1 00:00:01,500 --> 00:00:04,600 Most of us love going on a journey. 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:06,560 I've been incredibly lucky, 3 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:10,320 exploring countries on six different continents. 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,760 Now that travel has become a bit tricky, 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,080 it's not a bad time to have a look back. 6 00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:18,440 In this series, I'm going to be showing you some of my 7 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,440 most memorable adventures. 8 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,680 WHISTLE BLOWS HORN BLARES 9 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:24,600 We're on the way. 10 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,400 CLAPPING SINGING 11 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:30,960 The landscape is incredible, the vegetation. 12 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:32,640 Everywhere you look, green. 13 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,120 All different shades of green. 14 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,720 If you're going to try and imagine paradise, 15 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:38,960 that's it. 16 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:41,440 And this... 17 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,000 This is the real treasure of Haiti. 18 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,840 I've met hundreds of incredible people. 19 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,840 Hello, my friend. Welcome to Libya. 20 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,160 SIRENS BLARE 21 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:54,600 Welcome to El Salvador. Thank you, mate. 22 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,440 Welcome to Uzbekistan. SHE LAUGHS 23 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,640 I'll be catching up with some of them. 24 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,320 SIMON ON VIDEO: Because they're cheap, 25 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:05,760 they have nimble fingers... 26 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:06,960 Oh, mate! 27 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,040 This is a land of utter extremes. 28 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,920 This is where heaven and hell are said to collide. 29 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:19,720 And I'll be sharing what I've learned on my travels... 30 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,560 I have no words. Just good luck, OK? Thank you. 31 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:24,000 Good luck. Whatever you do. 32 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,960 Good luck. 33 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:28,240 ..about the challenges and the solutions 34 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,080 for our incredible planet. 35 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,040 There are buffalo once more on the American plains. 36 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,040 And that's a bloody wonderful thing. 37 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:54,520 I'm on the island of Lundy, 38 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,800 exploring one of Britain's oldest nature reserves. 39 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:59,560 At the same time, 40 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:01,520 I'll be showing you some of the other wild places 41 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,080 I've visited on my travels. 42 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,000 I really want to show you some of the great wilderness areas 43 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:08,920 on our green planet - 44 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:10,840 also our climate crisis, 45 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,240 what we can do about it, 46 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,160 and some of the extreme and incredible landscapes 47 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,280 that I've been lucky enough to explore around the world. 48 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:30,840 Wow! 49 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,560 Oh, my goodness. 50 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,960 There are still wilderness regions of staggering beauty. 51 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,480 What a place! 52 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,960 Places that, at first glance, the modern world 53 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:50,600 seems to have hardly touched. 54 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,840 The sun's just going down over the mountains behind us. 55 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,520 Where on earth are we going? 56 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,960 We do face huge challenges in preserving these precious gems. 57 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,840 Perhaps the best way to understand these wild corners of our world... 58 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:10,920 Oh, look! 59 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:13,400 ..is to spend time with the people who live in them. 60 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,480 SINGING 61 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,320 PHONE RINGS 62 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:20,920 Hello? 63 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:23,040 SHE SPEAKS MAASAI 64 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,880 It was a phone call from one of your neighbours saying, 65 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,760 "Who are those strange people with you?" 66 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:32,280 In 2015, 67 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,640 on my travels around the Caribbean Sea, 68 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,280 I journeyed to Colombia... 69 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,560 ..and its wild and beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains. 70 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,040 We're heading into the land of the Kogi people. 71 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:54,960 The Kogi are the most intact surviving civilisation 72 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,360 from the time before Christopher Columbus 73 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,040 arrived in the Americas. 74 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,760 Unlike many remote indigenous people, 75 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,560 they've managed to hold on to their traditional way of life, 76 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,440 and they usually keep outsiders out. 77 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,440 Many had never seen a foreigner before. 78 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:21,520 Hantsiga. 79 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:32,960 This is right up there with the most incredible places I've ever been. 80 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,600 Hantsiga. Hantsiga, hantsiga. 81 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:39,440 Hantsiga. 82 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:40,680 Siga. 83 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,600 THEY LAUGH 84 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:54,840 This is a job made for me. 85 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:56,320 OK. 86 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:01,600 Which one? 87 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:04,200 Ah! 88 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:09,400 Flippin' heck. 89 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:19,760 Wow, smells incredible! 90 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,120 Mm! 91 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:27,880 I don't think it's alcoholic. 92 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:29,320 Any alcohol? 93 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:30,640 No. 94 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,760 I know I mustn't drink it all, but it is very good. 95 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:44,040 The Kogi understand this forest better than anyone, 96 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,080 and they took me into their back garden. 97 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:47,720 This was pristine forest. 98 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,600 It has to be one of the most important concentrations 99 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,320 of endangered mammals, birds and amphibians 100 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:58,760 anywhere on Earth. 101 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:21,760 The Kogi believe that the Sierra Nevada 102 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:23,440 is the heart of the world. 103 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:27,120 Look at this! 104 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,560 Absolutely spectacular. 105 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,520 The Kogi think of themselves as stewards of the planet. 106 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,400 They call themselves older brother... 