1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:11,380 I'm on a huge journey. 2 00:00:11,380 --> 00:00:13,420 I'm travelling the length of the Americas - 3 00:00:13,420 --> 00:00:16,060 the two continents that, together, form more than 4 00:00:16,060 --> 00:00:19,100 a quarter of Earth land surface. 5 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:25,780 On this adventure, I'm travelling down through South America. 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,100 We're in such a remote part of planet Earth. 7 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:36,200 It's a journey of more than 8 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,400 4,000 miles, through some of 9 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:40,600 the world's greatest landscapes. 10 00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:47,300 Encountering spectacular wildlife. 11 00:00:47,300 --> 00:00:48,940 The cat is on the move. 12 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,640 From its iconic cities 13 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:55,460 to the Andes Mountains, 14 00:00:55,460 --> 00:00:58,700 it's a continent of dramatic extremes. 15 00:00:58,700 --> 00:00:59,900 Down. 16 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:02,940 LOUD EXPLOSIONS 17 00:01:02,940 --> 00:01:06,480 Along the way, I meet the inspiring... 18 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,260 Yolanda! 19 00:01:09,260 --> 00:01:11,360 ..and the surprising people... 20 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,300 These guys are Mennonites. 21 00:01:14,300 --> 00:01:17,180 ..who make South America so extraordinary. 22 00:01:17,180 --> 00:01:19,200 CHEERING 23 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,300 There's Wi-Fi here. 24 00:01:21,300 --> 00:01:24,600 Nowhere else for miles around, apparently. 25 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:26,600 We do our own thing. 26 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:27,940 We're happy here, man. 27 00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:44,820 The Amazon, the greatest rainforest on planet Earth. 28 00:01:46,180 --> 00:01:50,100 On this, the second part of my journey down through South America, 29 00:01:50,100 --> 00:01:53,580 I was travelling to visit an isolated Amazonian tribe 30 00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:56,460 in one of the most remote and still relatively unspoilt 31 00:01:56,460 --> 00:01:58,220 parts of the whole continent. 32 00:01:58,220 --> 00:02:01,260 Oh, God, we seem to be running out of runway. 33 00:02:01,260 --> 00:02:03,820 HE EXHALES I hate flying. 34 00:02:08,300 --> 00:02:11,620 I was heading deep into the Amazon, in Northern Brazil, 35 00:02:11,620 --> 00:02:14,860 but first, I had to stop off at a small frontier town 36 00:02:14,860 --> 00:02:16,500 called Pedra Branca. 37 00:02:18,140 --> 00:02:22,060 So, we're going into a remote indigenous community, 38 00:02:22,060 --> 00:02:24,820 and we're going to have another health check before we do. 39 00:02:24,820 --> 00:02:26,660 We had a health check, all of us, 40 00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:28,780 before we came out at the start of this journey, 41 00:02:28,780 --> 00:02:31,940 but I think another one is in order, given what's happening in the world, 42 00:02:31,940 --> 00:02:33,900 and we're off to see the doctor. 43 00:02:35,580 --> 00:02:39,260 Around the planet, alarm was spreading about a new virus. 44 00:02:39,260 --> 00:02:41,900 Clusters of cases and outbreaks had been reported 45 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:43,740 in Asia, Europe and North America. 46 00:02:43,740 --> 00:02:46,580 Simon. Yes, sir. What do we do now? 47 00:02:46,580 --> 00:02:48,820 We have to... No, we have to do... 48 00:02:48,820 --> 00:02:50,620 We have to do the foot bump, 49 00:02:50,620 --> 00:02:52,860 don't we? Or the...on the elbow. 50 00:02:54,700 --> 00:02:56,580 It's a whole new world. 51 00:02:57,660 --> 00:03:00,420 The first few cases of what we now call Covid 52 00:03:00,420 --> 00:03:02,820 had just been reported in Brazil. 53 00:03:02,820 --> 00:03:05,060 But thousands of miles away... 54 00:03:07,700 --> 00:03:09,740 ..Brazil's indigenous communities 55 00:03:09,740 --> 00:03:12,980 have been particularly vulnerable to new viruses and infections, 56 00:03:12,980 --> 00:03:15,260 so it was crucial my team and I got the all-clear. 57 00:03:18,460 --> 00:03:19,620 Thank you, doctor. 58 00:03:21,020 --> 00:03:23,220 I could get used to that. 59 00:03:23,220 --> 00:03:25,180 I headed deep into the Amazon 60 00:03:25,180 --> 00:03:27,180 to meet the Waiapi people. 61 00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:29,220 This is a crucial time for the rainforest. 62 00:03:29,220 --> 00:03:31,620 Around 10,000 acres of the Amazon 63 00:03:31,620 --> 00:03:34,100 are being deforested every day. 64 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:37,500 The Waiapi live inside a huge, protected reserve of more than 65 00:03:37,500 --> 00:03:40,220 one and a half million acres but, in recent years, 66 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:42,940 the whole region has been targeted by industry. 67 00:03:42,940 --> 00:03:47,620 Although large areas of Brazil are protected for conservation 68 00:03:47,620 --> 00:03:49,500 and for indigenous groups, 69 00:03:49,500 --> 00:03:54,020 the current government here is trying to open many of them 70 00:03:54,020 --> 00:03:59,340 for mining or dams and for huge developments. 71 00:04:02,540 --> 00:04:06,660 So, this road is being upgraded by a mining company. 72 00:04:06,660 --> 00:04:10,540 HONKING 73 00:04:10,540 --> 00:04:14,140 This is the road to the Waiapi people. 74 00:04:14,140 --> 00:04:16,380 Clearly, industry is coming this way. 75 00:04:20,220 --> 00:04:23,660 The Waiapi are known as the Guardians of the Forest. 76 00:04:33,940 --> 00:04:35,260 Wow. 77 00:04:37,460 --> 00:04:40,060 Village and football. 78 00:04:40,060 --> 00:04:42,340 DRIVER: And football. 79 00:04:42,340 --> 00:04:43,780 It is Brazil. 80 00:04:44,780 --> 00:04:46,020 SIMON GREETS THEM 81 00:04:52,660 --> 00:04:56,100 I love the mobile phone tucked in the waistband there, you notice? 82 00:04:59,460 --> 00:05:02,940 They want to do some protesting for us, to show us what they're 83 00:05:02,940 --> 00:05:04,700 concerned and worried about. 84 00:05:04,700 --> 00:05:11,180 THEY PROTEST 85 00:05:11,180 --> 00:05:14,580 300 indigenous tribes still live in Brazil's forests, 86 00:05:14,580 --> 00:05:17,460 totalling nearly one million people. 87 00:05:17,460 --> 00:05:20,100 After centuries of oppression and annihilation, 88 00:05:20,100 --> 00:05:22,940 the Brazilian Constitution recognises their rights 89 00:05:22,940 --> 00:05:25,660 to live in their traditional territories, according to 90 00:05:25,660 --> 00:05:29,660 their culture. But in this vast country of more than 200 million, 91 00:05:29,660 --> 00:05:32,660 there's now also powerful support for loggers 92 00:05:32,660 --> 00:05:35,580 and farmers promising jobs and food. 93 00:05:35,580 --> 00:05:39,020 Tribes like the Waiapi feel they're facing a mortal threat. 94 00:05:39,020 --> 00:05:41,860 Viseni is one of the leaders of the tribe. 95 00:06:00,260 --> 00:06:02,100 Destroy. 96 00:06:02,100 --> 00:06:04,500 Destroy is a strong word. 97 00:06:04,500 --> 00:06:05,820 Is that what it feels like? 98 00:06:26,140 --> 00:06:28,580 Do you think it might come to a situation where you do 99 00:06:28,580 --> 00:06:31,220 feel the need to step up 100 00:06:31,220 --> 00:06:34,060 and use your weapons, in anger? 