1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:11,440 I'm on a huge journey. 2 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,640 I'm travelling the length of the Americas, 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:15,720 the two continents that together 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,200 form more than a quarter of Earth's land surface. 5 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:22,840 VOICEOVER: On this adventure, 6 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,240 I'm travelling down through South America. 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,160 We're in such a remote part of planet Earth. 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,760 It's a journey of more than 4,000 miles 9 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,400 through some of the world's greatest landscapes... 10 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,440 ..encountering spectacular wildlife. 11 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:48,800 The cat is on the move. 12 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,560 From its iconic cities to the Andes Mountains, 13 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,760 it's a continent of dramatic extremes. 14 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:00,160 Down! 15 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,040 LOUD BANGS 16 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,480 Along the way, I meet the inspiring... 17 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,080 Yolanda! 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,440 ..and the surprising people... 19 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,440 These guys are Mennonites. 20 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,240 ..who make South America so extraordinary. 21 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,280 There's Wi-Fi here. 22 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,520 Nowhere else for miles around, apparently. 23 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,560 We do our own thing. 24 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,240 We're happy here, man. 25 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:06,680 SIMON GASPS 26 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:08,200 Flippin' heck! 27 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,200 I feel like I'm hallucinating. 28 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,480 It's like the largest, 29 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,800 most perfect ice skating rink you can possibly imagine. 30 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,760 This is the Salar de Uyuni - 31 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,640 4,000 square miles of salt flats. 32 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:38,000 I was in Southern Bolivia, 33 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,760 starting this leg of my South American journey 34 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,120 in one of the most remarkable landscapes on Earth. 35 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:45,760 It's the rainy season at the moment, 36 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,280 but when it's dry, these salt flats are so white 37 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,760 and so huge it's said you can see them from the moon. 38 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,400 Here in the tropics, the rainy season is roughly 39 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,200 November to April. 40 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,120 There's just a few inches of salty water, 41 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,560 but that creates what looks like a vast mirror. 42 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,600 This salty wilderness is one of the harshest environments imaginable, 43 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,080 hostile to almost all forms of life, 44 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,120 yet I've been told even here there are people 45 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,160 who have found a way to make a living. 46 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,360 That has to be them. 47 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,800 We're heading towards where we think 48 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,840 some of the last remaining traditional salt miners 49 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,680 might be working. 50 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,120 You can see for miles in every direction. 51 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,560 They're the only people working out here, that's for sure. 52 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,440 Como estas? Eric? 53 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,800 Si. Como estas? 54 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:51,880 Oh! Como estas? 55 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:55,480 It looks like you've got the whole... 56 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:57,280 You've got the whole family working. 57 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,480 Eric's family have been mining salt here 58 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:07,920 for three generations. 59 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:11,080 Si. 60 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:13,800 Si. 61 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,200 Ooh! 62 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:23,080 That's an epic bit of work, isn't it? 63 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:24,520 Look at that blade! 64 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:31,040 This is a proper... 65 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:35,640 Right. 66 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:48,920 It's got a good weight to it, hasn't it? 67 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,000 And, Eric, what are they used for? As a table salt or what? 68 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,600 And how many will you mine or harvest in a day, then? 69 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:24,280 Is it a good business? 70 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,240 Do you make a decent income from this? 71 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:34,840 So more than £100 a day, 72 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:38,200 but that's to provide for the entire family. 73 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:41,520 And it looks like bloody hard work. 74 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,400 See, he's just tied the wires together. 75 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:09,920 It's lunch break. 76 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,720 There's nowhere else quite like this on planet Earth. 77 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:31,120 In places, the salty crust beneath us is ten metres deep. 78 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,720 It's thought there are 10 billion tonnes of sodium chloride here. 79 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,840 That's a lot of fish and chips! 80 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:41,440 Eric said he was taking us for lunch 81 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,840 at a monument he and his family have built. 82 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:51,160 It's a tower of blocks which they rather poetically call 83 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:52,840 the stairway to heaven. 84 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,040 The stairs gift an amazing view of the salt flats, 85 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,760 but it's not just salt around us. 86 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,000 There's something much more valuable beneath the surface. 87 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,760 Dissolved in salty water deep beneath the lake crust, 88 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:15,880 mining companies have discovered the presence 89 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,040 of one of the most sought-after substances on Earth - 90 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,440 the lightweight metal lithium. 