107 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:39,720 OK. 108 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:41,520 ..and the rest of us younger brother. 109 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,040 Wow. 110 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,480 They believe we're threatening Mother Nature 111 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,360 and their very existence. 112 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,360 I talked with Mamo Luntana, a Kogi elder. 113 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,240 This has been the biggest shock to me 114 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,160 since I started travelling extensively. 115 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,440 Right from the very beginning, remote and indigenous people 116 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,520 started saying to me, unprompted, 117 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:02,760 they could see the climate changing on their patch of the planet. 118 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:04,480 And these aren't people who'd been reading 119 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,360 The Guardian newspaper online. 120 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,320 These aren't people who needed to be told about climate change. 121 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,520 They were already experiencing it. 122 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,560 The indigenous people who live in the Earth's great wild forests 123 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,240 are witnessing fundamental changes. 124 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:33,080 Forests are a critical element in the ecosystem of our planet. 125 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,320 They're crucial to how it functions. 126 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,520 Eight out of ten of the world's land species live in forests - 127 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,400 hundreds of thousands of species of birds, reptiles, 128 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,120 mammals and plants - 129 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:45,640 many still unknown to science. 130 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,760 And so many millions of insects we've hardly started to count. 131 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,200 Perhaps even more importantly, forests are a colossal store 132 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,600 of carbon and help to regulate our planetary climate. 133 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,880 They could hardly be more important. 134 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:03,120 Yet, everywhere, they're under threat. 135 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,400 In 2008, in northern Argentina, 136 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,760 I stayed with the Wichi indigenous people. 137 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:16,520 That's where the bees are? 138 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,440 I'm a bit worried about being stung by angry South American bees. 139 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,320 The Wichi have adopted Western clothing and tools, 140 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,160 but they still get much of what they need from their forest home, 141 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,360 harvesting the occasional tree for wood and treasure within. 142 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:35,000 And here come the bees. 143 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:43,960 I don't think this smoke is working, guys. 144 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:46,800 Bloody hell. 145 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:48,400 I've just being stung once. 146 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,040 Look at it glistening, there. 147 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:03,640 Looks incredible. 148 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,480 Proper wild honey, straight from the forest. 149 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:17,240 OK, let's try some pure honey. 150 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:21,600 Oh, fantastic. 151 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:27,800 That's amazing. 152 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,520 And what...? This is honey, and what else is that, there? 153 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:47,920 And you eat the larvae as well? 154 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,040 Choking on the smoke! 155 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,200 I think I prefer the honey to the bee larvae. 156 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,280 Officially, the Wichi owned this land, 157 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,960 but just a few hundred metres from their village 158 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:16,960 their forest was being illegally logged. 159 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:21,240 Look at this! 160 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,120 It's really shocking to suddenly come across this. 161 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,080 This is just being torn out. 162 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,840 This is forest that the Wichi depend on. 163 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:35,640 Obviously, the rest of the world depends on. 164 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,160 These are lungs for our Earth. 165 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:41,560 Look at this, round here. 166 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:43,760 This is what they use. 167 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,680 This is what they use to destroy the forest here. 168 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:52,920 They put these huge chains between two bulldozers... 169 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,600 ..stretch it out, 170 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,120 and then just run it across the trees, 171 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:00,840 ripping the trees up. 172 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:04,120 I can't... 173 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,160 I can barely lift...just this. 174 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:11,400 SIMON SIGHS 175 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,640 Can you imagine the devastation this causes? 176 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,160 At night in the village, we talked about the future. 177 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:31,920 You think that Wichi culture can survive the destruction 178 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,560 that you're seeing around you? 179 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,480 So quite a depressing day today, 180 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:19,160 seeing all the destruction of the forest. 181 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,800 And it's the sort of thing you hear about at a distance. 182 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:27,680 But then when you see it close up, it really is... 183 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:29,400 It really is desperate. 184 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:36,560 You can only feel a great sense of sadness for the Wichi. 185 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:39,720 I think. Because they're a very gentle people. 186 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,120 And gentle people tend to get walked over. 187 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,360 Deforestation is a truly global crisis. 188 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:55,840 And I've witnessed it unfolding and worsening during my travels. 189 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,880 SIMON GASPS Bloody hell. 190 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:00,440 From Asia to the Americas, 191 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:02,560 Africa to Europe and Siberia, 192 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:04,960 forests and jungles are being chopped and burned. 193 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,400 They have chopped and hacked the rainforest down. 194 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:12,480 Oh, my God. 195 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,720 They have crossed the border into the national park... 196 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,960 That's correct. ..and they have cut it down to farm? 197 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:18,560 Yes, exactly. That's right. 198 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,120 In Madagascar, it's thought up to 90% of the original forest 199 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:28,520 has now been cleared, mostly by poor farmers desperate for land, 200 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,520 for crops to feed their families. 201 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:31,880 Where are the trees? 202 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:34,600 Well, they've been cleared. 203 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,680 This is land that's been deforested, 204 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:40,400 used for cultivation, then been abandoned. 