101 00:06:52,940 --> 00:06:56,100 Indigenous communities have previously fought back 102 00:06:56,100 --> 00:06:58,260 against attacks and incursions. 103 00:06:58,260 --> 00:06:59,860 They've also killed road builders 104 00:06:59,860 --> 00:07:02,900 and soldiers by using blow pipes and poison arrows. 105 00:07:06,340 --> 00:07:08,020 I got the anger, 106 00:07:08,020 --> 00:07:10,660 and I got the sense of community love as well. 107 00:07:11,860 --> 00:07:15,900 I went to meet the Chief Viseni's mother, Nazare. 108 00:07:17,220 --> 00:07:20,540 Wari. Wari. Wari. Wari. 109 00:07:20,540 --> 00:07:23,180 Thank you for letting us come and visit the village. 110 00:07:33,700 --> 00:07:36,740 Nazare, is it unusual for a woman to be a chief, 111 00:07:36,740 --> 00:07:38,820 or is it very normal in your culture? 112 00:08:04,060 --> 00:08:06,100 Well, that's very kind. 113 00:08:06,100 --> 00:08:08,500 We're very honoured. Thank you very much indeed. 114 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:15,420 This Waiapi community was isolated from modern Brazil for decades. 115 00:08:15,420 --> 00:08:19,220 Outsiders first made real contact only in the early 1970s. 116 00:08:19,220 --> 00:08:22,500 Nazare was a child and still remembers the terrible impact. 117 00:08:43,340 --> 00:08:47,140 What sickness came with the first outsiders? 118 00:09:21,900 --> 00:09:25,740 500 years ago, millions of people lived in these continents, 119 00:09:25,740 --> 00:09:29,420 with thriving civilisations to rival those of Europe, 120 00:09:29,420 --> 00:09:31,620 but when Europeans arrived along the coast, 121 00:09:31,620 --> 00:09:34,460 their foreign, alien diseases swept inland 122 00:09:34,460 --> 00:09:36,340 through the huge indigenous populations. 123 00:09:37,780 --> 00:09:41,780 In places, up to 90% of indigenous people died of smallpox, 124 00:09:41,780 --> 00:09:45,620 measles and flu, against which they had no immunity. 125 00:09:45,620 --> 00:09:47,460 It's one of the largest, fastest 126 00:09:47,460 --> 00:09:49,500 population collapses in human history. 127 00:09:49,500 --> 00:09:53,020 This community has survived so much. 128 00:09:54,340 --> 00:09:59,220 Just imagine how strong their sense of identity, 129 00:09:59,220 --> 00:10:02,420 their culture must be. 130 00:10:02,420 --> 00:10:04,100 Incredibly impressive. 131 00:10:10,580 --> 00:10:13,020 He's looking at it... Oh, he's not impressed. 132 00:10:13,020 --> 00:10:16,300 SIMON LAUGHS 133 00:10:19,540 --> 00:10:21,780 It's all right. 134 00:10:21,780 --> 00:10:24,620 It'll be all right. I'm tall and it fits me. 135 00:10:26,460 --> 00:10:28,140 Right, it's been a long day. 136 00:10:36,260 --> 00:10:39,780 Despite 50 years of contact with the outside world, 137 00:10:39,780 --> 00:10:43,100 the Waiapi have defended their forests and their way of life. 138 00:10:43,100 --> 00:10:46,220 Partly thanks to careful leadership, they've been able to pick, 139 00:10:46,220 --> 00:10:49,460 choose and embrace some aspects of the wider world. 140 00:10:49,460 --> 00:10:51,140 Children, young adults 141 00:10:51,140 --> 00:10:54,500 and even Chief Nazare are learning Portuguese, 142 00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:57,540 and they have tools, medicines and smartphones. 143 00:10:59,940 --> 00:11:03,060 So, I just came round the back of the school to get an internet code. 144 00:11:03,060 --> 00:11:05,540 There's Wi-Fi here. 145 00:11:05,540 --> 00:11:08,700 Nowhere else for miles around, apparently. 146 00:11:08,700 --> 00:11:13,460 Satellite Wi-Fi. And I found the lads here on their social media, 147 00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:15,500 looking at the outside world. 148 00:11:15,500 --> 00:11:20,420 It does make me wonder how youngsters are going to cope with 149 00:11:20,420 --> 00:11:22,300 the advertising 150 00:11:22,300 --> 00:11:24,940 and endless social media pressure. 151 00:11:26,380 --> 00:11:29,820 Their culture's strong, but can it withstand Instagram? 152 00:11:29,820 --> 00:11:30,940 I don't know. 153 00:11:32,260 --> 00:11:35,100 The Brazilian government says indigenous people 154 00:11:35,100 --> 00:11:37,500 need to be integrated into modern society 155 00:11:37,500 --> 00:11:38,580 and the economy. 156 00:11:38,580 --> 00:11:42,020 They want economic development to raise millions out of poverty. 157 00:11:42,020 --> 00:11:45,460 Here, that model of development means cutting down ancient forests 158 00:11:45,460 --> 00:11:47,500 and levelling rich eco-systems 159 00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:50,140 for logging, farming and mining. 160 00:11:50,140 --> 00:11:53,580 That's rarely sustainable and, here, it often enriches just a few. 161 00:12:00,340 --> 00:12:02,180 But the Waiapi subscribe to 162 00:12:02,180 --> 00:12:05,220 a different economic model. They believe humans can 163 00:12:05,220 --> 00:12:07,900 use and exploit the forest, without destroying it. 164 00:12:23,860 --> 00:12:25,500 He's done that a few times, hasn't he? 165 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:28,100 This is called acai, 166 00:12:28,100 --> 00:12:34,220 and this is a sort of new superfood that we are often seeing now 167 00:12:34,220 --> 00:12:36,940 in fancy shops and supermarkets in the UK, 168 00:12:36,940 --> 00:12:39,460 and this is where it comes from. 169 00:12:42,140 --> 00:12:43,500 Oh, he's got something? 170 00:12:45,380 --> 00:12:48,860 He's just sliding down like he's on a fireman's pole, 171 00:12:48,860 --> 00:12:52,180 with a whole bunch of berries, it looks like. 172 00:12:55,940 --> 00:12:57,940 Look at that! 173 00:12:57,940 --> 00:12:59,620 Harvested. 174 00:13:08,740 --> 00:13:12,380 So, that's just using what the forest offers. 175 00:13:13,620 --> 00:13:16,460 Is it just? No, it's not just, 176 00:13:16,460 --> 00:13:20,140 because what scientists are realising now 177 00:13:20,140 --> 00:13:23,700 is that over centuries, 178 00:13:23,700 --> 00:13:27,940 indigenous people didn't just take what the forest had to offer, 179 00:13:27,940 --> 00:13:31,580 but they planted and shaped the forest. 180 00:13:31,580 --> 00:13:34,140 Scientists have only realised recently 181 00:13:34,140 --> 00:13:36,100 that large areas of the Amazon 182 00:13:36,100 --> 00:13:37,980 were cultivated by generations 183 00:13:37,980 --> 00:13:40,580 of indigenous people, who carefully planted 184 00:13:40,580 --> 00:13:43,340 and tended specific plants and fruit trees. 185 00:13:43,340 --> 00:13:46,940 This is like a vast ancient orchard, 186 00:13:46,940 --> 00:13:49,980 and we're only scratching the surface in understanding 187 00:13:49,980 --> 00:13:51,540 the riches it contains. 188 00:14:01,220 --> 00:14:05,580 Marcelino Guedes is a specialist in Forest Economics. 189 00:14:05,580 --> 00:14:07,500 Like the Waiapi, he says we can benefit from 190 00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:09,900 the rainforest without levelling it, 191 00:14:09,900 --> 00:14:12,540 and that intact forests can generate profit. 192 00:14:34,260 --> 00:14:36,500 Marcelino points out there are enormous riches 193 00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:41,260 in the Amazon which are lost if it's cleared, especially medicines. 194 00:14:41,260 --> 00:14:43,900 Plants already provide us with nearly half of 195 00:14:43,900 --> 00:14:46,020 our pharmaceutical medicines. 