91 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,080 Lithium is the single most crucial element 92 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:26,800 in current rechargeable batteries, 93 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,360 for everything from smartphones to electric cars. 94 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,320 Do you think lithium could make Bolivia rich? 95 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,680 This could be one of the world's largest lithium reserves, 96 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,560 and lithium batteries, especially in electric cars, 97 00:08:34,560 --> 00:08:37,440 are currently one of our best hopes for replacing fossil fuels 98 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:39,680 and tackling climate change. 99 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:42,720 But pumping out lithium involves an industrial process, 100 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,440 with concerns about the environmental impact. 101 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:51,600 Usually, I'm quite nervous about drilling and mining, of course, 102 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:53,240 but in this situation, 103 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,120 I really don't think we've got any choice. 104 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,840 The world needs lithium if we are to transition 105 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,600 to a new era of cleaner, greener transport. 106 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,200 There's been a lot of talk here about Bolivia 107 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,160 becoming a green energy superpower off the back of its lithium, 108 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,640 and the former president here said lithium will become 109 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,840 the new oil and Bolivia will become the new Saudi Arabia. 110 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:23,920 But bureaucracy and a lack of investment 111 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:25,960 means Bolivia hasn't got very far with its hope 112 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,240 of becoming a lithium superpower 113 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,760 and using resources to lift its people out of poverty. 114 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,520 Bolivia's still among the poorest countries in South America. 115 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:37,760 It's a common story on the continent. 116 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,000 South America's rammed with valuable natural resources. 117 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:45,160 This is weird. It's like the exit and entry ramp 118 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,200 for the salt flats. 119 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,680 The Spanish mined so much silver in Bolivia, 120 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:53,800 it funded much of their empire. 121 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:58,160 Then so much tin was found here, it was carted away in trains. 122 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,200 The real wealth has often been creamed off 123 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,240 by the elite or goes abroad and, of course, 124 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,800 as people chop, plant and dig great swathes of the continent, 125 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:08,640 that ruins wild places. 126 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,760 I travelled east from Bolivia into Brazil, 127 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,200 where huge areas of wilderness have been turned over to farming. 128 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,880 Look, you can see, stretching miles into the distance, 129 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,400 these enormous farms and fields. 130 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:46,000 When it comes to farming, Brazil is a global superpower. 131 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,760 After China, India and the United States, 132 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,080 it's the largest producer of food in the world. 133 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,120 This is mega farming. 134 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,480 The proponents would say, of course, it's what's needed to provide 135 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,920 for the billions of human beings on this planet 136 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:14,440 and now, at a time when global food supplies are not just stretched, 137 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,080 but at breaking point, 138 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,960 food from here, from this part, from this area of Brazil 139 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:22,760 is going to be more needed than ever. 140 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,040 It is astonishing what's happened here. 141 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:34,800 How the landscape has been utterly transformed. 142 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,600 How the forest and the savannah has been ripped and torn up. 143 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,160 This is the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, 144 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,720 now Brazil's leading producer of soy beans, 145 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:47,440 corn, cotton and cattle. 146 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,400 We flew on to a very different world, 147 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:54,480 a massive inland river delta 148 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:58,240 which forms one the greatest areas of wilderness on Earth. 149 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:02,800 So, we're arriving now into the second incredible landscape 150 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,840 and ecosystem that we're visiting on this part of my journey 151 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:07,480 down through South America. 152 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,480 This is the largest tropical wetland on planet Earth. 153 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,920 This is the Pantanal. 154 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,040 Like so much in Brazil, 155 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:22,040 the Pantanal is on a massive scale. 156 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:23,920 It's bigger than England. 157 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,760 An endless maze of rivers, lakes and swamps 158 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,200 teeming with unique wildlife. 159 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,080 This is an absolute highlight 160 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,640 of my journey down through South America. 161 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:42,200 So often... 162 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:45,480 Just checking we've got enough runway. 163 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,120 It's so often overshadowed by the Amazon rainforest 164 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:53,800 just to the north, but the Pantanal actually, quietly boasts 165 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,400 the highest concentration of wildlife on this continent. 166 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:02,200 I'm smiling because we're somewhere spectacular 167 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:03,680 and we've landed safely. 168 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,200 That's all the runway we had left. 169 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,000 Ha! 170 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:16,960 Oh! 171 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,560 I met up with conservationist Colonel Angelo Rabelo. 172 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:21,880 Coronel, very nice to meet you! 173 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:23,640 Oh, nice to meet you. 174 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,680 Welcome to Acurizal Farm. 175 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:29,360 Colonel Rabelo is a conservation hero 176 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,600 who spent 40 years battling to protect the Pantanal. 177 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,400 He first came here as a soldier in the 1980s 178 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,840 and bravely fought against poachers and wildlife traffickers. 