205 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:45,000 The vast boreal forests of Canada and Russia, 206 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,840 as massive and crucial as the Amazon, 207 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:51,400 are being devastated by fire and illegal logging for timber. 208 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:54,880 Wow. 209 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:56,320 Look over this side. 210 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,000 It's been completely felled and logged. 211 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:02,840 Goodness me. 212 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:13,800 All around the planet, I've seen forests disappearing. 213 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,560 But I don't think it's a situation where those of us 214 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,320 in wealthier nations can just wag our fingers at poorer states 215 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,200 and complain that they're not protecting their natural resources. 216 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,640 Because we did the same, in Britain and much of Europe, 217 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:31,800 hundreds of years ago - 218 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,320 we chopped and we burnt our forests, 219 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:39,240 and we cleared the land to make way for agriculture and for industry. 220 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,320 Many of the British landscapes that we now love, 221 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:47,160 from Exmoor right up to the Scottish Highlands, 222 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:48,800 are in some ways artificial 223 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,640 because they were land that was cleared to make way 224 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:56,480 for sheep farming and even grouse shooting. 225 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:01,760 In Britain, we only have about 13% forest cover. 226 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,520 Britain is actually one of the most deforested nations on the planet. 227 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:11,720 Ah! 228 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,520 The Arctic north of our planet is about the most remote 229 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,360 wilderness imaginable. 230 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,920 But there are people who live even here, 231 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:39,960 and they're some of the toughest and most hospitable I've ever met. 232 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:44,400 in 2017, I travelled across Siberia, in eastern Russia. 233 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:46,720 Calling it vast is a bit of an understatement. 234 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,280 Siberia, on its own, covers almost 10% 235 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:50,720 of Earth's land surface. 236 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,360 Love to. OK, sir. All right. 237 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,520 I'd love some. 238 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:09,680 The Even people are nomadic reindeer herders. 239 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,560 Tea with fish? 240 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,120 OK, are the reindeer far, Alexei? 241 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,280 In the summer, there's grass. 242 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,440 But in the winter, the reindeer have to survive 243 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:30,000 by rummaging beneath the snow. 244 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:36,200 But the changing climate is threatening this way of life. 245 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,000 So, Alexei, are they all yours? 246 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,160 I'd give myself three days, actually. 247 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,440 So, look, this is what they're after. 248 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,520 Are you saying that reindeer are starving to death? 249 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,080 Across the Arctic, climate change is one of the risks 250 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:12,760 to reindeer herds 251 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,960 and the traditional way of life of many of the region's people. 252 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:33,480 Is this reindeer meat? 253 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:38,880 Thank you very much indeed. 254 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:42,560 Thank you, Galina. Spasibo bolshoe. 255 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:50,680 Mm. 256 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:53,320 That is really good. 257 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:58,200 Have you got children, and are any of them working as herders? 258 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,440 What does it mean for the future of the Even people if... 259 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:14,920 ..if your... 260 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,720 ..if your community aren't herding reindeer? 261 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,720 Like so many indigenous communities around the world, 262 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:36,520 the Even people are experiencing our climate crisis at first hand. 263 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,360 Goodbye, my friends! 264 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:46,520 When I first started these journeys, 265 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,200 climate change was still seen by some as a controversial issue. 266 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:54,480 But now the scientific evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. 267 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:03,560 The Russian city of Yakutsk is a harsh Siberian outpost. 268 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,040 It takes a certain type of character to live here. 269 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,840 The city is built on top of permafrost. 270 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:27,760 OK. 271 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,240 Russian climatologist Sergey Fedoroff 272 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,320 was taking me underground to actually see the permafrost. 273 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:39,560 Into the freezer! 274 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,000 Oh, wow! 275 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:45,240 Look at this! 276 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,280 The more we breathe, the more crystals are created. 277 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:58,960 It's absolutely stunning. 278 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:02,840 OK, so, is this the actual permafrost? 279 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:11,560 These tunnels were once used for cold storage. 280 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,880 Now they've become the number one tourist attraction in Yakutsk. 281 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:25,880 This place is bizarre! 282 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,560 What's this? SERGEY LAUGHS 283 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,480 Oh, my goodness! 284 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:40,480 After you. 285 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,200 Into the bridal chamber. 286 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,000 It's a proper block of ice! 287 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,320 I don't imagine it's very comfortable. 288 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:52,080 Well, if you can. 289 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,360 I'll cosy up with you, Sergey. 290 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,640 People from other countries live up in the very far north, 291 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,360 but only Russia has built big cities 292 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:07,680 and really occupied the north. 293 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,160 They've even occupied the Arctic. 294 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:11,760 I think there is something... 295 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,040 There is something especially tough about you. 296 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:35,760 How did you survive a winter like that? 297 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,520 Flippin' heck! We'd declare a national emergency 298 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,280 if anything got even remotely like that in Blighty. 299 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,160 The country would come to a halt. 300 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:05,640 We're just not prepared for that. 301 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,280 You get a bit of snow or some leaves on the line, we close down. 302 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,080 Here, minus 45? 303 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,240 Sergey's out playing ice hockey. 