196 00:14:46,020 --> 00:14:48,500 Rainforests are a potential treasure trove, 197 00:14:48,500 --> 00:14:50,380 yet sciences have tested just a fraction of 198 00:14:50,380 --> 00:14:52,140 the species found in them. 199 00:14:52,140 --> 00:14:54,580 We could be missing a new chemotherapy drug, 200 00:14:54,580 --> 00:14:58,300 a treatment to tackle a childhood disease or the next pandemic. 201 00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:44,660 By one estimate, there could be scores of potentially 202 00:15:44,660 --> 00:15:47,380 life-saving drugs awaiting discovery in the Amazon, 203 00:15:47,380 --> 00:15:49,020 worth tens of billions of pounds. 204 00:15:49,020 --> 00:15:51,060 Rather than cutting it down, 205 00:15:51,060 --> 00:15:54,420 this could be a forest pharmacy for the planet. 206 00:15:54,420 --> 00:15:58,580 This is a battleship of a tree. 207 00:16:00,540 --> 00:16:02,620 What a beauty! 208 00:16:04,460 --> 00:16:07,220 The rainforests, 209 00:16:07,220 --> 00:16:11,100 they are just full of wonder and treasures. 210 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:16,860 If only we could recognise the value of our rainforests. 211 00:16:16,860 --> 00:16:22,140 The incredible fundamental value for our global climate, 212 00:16:22,140 --> 00:16:26,620 for biodiversity, but also for medicine, 213 00:16:26,620 --> 00:16:28,820 for our health, 214 00:16:28,820 --> 00:16:34,180 then perhaps we might have a better chance of saving them. 215 00:16:39,820 --> 00:16:42,500 Aw! 216 00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:44,020 Wow. 217 00:16:47,380 --> 00:16:48,740 Thank you, my friend. 218 00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:54,420 I won't forget you guys. 219 00:16:57,060 --> 00:16:59,900 The Waiapi were more aware than anyone of the horrors 220 00:16:59,900 --> 00:17:02,740 that can be inflicted by a powerful new virus. 221 00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:07,420 As I left the forest to continue my journey, 222 00:17:07,420 --> 00:17:09,340 it was clear Covid was on the march. 223 00:17:10,860 --> 00:17:13,140 The Waiapi closed their border 224 00:17:13,140 --> 00:17:15,300 and retreated into the jungle. 225 00:17:15,300 --> 00:17:17,180 Within days, countries began 226 00:17:17,180 --> 00:17:19,220 heading into lockdown. 227 00:17:19,220 --> 00:17:22,260 It was obvious to me there'd be at least a short delay to the journey. 228 00:17:23,860 --> 00:17:25,500 I had no idea. 229 00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:47,300 It's good to get this off. 230 00:17:47,300 --> 00:17:48,860 It's good to be back. 231 00:17:48,860 --> 00:17:52,860 Now, just after we left the Waiapi, 232 00:17:52,860 --> 00:17:56,220 Covid really began to hit and to hurt. 233 00:17:56,220 --> 00:17:58,420 Very few could have predicted 234 00:17:58,420 --> 00:18:01,500 just how devastating it would be globally. 235 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:03,020 It's been 20 months 236 00:18:03,020 --> 00:18:06,940 but, finally, I'm able to restart my journey down through South America. 237 00:18:08,180 --> 00:18:11,740 Treble-vaccinated and testing regularly, 238 00:18:11,740 --> 00:18:14,180 I picked up my journey in Manaus, 239 00:18:14,180 --> 00:18:17,100 the capital of the Amazonas region of Brazil. 240 00:18:20,820 --> 00:18:23,700 In the 19th century, there was a booming rubber industry here, 241 00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:27,900 and Manaus was known as the Paris of the Tropics. 242 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:29,900 Well, this isn't what you expect to find in 243 00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:31,540 the middle of the Amazon rainforest, 244 00:18:31,540 --> 00:18:33,660 an opera house. 245 00:18:35,780 --> 00:18:38,620 Manaus has long been a magnet for migrants 246 00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:41,460 seeking work in logging, mining and shipping. 247 00:18:41,460 --> 00:18:43,700 Two million people now live here. 248 00:18:43,700 --> 00:18:46,260 It's a long way from the Brazilian capital 249 00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:49,620 and isolated at the centre of the world's greatest rainforest, 250 00:18:49,620 --> 00:18:52,420 but when Covid struck Brazil, 251 00:18:52,420 --> 00:18:55,100 this became ground zero of the pandemic. 252 00:18:55,100 --> 00:18:56,660 Manaus was hit hard. 253 00:18:56,660 --> 00:18:57,780 Oh, my God. 254 00:19:05,020 --> 00:19:06,420 I mean, that is a... 255 00:19:07,460 --> 00:19:12,340 ..horrific visual demonstration of the impact of Covid on this city 256 00:19:12,340 --> 00:19:14,180 and its people, isn't it? 257 00:19:18,660 --> 00:19:20,740 Everybody on this row 258 00:19:20,740 --> 00:19:22,300 died on the same day. 259 00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:25,380 The 11th of April. 260 00:19:25,380 --> 00:19:27,140 The 11th of April... 261 00:19:30,220 --> 00:19:34,900 11th of April, 11th of April. 262 00:19:34,900 --> 00:19:36,420 11th of April. 263 00:19:40,180 --> 00:19:42,620 There were times in Manaus during the pandemic 264 00:19:42,620 --> 00:19:46,420 when more than 100 people were being buried each day. 265 00:19:46,420 --> 00:19:50,140 Nearly 700,000 people have died from Covid in Brazil - 266 00:19:50,140 --> 00:19:52,380 one of the worst death tolls in the world. 267 00:19:55,620 --> 00:19:58,060 SIRENS WAIL 268 00:19:58,060 --> 00:20:00,860 The Waiapi people, further to the east in Brazil, 269 00:20:00,860 --> 00:20:04,060 largely survived at least the first years of the virus 270 00:20:04,060 --> 00:20:06,180 by using the isolation of the forest, 271 00:20:06,180 --> 00:20:08,540 combined with modern vaccinations. 272 00:20:10,660 --> 00:20:12,060 But here in Manaus, 273 00:20:12,060 --> 00:20:13,780 the disease swept through crowded, 274 00:20:13,780 --> 00:20:15,340 impoverished neighbourhoods, 275 00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:18,780 with poor sanitation and dense populations. 276 00:20:18,780 --> 00:20:22,980 Just like elsewhere, isolating at home was a luxury for the wealthy. 277 00:20:22,980 --> 00:20:25,460 For families living together in cramped housing, 278 00:20:25,460 --> 00:20:27,540 social-distancing was impossible. 279 00:20:27,540 --> 00:20:29,980 I headed to Parque das Tribos, 280 00:20:29,980 --> 00:20:31,860 an unofficial indigenous settlement 281 00:20:31,860 --> 00:20:33,940 that's sprung up over the last decade. 282 00:20:33,940 --> 00:20:35,940 DOG BARKS 283 00:20:35,940 --> 00:20:38,340 It's now home to around 600 families. 284 00:20:38,340 --> 00:20:39,900 Vanda. 285 00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:41,180 Vanda! 286 00:20:43,140 --> 00:20:44,660 THEY CHUCKLE 287 00:20:47,220 --> 00:20:48,620 Vanda Ortega is a nurse, 288 00:20:48,620 --> 00:20:51,460 and now a community leader here. 289 00:20:52,660 --> 00:20:56,340 Vanda, so this is Parque das Tribos. Parque das Tribos. 290 00:20:56,340 --> 00:20:58,660 Parque das Tribos, which is "the park of the tribes". 291 00:20:58,660 --> 00:21:00,060 What does that mean? 292 00:21:10,100 --> 00:21:12,420 Is it true that in the first weeks of the pandemic, 293 00:21:12,420 --> 00:21:15,300 not a single government health care worker came here? 294 00:21:22,140 --> 00:21:24,140 There was no health centre here. 295 00:21:24,140 --> 00:21:28,060 For most of the pandemic, the community relied solely on Vanda, 296 00:21:28,060 --> 00:21:30,380 who's the only person with medical training. 297 00:21:31,700 --> 00:21:32,900 Vanda, who is this? 298 00:22:20,860 --> 00:22:22,700 Every community needs a Vanda. 