179 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:40,960 It was dangerous and deadly work. 180 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,720 On one mission, two of his men were killed. 181 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:47,520 He was shot in the shoulder and lost full use of his right arm. 182 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:22,560 What a landscape this is! 183 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,000 An enormous stork the size of a fighter jet 184 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,000 that's just taken off here. 185 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,280 And a caiman - like an allegator - just down there. 186 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:47,320 This place is home to jaguars, 187 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:51,960 to the maned wolf, to the yellow anaconda, 188 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:53,440 to bizarre anteaters, 189 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:58,280 to a snake that is so large it feeds on deer. 190 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,560 Hyacinth macaws! 191 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:05,600 These are incredibly rare. 192 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,440 All this astonishing life in the Pantanal, 193 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,480 and the ecosystem itself, 194 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,560 relies on predicable seasonal change. 195 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,000 So, in the rainy season, water should pour down 196 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,680 from the north and east. 197 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,720 Rivers burst their banks, creating huge swamps 198 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:27,760 with hilly islands left poking above the water. 199 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,680 Then, in the winter dry season, waters need to recede 200 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,640 so whole areas can dry out. 201 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,480 Plants and animals base their breeding and feeding cycles 202 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,240 on this endless rhythm of life. 203 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:43,160 For those who've never really heard of the Pantanal, 204 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:44,480 how would you describe it? 205 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,680 As I'd already seen, the enormous area surrounding the Pantanal, 206 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,640 which used to be forest and savannah, 207 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,240 has been replaced by industrial farming. 208 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:21,160 Scientists believe this profound landscape change 209 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,120 has had a powerful impact on the climate of the Pantanal, 210 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,440 possibly the continent, 211 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,840 and the result here, even in this water world, 212 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:30,920 is drier, more unpredictable weather 213 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,200 creating drought and fearsome, more frequent fires. 214 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,720 Oh, my! So, what happened here, Colonel? 215 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:33,880 In one fire season recently, 216 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,760 a third of the Pantanal's vegetation was destroyed 217 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:41,000 and more than 17 million animals are thought to have perished. 218 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,320 Normally, the whole mosaic of the Pantanal, 219 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,520 the interconnecting waterways, 220 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,880 would act as natural moats 221 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,680 containing fires and preventing them from doing too much damage. 222 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:00,520 Greenery and small bushes have quickly regrown, 223 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,200 but the trees, rich biodiversity, wildlife has gone. 224 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:07,520 If the droughts and fires keep coming, 225 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,360 great areas of the Pantanal could be lost forever. 226 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:18,800 What did it tell you? 227 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,160 Oh, thank you. 228 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,280 The Pantanal isn't empty of people. 229 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,880 For centuries, there have been relatively sustainable 230 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:54,800 family ranches here. 231 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,200 Their cattle graze on fertile grass on slightly higher ground 232 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,000 set among the patchwork of water. 233 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,360 Those farmers also rely on the predictable cycle 234 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:06,920 of the seasons in the Pantanal, 235 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,480 but now, they're not only facing droughts and fire but - 236 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,440 the irony - some areas of this huge wetland 237 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,480 are being ruined by too much water, by devastating flooding. 238 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:30,440 Colonel, so I gather this isn't actually the natural wetland? 239 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:31,960 What's happened here? 240 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,680 One of the main sources of water for the Pantanal 241 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,360 is the mighty Taquari River. 242 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:04,800 Over decades, the Brazilian Government encouraged 243 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,880 intensive farming further up the Taquari. 244 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,480 Farmers cleared vast areas of forest. 245 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,960 That caused massive soil erosion. 246 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:17,200 So much silt clogged the river, eventually it changed course 247 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,440 and permanently flooded an area of the Pantanal 248 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,240 double the size of Norfolk. 249 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,560 This has transformed this landscape 250 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:31,040 and people who farm here, have farmed here for generations, 251 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:32,800 many of them have been forced out. 252 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,240 In fading light, we searched for a patch of dry land 253 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,440 where one determined farming couple have stayed on. 254 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,760 I think we're just about to hit land. 255 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,240 RATTLING At that moment! 256 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,160 I can see there's a couple of faint lights over there, 257 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,280 across goodness knows what, 258 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,120 but I'm going to head there and hope that's where we're staying. 259 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,320 OX BELLOWS Oh, my goodness! Look at this! 260 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,440 Rivaldo! Oi! 261 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:10,560 Rivaldo! LAUGHTER 262 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,120 So, Rivaldo has come with an oxcart. 263 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:25,720 Come, Simon. What am I going to grab? 264 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,760 My host was Rivaldo, 265 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,040 an old-school, traditional Pantanal farmer. 