304 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:14,560 Unbelievable. 305 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,400 Sergey knows that the permafrost is melting. 306 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,120 He wanted to show me proof. 307 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,360 We headed out of the city. 308 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:32,480 These, I think, are going to take us to what locals call 309 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:34,280 the gateway to the underworld. 310 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:42,800 We headed into wilderness. 311 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:54,560 Flippin' heck. 312 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:56,520 So, this... 313 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:58,640 ..is the Batagay Crater. 314 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,080 And it... 315 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:03,480 ..is enormous. 316 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,480 Permafrost is now melting so quickly, 317 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:15,880 so aggressively, 318 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,160 that vast craters like this, called megaslumps, 319 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,160 are appearing right across the Arctic. 320 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,160 Russia's not going to collapse into a hole, 321 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,320 but these craters are a dramatic sign 322 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,200 of what we are doing to our world. 323 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,120 It's a frightening size. 324 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,840 Thawing permafrost is dangerous because it can release 325 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,240 vast amounts of methane gas. 326 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,880 That makes it a ticking time bomb. 327 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,440 Methane is, of course, a very powerful greenhouse gas - 328 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,080 much more powerful than carbon dioxide, for example. 329 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,520 And if, as scientists fear, the permafrost melts, 330 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:27,040 it releases incredible quantities of methane into the atmosphere, 331 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:29,600 it threatens to cook our world. 332 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:02,520 It's not the best morning, 333 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,520 but it's definitely time for a brew up. 334 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,600 So this is my storm kettle. 335 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:14,320 The water is held in the skin of the kettle, 336 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,720 and then you have the fire that comes up through the middle, 337 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,080 and that heats the skin, water boils. 338 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,560 It's worked pretty well in many countries around the world. 339 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,560 I remember when we were in the Sahara Desert 340 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:27,800 travelling around the Tropic of Cancer 341 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:29,320 and we had to brew up there. 342 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,280 The Tuareg, who were with us, who love their tea as well - 343 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,560 the Tuareg saw this and they were completely blown away by it. 344 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,560 They offered me three camels for my kettle! 345 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,360 I only turned them down because I wasn't sure 346 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:45,200 how to get them back through customs. 347 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,600 Water's boiled. 348 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,680 Let's get some tea. 349 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,880 I think I did give them the kettle eventually. 350 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:56,200 Oh! SIMON LAUGHS 351 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,800 I feel warmer already, just looking at it. 352 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,160 Here we go. 353 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:03,680 Simple. 354 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:05,240 But effective. 355 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:08,840 Well, I grant you, it is a little bit chilly. 356 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,360 But it's certainly not the coldest we've been on the journeys. 357 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:13,320 My goodness! 358 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,160 When we were in the Arctic in Russia, 359 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,520 it was minus 40 for day after day. 360 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:21,760 Oh-ho! 361 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,640 When we eventually got to a relatively comfy hotel there, 362 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,200 I actually shot a time-lapse video on my phone 363 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,120 to show you what I had to wear, what I had to get dressed up in, 364 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:36,400 just to go out when it's minus 40. 365 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,480 I have woken up in some of the most amazing places. 366 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:09,080 Occasionally, is it a bit rough. 367 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,520 Occasionally. 368 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,440 It got very, very, very cold. 369 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,120 The cold is a real killer for camera batteries, 370 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,600 so we all had to have some of them inside our sleeping bags. 371 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,480 I've got bags of these in here. 372 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,600 The place is quite extraordinary, eh? 373 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,560 He just showed me... I'm staying over there. 374 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:47,520 And, er, the toilet is just over here. 375 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:52,760 Apparently you can get tigers within 50 metres of here. 376 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,800 So a proper run for a wee. 377 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:58,240 Bloody hell. 378 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,640 We've got a few extra passengers on board. 379 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:03,920 That's how you survive in the tropics, 380 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,160 with a whopping big mozzie net. 381 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:09,040 COCKEREL CROWS 382 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:13,040 Cockerels started crowing next to our heads 383 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,000 at about 3:15. 384 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,520 I hate cockerels. 385 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,200 These dogs make more noise than cockerels. 386 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,960 Barking. Barking the entire night. 387 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:40,280 Not bad as a view while using the facilities. 388 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:42,120 But rough or smooth, 389 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,760 it's glorious to wake up out there in the wild, 390 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,800 perhaps nowhere more so than in the Maldives. 391 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:49,400 The sort of sky that Turner painted. 392 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:52,600 To be greeted by a dawn like this is... 393 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:55,960 ..spectacular. 394 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:00,240 A tonic is what it is. A tonic. 395 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:02,600 Scattered across the Indian Ocean, 396 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:05,520 the Maldives are a chain of 1,200 islands 397 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:07,560 built on ancient coral reefs. 398 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,840 Biologist and conservationist Marie Saleem 399 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:15,560 was taking me under the water... 400 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,600 ..to see reefs that are almost indecently beautiful. 401 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,200 Around the planet, coral reefs make up less than 1% 402 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:29,600 of the global marine environment, 403 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,280 but they provide food and shelter for more than a quarter 404 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,520 of all marine species, 405 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:36,520 from the tiniest molluscs 406 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,800 to some of the biggest and most spectacular creatures in the ocean. 