299 00:22:22,700 --> 00:22:24,100 THEY CHUCKLE 300 00:22:34,860 --> 00:22:37,140 Vanda, I can see there's power cables. 301 00:22:37,140 --> 00:22:39,900 Does everybody here have electricity 302 00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:41,420 and running water, and sewage? 303 00:22:47,060 --> 00:22:48,700 So, are you saying 304 00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:51,260 for the first year of the pandemic, 305 00:22:51,260 --> 00:22:53,220 people here didn't have running water? 306 00:23:01,700 --> 00:23:05,940 In a crisis, so often, it's the people who are living on the margins 307 00:23:05,940 --> 00:23:08,580 of society who suffer the most. 308 00:23:44,540 --> 00:23:46,180 So, Vanda, what is this place? 309 00:23:59,180 --> 00:24:01,820 After more training, Vanda now volunteers at 310 00:24:01,820 --> 00:24:05,420 her new medical clinic. For the first time, she's able to provide 311 00:24:05,420 --> 00:24:08,180 much-needed local health care to the whole community. 312 00:24:08,180 --> 00:24:11,460 I find it really astonishing, frankly, that at the start of 313 00:24:11,460 --> 00:24:15,420 the pandemic, no government health care worker came here to assist 314 00:24:15,420 --> 00:24:17,620 this community. They had to do it themselves. 315 00:24:17,620 --> 00:24:21,740 Even now, they only were able to build this little clinic here 316 00:24:21,740 --> 00:24:24,220 with financial assistance from the French Embassy. 317 00:24:28,820 --> 00:24:31,260 The leader of this community died from Covid. 318 00:24:31,260 --> 00:24:33,260 The role passed to his son. 319 00:24:34,700 --> 00:24:36,620 So, this is what you had to do, 320 00:24:36,620 --> 00:24:39,020 you had to organise and save yourselves? 321 00:25:03,780 --> 00:25:06,620 Indigenous people in Brazil are increasingly moving to 322 00:25:06,620 --> 00:25:08,860 towns and cities. Some come 323 00:25:08,860 --> 00:25:10,980 looking for a better life and the lure of a job, 324 00:25:10,980 --> 00:25:13,940 but others move because they've been forced out of the forest, 325 00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:17,380 as farmers, loggers, miners encroach into their homelands. 326 00:25:18,900 --> 00:25:21,620 Vanda wanted to show me what she thinks is an urgent, 327 00:25:21,620 --> 00:25:23,060 but overlooked threat to 328 00:25:23,060 --> 00:25:24,380 the rainforest of the Amazon 329 00:25:24,380 --> 00:25:26,100 and to indigenous territories. 330 00:25:29,340 --> 00:25:31,820 Manaus is a busy port city. 331 00:25:31,820 --> 00:25:34,660 It lies on the banks of the Rio Negro, and quickly flows into 332 00:25:34,660 --> 00:25:36,100 the world's mightiest river. 333 00:25:39,700 --> 00:25:40,940 We're out on the Amazon! 334 00:25:47,460 --> 00:25:49,660 It's enormous! 335 00:25:49,660 --> 00:25:52,900 Less like a river, more like a sea! 336 00:25:59,220 --> 00:26:01,740 We're really in the heart of the Amazon basin here. 337 00:26:01,740 --> 00:26:06,140 It's about 900 miles from here to the Atlantic Ocean. 338 00:26:06,140 --> 00:26:09,620 And although you can get ocean-going ships like these coming upriver, 339 00:26:09,620 --> 00:26:13,740 there's not really a road connection from here to the rest of Brazil, 340 00:26:13,740 --> 00:26:17,820 to the south, which has really helped to protect the rainforest 341 00:26:17,820 --> 00:26:19,460 in this part of the country. 342 00:26:21,020 --> 00:26:22,780 At least, until now. 343 00:26:25,700 --> 00:26:28,060 Downriver from Manaus is a small port, 344 00:26:28,060 --> 00:26:33,300 and the start of a road called the BR-319. 345 00:26:33,300 --> 00:26:37,420 It was constructed in the 1970s, in an early attempt to try and 346 00:26:37,420 --> 00:26:39,420 open up the Amazon. Until recently, 347 00:26:39,420 --> 00:26:41,460 it was an often impassable dirt track. 348 00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:47,780 But now, work is under way to tarmac all 500 miles of it... 349 00:26:47,780 --> 00:26:49,580 Look at this view. 350 00:26:50,740 --> 00:26:52,820 ..and create a super highway into 351 00:26:52,820 --> 00:26:55,220 the world's most important ecosystem. 352 00:26:55,220 --> 00:26:57,100 Do you think we can... can we stop here? 353 00:27:03,620 --> 00:27:05,140 Wow. 354 00:27:09,420 --> 00:27:11,100 Look at this. 355 00:27:11,100 --> 00:27:16,380 This road, which runs from the south to the north, 356 00:27:16,380 --> 00:27:21,500 up to Manaus, is opening up the Amazon rainforest. 357 00:27:23,700 --> 00:27:27,060 Traffic and trade will be able to penetrate deeper into 358 00:27:27,060 --> 00:27:29,220 the rainforest than ever before. 359 00:27:29,220 --> 00:27:33,300 And many fear that it will open the Amazon to loggers, 360 00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:37,500 to miners, to farmers, to trade and industry which, potentially, 361 00:27:37,500 --> 00:27:42,260 will deal - it's feared - a fatal blow to the Amazon rainforest. 362 00:27:44,220 --> 00:27:46,220 And that is why, arguably, 363 00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:48,100 this is the most dangerous road in the world. 364 00:27:49,420 --> 00:27:52,500 In a poll, eight out of ten Brazilians said the environment 365 00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:54,660 should be prioritised over economic growth, 366 00:27:54,660 --> 00:27:58,540 but there's less agreement about how to actually preserve nature. 367 00:27:58,540 --> 00:28:01,100 And now, the Amazon is being destroyed at the fastest rate 368 00:28:01,100 --> 00:28:02,980 of the last 15 years. 369 00:28:35,380 --> 00:28:37,460 all be concerned about increasing 370 00:28:37,460 --> 00:28:39,780 human encroachment into the Amazon. 371 00:28:45,380 --> 00:28:49,460 Back in Manaus, in an area where the jungle meets the suburbs, 372 00:28:49,460 --> 00:28:52,820 I met up with scientist Professor Alessandra Nava, 373 00:28:52,820 --> 00:28:54,700 who was out hunting bats. 374 00:29:01,620 --> 00:29:03,460 So, Alessandra has 375 00:29:03,460 --> 00:29:05,900 a really cool job. 376 00:29:05,900 --> 00:29:07,500 She's a virus hunter. 377 00:29:16,660 --> 00:29:19,940 Whether you think Covid-19 came from a lab or the wild, 378 00:29:19,940 --> 00:29:22,940 it's likely the virus originated in bats and jumped between 379 00:29:22,940 --> 00:29:24,740 species to infect humans. 380 00:29:24,740 --> 00:29:26,900 Alessandra fears something similar 381 00:29:26,900 --> 00:29:29,060 could happen somewhere in the Amazon. 382 00:29:29,060 --> 00:29:30,820 She's trying to stop an outbreak. 383 00:29:30,820 --> 00:29:32,500 So, now, we leave? Yes. 384 00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:35,340 The bats aren't going to come while we're here, are they? Mm-hm. 385 00:29:42,020 --> 00:29:44,500 This is bonkers. 386 00:29:44,500 --> 00:29:49,180 In just a few steps, you leave the incredible biodiversity 387 00:29:49,180 --> 00:29:53,900 of the rainforest and you're into the mad world of humanity. 388 00:29:53,900 --> 00:29:57,980 And there are millions of places like this around the planet now, 389 00:29:57,980 --> 00:30:04,020 where humans live in such close proximity with really wild nature. 390 00:30:04,020 --> 00:30:07,460 And of course, that's wonderful in many ways, but it also creates 391 00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:08,940 profound risks. 392 00:30:12,340 --> 00:30:15,980 In a makeshift lab, in a house on the edge of the jungle, 393 00:30:15,980 --> 00:30:19,220 Alessandra's team check the bats for any new or nasty disease 394 00:30:19,220 --> 00:30:23,060 that could infect humans. They need to avoid any cross-infection. 