266 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,440 THEY CHATTER 267 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,120 This is bonkers, isn't it? SIMON LAUGHS 268 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:48,000 I've no idea, really, where we are, 269 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,440 but hopefully there'll be some food and a good night's sleep, 270 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,080 and then a little bit more clarity in the morning. 271 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:56,960 Right, night-night for now. 272 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:01,600 Where is he taking us? 273 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:11,960 I've had a quick look around. 274 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,200 We're on a farm that's an island! 275 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,480 Rivaldo has lived here his whole life. 276 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,200 His father and grandfather farmed this land before him, 277 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,280 then suddenly the Taquari River changed course. 278 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,000 This was all flooded? 279 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,440 Most of Rivaldo's neighbours abandoned their homes 280 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,560 and their livelihoods - but not Rivaldo. 281 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,160 He came up with an incredible plan. 282 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:13,880 OK. OK. 283 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:17,160 Yes. Nicely in. 284 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,640 With no farm machinery to help him, 285 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,800 Rivaldo filled up thousands of sacks with earth and rubble. 286 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,720 Oh, yeah, you can see some of the dam over there! 287 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:28,400 Look, white bags! 288 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:30,720 For years, he kept piling them up, 289 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,840 eventually building more than 50 makeshift dams 290 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,080 to hold back the invading waters. 291 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,080 It was back-breaking work. 292 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,960 What did people say when you started building these dams? 293 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:10,280 Before the flood, Rivaldo's family farmed 17,000 acres of pasture. 294 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:12,720 They were wealthy. 295 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,520 They even had a landing strip and a small plane. 296 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,160 With physical graft and his system of dams, 297 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,560 Rivaldo's clawed back 700 acres - 298 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:23,920 space for enough sheep to provide a modest living 299 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:25,840 for him and his wife, Denise. 300 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,800 But it almost killed him. 301 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,200 A few years ago, Rivaldo was struck down with a heart condition. 302 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:32,520 Oh! 303 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,640 Do we think that Rivaldo's heart 304 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,880 maybe was rather broken by the floods? 305 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:07,880 Oh, Denise, I'm sorry! 306 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:09,320 We've made you cry. 307 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:24,000 Clearly, what you two have that has kept you going is each other. 308 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,800 So, the tractor here is taking us back to... 309 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,440 I was going to say the river, but it's more like the sea. 310 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,240 At the start of my little time with them, 311 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,120 I felt almost a bit sad for their situation, 312 00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:55,560 but their love is so strong 313 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,600 and they're in such a staggeringly beautiful part of the planet. 314 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:04,160 I think most people would be a bit envious, eh? 315 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:13,800 Rivaldo, Denise, farewell! 316 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:27,440 The fires, floods and droughts tearing through the Pantanal 317 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,240 are an existential threat to the wildlife here. 318 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,120 Almost 5,000 species of plants and animals 319 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:38,200 make this place their home. 320 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,520 Even though it's a Unesco World Heritage Site, 321 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,680 less than 5% of the Pantanal is actually made up 322 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:46,560 of protected national parks. 323 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:52,240 So conservationists are finding new ways to preserve biodiversity 324 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,120 and protect some of the most iconic creatures on the planet. 325 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:03,480 So, I've come to see another group of heroes, really, 326 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,640 who are fighting to protect the Pantanal. 327 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,080 This is none too shabby. 328 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:13,200 My goodness. 329 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,240 And THAT is what I'm really hoping to see. 330 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:25,040 Only one of the so-called big five cats are found in South America. 331 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,120 It's the jaguar. 332 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,200 It's arguably the most iconic animal on the Continent 333 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,000 and one of my top bucket-list creatures to see, 334 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,360 but it's shy and often hard to spot, let alone film. 335 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,560 I knew I wouldn't be lucky enough to see any, 336 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,600 but I went out with Beatriz Lopes Monteiro, 337 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,760 a biologist with Oncafari, 338 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:47,640 a conservation group working in Brazil 339 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,520 to preserve critical ecosystems. 340 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,040 Here, they operate on a huge cattle ranch, 341 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,160 helping to protect a healthy population 342 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,440 of elusive jaguars. 343 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,440 OK, so now we're really looking for him. 344 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,200 WHISPERS: That is absolutely astonishing. 345 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,200 Oh, my God! It's stunning! 346 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,000 I didn't expect that we would drive just a short distance 347 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,840 and suddenly there'd be a whopping great jaguar lying on the road. 348 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:27,880 I mean, it's staggering. 349 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:30,880 He looks quite playful. 350 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:34,000 Yeah, he's in a young age. 351 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:35,800 Almost two years. 352 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:40,640 And he's this young male that is discovering this land 353 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,520 and discovering partners, 354 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,720 discovering the other jaguars that are around. 355 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,640 Has he found a partner? 