407 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:44,840 Manta rays are one of the treasures of the Maldives. 408 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,960 It's one of the best places to see them. 409 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,200 Coral reefs are crucial to their survival. 410 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:06,040 Mantas can grow to more than five metres across. 411 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,080 The epitome of grace, they were playful and inquisitive. 412 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:12,120 And despite their enormous size, 413 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:13,880 they felt totally unthreatening. 414 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:27,960 That was amazing. 415 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:31,200 Actually quite moving. 416 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:34,560 Those are huge creatures. 417 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:41,680 Marie took me on to a fabulous coral atoll. 418 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,200 I had a poster on my wall when I was a kid 419 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:52,920 growing up in London. 420 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:54,760 A poster of a tropical island, 421 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,320 and this looks like it. 422 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:01,480 It's just staggering. 423 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,760 Climate change is an existential danger for the Maldives. 424 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,560 As the planet warms, sea levels rise. 425 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000 Come on, then. 426 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,640 That could put much of these islands, 427 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,960 and the country, under water. 428 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:19,040 The temperature of the sea is also rising. 429 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,600 That's a catastrophe for coral because, 430 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:23,240 both here and around the world, 431 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:25,840 coral reefs are incredibly vulnerable to change. 432 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,880 Wow. That's a nice piece of coral. 433 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,160 Why is this coral white? 434 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:37,200 When the temperature rises even one centigrade above the usual average 435 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,840 and stays like that for a while, 436 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:43,240 the coral polyps get upset, then it dies. 437 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,280 And this is what becomes of the coral. 438 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:47,960 We're not talking about the temperature plummeting 439 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:49,880 to freezing or rocketing to boiling, are we? 440 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,560 No, not at all. Slight change. 441 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:56,120 In what ways is the coral reef so important 442 00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:57,960 to people here in the Maldives? 443 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,400 The coral reef keeps the rest of the ecosystems in balance. 444 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,160 They're like the rainforest. 445 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:05,520 And like our great forests on land, 446 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,600 coral reefs around the world are now being ravaged. 447 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,240 So there's reef just over here, 448 00:34:11,240 --> 00:34:13,040 maybe only 20 metres away from us, 449 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,800 which Marie was saying was vibrant and healthy 450 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:17,240 just 18 months ago. 451 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,880 Sea temperatures are now rising 452 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,160 and coral reefs are dying at an unprecedented rate 453 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:28,600 as a result of coral bleaching. 454 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,080 Even in a place that looked like paradise, 455 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,920 a great swathe of reef was a barren wasteland. 456 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:49,760 Oh. 457 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:53,880 It's all dead. 458 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:56,640 It really is all dead. 459 00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,560 It's a devastated... 460 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,760 ..and a devastating sight as well. 461 00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:06,800 Like a forest that's been logged. 462 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:11,680 The figures are really frightening. 463 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,320 Three-quarters of the world's coral reefs 464 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:17,160 are now at risk of a severe decline 465 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,240 because of climate change, 466 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:22,920 because of pollution and because of overfishing. 467 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:24,880 And if we lose them, which is possible - 468 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:27,160 some scientists think we could lose coral reefs 469 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:28,480 within a single generation - 470 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:31,360 we're not just losing something that's pretty for tourists 471 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:32,640 to come and look at. 472 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:36,840 We're losing an absolutely fundamental part of our seas, 473 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:38,880 of our oceans, of the marine environment. 474 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,920 I feel really conflicted about the journeys I go on. 475 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:04,160 Obviously, me gadding about the planet does burn 476 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:06,040 an obscene amount of carbon. 477 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:10,320 I like to think that the journeys help to spread 478 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,600 a bit of information and knowledge about what's going on 479 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:14,000 around the world. 480 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:15,320 But I still feel torn. 481 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:28,480 Travelling in the Maldives had a huge effect on me. 482 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,520 It's a poor country that relies on upmarket tourism, 483 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:35,960 and money from visitors helps pay for protecting marine reserves 484 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:37,720 and the coral reef. 485 00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:43,280 Much of the sea around the Maldives is actually marine protected areas. 486 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,680 But the Maldives also showed me starkly the impact of tourism 487 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:48,280 and our modern way of life. 488 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:53,640 I suppose it's easy to forget that these are populated islands 489 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:55,960 with lots of tourists as well. 490 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:57,480 They produce a lot of muck. 491 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:04,280 This is really behind the scenes in the Maldives, eh? 492 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:07,560 Oh, my God. What a sight! 493 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,720 There's this stinking smoke hanging in the air. 494 00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:18,400 It's actually cascading off the edge, there, into the water. 495 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:20,640 Oh! 496 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:23,920 My God. 497 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:25,760 Oh, there's flies everywhere. 498 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:28,760 You OK? 499 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:30,480 I don't know if we can get through here. 500 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:35,280 This was where the Maldives dumped its rubbish. 501 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:36,920 Just a couple of decades earlier, 502 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,960 this was another unspoiled coral island. 