395 00:30:34,060 --> 00:30:35,660 So, we're going to check the nets. 396 00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:41,060 There are scores of so-called zoonotic diseases 397 00:30:41,060 --> 00:30:44,100 that jump and spread from animals to humans, 398 00:30:44,100 --> 00:30:47,860 including Ebola and Nipah, as well as Covid-19. 399 00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:51,100 Nothing in this one. 400 00:30:57,220 --> 00:30:59,180 Oh, there's a bat here, look! 401 00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:00,660 There's another one here as well. 402 00:31:03,300 --> 00:31:06,140 Alessandra, what type of bat is it, do you know? 403 00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:13,900 What is it about bats? 404 00:31:13,900 --> 00:31:16,500 Is there something special about them that means they pose 405 00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:18,820 a greater threat to humans? 406 00:31:38,740 --> 00:31:41,060 I'm a bit of a distance away now. 407 00:31:41,060 --> 00:31:46,180 Zoonotic diseases have been with us almost forever, really. 408 00:31:46,180 --> 00:31:50,140 Measles is thought to have jumped into humans from cattle 409 00:31:50,140 --> 00:31:52,060 thousands of years ago. 410 00:31:52,060 --> 00:31:55,860 But as we encroach ever further into the rainforest 411 00:31:55,860 --> 00:31:59,580 in particular now, more zoonotic diseases are emerging. 412 00:32:01,620 --> 00:32:04,820 It's the sheer numbers of people living, farming, working 413 00:32:04,820 --> 00:32:07,900 near exotic and wonderful wildlife in rainforests, 414 00:32:07,900 --> 00:32:12,140 or on the edge of them, that creates more risk of cross-infection, 415 00:32:12,140 --> 00:32:15,420 perhaps from a bat pulling on food, or even an animal bite. 416 00:32:15,420 --> 00:32:20,180 It's feared our increasing encroachment into the rainforest 417 00:32:20,180 --> 00:32:23,820 could lead to a rise in these zoonotic diseases and new pandemics. 418 00:32:41,820 --> 00:32:44,700 It's almost like the Covid test. Yeah. 419 00:32:44,700 --> 00:32:48,220 What do we learn from understanding what's in the bats? 420 00:32:59,300 --> 00:33:02,140 So, are you almost an early warning system, then? 421 00:33:05,900 --> 00:33:07,420 We are going to fetch another one. 422 00:33:10,580 --> 00:33:12,300 What sort of bat is this? 423 00:33:31,180 --> 00:33:33,220 Have we suddenly woken up 424 00:33:33,220 --> 00:33:35,500 to the threat from zoonotic diseases? 425 00:33:48,660 --> 00:33:50,300 So, even now, you think 426 00:33:50,300 --> 00:33:55,220 we're worrying too exclusively about whether people in China 427 00:33:55,220 --> 00:33:57,780 are eating creatures from the forest? 428 00:33:57,780 --> 00:34:00,220 We're not thinking broadly enough 429 00:34:00,220 --> 00:34:04,980 about the risks we are creating by encroaching into 430 00:34:04,980 --> 00:34:08,460 the rainforest and the wild space? 431 00:34:19,460 --> 00:34:22,020 Where is the next pandemic going to come from? 432 00:34:43,860 --> 00:34:46,660 I really think we've got to reconsider 433 00:34:46,660 --> 00:34:49,140 our relationship with nature. 434 00:34:49,140 --> 00:34:52,700 Three quarters of new and emerging 435 00:34:52,700 --> 00:34:54,460 diseases that infect humans 436 00:34:54,460 --> 00:34:56,020 originate in animals. 437 00:34:56,020 --> 00:34:58,740 We need to give nature more space. 438 00:35:04,020 --> 00:35:05,820 It's time to let them fly. 439 00:35:07,860 --> 00:35:10,100 Ah! 440 00:35:10,100 --> 00:35:11,700 Fly, little beauty! 441 00:35:11,700 --> 00:35:13,540 ALESSANDRA CHUCKLES 442 00:35:13,540 --> 00:35:15,060 And it's gone. 443 00:35:20,300 --> 00:35:23,700 It was time to leave the Amazon. 444 00:35:23,700 --> 00:35:25,940 I headed south, to Brazil's 445 00:35:25,940 --> 00:35:27,860 spectacular Atlantic Coast. 446 00:35:32,380 --> 00:35:34,900 Brazil is a vast country. 447 00:35:34,900 --> 00:35:38,500 It occupies almost half of South America. 448 00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:41,780 All 27 nations of the European Union 449 00:35:41,780 --> 00:35:44,660 would easily fit into Brazil. 450 00:35:44,660 --> 00:35:47,900 Its coast is more than 5,000 miles long, 451 00:35:47,900 --> 00:35:50,540 and along the coast is where most Brazilians live. 452 00:35:53,260 --> 00:35:55,220 Oh, wow! 453 00:35:55,220 --> 00:35:57,220 Welcome to Rio! 454 00:36:05,140 --> 00:36:06,860 Look at that! 455 00:36:06,860 --> 00:36:08,700 Oh, my goodness! 456 00:36:12,860 --> 00:36:15,300 What a sight! It really is one of 457 00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:17,900 the most stunningly-positioned 458 00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:19,500 cities anywhere in the world. 459 00:36:20,780 --> 00:36:24,260 Sugarloaf Mountain over there. 460 00:36:24,260 --> 00:36:25,860 And Christ the Redeemer, look, 461 00:36:25,860 --> 00:36:27,500 towering above. 462 00:36:31,980 --> 00:36:34,220 You can really see the geography of 463 00:36:34,220 --> 00:36:36,220 the city from up here. 464 00:36:36,220 --> 00:36:38,260 You see the favelas clinging to 465 00:36:38,260 --> 00:36:40,580 the hillside. The favelas are 466 00:36:40,580 --> 00:36:43,460 poorer, more informal settlements. 467 00:36:47,020 --> 00:36:49,420 More than 6.5 million people 468 00:36:49,420 --> 00:36:51,460 live in Rio, from the super wealthy 469 00:36:51,460 --> 00:36:52,980 to some of the poorest 470 00:36:52,980 --> 00:36:56,260 on the continent. Like most modern 471 00:36:56,260 --> 00:36:58,180 megacities, its growth has been 472 00:36:58,180 --> 00:37:00,740 rapid and largely unplanned. 473 00:37:00,740 --> 00:37:04,660 Many areas of Rio have poor infrastructure and facilities, 474 00:37:04,660 --> 00:37:06,780 and you can see the results when it rains. 475 00:37:08,220 --> 00:37:10,740 It's just starting to bucket with rain, 476 00:37:10,740 --> 00:37:14,820 and many of the roads still seem to be rather surprisingly flooded, 477 00:37:14,820 --> 00:37:17,260 as if the drains aren't fully up to the job. 478 00:37:18,300 --> 00:37:20,100 Look at the flooding here. 479 00:37:20,100 --> 00:37:23,420 Rio's been described as one of the cities in South America 480 00:37:23,420 --> 00:37:26,020 most vulnerable to climate change. 481 00:37:29,260 --> 00:37:33,300 Rio has a carefully-cultivated image as a sexy party city. 482 00:37:34,540 --> 00:37:37,580 Think of Rio, and you think of the beach and carnival. 483 00:37:37,580 --> 00:37:40,060 But climate change is already having an impact here. 484 00:37:40,060 --> 00:37:42,100 Storm surges and flooding 485 00:37:42,100 --> 00:37:43,780 are more regular events, 486 00:37:43,780 --> 00:37:45,460 and soaring, sweltering 487 00:37:45,460 --> 00:37:47,340 temperatures are making some areas 488 00:37:47,340 --> 00:37:48,580 harder to live in. 489 00:37:50,780 --> 00:37:53,540 Obviously, a city like Rio hasn't been planned 490 00:37:53,540 --> 00:37:57,380 with climate change in mind, and as the city has expanded, 491 00:37:57,380 --> 00:38:00,340 so its natural defences have been eroded. 492 00:38:00,340 --> 00:38:02,940 So, how do they protect the people of this megacity? 493 00:38:04,980 --> 00:38:06,660 To deal with threats to Rio, 494 00:38:06,660 --> 00:38:11,260 the government has spent millions on a shiny, high-tech crisis centre. 495 00:38:11,260 --> 00:38:13,340 Felipe, where are we going? 