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I'm on another huge journey.
This time I'm travelling the length

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of the Americas.

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It's a journey down through
two vast continents that cover

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more than a quarter of the world's
land surface.

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It'll take me to places of myth
and wonder...

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Feels like stumbling
upon a secret kingdom.

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From the frozen
beauty of the Arctic...

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HE LAUGHS

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..I'm travelling to some
of the world's great cities.

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Oh, this is completely breathtaking.

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HE SHOUTS INSTRUCTIONS

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Then on into the
beautiful and blighted tropics...

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We're with armed conservationists.

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..to the heart of the battle
to save the planet.

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GUNSHOT

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GUNSHOTS

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On this leg of my journey, I'm
travelling across Central America,

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from the Caribbean coast of Belize
to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

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It's one of the most beautiful
and biodiverse places on Earth.

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Oh, my God!

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I was just hugged by a manatee.

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In Guatemala, I meet farmers
facing their greatest challenge.

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This is a disaster.

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I hit the streets in one of the most
violent cities in the world.

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Bloody scary!

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And I meet extraordinary young
volunteer paramedics delivering

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healthcare and hope.

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Welcome to El Salvador!
Thank you, mate.

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It's completely idyllic.

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We're pottering along through
an incredible mangrove forest

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on both sides.

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That side is Mexico.

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This side is the Central American
country of Belize.

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And we're heading towards
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The Bacalar Chico
National Park and Marine Reserve

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is an incredible protected area
at the northern tip of Belize.

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It's 40 square miles of
mangrove swamp,

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seagrass, coral reefs
and the beautiful Caribbean Sea.

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Dolphins.

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Here they are,
right in front of the boat.

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Oh, there's quite a few. Maybe six?

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Jen Chapman and Andreina Acosta
are marine biologists working

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for Blue Ventures, a British
conservation charity that works

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globally with local communities
to preserve life

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in and around our oceans.

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I grew up near the reef,
so every time I come out,

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it just feels like I'm at home.

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We're going down to your home.
Yes. Yes.

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I'll show you around.
All right. Thank you, Mermaid.

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That's what they call me. Do they?

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No!

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The sea here teems with life.

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Time to strap on the tanks.

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Thank you very much. All right.

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You just have a look at the sea
around us, look!

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You have no idea
from above the surface

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what is beneath the waves.

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The Mesoamerican Reef is the second
largest barrier reef system

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on the planet.

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600 miles of fabulous corals
are home to more than

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500 species of fish.

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Coral reefs occupy less than 1%
of seabed, but they're crucial

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to the ocean ecosystem,
sustaining around a quarter

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of all marine species.

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Coral reefs are under serious
threat.

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Rising sea temperatures
are taking a terrible toll.

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Oceans are now said to be warming
40% faster than predicted

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as recently as 2014.

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But here in Belize, conservation
efforts are beginning to work.

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This area of reef has been removed
from the endangered list.

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It's completely spectacular.

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Beautiful? Perfect.
The variety of the coral is amazing.

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You can find species of corals
that you don't find

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in very many other places
in the world.

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So there are some really special
and important

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different species down there.

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Ahh!

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If we want to protect coral reefs,
we also have to protect the complex

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ecosystems that surround them.

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Here, there are huge beds of vital
seagrass,

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lagoons and an endless labyrinth of
beautiful mangrove forest.

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We would not have our reefs
if we didn't have mangroves.

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They are absolutely essential.

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They are not only such an important
ecosystem,

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but really poorly understood.

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A lot of people just think
they're just trees,

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and they're actually this critically
important fish nursery.

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In what way are they a nursery?

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If you take a look into the trees,
you'll see all the roots

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are tangling together,

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and the tiny juvenile fish see
that as a safe place

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to grow up, basically.

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So the tiny little fish that will
eventually move out

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and live on the reef,
they're all growing up

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in the mangroves
because they're safe

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and they're protected
from other predatory fish

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that you'll find out on the reef.

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It's quite bizarre
to think of marine life

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depending on a forest.

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But that's kind of...
That's what it is, isn't it?

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I've never thought about it
like that, but, yeah,

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that's exactly what it is.

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I now start to see in a completely
different way. The mangrove forests

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are a completely essential element
in the connected web of marine life.

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Oh, my God!