356 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,000 Do we have some good gossip about him? 357 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:51,640 Yes, definitely. 358 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:55,280 We already seen him with another female. 359 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,840 This is a huge area inside of, er, this farm. 360 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,760 It has 53,000 hectares 361 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,240 and it has a lot of reserved areas. 362 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,480 And also, the farms around here don't hunt 363 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:08,960 these animals any more. Mm. 364 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:13,200 Because we see that eco-tourism is something that is very important 365 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:17,640 to develop economically, and... 366 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:19,440 Make money? Make money out of it. 367 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,480 Yeah. 368 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:23,920 The concept of eco-tourism, 369 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,680 the idea of the safari, 370 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:31,760 is definitely increasing in popularity in South America 371 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,080 because people are able to make a good income 372 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:36,880 and economy from it. 373 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,160 Anyway, the cat is on the move! 374 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:44,000 Do you think we can go closer? 375 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,280 BEATRIZ SPEAKS TO DRIVER 376 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:47,480 DRIVER COUGHS 377 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:48,480 ENGINE STARTS 378 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,800 Shipa always coughs before he moves the vehicle. 379 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,320 Yes, this is key for the eco-tourism 380 00:30:56,320 --> 00:31:02,160 of the nature observation to happen, is the habituation of these animals. 381 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:05,000 Showing them that the presence of the car, 382 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,200 the sounds of the cameras, the radio, 383 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,240 it doesn't mean anything. 384 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,480 So this is something that is important for them 385 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:18,560 to get to know us and to know that we are not threatening them at all. 386 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,240 Getting jaguars used to the presence of people 387 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,720 makes it more possible to go on a proper safari here. 388 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,240 If tourists pay to stay here - ideally in eco-lodges - 389 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,520 some of the profits can be ploughed back into conservation. 390 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,600 Tourism also means jobs for local people. 391 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:40,120 Farmers who used to shoot jaguars for eating their livestock 392 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:44,160 now leave them alone because of the economic benefits they bring. 393 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,040 Rather than tourism just damaging, it can help to protect. 394 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:56,120 WHISPERS: There's a mother and cub! 395 00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,360 This is astonishing! 396 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:05,880 As life experiences go, this is very special. 397 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:07,360 Oh, my God! 398 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,560 Shipa will take the car over there. OK. 399 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:13,360 To have a better sight, right? OK. 400 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,000 Yes. No problem. DRIVER COUGHS 401 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:25,000 This is an incredible new experience to be part of. 402 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,200 I think also incredible even for you, no? 403 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,120 Yes, definitely! Definitely! 404 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:30,920 To see her with the cub, 405 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:33,960 it's something that is amazing for us. 406 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:46,520 And they really hope here that this model of eco-tourism 407 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:51,840 is something that can be exported elsewhere in the Pantanal 408 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:53,840 and maybe to other wild areas of Brazil. 409 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:02,160 She's now just, what, 20 metres in front of our vehicle. 410 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,240 It was completely thrilling to see this apex predator - 411 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,320 and the next generation - up close in the Pantanal. 412 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,800 This extraordinary water wilderness 413 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,000 is one of the true treasures of South America, 414 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,680 but even as I was leaving it, I was reminded that it's fragile. 415 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:40,760 Fire! 416 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,560 There's a fire by the side of the road, look! 417 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,040 Oh, man, the burning bush. 418 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:48,800 Can we stop? Stop, stop, stop. 419 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:52,560 There's nothing we can do about this. 420 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,040 I mean, this is even burning 421 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:59,000 the grass that's on stony ground here. 422 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,160 And then there's a risk that it's going to go into the canopy. 423 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:07,640 This is how an inferno can begin. 424 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:09,240 All it takes is a spark 425 00:34:09,240 --> 00:34:11,640 from a passing truck or a tossed cigarette. 426 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,120 That's impossible. 427 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,200 I hate this. I feel powerless. 428 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:27,200 I'm leaving the Pantanal now. 429 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:28,720 I don't want to sugar-coat this. 430 00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:32,680 It is facing multiple threats from climate change, 431 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:34,600 from industrial farming, 432 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,400 from deforestation and from fire. 433 00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:44,200 I travelled south towards the next stop 434 00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:48,000 on this leg of my journey through South America - Paraguay. 435 00:34:57,880 --> 00:34:59,640 I've crossed the border into Paraguay 436 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:04,240 and we're heading now to a remote little town called Nueva Durango. 437 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:10,040 Paraguay is one of the least-visited countries on the continent. 438 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,840 Landlocked, forested and actually a bit mysterious, 439 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,280 it's been described as a tough place to live and survive. 440 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,720 And it's one of the poorest countries in South America. 441 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:23,160 Over the centuries, many Paraguayans have left 442 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:25,080 to find work abroad. 443 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,800 In response, governments here encouraged outsiders 444 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:29,200 to come and settle. 