503 00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:43,600 But then up to 300 tons of waste a day was shipped in. 504 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:50,720 It's sort of apocalyptic here. 505 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,440 I don't mind the dust. I don't mind natural dust at all. 506 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:58,160 But the smoke that's coming off here, 507 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:00,480 and the dust that's being blown up, 508 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:02,560 is really toxic. 509 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:08,600 Bloody hell. 510 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:17,640 The scenes here are gobsmacking. 511 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:19,120 Gobsmacking. 512 00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:21,000 And really upsetting as well. 513 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:25,240 More flies than I've ever seen anywhere in the world. 514 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:31,560 This is a poisoned environment... 515 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,480 ..and it shouldn't be happening anywhere, least of all here. 516 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:41,600 Our waste, our rubbish, our plastic - 517 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:44,320 it's all part of a vast global crisis 518 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,000 I first really encountered in 2010. 519 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:50,720 Following the Tropic of Cancer around the world 520 00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:52,880 took me to Hawaii, 521 00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,120 slap bang in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 522 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,840 It's almost 2,000 miles from the nearest continent. 523 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:05,280 I travelled on to one of the smallest, 524 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,080 most remote Hawaiian islands. 525 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:11,360 Wow, just look at this. 526 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:13,240 What the hell is this? 527 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:16,240 This looks like it was a mould, a plastic mould 528 00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:17,680 something's been cut from. 529 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:19,680 This is some sort of plastic container. 530 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,880 It's been drifting and sun bleached. 531 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:23,280 It's come from the sea? 532 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:25,120 What looks like pristine sea. 533 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:28,360 Look, it's a plastic helmet. 534 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:30,840 A slipper. An old shoe, slipper. 535 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,720 Plastic bottles. 536 00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:36,160 I was with biologist Dr Sam Gon 537 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:38,600 from the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii. 538 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:42,760 Look at this! 539 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:44,440 And this is after a clean-up. 540 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:47,960 The first time that I came to this beach, 541 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:51,080 the debris problem was so bad you couldn't even see the rocks 542 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:52,440 along most of this beach. 543 00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:56,800 It was covered in just tons of plastic. 544 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,440 Of course, plastic doesn't biodegrade. 545 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:03,200 It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. 546 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:07,840 On the surface, over 50% of what we're walking on 547 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:12,240 is actually little bits of decomposing plastic. 548 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:14,920 I mean, these are tiny, Sam! 549 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,400 Pink, blue, green, orange. 550 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,440 But there's white bits here that could be plastic, 551 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:23,880 they might be sand. 552 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,760 I mean, this plastic is becoming the beach. 553 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,080 The beach is becoming plastic. 554 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,400 And look, it's not just on the surface either. 555 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,120 It'd be one thing if it were. 556 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:38,760 But the deeper you go, the more plastic you get. 557 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:42,160 It's the smallest issue, 558 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:44,480 the smallest problem I think I've seen 559 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:47,920 on my journey around the Tropic. 560 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:49,680 And yet it's the biggest one as well. 561 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,520 The fact we're soiling our nest. 562 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:56,720 As fast as the beach was cleaned, 563 00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:59,640 it filled up again with a seemingly endless quantity 564 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:01,200 of plastic rubbish. 565 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:04,320 It really is...devastating. 566 00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:10,560 Not just because this crap is here on these beaches, 567 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:12,480 but because of what this signifies - 568 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,000 and where this has come from. 569 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,920 It's coming from the great Pacific Ocean. 570 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:20,560 There's now this garbage dump floating around 571 00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:23,800 in the middle of the sea, in the largest ocean on Earth, 572 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:27,760 and sending this kind of trash to every island in the Pacific. 573 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,000 The plastic crisis is truly global. 574 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:39,600 We've known this for a long time. 575 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:44,680 But even in recent years, it just gets worse and worse. 576 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:50,720 Even in the Mediterranean, up to 750 tons of plastic 577 00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:52,640 enters the sea every day. 578 00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,280 One estimate suggests the pollution level is equivalent 579 00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:59,560 to more than 500 plastic bottles 580 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:02,000 being dumped in the Med every second. 581 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:07,280 Plastic, plastic... 582 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:08,600 Bloody hell, there's loads! 583 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:13,400 By 2050, plastic in the oceans could outweigh the fish. 584 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:16,560 I know I'm not alone in thinking this is madness. 585 00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:18,320 A huge amount of this plastic mountain 586 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:22,280 comes from the packaging and bottles we as consumers throw away. 587 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:23,680 But that's just the start. 588 00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:27,480 So what we're on now, what we're climbing up in, 589 00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:29,640 this is basically a river bed? 590 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:31,680 Exactly, a river bed that, of course, 591 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:35,320 is dry right now because it haven't rained in a while. 592 00:42:35,320 --> 00:42:39,400 So, you can see, we're just a little distance above the sea. 593 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:41,800 In Spain, I met up with Daniel Rolleri, 594 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:44,080 an expert on marine pollution. 595 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:46,280 He's a dedicated environmental campaigner 596 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:48,160 fighting to save the Mediterranean. 597 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:51,560 We can see what I call a good example 598 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:56,560 of this new geological age... 599 00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:59,800 Oh, my God. ..in which, you know, the plastic 600 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:03,520 is totally integrated into the soil 601 00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:04,960 in the different layers. 