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Look!

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It's a stunning and critical

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natural habitat.

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And here in Belize, the mangrove
forest is also home to one

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of the strangest and
rarest of all marine creatures.

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Can you pull the boat from the back?

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You've got it.

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So who would have put this up?

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Blue Ventures volunteers.

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The manatee is a marine mammal
like a dolphin or a seal,

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but is actually more closely
related to elephants.

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Belize is home to one of the largest
surviving populations,

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but these mysterious creatures
are still extremely rare.

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What does it mean, no wake?
I suppose it means go...go slow.

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Yeah, exactly. And one of the big
problems

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is that you have boats coming
through here that like to come into

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these lagoons for sport fishing.

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And a lot of those boats,
not all of them, but a lot of them

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are going to speed through here
very, very quickly.

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And the number one cause of death
for manatees and the number one

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threat to manatees
is being hit by boats.

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There are less than 1,000
Antillean manatees left in Belize,

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and up to 50 have been killed a year
recently, mainly in boat strikes.

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Many more are seriously injured.

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Jasmine Velazquez is from
Wildtracks, a charity rehabilitating

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injured and orphaned manatees
in the hope of releasing them back

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into the wild.

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So, over here in this pool
is where we have Sandy.

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Come, Sandy!

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There's a baby manatee!

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It looks sort of furry.

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They're sensory hair.

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So this is how they can detect
when people are in the water

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or threats or anything -
sensor hair.

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How big do they get?

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They can get anywhere between
six and eight feet.

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They can knock you out with
their tail. Knock you out? Yeah.

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Not that they would do that,
of course, but.

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But there's force in a heft...

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There's force in their tails,
yeah. ..in them?

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So over here we have Chelsea,
and right now she's going

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to be feeding Sandy, who's
definitely expecting her feed.

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Chelsea, is it time
to feed the baby?

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It is time to feed our manatee, yes.

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Look!

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Manatee calves generally stay
with their parents

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for one to two years, and we give
her company every hour

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for 30 minutes.

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But when we're not in the pool,
she has that floaty to act

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as her surrogate mum, so she can go
tuck underneath that floaty.

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So the floaty is her surrogate
mother at the moment.

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So that's not a toy?

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It's not a toy, it serves a purpose.

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Everything here at Wildtracks
serves a purpose.

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That's her surrogate
mother at the moment.

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Sandy's real mum was almost
certainly killed by the propeller

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of a boat.

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Sandy was found stranded
and alone, and brought here.

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Oh, my God!

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Well, you can really clearly see
the propeller marks there,

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how the propeller... Oh! ..has
corkscrewed down across the body.

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Yes. That's horrific.

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This manatee actually did survive
this attack.

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I've seen many cases.

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Sadly, many of them did not survive.

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So when I see the report, the
manatee passed away shortly after

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and it saddens me, because that's
one less for our population

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that's already small.

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And your population is...

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Well, your population is actually
one of the largest in the region.

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In the region. In the world. Yes.

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And yet, still, we're only talking
about a few hundred left in Belize.

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Every single one... Counts.
..counts and matters.

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So this is Lucky. This...

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I thought he was holding
a bit of old carpet or a towel.

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So this is what happens when
manatees become orphans

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or stranded from their mothers.

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This is the extent to how dehydrated
and emaciated they could get.

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So because he came in this
condition, everyone thought

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he wouldn't make it.

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He was, like, 95% already half dead.

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But he actually did survive

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because we put in the tender love
and care.

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We put in the 24-hour care required,
because every one counts.

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So this is Lucky.
Where is Lucky now?

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So he's in the lagoon.

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He's being fed.

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But eventually he will move
on to complete release.

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So he's in almost his last stage of
rehabilitation.

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We set off to look for Lucky
in the murky lagoon.

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It was easier than expected

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because it was manatee mating
season.

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Manatee - in the water just here!

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That one is Twiggy.

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And the one over there is Lucky.

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No! Yes.

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This is Lucky here,

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who we saw nearly died?

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Yes, that is Lucky.

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Now Lucky is busy having sex
with Twiggy.

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He's having fun.

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Having fun. He's enjoying himself,
definitely.

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It is nature,
it is happening here.

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And Lucky is getting busy.

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It was a big day at Wildtracks.

