:53like the Lincoln Memorial, the pulpits from which
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Doctor Martin Luther King delivered his I Have A Dream speech.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59David, this building has come to completion as Barack Obama's
0:18:59 > 0:19:01presidency is coming to completion.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02Yes.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Have you been struck at all by the irony of that?
0:19:05 > 0:19:07It's been very beautiful, the irony.
0:19:07 > 0:19:17We started when he started his presidency, and he was very
0:19:18 > 0:19:20instrumental in helping get the first tranches
0:19:20 > 0:19:22of money through Congress, and releasing that to really
0:19:22 > 0:19:23get the project going.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26And in a way it feels like a wonderful book-end that
0:19:26 > 0:19:29from slavery can come a son of America who is of African
0:19:29 > 0:19:31descent, who becomes president of the most powerful
0:19:31 > 0:19:33nation in the world, and the story goes on.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35This is the most important public building to open
0:19:35 > 0:19:38in Washington in decades, and surely the most meaningful
0:19:38 > 0:19:40structure that one of Britain's most celebrated architects will ever
0:19:40 > 0:19:42see to fruition.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Nick Bryant, BBC News, Washington.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Now, could a human follow the flight path of migrating swans
0:19:48 > 0:19:54from the Russian Arctic to the UK?
0:19:54 > 0:19:59Well, a British woman has begun the first leg of the birds' 7000
0:19:59 > 0:20:02kilometre journey, and she's on a motorised paraglider.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Sacha Dench is following the route of the Bewick swan in an attempt
0:20:05 > 0:20:08to understand why their numbers have halved in the past 20 years.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Sarah Raynsford has been to meet the woman who is being called
0:20:11 > 0:20:17"the human swan".
0:20:17 > 0:20:19It's a gorgeous morning today, yeah.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Let's hope the wind direction hasn't changed again.
0:20:21 > 0:20:29She's been dubbed "the human swan".
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Strapped to a para-motor, Sacha Dench is flying
0:20:31 > 0:20:36more than 4000 miles from the Arctic to England,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40following the winter migration path of the Bewick swan.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44It's beautiful up here.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48Colours of green and gold.
0:20:48 > 0:20:56There's a fisherman there waving at me!
0:20:56 > 0:20:58She's just building up to the next gruelling stage of her trip,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03soaring over the forests of northern Russia.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04And this is who it's all for.
0:21:04 > 0:21:10The Bewick is the UK's smallest swan, and it's fast sliding
0:21:10 > 0:21:12towards extinction, so Sacha first headed to the birds' breeding ground
0:21:12 > 0:21:17in the Arctic tundra to investigate.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20I've never been anywhere that has so few people,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23and I can be a couple of thousand feet up and looking down,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25and actually I cannot see any sign of human activity,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and I can definitely see why swans and loads of other water birds
0:21:28 > 0:21:35come up here to breed, because it's just heaven.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38It was so remote that when Sacha's motor failed,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41reindeer breeders rode to the rescue.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Now, closer to civilisation, she's hooked up with a ground crew,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47and the odd uninvited guest.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51That's not how bulls are supposed to behave!
0:21:51 > 0:21:54There's a few farms and fields, so you'll be able to come down most
0:21:54 > 0:21:55of that without any problem.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58The support team are helping plot Sacha's route.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00They are also supplying fuel.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Real swans can fly for two days nonstop, but not this one.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09And now, after a short rest, she is continuing her epic journey.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14This flight is giving Sacha a bird's-eye view
0:22:14 > 0:22:16of the Bewicks' migration route.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18She's already passed like this over the toughest terrain
0:22:18 > 0:22:20in the Russian Arctic, but she has weeks of flying
0:22:20 > 0:22:27still ahead, as this human swan makes her way towards Europe.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31In rural Russia, just the sight of her is causing a stir.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34That's helping Sacha spread the word to communities that live off
0:22:34 > 0:22:39hunting that the Bewicks is a protected species.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42This woman admits her husband once shot a swan.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45I told him he was mad, she says, and it was ringed too,
0:22:45 > 0:22:51but she admits that they cooked and ate the bird anyway.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Sacha is hoping her flight might change that, and help
0:22:55 > 0:22:59preserve the Bewick swan for generations to come.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Sarah Rainsford, BBC News, northern Russia.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04And that's all from Reporters this week.
0:23:04 > 0:23:14From me, Philippa Thomas, goodbye.