445 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:35,160 One group in particular came here 446 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,760 and they've had a really profound impact on the land. 447 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:43,640 So, I think we're coming to the supermarket. 448 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:45,720 Flippin' heck! 449 00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:48,680 Well, this isn't a normal supermarket car park. 450 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:56,640 So, these guys are Mennonites. 451 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:01,560 They've basically found... 452 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,600 They've found wilderness here - and they transformed it. 453 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:10,560 Come on now, that is surely the first time I have seen 454 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:13,240 a cement mixer in the back of a horse and cart. 455 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,440 One of the elders of the community, 456 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:21,640 Isaac Wall Hildebrandt - on the right here - 457 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,440 was taking me off to school. 458 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:30,240 Mennonites are a Christian sect that originated in Europe in the 1600s, 459 00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:34,440 but now has more than 200 colonies in Latin America. 460 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:37,200 They believe fervently in nonviolence, 461 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:39,720 reject many trappings of the modern world 462 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:43,000 and some still speak a form of old German. 463 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:47,240 The Mennonites here originally fled persecution in Germany and Russia. 464 00:36:47,240 --> 00:36:49,800 They initially found sanctuary in Canada, 465 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:53,160 but then came to this remote corner of South America. 466 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,200 Isolation and austerity was what they were looking for. 467 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:58,000 What is the name of your horse, Isaac? 468 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:00,600 Pete? Si. 469 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:03,160 Pete as in the name? 470 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,760 Why do you use these carts and the horses? 471 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:13,800 I'm sure you could afford a four-wheel drive. 472 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:52,040 The practical way you live, the way you dress, 473 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:54,560 your use of the horse and cart 474 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:56,720 is very different to other Christians, isn't it? 475 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:23,280 Oh, I think we're arriving at the school. 476 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:31,120 School is where the Mennonites pass on their distinctive culture 477 00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:32,640 to their kids... 478 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:35,480 Oh, my. 479 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:37,040 ..under a watchful eye. 480 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,160 As I understand it, they were a community, 481 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:52,480 many of them were originally in Canada. 482 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:55,600 And they left Canada because, er, 483 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,080 they were being forced to adopt 484 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,280 a national education curriculum there. 485 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:03,760 And they wanted the freedom to be able 486 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:06,600 to educate their children the way they wanted, 487 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:08,640 which is why they came here to Paraguay. 488 00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:13,120 What is the lesson? 489 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:14,560 What are they being taught? 490 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:31,800 That is exceptional. 491 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,760 I mean, their handwriting is astonishing for their age. 492 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:48,200 And do boys and girls both learn Spanish? 493 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,280 Confirming whether the women in the community 494 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:19,320 would all agree they're happy at home 495 00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:20,880 proved a little tricky. 496 00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:23,160 HE SPEAKS GERMAN 497 00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:46,960 It's something unlike anything I've seen...anywhere in the world. 498 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:49,800 Not talking amongst each other. Very regimented. 499 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:02,160 They're all lined up, actually, in height-descending order. 500 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:03,600 Look. 501 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:21,840 CHILDREN READ ALOUD 502 00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:55,400 So, do they learn...? 503 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,240 Well, I'm presuming they learn what you would consider...? 504 00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:02,440 They have an education appropriate for the community? 505 00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:05,120 You're not teaching them about the big wide world, I imagine. 506 00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:25,200 What is the reason for not teaching them about computer studies 507 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:26,680 or geography? 508 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:49,400 So, what do you want these children to become? 509 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,880 What is the aim of their education? 510 00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:26,600 I do fear that part of the reason 511 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:28,640 the Mennonites quite like their isolation 512 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:30,840 is because here they're very unlikely 513 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:32,880 to get school inspectors coming round to check 514 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:35,920 that the children are being prepared for anything approaching 515 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:37,360 a modern world. 516 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:44,320 There are only 40,000 Mennonites in Paraguay, 517 00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:46,720 in a nation of 7 million people. 518 00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:52,160 But they control hundreds of thousands of hectares. 519 00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:58,360 They've had an extraordinary impact on this country 520 00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:02,320 and on another of South America's great wilderness areas. 521 00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:10,240 I'm now arriving into the third great eco-region 522 00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:14,520 that I've visited on this leg of my journey down through South America. 523 00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:17,160 This is the Chaco. 524 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:27,320 After the Amazon, the Chaco is the largest forest 525 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:29,160 in South America. 526 00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:31,640 It's twice the size of Spain 527 00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:34,240 and covers almost half of Paraguay, 528 00:44:34,240 --> 00:44:37,120 as well as parts of Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina. 529 00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:41,960 The Chaco is a dry forest. 