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The team were introducing a manatee
called Hope into the lagoon,

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a major step towards release
into the wild.

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The Peli cases contain trackers,

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so they can know where they are,
because it's quite hard

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to find them otherwise.

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Jasmine coaxed
Hope from the holding pen.

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Here they come. Here they come.
Look, she's just coming out.

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It's out - look!

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Aw, she's out! Yes!

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A manatee has come out of the gate,
that's a success.

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I think it's gone that way,
so they're wondering...

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Look, it is.

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HE GASPS

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Oh, my God!

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It's a wonderful project to see.

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Even just briefly, just to be a
tiny, tiny part of.

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But in and of itself,
it's not enough.

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Too many manatees are being killed,
still, every year in the waters

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of Belize and along this part
of the coast of the Americas.

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Much more needs to be done
to protect them.

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It's got its flippers around me.

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Look, he's having a smell.

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WHISPERS: I was just hugged
by a manatee.

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Belize is a small country
with a population less than Leeds.

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It's the only English-speaking
nation in Central America.

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In a part of the world that suffered
endless civil wars

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and American-backed despots,

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Belize has had a less-turbulent
history than many of its neighbours.

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But it's still poor, and you need
to have a laid-back approach

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when you're travelling around.

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Sir. A hand crank! Yes, sir.

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And hard work.

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Like working hard.

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Right, let me give you a hand.

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Sure. To show how hard it is.

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Yeah!

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Are you ready?
You're doing all the work. Yeah.

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00:14:17,660 --> 00:14:21,860
Well, I'm trying.
You're just making it easy for me.

249
00:14:21,860 --> 00:14:24,140
It's not so hard.

250
00:14:24,140 --> 00:14:26,380
Just getting the ferry
going is the tough bit.

251
00:14:26,380 --> 00:14:28,140
You did the hard work!

252
00:14:28,140 --> 00:14:30,020
THEY LAUGH

253
00:14:30,020 --> 00:14:32,620
I love doing this. Really?

254
00:14:32,620 --> 00:14:34,300
Getting me stronger.

255
00:14:35,500 --> 00:14:40,980
I'm getting... Tell you what,
I'm a little bit older than you.

256
00:14:40,980 --> 00:14:42,940
It's definitely working ME!

257
00:14:42,940 --> 00:14:44,540
Really?

258
00:14:48,700 --> 00:14:50,420
Done.

259
00:14:50,420 --> 00:14:51,940
Whoo!

260
00:14:53,140 --> 00:14:55,420
HORN TOOTS

261
00:15:03,180 --> 00:15:07,260
My journey down through the Americas
took me on, deep into the interior

262
00:15:07,260 --> 00:15:10,260
of Belize, near the border
with Guatemala.

263
00:15:12,860 --> 00:15:15,740
It's an area of dense jungle...

264
00:15:15,740 --> 00:15:17,980
..and some big surprises.

265
00:15:23,940 --> 00:15:27,900
Now that is off-the-scale epic!

266
00:15:27,900 --> 00:15:29,380
HE LAUGHS

267
00:15:29,380 --> 00:15:30,740
A new scale!

268
00:15:30,740 --> 00:15:31,740
Look!

269
00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:38,260
The Chiquibul Caves are the largest
and longest cave system

270
00:15:38,260 --> 00:15:40,340
in Central America.

271
00:15:48,180 --> 00:15:49,820
Wow.

272
00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:54,100
When you stand here and you look
at it, you could put

273
00:15:54,100 --> 00:15:56,380
an aircraft carrier in here.

274
00:15:58,260 --> 00:16:01,020
It's thought that only a fraction
of this underground world

275
00:16:01,020 --> 00:16:02,660
has been discovered.

276
00:16:02,660 --> 00:16:07,220
Some of the huge caves here extend
more than 20 miles into our planet.

277
00:16:07,220 --> 00:16:09,380
We're the only people here!

278
00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:12,300
Belize!

279
00:16:12,300 --> 00:16:15,340
Hidden treasures on the edge
of the Chiquibul Forest.

280
00:16:16,740 --> 00:16:18,380
And we're heading in!

281
00:16:21,020 --> 00:16:25,700
This is the Chiquibul Forest in
Belize, an enormous national park.