496 00:38:17,380 --> 00:38:18,980 Felipe Mandarino is a geographer 497 00:38:18,980 --> 00:38:21,660 who helps to control the brain of the city. 498 00:38:21,660 --> 00:38:24,540 HE GASPS Oh, my goodness! 499 00:38:24,540 --> 00:38:27,140 It's like a sort of Nasa control centre. 500 00:38:37,260 --> 00:38:41,380 The centre was actually developed with Nasa to monitor and predict 501 00:38:41,380 --> 00:38:44,380 extreme weather events, and to co-ordinate the city's 502 00:38:44,380 --> 00:38:46,340 emergency response when they happen. 503 00:38:54,020 --> 00:38:56,380 Does Rio have a particular problem with landslides? 504 00:39:18,140 --> 00:39:22,020 My goodness, so each of the red marks represents 505 00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:25,540 a potential disaster, actually? Si. 506 00:39:25,540 --> 00:39:28,700 Those are thousands of people... Yeah. ..living there. 507 00:39:36,940 --> 00:39:40,660 What would you, as a geographer, would say are the principal 508 00:39:40,660 --> 00:39:44,900 climate change, global heating threats to Rio? 509 00:40:11,340 --> 00:40:14,460 I was really taken aback by how quickly Felipe, 510 00:40:14,460 --> 00:40:19,460 as a geographer, identified inequality and a lack of greenery 511 00:40:19,460 --> 00:40:23,060 and green spaces among Rio's biggest problems. 512 00:40:25,980 --> 00:40:28,660 About a quarter of Rio's population live in 513 00:40:28,660 --> 00:40:31,660 the city's sprawling favelas - 514 00:40:31,660 --> 00:40:34,220 that's close to one-and-a-half million people. 515 00:40:35,620 --> 00:40:39,180 I'm going up into the oldest of all the favelas in Rio - 516 00:40:39,180 --> 00:40:41,340 it's called Providencia - but to get there, 517 00:40:41,340 --> 00:40:42,700 I need to go with Cristiano. 518 00:40:51,780 --> 00:40:53,380 Only trusted and connected riders 519 00:40:53,380 --> 00:40:55,140 could take me into the heart of 520 00:40:55,140 --> 00:40:57,100 Providencia. Criminal groups and 521 00:40:57,100 --> 00:40:58,620 powerful, violent drug gangs 522 00:40:58,620 --> 00:40:59,860 control these streets 523 00:40:59,860 --> 00:41:01,740 and many of the favelas. 524 00:41:01,740 --> 00:41:05,100 Almost every inch of the steep hillside was crammed with 525 00:41:05,100 --> 00:41:07,420 tightly-packed, ramshackle housing. 526 00:41:10,740 --> 00:41:14,420 So, inevitably, the favela is a warren, like this. 527 00:41:16,940 --> 00:41:20,820 Buildings springing up over the years 528 00:41:20,820 --> 00:41:22,940 on any available plot of land. 529 00:41:22,940 --> 00:41:26,260 And some of it looks like you're entering somebody's house, 530 00:41:26,260 --> 00:41:29,580 and it's like a dark alleyway. Look. 531 00:41:29,580 --> 00:41:31,780 God, I wouldn't want to come down here at night. 532 00:41:34,020 --> 00:41:38,500 My guide in Providencia was a community leader called Ale Roque. 533 00:41:38,500 --> 00:41:40,700 Is this agua, the fresh water? 534 00:41:49,020 --> 00:41:51,100 The state is largely absent here. 535 00:41:51,100 --> 00:41:53,540 The police are rarely seen, except during raids, 536 00:41:53,540 --> 00:41:55,540 that can often result in a high body count. 537 00:41:55,540 --> 00:41:57,140 DOG BARKS 538 00:41:57,140 --> 00:41:59,420 There are regular gun battles for control. 539 00:41:59,420 --> 00:42:02,060 This guy on my right, he just wanted to point out here, look, 540 00:42:02,060 --> 00:42:04,500 you can see a pockmarked wall here, 541 00:42:04,500 --> 00:42:06,660 bullet holes. But look at this - 542 00:42:06,660 --> 00:42:09,260 that's a large-calibre gun round there, look. 543 00:42:10,700 --> 00:42:13,380 Along here, in this section, 544 00:42:13,380 --> 00:42:15,060 that's, what, 100... 545 00:42:16,660 --> 00:42:18,900 ..100 bullet holes, maybe? 546 00:42:18,900 --> 00:42:21,740 And they're not small rounds, either, some of them. 547 00:42:21,740 --> 00:42:23,380 They look more like 548 00:42:23,380 --> 00:42:24,940 from an assault rifle. 549 00:42:27,260 --> 00:42:28,460 Bloody hell. 550 00:42:30,300 --> 00:42:31,700 Ah, stop, stop, stop. 551 00:42:31,700 --> 00:42:32,900 Down, down, down. 552 00:42:37,580 --> 00:42:40,260 They were just pointing in the direction, I think, 553 00:42:40,260 --> 00:42:43,300 of some drug dealers down the alley, who've whistled an alert. 554 00:42:52,980 --> 00:42:55,380 As if they don't have enough to deal with, 555 00:42:55,380 --> 00:42:57,900 favela-dwellers also have to contend with the increasing 556 00:42:57,900 --> 00:43:00,140 challenges of the climate. 557 00:43:00,140 --> 00:43:02,380 Favelas can be shocking heat traps, 558 00:43:02,380 --> 00:43:04,820 exposed on hillsides, with no shade. 559 00:43:05,820 --> 00:43:07,460 Surface temperatures can be 560 00:43:07,460 --> 00:43:09,100 an incredible 20 degrees higher 561 00:43:09,100 --> 00:43:11,380 than the surrounding countryside. 562 00:43:11,380 --> 00:43:13,140 Plus, there are heavy storms, 563 00:43:13,140 --> 00:43:15,540 causing deadly landslides that can 564 00:43:15,540 --> 00:43:17,420 sweep away whole neighbourhoods. 565 00:43:17,420 --> 00:43:20,860 Thankfully, favelas also produce inspiring leaders. 566 00:43:20,860 --> 00:43:22,900 Wow, Ale, it's incredibly green! 567 00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:25,380 Is this something you've been involved in? 568 00:43:31,420 --> 00:43:33,260 You've planted all of this? 569 00:43:33,260 --> 00:43:35,220 Ale, you've planted a forest. 570 00:43:39,580 --> 00:43:42,940 This amazing urban forest helps knit together the soil 571 00:43:42,940 --> 00:43:45,660 to prevent lethal landslides. 572 00:43:47,380 --> 00:43:49,380 And the trees provide shade, 573 00:43:49,380 --> 00:43:51,340 lowering hellish summer temperatures. 574 00:43:52,940 --> 00:43:54,980 But that's not all Ale has done. 575 00:43:54,980 --> 00:43:56,620 She's transforming lives. 576 00:44:11,620 --> 00:44:13,260 Ale, what is this place? 577 00:44:37,140 --> 00:44:39,060 Wow, look at this place! 578 00:44:42,860 --> 00:44:46,580 How many students, how many children kind of come through the school? 579 00:44:50,660 --> 00:44:53,500 You're teaching 120 children? 580 00:44:53,500 --> 00:44:55,620 That's astonishing. 581 00:45:00,180 --> 00:45:02,140 So, Ale, why are you running a school? 582 00:45:17,300 --> 00:45:19,500 And you're trying to fill that gap, 583 00:45:19,500 --> 00:45:22,020 to make sure no child is left behind? 584 00:45:41,660 --> 00:45:42,860 QUIETLY: It's OK. 585 00:46:25,980 --> 00:46:27,540 I find it astonishing that Ale gets 586 00:46:27,540 --> 00:46:31,580 no help from the government. Astonishing and really shocking. 587 00:46:31,580 --> 00:46:35,300 I think what she's doing here is giving these kids something 588 00:46:35,300 --> 00:46:38,140 utterly priceless - a childhood. 589 00:46:45,020 --> 00:46:46,420 All right, boss. 590 00:46:46,420 --> 00:46:50,300 The school is an integral part of Ale's urban forest plans. 591 00:46:50,300 --> 00:46:54,780 The children here now learn about trees and plants, and more, 592 00:46:54,780 --> 00:46:58,140 but they also grow fresh food - so important for their diet. 593 00:47:11,380 --> 00:47:12,580 Ah! 594 00:47:15,100 --> 00:47:16,500 Yay! 595 00:47:16,500 --> 00:47:19,340 Look, look, look! 596 00:47:19,340 --> 00:47:22,300 How many trees do you think you've planted here at the school? 597 00:47:23,940 --> 00:47:25,020 100?! 