530 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:44,240 The plants and trees here are adapted 531 00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:47,880 to the blistering heat and shortage of water. 532 00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:50,680 I've walked just a little way into the Chaco, 533 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:53,320 just to try and get a sense of this forest. 534 00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:57,600 It is stunning and it is sharp. 535 00:44:57,600 --> 00:44:59,000 Razor-sharp. 536 00:45:00,240 --> 00:45:02,880 The dense vegetation, covered in spines, 537 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:04,680 spikes and thorns, 538 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:08,160 make the forest of the Chaco pretty impenetrable. 539 00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:10,560 There are still thousands of square miles here 540 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:12,600 where few humans have ever set foot. 541 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:15,240 Oh, my goodness. 542 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,760 When settlers first came here, 543 00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:23,800 they described the Chaco as a green hell. 544 00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:27,280 And certainly, still today, it is just full of things 545 00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:31,120 that spike you and grab you and nibble you and bite you. 546 00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:32,720 It's so dense and thick. 547 00:45:32,720 --> 00:45:35,080 There could be a jaguar just over there and I wouldn't see it. 548 00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:40,240 But it is full of incredible biodiversity. 549 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:48,360 Over the centuries, most European settlers left 550 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,840 the rugged and hostile Chaco well alone, 551 00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:53,640 but the Mennonites? 552 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:55,560 Well, they're made of tougher stuff. 553 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:05,040 You drive for hours on dusty tracks 554 00:46:05,040 --> 00:46:07,840 and then to suddenly appear here, 555 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:09,520 it just feels a little bit surreal. 556 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:13,400 It's a very ordered, well-kept community. 557 00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:17,360 I'd arrived in the remote town of Filadelfia. 558 00:46:19,560 --> 00:46:22,200 It's home to one of the largest communities of Mennonites 559 00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:24,720 in Paraguay, and it's a bit of a boom town. 560 00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:29,000 This is one of the poorer countries of the Americas, 561 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:32,400 but, with sweat and toil, the Mennonites have managed 562 00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:35,560 to carve out a prosperous little life for themselves. 563 00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:38,320 And full credit to them. 564 00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:42,040 The Mennonites here still hold on to many of the old traditions, 565 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:45,080 but they've clearly embraced rather more of the 21st century 566 00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:47,880 than the ultra-conservatives I've come from. 567 00:46:47,880 --> 00:46:52,160 It's bizarre. Look, there's a Chevrolet showroom here. 568 00:46:52,160 --> 00:46:55,840 The Mennonites have cleared vast areas of dense Chaco forest 569 00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:58,480 to build towns and huge cattle ranches. 570 00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:01,960 The Mennonites are staggeringly good at farming in this isolation 571 00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:04,920 and, with massive demand for food from China and the West, 572 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:07,000 business has boomed. 573 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:10,160 The Chortitzer Agricultural Cooperative exports milk, 574 00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:12,480 beef and leather around the planet. 575 00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:14,680 So, we're just going straight over there. 576 00:47:14,680 --> 00:47:16,400 That's where the animals come in. 577 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:18,160 OK, we will follow you. Yeah. 578 00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:22,200 Patrick Friesen's great-grandparents were among the earliest Mennonites 579 00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:23,800 to farm cattle in the Chaco. 580 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:25,680 He studied in Canada for two years. 581 00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,000 The cattle that you'll see here, 582 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:36,640 it's more of the Indian breed, the Brahman, 583 00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:39,160 the zebu as we call them. The zebu? 584 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:41,160 Yeah, exactly. 585 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:47,200 This area, what the idea behind this area is, 586 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:49,600 it's to cool down the animal. 587 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:52,640 The animals come from natural pastures around here. 588 00:47:52,640 --> 00:47:55,160 These are probably one-and-a-half years old. 589 00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:57,520 Where is meat from here going? 590 00:47:57,520 --> 00:48:02,120 About 60-65%, er, is exported. 591 00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:04,080 Mainly... Well, different markets. 592 00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:06,760 Germany, for example, or to Switzerland. 593 00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:09,440 African markets as well or Lebanon, for example. 594 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:12,200 Those are countries where we export to. 595 00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:17,240 You are so connected with globalisation 596 00:48:17,240 --> 00:48:20,240 and the international market, I'm presuming? 597 00:48:20,240 --> 00:48:23,320 Ironically, we settled down as migrants from Canada, 598 00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:26,240 we looked for isolation. 599 00:48:26,240 --> 00:48:30,240 We looked to not be in touch with the outside world. 600 00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:34,200 And, ironically, we could see within two or three decades 601 00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:37,400 that we wouldn't be able to survive that, probably. 602 00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:39,440 We like to expand. 603 00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:43,800 We process about 900-1,200 cattle a day. 604 00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:47,560 Per year, it's about 180,000. 605 00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:55,680 What's the next stage, Patrick? 606 00:48:55,680 --> 00:49:00,640 The next stage will be where cattle goes in. 607 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:02,960 That's where it's, er... It's killed. 608 00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:11,280 You can see in here, they're still working. 609 00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:13,480 There's cow after cow going past. Cow after cow. 610 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:15,520 Carcass after carcass. 611 00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:17,200 It's an astonishing sight. 612 00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:23,560 So, you'll have somebody here who's, what, dispatching up to 1,000 a day? 613 00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:24,920 Yeah. 614 00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:29,600 As a carnivore, I have to accept this is where my food comes from. 615 00:49:29,600 --> 00:49:34,440 Yeah, exactly. This is a gruesome aspect of human existence really, 616 00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:35,760 isn't it? 617 00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:41,640 How many skins are likely to be in there, do you think? 618 00:49:41,640 --> 00:49:43,240 600. 600? 619 00:49:43,240 --> 00:49:46,800 Yeah. And these are the seats in your car. 620 00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:49,280 This is your steering wheel. 