282
00:16:27,260 --> 00:16:30,700
It's an area of outstanding
biological diversity,

283
00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:33,180
and a home for many
endangered creatures.

284
00:16:33,180 --> 00:16:34,860
THROATY ROAR

285
00:16:34,860 --> 00:16:36,420
A wildlife ark.

286
00:16:43,300 --> 00:16:46,940
I joined up with a small group
of conservationists and rangers,

287
00:16:46,940 --> 00:16:50,980
the FCD, who patrol and protect
this park.

288
00:16:50,980 --> 00:16:52,340
Si.

289
00:16:55,100 --> 00:16:58,780
Their leader Rafael Manzanero
has studied, lived and worked here

290
00:16:58,780 --> 00:17:01,180
since he was a teenager.

291
00:17:01,180 --> 00:17:03,580
Rafael, what is out here?

292
00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:06,060
All the big things occur here.

293
00:17:06,060 --> 00:17:08,780
I mean, the Africans,
they talk about the big five.

294
00:17:08,780 --> 00:17:11,660
You know, here, we are looking at
all the five species of cats,

295
00:17:11,660 --> 00:17:13,980
ranging from the
jaguars to the mountain lion

296
00:17:13,980 --> 00:17:16,260
to the jaguarundi to the ocelot
to the margay.

297
00:17:16,260 --> 00:17:18,660
How many species of birds
do you have coming through?

298
00:17:18,660 --> 00:17:22,100
There have been recorded over 300,
but that is still unknown.

299
00:17:22,100 --> 00:17:24,660
Up to 300 and still counting?
Exactly.

300
00:17:24,660 --> 00:17:26,380
And that is still minimum.

301
00:17:26,380 --> 00:17:30,620
What you're talking
about is a global treasure. Exactly.

302
00:17:30,620 --> 00:17:32,260
This is a...

303
00:17:32,260 --> 00:17:35,260
Central America is a biodiversity...
Exactly.

304
00:17:35,260 --> 00:17:37,100
..mega hotspot, isn't it?

305
00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:38,980
But you're sweltering here.

306
00:17:38,980 --> 00:17:41,540
Our ambition has been really to move

307
00:17:41,540 --> 00:17:45,180
this to the second
World Heritage Site for Belize.

308
00:17:46,900 --> 00:17:49,460
Rafael and his men
have dedicated their lives

309
00:17:49,460 --> 00:17:51,940
to defending this treasure.

310
00:17:51,940 --> 00:17:55,980
They're conservationists
but they're also forest rangers.

311
00:17:57,660 --> 00:18:00,460
They've been trained by the British
Army to protect the park

312
00:18:00,460 --> 00:18:02,100
and its inhabitants.

313
00:18:02,100 --> 00:18:04,740
And these rangers are deadly
serious.

314
00:18:10,380 --> 00:18:13,060
We're with armed conservationists.

315
00:18:13,060 --> 00:18:17,220
It's astonishing that it's come
to that, but it has.

316
00:18:17,220 --> 00:18:20,700
The threats here come from poachers,
wildlife traffickers, farmers

317
00:18:20,700 --> 00:18:22,900
and loggers crossing the border
illegally

318
00:18:22,900 --> 00:18:24,660
from neighbouring Guatemala

319
00:18:24,660 --> 00:18:26,980
to plunder the forest's
natural riches.

320
00:18:26,980 --> 00:18:30,900
You are creeping out now and
you are moving into an open area.

321
00:18:30,900 --> 00:18:33,340
All of this is now open, see?
Oh, I see.

322
00:18:35,380 --> 00:18:36,580
Oh, my God.

323
00:18:39,700 --> 00:18:43,060
This was cleared by Guatemalans
in that case, coming in and trying

324
00:18:43,060 --> 00:18:45,580
to find land for
the agriculture of crops,

325
00:18:45,580 --> 00:18:48,620
particularly corn, beans
and pumpkin.

326
00:18:48,620 --> 00:18:52,620
So this is Guatemalan farmers who
have crossed the border illegally

327
00:18:52,620 --> 00:18:55,340
into Belize, they've crossed
the border into the national park.

328
00:18:55,340 --> 00:18:57,860
That's correct.
And they have cut it down to farm?