602 00:43:06,240 --> 00:43:08,440 This is not just one. 603 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:11,520 This means one on top of the other. 604 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:15,520 Can you see? You know, and really show the footprint 605 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:18,160 of humankind on Earth. This is... 606 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:20,320 This is unbelievable. 607 00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:23,640 This looks like plastic used in agriculture. 608 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:27,120 This is a greenhouse plastic. 609 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:33,240 So this is one of the ways for trash to reach the sea. 610 00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:35,040 Here, it barely rains. 611 00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:37,480 But when it does, it rains a lot. 612 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:42,440 It pours. So all this plastic, here, gets flooded out into the sea? 613 00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:46,760 Totally, yes. It's like a highway nonstop into the sea. 614 00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:48,160 This is... 615 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:51,640 This makes me feel sick. 616 00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:55,920 I feel disgusted by our systems 617 00:43:55,920 --> 00:44:00,680 that enable this to be even possible. 618 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:02,200 Have a look at this just here. 619 00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:03,880 And it just breaks down, can you see, 620 00:44:03,880 --> 00:44:06,560 into smaller and smaller parts? 621 00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:10,880 And this will end up in the ocean, in the sea, 622 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:12,000 sooner or later. 623 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:13,200 No doubt about it. 624 00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:16,760 In tiny, tiny fragments. 625 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:19,920 And this is what the marine wildlife eat. 626 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:24,560 And that's why, then, plastic is in the food chain. 627 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:26,600 According to the United Nations, 628 00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:29,080 about eight million tons of plastic waste 629 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:31,280 is dumped in our seas every year. 630 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:34,120 That's a rubbish truck load every minute. 631 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:36,760 Plastic has been found in the deepest oceans. 632 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:38,480 It's everywhere. 633 00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:40,240 Clean-up campaigns are great, 634 00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:42,400 but only scratch the surface. 635 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,440 The only solution to plastic pollution 636 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:46,520 is not create the waste in the first place. 637 00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:51,520 Travelling around the Med, I found it infuriating 638 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:54,440 even wealthy Europe can't or won't stop polluting 639 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,320 its bit of the sea. 640 00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:03,480 At the most southerly tip of the Italian mainland, 641 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,440 I hopped off a train in the small town of Brancaleone. 642 00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:08,040 I wasn't going far. 643 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:13,720 So, what is just about the last thing you would expect to find 644 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:14,960 in a train station? 645 00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:19,240 A turtle rescue centre, perhaps? 646 00:45:19,240 --> 00:45:21,440 Buongiorno! Buongiorno! 647 00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:23,320 Filippo? 648 00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:24,920 Simon. Very nice to meet you. 649 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:26,800 Tania? Tania, hi. 650 00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:28,560 Very nice to see you, too. Buongiorno. 651 00:45:28,560 --> 00:45:32,080 Filippo and Tania had refashioned this old ticket office 652 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:35,480 to help save some of the Med's most incredible sea life. 653 00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:37,520 SIMON GASPS 654 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:40,160 Oh, my goodness, look at the size of you! 655 00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:47,920 How has he lost so much of his flipper? 656 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,280 So how much of a problem is plastic to the turtles, then? 657 00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:09,800 All of this was in Raoul? 658 00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:42,720 SIMON GASPS 659 00:46:42,720 --> 00:46:44,560 Oh, my God. 660 00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:56,520 I haven't seen such clear evidence of the consequences 661 00:46:56,520 --> 00:46:59,560 of the modern world for marine life. 662 00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:03,080 Look! This is astonishing! 663 00:47:03,080 --> 00:47:07,000 This is a packet of pasta, for goodness' sake. 664 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:15,400 I feel your emotion. 665 00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:17,240 I feel it, too. I really do. 666 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:19,960 It's needle-sharp. 667 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:26,480 Look, you big beastie! 668 00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:29,440 Parrot beak of a mouth comes open, 669 00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:31,480 snaffles it straight down. 670 00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:38,160 Raoul had made it to 30 years old, breeding age - 671 00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:41,400 a milestone only one in 1,000 turtles ever reach. 672 00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:47,960 We are here on such a special day, 673 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:51,160 because Raoul is about to be released. 674 00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:57,400 Hold down? 675 00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:06,200 So 5065... 676 00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:11,000 ..is going to be you, Raoul! Si. 677 00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:15,560 How far did you have to look to find turtle leggings? 678 00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:27,920 Turtles are dying in their thousands from eating plastic. 679 00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:31,880 Sea birds, too, and whales. 680 00:48:31,880 --> 00:48:34,080 Animals crucial to the marine environment. 681 00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:38,880 Oh, my goodness. Raoul's keen to go! 682 00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:42,560 Raoul was getting another chance, 683 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:44,800 thanks to these amazing conservationists. 684 00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:47,880 Tania, are you going to miss him? 685 00:49:06,160 --> 00:49:08,120 Look, his flippers are going already! 686 00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:14,400 He swims! He's going! 687 00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:15,600 Oh-ho! 688 00:49:21,960 --> 00:49:23,200 Thank you. 689 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:26,640 Thank you, on behalf of everyone. 690 00:49:26,640 --> 00:49:29,480 SIMON LAUGHS 691 00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:32,520 What an incredible moment that is! 692 00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:33,880 I... 693 00:49:50,800 --> 00:49:53,480 I've reached the most spectacular bit of Lundy. 694 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:59,560 There are thousands of sea birds nesting in the cliffs around here. 695 00:49:59,560 --> 00:50:02,600 Some of the birds that come here are endangered. 696 00:50:02,600 --> 00:50:06,000 Climate change has made it harder for them to find fish. 697 00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:11,080 During the time I've been on my incredible journeys, 698 00:50:11,080 --> 00:50:13,760 I've seen the effects of climate change become more obvious 699 00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:14,960 and dramatic. 700 00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:20,480 Yet we're still pumping millions of tons of carbon 701 00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:22,400 into the atmosphere every year, 702 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:24,960 a rate that means temperatures are rising to a point 703 00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:26,960 that could make climate change irreversible. 704 00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:31,440 Finally, and slowly, governments around the world 705 00:50:31,440 --> 00:50:33,280 are waking up to the problem. 