621 00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:51,720 This is maybe your shoes. 622 00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:56,200 Land Rover has bought from us. 623 00:49:56,200 --> 00:49:58,640 We have Ferrari that have bought from us. 624 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:04,720 It's extraordinary to see industrial agriculture, isn't it? 625 00:50:04,720 --> 00:50:07,320 What would your great-grandparents, 626 00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:09,440 your grandparents have made of this? 627 00:50:09,440 --> 00:50:14,160 First of all, they would have never have believed this - the scale. 628 00:50:14,160 --> 00:50:16,200 Er, second, 629 00:50:16,200 --> 00:50:19,160 they wouldn't have a problem with this either 630 00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:23,600 because they did the same thing, only not on this scale. 631 00:50:26,240 --> 00:50:29,640 The success of Mennonite businesses has turbo-charged 632 00:50:29,640 --> 00:50:33,200 the agriculture industry of this remote landlocked country. 633 00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:39,040 Paraguay is now a major player in the global food market, 634 00:50:39,040 --> 00:50:41,360 exporting millions of tonnes of soy beans 635 00:50:41,360 --> 00:50:44,520 and as much beef as the entire European Union. 636 00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:51,640 That provides jobs and economic growth is crucial for a poor nation, 637 00:50:51,640 --> 00:50:54,440 and we do need to feed the 8 billion people on the planet, 638 00:50:54,440 --> 00:50:56,720 but not everyone or everywhere is a winner. 639 00:50:56,720 --> 00:50:58,960 Can we stop? 640 00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:00,800 OK, thank you, mate. 641 00:51:00,800 --> 00:51:03,240 In the last decade, the Paraguayan Chaco has lost 642 00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:07,280 more than 6 million acres of native vegetation - 643 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:09,120 and most of that's for cattle grazing. 644 00:51:11,440 --> 00:51:16,120 Acres and acres of farmland. 645 00:51:16,120 --> 00:51:18,200 And this used to be the Chaco. 646 00:51:21,720 --> 00:51:25,360 The Chaco is said to have one of the fastest rates 647 00:51:25,360 --> 00:51:28,200 of deforestation anywhere in the world. 648 00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:31,480 By one account, 649 00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:36,320 up to seven trees are being lost in the Chaco every second. 650 00:51:38,160 --> 00:51:41,120 Throughout my long journey down through the Americas, 651 00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:43,960 I'd learnt that it isn't just the wildlife that suffers 652 00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:47,520 when ancient forests and ecosystems are destroyed. 653 00:51:47,520 --> 00:51:50,560 It's not even just the global climate that's at stake. 654 00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:54,600 The indigenous people of the Americas are often swept aside. 655 00:51:54,600 --> 00:51:56,960 This is the indigenous community of Chaidi, 656 00:51:56,960 --> 00:51:59,200 home to the Ayoreo people. 657 00:52:02,480 --> 00:52:04,560 Mucho gracias. Mucho gusto. 658 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:07,840 Welcome. Gracias. 659 00:52:07,840 --> 00:52:10,160 Taguide Picanerai is the chief's son. 660 00:52:10,160 --> 00:52:12,320 He grew up in Chaidi. 661 00:52:12,320 --> 00:52:15,520 His grandparents' generation lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers 662 00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:18,120 in the forest that used to cover this wider area. 663 00:52:42,920 --> 00:52:44,520 RATTLING 664 00:52:44,520 --> 00:52:46,160 MAN SINGS 665 00:52:53,320 --> 00:52:58,400 So, the shaman who's singing is the grandfather, 666 00:52:58,400 --> 00:52:59,960 and father of the chief. 667 00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:06,800 There's definitely an exceptionally strong sense of community 668 00:53:06,800 --> 00:53:08,600 amongst the people here, 669 00:53:08,600 --> 00:53:14,200 but there is definitely poverty and there is trauma here as well. 670 00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:26,480 Many Ayoreo first came into contact with the outside world 671 00:53:26,480 --> 00:53:30,720 in the 1940s and '50s, when Mennonite farmers arrived 672 00:53:30,720 --> 00:53:33,520 and established their first ranches here. 673 00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:36,800 Then, in the 1980s, fundamentalist American missionaries 674 00:53:36,800 --> 00:53:40,640 came and violently dragged many more Ayoreo people out of the forest. 675 00:53:41,640 --> 00:53:44,120 The ongoing destruction of the Chaco 676 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:46,760 has forced more and more of them out. 677 00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:49,160 Some here have only left the forest recently. 678 00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:41,800 Much of the Ayoreo's land has been lost or taken. 679 00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:44,240 Many of the villagers now find labouring work 680 00:54:44,240 --> 00:54:46,720 on the surrounding cattle ranches. 681 00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:56,440 But Taguide and some of the other villagers are determined 682 00:54:56,440 --> 00:54:59,280 to protect what's left of their forest. 683 00:54:59,280 --> 00:55:03,160 They mount armed patrols to try and stop outsiders from cutting 684 00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:06,760 and chopping the forest or seizing their remaining land. 685 00:55:31,520 --> 00:55:36,040 What do you mean, the people who are inside the forest? 686 00:55:48,320 --> 00:55:53,640 So do you have relatives, then, who are living that life, 687 00:55:53,640 --> 00:55:55,680 almost as hunter-gatherers? 688 00:56:10,240 --> 00:56:12,800 Taguide has never met some of his relatives 689 00:56:12,800 --> 00:56:16,360 who live in the forest, but he knows they're there. 690 00:56:16,360 --> 00:56:18,640 Occasionally he comes across evidence 691 00:56:18,640 --> 00:56:19,920 of where they've been living. 692 00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:26,560 He took me deep into the Chaco. 693 00:56:56,800 --> 00:57:02,360 It is astonishing to think that you have relatives still living 694 00:57:02,360 --> 00:57:04,440 such an isolated life in the Chaco. 695 00:57:24,840 --> 00:57:28,520 From the time the first Europeans came to the Americas, 696 00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:30,720 the indigenous people have suffered - 697 00:57:30,720 --> 00:57:33,800 slavery, disease, exploitation. 698 00:57:33,800 --> 00:57:36,480 In many areas, they've never been fully integrated 699 00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:38,840 into the nations that govern them. 700 00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:43,240 And here in the Chaco, a few have said that enough is enough. 701 00:57:43,240 --> 00:57:45,840 They've decided a traditional lifestyle 702 00:57:45,840 --> 00:57:48,480 with all its hardships and difficulties 703 00:57:48,480 --> 00:57:51,920 is better than what's on offer from the modern world. 704 00:57:53,360 --> 00:57:58,520 The Ayoreo - they're not, as some would call them, uncontacted. 705 00:57:58,520 --> 00:58:02,240 They've experienced almost always the modern world. 706 00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:04,720 They've seen it. They've heard it. 707 00:58:04,720 --> 00:58:08,800 They've witnessed or felt its destructive force 708 00:58:08,800 --> 00:58:13,760 as its bulldozers have levelled their forest 709 00:58:13,760 --> 00:58:15,200 and their home. 710 00:58:15,200 --> 00:58:18,040 And they have said, "No, that's not what we want." 711 00:58:18,040 --> 00:58:21,760 And they have retreated further into the wilderness 712 00:58:21,760 --> 00:58:23,800 to find a sanctuary. 713 00:58:25,040 --> 00:58:28,480 I find it astonishing, beautiful and moving 714 00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:31,480 that in the 21st century there are still people living 715 00:58:31,480 --> 00:58:35,640 an isolated hunter-gatherer existence out there 716 00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:37,160 in the endless Chaco. 717 00:58:41,320 --> 00:58:43,080 Next time... 718 00:58:43,080 --> 00:58:44,760 Oh, it's epic! 719 00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:48,800 ..from the sands of the Atacama to snow-capped peaks in Patagonia, 720 00:58:48,800 --> 00:58:51,840 it's the final leg of my journey down the Americas. 721 00:58:51,840 --> 00:58:56,480 This ferry is going to take me to the end of the world - 722 00:58:56,480 --> 00:58:58,120 el fin del mundo.