598 00:47:25,020 --> 00:47:26,460 Well done. 599 00:47:26,460 --> 00:47:28,460 They really know what to do. 600 00:47:28,460 --> 00:47:30,500 Even the tiny, tiny tots. 601 00:47:39,140 --> 00:47:40,820 She's given them 602 00:47:40,820 --> 00:47:43,620 something really precious - a connection with 603 00:47:43,620 --> 00:47:46,780 greenery and nature in a favela 604 00:47:46,780 --> 00:47:51,940 and a city that really lacks trees and plants, 605 00:47:51,940 --> 00:47:53,860 and a sense of the natural world. 606 00:48:04,820 --> 00:48:07,460 Ale's project is one tiny step 607 00:48:07,460 --> 00:48:09,500 towards restoring something 608 00:48:09,500 --> 00:48:10,820 that Rio has largely lost. 609 00:48:10,820 --> 00:48:13,580 This was once the site of a mighty forest, 610 00:48:13,580 --> 00:48:16,860 stretching over 400,000 square miles 611 00:48:16,860 --> 00:48:19,460 down the whole of the eastern side of Brazil, 612 00:48:19,460 --> 00:48:21,300 and all the way down to Argentina. 613 00:48:24,140 --> 00:48:27,180 You think of a forest in Brazil and you think of the Amazon, 614 00:48:27,180 --> 00:48:29,100 of course, but there's another great forest 615 00:48:29,100 --> 00:48:31,460 in this country - the Atlantic Forest. 616 00:48:35,900 --> 00:48:38,740 The Atlantic forest is a temperate rainforest - 617 00:48:38,740 --> 00:48:42,020 cooler than the Amazon, but also bursting with life. 618 00:48:42,020 --> 00:48:44,820 Over hundreds of years, it was gradually eaten away, 619 00:48:44,820 --> 00:48:48,180 as huge cities like Rio and Sao Paulo emerged and developed. 620 00:48:49,940 --> 00:48:52,180 85% of the original primary 621 00:48:52,180 --> 00:48:54,100 Atlantic Forest has now gone. 622 00:48:56,820 --> 00:48:58,260 Look at this! 623 00:49:00,300 --> 00:49:03,940 Although only a small part of the Atlantic Forest remains, 624 00:49:03,940 --> 00:49:08,820 it's still one of the most diverse ecosystems on planet Earth, 625 00:49:08,820 --> 00:49:13,300 which is why people come to stay in amazing places like this - 626 00:49:13,300 --> 00:49:15,740 to experience just a bit of it. 627 00:49:15,740 --> 00:49:18,740 Cambuca. I think this is mine... 628 00:49:19,900 --> 00:49:21,340 ..at least, for a night. 629 00:49:23,660 --> 00:49:26,300 Despite the loss of so much of 630 00:49:26,300 --> 00:49:29,540 the Atlantic Forest, one in 50 of all the plants 631 00:49:29,540 --> 00:49:32,780 and animals on Earth are found here. 632 00:49:32,780 --> 00:49:36,060 There's not quite so many big old trees left here, though, 633 00:49:36,060 --> 00:49:40,100 because after Europeans started arriving 500 years ago, 634 00:49:40,100 --> 00:49:42,140 they chopped them down. 635 00:49:42,140 --> 00:49:45,180 There are a few giants left, 636 00:49:45,180 --> 00:49:46,900 and it's lovely to be among them. 637 00:49:49,740 --> 00:49:52,700 Deforestation is such a huge issue in Brazil. 638 00:49:52,700 --> 00:49:55,020 The battle is now on to preserve 639 00:49:55,020 --> 00:49:58,220 and restore parts of the great Atlantic Forest. 640 00:49:58,220 --> 00:50:01,420 I'd arranged to meet a conservationist, trying something 641 00:50:01,420 --> 00:50:04,860 unique to protect one of the country's most iconic inhabitants. 642 00:50:08,780 --> 00:50:10,980 We're on the road, and we're looking for a bloke 643 00:50:10,980 --> 00:50:12,620 by the side of the road called Carlos. 644 00:50:14,220 --> 00:50:15,660 Oh, here they are. 645 00:50:17,700 --> 00:50:20,940 Carlos! Shall we do elbows? Elbows. 646 00:50:20,940 --> 00:50:22,700 And this is the forest that we're 647 00:50:22,700 --> 00:50:24,980 heading into behind, is that right? Yes, yes. 648 00:50:26,820 --> 00:50:31,100 Dr Carlos Ruiz-Miranda and colleagues Jadir and Ademilson 649 00:50:31,100 --> 00:50:32,980 are trying to protect these remaining 650 00:50:32,980 --> 00:50:34,940 fragments of the Atlantic Forest. 651 00:50:36,500 --> 00:50:40,220 This area is the world's last-remaining wild habitat 652 00:50:40,220 --> 00:50:43,180 for a small, rare, flighty and beautiful primate. 653 00:50:43,180 --> 00:50:44,700 Right ahead, right ahead. 654 00:50:46,140 --> 00:50:49,580 Luckily, some tracking collars gave us a good chance of spotting them. 655 00:50:52,420 --> 00:50:54,660 WHISPERING: I've just seen a flash of orange through 656 00:50:54,660 --> 00:50:56,060 the leaves and branches. 657 00:50:57,940 --> 00:50:59,940 One's just above us, in the trees up here. 658 00:51:02,220 --> 00:51:04,260 Ah! Another one. 659 00:51:04,260 --> 00:51:06,460 Oh, this is very exciting. 660 00:51:13,740 --> 00:51:16,780 Oh, my God, there's one right here! Look! 661 00:51:18,140 --> 00:51:19,300 Just here. 662 00:51:23,340 --> 00:51:25,700 The golden lion tamarin. 663 00:51:25,700 --> 00:51:27,860 What a creature! 664 00:51:27,860 --> 00:51:30,620 It's only the size of a well-fed squirrel, 665 00:51:30,620 --> 00:51:33,260 but with this billowy, orange mane. 666 00:51:34,540 --> 00:51:38,340 Just as the panda has iconic status in China, 667 00:51:38,340 --> 00:51:41,180 so the golden lion tamarin does in Brazil. 668 00:51:43,100 --> 00:51:45,580 I'll tell you what, though, they move a little bit faster. 669 00:51:50,100 --> 00:51:52,460 My God, they're incredible! 670 00:52:00,260 --> 00:52:02,700 They are different from most monkeys, you know, 671 00:52:02,700 --> 00:52:04,340 they give birth to twins. 672 00:52:04,340 --> 00:52:05,740 Bloody hell, it's a family. 673 00:52:07,180 --> 00:52:08,580 There's a family of them, look. 674 00:52:08,580 --> 00:52:10,140 Ah! 675 00:52:10,140 --> 00:52:12,060 They live in family groups, 676 00:52:12,060 --> 00:52:13,660 a mum and a dad, and their kids 677 00:52:13,660 --> 00:52:15,100 from several generations. 678 00:52:16,900 --> 00:52:19,020 Now they're grooming. 679 00:52:19,020 --> 00:52:20,540 So cute. 680 00:52:20,540 --> 00:52:22,300 So precious. 681 00:52:23,740 --> 00:52:26,460 What was the situation with the tamarins when you first 682 00:52:26,460 --> 00:52:28,020 started studying them? 683 00:52:28,020 --> 00:52:29,660 There were about only 200 in 684 00:52:29,660 --> 00:52:31,340 the forest... 200?! 200. 685 00:52:31,340 --> 00:52:33,660 ..and almost none in captivity. 686 00:52:33,660 --> 00:52:36,780 Because they were close to being wiped out? They were close to being 687 00:52:36,780 --> 00:52:39,900 wiped out. They were in an area that was...that just got a major highway, 688 00:52:39,900 --> 00:52:42,100 and there was a lot of pressure. So, they were 689 00:52:42,100 --> 00:52:43,460 really worried about them. 690 00:52:47,580 --> 00:52:49,380 These creatures have really had 691 00:52:49,380 --> 00:52:52,260 a roller-coaster ride over recent decades. 692 00:52:52,260 --> 00:52:55,300 And there was a point in the 1980s when it looked as though they might 693 00:52:55,300 --> 00:53:00,180 become extinct in the wild, due to extremely high levels of poaching 694 00:53:00,180 --> 00:53:02,620 and endless habitat loss. 695 00:53:02,620 --> 00:53:05,060 And then there was this very successful international 696 00:53:05,060 --> 00:53:08,700 conservation campaign which got their numbers up to several thousand 697 00:53:08,700 --> 00:53:11,780 before, recently, they were hit by another disaster. 698 00:53:13,620 --> 00:53:18,260 A few years ago, Carlos and his team began to find the bodies of 699 00:53:18,260 --> 00:53:20,860 dead tamarins. They were falling out of the trees. 700 00:53:20,860 --> 00:53:22,820 Before long, hundreds were dead, 701 00:53:22,820 --> 00:53:25,380 wiped out by a mystery illness. 702 00:53:25,380 --> 00:53:28,020 I mean, we were shocked and overwhelmed. 703 00:53:28,020 --> 00:53:32,060 We had lost about 33% of the population, in a matter of months. 704 00:53:33,300 --> 00:53:36,620 We were facing losing 40 years of conservation. 