706 00:50:33,280 --> 00:50:34,960 They're starting to introduce measures 707 00:50:34,960 --> 00:50:36,520 to cut our emissions. 708 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:39,560 I think... I know... 709 00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:41,720 I know we need to do so much more. 710 00:50:41,720 --> 00:50:45,840 We need to go so much further to save life on this planet. 711 00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:50,320 I don't want to sugar-coat the reality of what I've seen. 712 00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:52,760 I think we've really screwed things up. 713 00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:54,720 But it's not too late. 714 00:50:54,720 --> 00:50:58,200 Many scientists still think we can save ourselves and our planet 715 00:50:58,200 --> 00:50:59,720 if we change. 716 00:50:59,720 --> 00:51:03,960 Change the way we generate energy, the way we travel, agriculture, 717 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:06,600 and if we plant billions and billions of new trees 718 00:51:06,600 --> 00:51:08,360 to help take carbon out of the atmosphere. 719 00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:09,760 Is that too deep? 720 00:51:09,760 --> 00:51:11,440 No, that's a good level. Is that acceptable? 721 00:51:11,440 --> 00:51:12,760 Yes. 722 00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:18,720 From Burma to Costa Rica, 723 00:51:18,720 --> 00:51:21,240 I've seen inspiring projects replanting 724 00:51:21,240 --> 00:51:22,800 large numbers of trees. 725 00:51:25,560 --> 00:51:29,360 Get some back in the ground. That's fine, actually. 726 00:51:29,360 --> 00:51:31,760 But many scientists think we need to go further. 727 00:51:31,760 --> 00:51:34,920 They want us to rewild parts of our planet 728 00:51:34,920 --> 00:51:38,360 to rebuild wilderness areas we're in danger of losing, 729 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:40,840 which could help to stabilise our climate 730 00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:44,760 and save species large and small. 731 00:51:44,760 --> 00:51:49,040 In 2019, I travelled through Montana in the United States 732 00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:52,640 and visited one of the world's largest rewilding projects. 733 00:51:53,880 --> 00:51:55,120 We're here! 734 00:51:57,360 --> 00:51:59,040 Sean? 735 00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:01,640 You made it! We made it! As did you. 736 00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:04,120 Simon. Simon Reeve. Good to see you, Sean Gerrity. 737 00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:07,920 Sean Gerrity is buying up land once used for ranching 738 00:52:07,920 --> 00:52:10,480 to create a vast rewilded area called 739 00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:12,200 the American Prairie Reserve. 740 00:52:14,440 --> 00:52:17,680 Are we inside the APR now? 741 00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:19,480 We are in it. We are absolutely in it. 742 00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:20,720 This is what it looks like. 743 00:52:20,720 --> 00:52:23,120 And this is native prairie. 744 00:52:23,120 --> 00:52:25,920 As you can see, as you look out over this landscape, 745 00:52:25,920 --> 00:52:28,680 there is not much to tell you what era you're in. 746 00:52:28,680 --> 00:52:31,120 Is this the era of the Vikings? 747 00:52:31,120 --> 00:52:34,520 Yes, this is what it looked like during the Viking times. 748 00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:36,880 How about the Egyptians? 749 00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:38,800 Yep, during that time, 750 00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:41,480 when they were just discovering metal alloys and things, 751 00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:42,880 this is what this looks like. 752 00:52:42,880 --> 00:52:46,920 What you've identified here is a bit of a jewel... 753 00:52:46,920 --> 00:52:51,000 Yeah. ..that is ripe for protection. 754 00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:54,480 All the pieces are still intact. 755 00:52:54,480 --> 00:52:56,440 And that's extremely rare. 756 00:52:56,440 --> 00:52:59,520 If this landscape is destroyed through ploughing out 757 00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:02,120 to grow a monoculture crop, that sort of thing - 758 00:53:02,120 --> 00:53:03,960 putting this back together... 759 00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:06,920 That sagebrush right there is 70-80 years old, 760 00:53:06,920 --> 00:53:09,440 and they're very difficult to get going again. 761 00:53:09,440 --> 00:53:12,520 It's really complex, not unlike a rainforest. 762 00:53:12,520 --> 00:53:15,360 And, so, to have this is the jewel, 763 00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:17,240 is to have the habitat to deal with. 764 00:53:17,240 --> 00:53:19,200 And there's not much left in the world. 765 00:53:19,200 --> 00:53:21,480 I don't want us to stop. Let's carry on. 766 00:53:21,480 --> 00:53:23,080 I want to see more! 767 00:53:23,080 --> 00:53:25,120 It's just brilliant. Look at it! 768 00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:28,160 They left them for us. 769 00:53:28,160 --> 00:53:30,120 This is too good to be true. 770 00:53:32,440 --> 00:53:33,840 It's just wonderful. 771 00:53:33,840 --> 00:53:36,280 It's the Missouri River! 772 00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:38,520 Come on! Let's get out on it! All right. 773 00:53:43,400 --> 00:53:47,960 As so often on the journeys I've been on, 774 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:49,480 I've found examples... 775 00:53:51,080 --> 00:53:53,360 ..where people are doing something wonderful and worthy 776 00:53:53,360 --> 00:53:57,600 to try and restore or save a landscape or an ecosystem, 777 00:53:57,600 --> 00:54:00,120 but usually they're really small scale. 778 00:54:01,680 --> 00:54:04,000 This is not. 779 00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:09,600 This is a country-sized attempt to rewild 780 00:54:09,600 --> 00:54:11,200 a huge area of land. 781 00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:30,520 Those are mule deer. 782 00:54:32,160 --> 00:54:35,200 The scale of the project is immense. 783 00:54:35,200 --> 00:54:37,840 The goal is to create a wildlife reserve 784 00:54:37,840 --> 00:54:40,560 of more than three million acres. 785 00:54:40,560 --> 00:54:43,520 That's bigger than all of southwest England. 786 00:54:43,520 --> 00:54:45,960 There's a golden eagle! 787 00:54:45,960 --> 00:54:48,000 A golden eagle! 788 00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:00,160 Buffalo! 789 00:55:05,640 --> 00:55:08,480 They are completely magnificent. 790 00:55:08,480 --> 00:55:12,120 They are enormous and powerful and majestic. 791 00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:15,840 Rewilding is about reintroducing species like the buffalo, 792 00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:18,640 which was nearly pushed into extinction in the US, 793 00:55:18,640 --> 00:55:20,520 and so much more. 794 00:55:20,520 --> 00:55:25,160 Natural prairie like this absorbs huge amounts of carbon dioxide 795 00:55:25,160 --> 00:55:26,560 to help slow global warming. 796 00:55:26,560 --> 00:55:29,640 This is an amazing, resilient landscape. 797 00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:32,280 You could have 1,000 bison come thundering through here 798 00:55:32,280 --> 00:55:34,280 and all of these plants can take it. 799 00:55:34,280 --> 00:55:37,960 The buffalo are key to creating a rich and sustainable ecosystem. 800 00:55:39,800 --> 00:55:43,560 If we come back here in 10 years, 20 years, 801 00:55:43,560 --> 00:55:46,840 what's your vision of what we might see? 802 00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:50,360 I think you'll see bison along the river, bighorn sheep. 803 00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:53,600 Maybe a grizzly bear walking along with three cubs. 804 00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:56,880 Maybe a pack of wolves moving along, seeing if they might be able 805 00:55:56,880 --> 00:55:59,280 to chase some elk for dinner themselves. 806 00:55:59,280 --> 00:56:01,120 The habitat's here. 807 00:56:01,120 --> 00:56:04,160 It's just a matter of time and coaxing that wildlife back, 808 00:56:04,160 --> 00:56:07,000 I am sold. It sounds... 809 00:56:07,000 --> 00:56:08,720 It sounds wonderful. 810 00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:14,520 As I've travelled the planet, 811 00:56:14,520 --> 00:56:18,040 what's become crystal clear is that our climate crisis 812 00:56:18,040 --> 00:56:21,320 is not something that will just happen in the future. 813 00:56:21,320 --> 00:56:25,480 It's happening now, on our watch, in front of our eyes. 814 00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:28,960 At the moment, it's the people who live closest to the land 815 00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:30,840 who are the most affected. 816 00:56:30,840 --> 00:56:34,440 The Kogi people in Colombia were very aware of the danger. 817 00:56:34,440 --> 00:56:36,400 Their message to all of us, 818 00:56:36,400 --> 00:56:38,520 who they call their younger brother, 819 00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:40,520 could hardly be clearer. 820 00:56:40,520 --> 00:56:43,760 When you see this power station... 821 00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:47,040 ..what do you think, as a people? 822 00:57:07,520 --> 00:57:10,080 You live in the mountains, but I sense the sea 823 00:57:10,080 --> 00:57:11,480 is very important to you. 824 00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:39,560 Do you think younger brother will ever listen?