705 00:53:38,380 --> 00:53:41,580 An investigation revealed the tamarins were dying 706 00:53:41,580 --> 00:53:45,180 from yellow fever - a disease that also infects humans, 707 00:53:45,180 --> 00:53:47,380 transferred by mosquitos. 708 00:53:47,380 --> 00:53:49,580 Oh, my goodness, look at you! 709 00:53:49,580 --> 00:53:51,580 The crisis called for a dramatic response. 710 00:53:51,580 --> 00:53:53,500 In a world-first, 711 00:53:53,500 --> 00:53:55,820 Carlos and his team are vaccinating 712 00:53:55,820 --> 00:53:59,420 the entire population of golden lion tamarins. 713 00:53:59,420 --> 00:54:02,780 Can I ask you to do me, while you're being done? 714 00:54:02,780 --> 00:54:04,780 This is what you get abducted by aliens, 715 00:54:04,780 --> 00:54:07,420 exactly what happens. THEY LAUGH 716 00:54:09,220 --> 00:54:11,380 Look at you, little thing. 717 00:54:11,380 --> 00:54:13,860 You are astonishing. 718 00:54:13,860 --> 00:54:16,140 And you're one of a tiny tribe left. 719 00:54:17,300 --> 00:54:20,140 So, this is called a squeeze cage, which isn't great, 720 00:54:20,140 --> 00:54:23,460 but this is so the vet can apply an anaesthetic. 721 00:54:23,460 --> 00:54:25,500 Oh! 722 00:54:26,700 --> 00:54:29,580 It's a traumatic experience for this little tamarin, 723 00:54:29,580 --> 00:54:31,820 but it's one that should save its life 724 00:54:31,820 --> 00:54:33,620 and, ultimately, its entire species. 725 00:54:35,380 --> 00:54:38,500 I've had the yellow fever vaccine. 726 00:54:38,500 --> 00:54:41,100 You've doubtless had the yellow fever vaccine. 727 00:54:41,100 --> 00:54:44,180 I'm slightly larger than the tamarin. Is it just a case of 728 00:54:44,180 --> 00:54:47,300 reducing the dose and diluting it down? Is it as straightforward 729 00:54:47,300 --> 00:54:49,060 as that? As straightforward as that. 730 00:54:49,060 --> 00:54:52,460 It worked really well. Had it ever been done before? No. 731 00:54:53,540 --> 00:54:56,500 Here we go. So, this is the yellow fever vaccine. Yes. 732 00:55:00,860 --> 00:55:04,220 This is really muscular conservation. 733 00:55:04,220 --> 00:55:06,220 This is not standing back and saying, 734 00:55:06,220 --> 00:55:08,100 "Oh, there's nothing we can do. 735 00:55:08,100 --> 00:55:12,180 "Let's just watch as these creatures go to the edge and fall off." 736 00:55:12,180 --> 00:55:14,660 No, this is saying, "We're going to step in here 737 00:55:14,660 --> 00:55:16,700 "and we're going to fight for them, 738 00:55:16,700 --> 00:55:19,940 "and try something, and work and battle to save them." 739 00:55:22,260 --> 00:55:24,220 One done. Another one 740 00:55:24,220 --> 00:55:27,260 potentially saved. Another one potentially saved. 741 00:55:27,260 --> 00:55:29,700 It's wise for us to prevent 742 00:55:29,700 --> 00:55:31,660 any creature from becoming 743 00:55:31,660 --> 00:55:33,140 a reservoir for yellow fever. 744 00:55:33,140 --> 00:55:36,180 If it can be infected, it can pass it on. 745 00:55:36,180 --> 00:55:38,820 Exactly. And right now, they won. 746 00:55:38,820 --> 00:55:41,700 So, it's just a win, win, win, win. Yeah. 747 00:55:41,700 --> 00:55:45,540 For the animals, for us, for our species, and our planet. 748 00:55:45,540 --> 00:55:47,580 For everybody. Brilliant. 749 00:55:49,580 --> 00:55:51,660 On this part of my South American journey, 750 00:55:51,660 --> 00:55:54,660 I'd already been warned there's an increasing risk to us 751 00:55:54,660 --> 00:55:58,140 from diseases spreading to and from animals, and also, 752 00:55:58,140 --> 00:55:59,540 because we're spreading into 753 00:55:59,540 --> 00:56:01,780 and destroying our forests. 754 00:56:01,780 --> 00:56:03,940 Our increasing encroachment into 755 00:56:03,940 --> 00:56:06,060 wild spaces is clearly disrupting 756 00:56:06,060 --> 00:56:08,700 the balance of life on our planet. 757 00:56:08,700 --> 00:56:10,460 But here, the tamarins, at least, 758 00:56:10,460 --> 00:56:12,020 have been brought back from 759 00:56:12,020 --> 00:56:13,940 the brink of extinction. 760 00:56:13,940 --> 00:56:16,220 Now, Carlos says they need new habitat. 761 00:56:16,220 --> 00:56:19,380 Space to survive, but also thrive. 762 00:56:21,900 --> 00:56:25,100 Much of the Atlantic Forest has been broken up 763 00:56:25,100 --> 00:56:30,860 and fragmented into smaller areas, often split by big roads, 764 00:56:30,860 --> 00:56:35,460 and that creates very broken habitat for the tamarins. 765 00:56:35,460 --> 00:56:39,780 But Carlos and his team have come up with a big idea to connect 766 00:56:39,780 --> 00:56:42,620 two separate tamarin homes together. 767 00:56:42,620 --> 00:56:43,820 Look at this! 768 00:56:45,260 --> 00:56:46,940 Bloody hell, Carlos! 769 00:56:46,940 --> 00:56:49,100 You've built a living bridge 770 00:56:49,100 --> 00:56:50,540 over the motorway! 771 00:56:53,580 --> 00:56:55,300 It's amazing! 772 00:56:56,420 --> 00:56:58,860 So, we have areas where we have soil 773 00:56:58,860 --> 00:57:02,020 that can go down to three or four metres. So, we will be able 774 00:57:02,020 --> 00:57:04,740 to get here trees as tall as ten metres, 775 00:57:04,740 --> 00:57:07,380 from the centre lines. Wow! 776 00:57:07,380 --> 00:57:09,540 And we'll join it with a corridor, 777 00:57:09,540 --> 00:57:11,860 and the Poco das Antas Biological Reserve. 778 00:57:11,860 --> 00:57:14,100 6,000 hectares. So, you've got this... 779 00:57:14,100 --> 00:57:15,540 6,000 hectares?! 780 00:57:15,540 --> 00:57:17,460 Of forest, yeah. Oh! 781 00:57:20,060 --> 00:57:23,620 And it will connect with 40,000 hectares of forest 782 00:57:23,620 --> 00:57:24,980 over on this side. 783 00:57:27,100 --> 00:57:29,580 So, the tamarins on this side 784 00:57:29,580 --> 00:57:32,220 can get to that side and vice versa. 785 00:57:32,220 --> 00:57:34,220 That's not just for food, I imagine, 786 00:57:34,220 --> 00:57:37,860 that's for frolicking and fornication, and... Yes, 787 00:57:37,860 --> 00:57:40,020 finding a mate. ..expanding the gene pool. 788 00:57:40,020 --> 00:57:41,540 But not only for the tamarins, 789 00:57:41,540 --> 00:57:43,340 for all of the wildlife that lives here. 790 00:57:44,980 --> 00:57:46,940 I feel quite emotional, 791 00:57:46,940 --> 00:57:48,220 hearing this. 792 00:57:48,220 --> 00:57:50,060 I've seen so many problems 793 00:57:50,060 --> 00:57:55,140 and, here, you've really looked after, shepherded, saved 794 00:57:55,140 --> 00:57:56,980 and created a future 795 00:57:56,980 --> 00:58:02,220 for a creature that was right on the edge of dying out. Yes. 796 00:58:02,220 --> 00:58:04,340 And hopefully, this will be a model. 797 00:58:04,340 --> 00:58:07,100 And it's becoming a model, you know, you have highways, 798 00:58:07,100 --> 00:58:09,740 you can do wildlife bridges or wildlife passages, 799 00:58:09,740 --> 00:58:11,380 and you'll reconnect the habitat. 800 00:58:11,380 --> 00:58:13,860 It's just a matter of doing it. I mean, all wildlife 801 00:58:13,860 --> 00:58:17,020 needs is a little bit of help, and give them the opportunity 802 00:58:17,020 --> 00:58:18,900 and it will bounce back. 803 00:58:25,700 --> 00:58:28,020 Next time, I'll be travelling down the Andes, 804 00:58:28,020 --> 00:58:30,260 the great spine of the continent... 805 00:58:30,260 --> 00:58:32,700 Look above us, the glacier. 806 00:58:32,700 --> 00:58:35,980 ..to one of the highest human settlements in the world, 807 00:58:35,980 --> 00:58:37,980 and through an area blighted by 808 00:58:37,980 --> 00:58:39,620 an endless and deadly drug war. 809 00:58:39,620 --> 00:58:40,700 Down.