329
00:18:57,860 --> 00:19:01,180
Exactly. That's right.
They are chopping the forest,

330
00:19:01,180 --> 00:19:04,660
they are burning the trees
and they are planting crops

331
00:19:04,660 --> 00:19:08,700
and using it, ultimately, they hope,
one day for ranching cattle.

332
00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:12,580
Around the planet, poor farmers
are nibbling away at the edges

333
00:19:12,580 --> 00:19:16,180
of national parks, occupying
and using the land to ranch

334
00:19:16,180 --> 00:19:17,700
and grow food.

335
00:19:17,700 --> 00:19:22,300
But nibbling over time by huge
numbers destroys enormous areas

336
00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:24,740
of precious wildlife habitat.

337
00:19:24,740 --> 00:19:30,060
So, look, there's a pond here
that's being used for cattle.

338
00:19:30,060 --> 00:19:32,700
Farmers from the other side
of the border, from Guatemala,

339
00:19:32,700 --> 00:19:35,700
have been using this to water
their cows.

340
00:19:35,700 --> 00:19:38,140
Inside the national park!

341
00:19:40,820 --> 00:19:43,460
And here it's not just poor farmers.

342
00:19:43,460 --> 00:19:46,260
Drug gangs operate
in this border area.

343
00:19:46,260 --> 00:19:49,980
They're actually laundering
their money through cattle ranching.

344
00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:53,460
Guatemalan cowboys are one
of the rangers' main enemies.

345
00:19:53,460 --> 00:19:57,700
There... OK. Just go and check
if everything is clear.

346
00:19:57,700 --> 00:20:00,180
WHISPERS: Or if anyone's there?
Mm-hm.

347
00:20:09,540 --> 00:20:11,580
WHISPERS: Down, down, down!

348
00:20:11,580 --> 00:20:13,860
There's people up ahead...

349
00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:15,940
..who shouldn't be here.

350
00:20:21,820 --> 00:20:24,300
RAISED VOICES

351
00:20:24,300 --> 00:20:26,380
GUNSHOT

352
00:20:27,900 --> 00:20:30,180
GUNSHOTS

353
00:20:34,620 --> 00:20:35,860
Go, go!

354
00:20:35,860 --> 00:20:37,420
GUNSHOTS

355
00:20:40,940 --> 00:20:44,340
So the guys are now chasing people
on horseback.

356
00:20:57,380 --> 00:20:59,220
Straight to Guatemala? Yes.

357
00:20:59,220 --> 00:21:02,060
So is that where you think
they've come from?

358
00:21:03,300 --> 00:21:05,940
I mean, these guys are good
and young,

359
00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:08,580
but they can't keep up with people
on horseback.

360
00:21:08,580 --> 00:21:11,700
What was incredible about that is,
they were firing warning shots

361
00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:14,460
in the air, right next to these
people, and they took off.

362
00:21:14,460 --> 00:21:17,700
They knew if they were captured,
they will be prosecuted.

363
00:21:17,700 --> 00:21:20,460
And for them, taking the risk of
running for it

364
00:21:20,460 --> 00:21:22,340
was better than a jail.

365
00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:26,060
That's already Guatemala.

366
00:21:26,060 --> 00:21:29,460
The thatched house and the zinc
roof? Yeah. It's in Guatemala.

367
00:21:29,460 --> 00:21:31,660
So we are now basically
at the border.

368
00:21:31,660 --> 00:21:33,340
Yes, you are on the border.

369
00:21:33,340 --> 00:21:35,540
With the horses. Can you see them?

370
00:21:38,420 --> 00:21:40,300
Safe across the border,

371
00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:43,460
the Guatemalans were out of reach
of Rafael and his men.

372
00:21:43,460 --> 00:21:45,980
And look what we can see here.

373
00:21:45,980 --> 00:21:49,900
Look at all this deforestation
down here.

374
00:21:59,180 --> 00:22:02,820
Over in Guatemala, the forest
has been almost totally wiped out,

375
00:22:02,820 --> 00:22:05,260
cleared for farming and ranching.

376
00:22:08,900 --> 00:22:13,900
If the Chiquibul National Park isn't
protected, this could be its future.

377
00:22:13,900 --> 00:22:16,500
Rafael had brought along some
satellite images

378
00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:18,620
of this border region.

379
00:22:18,620 --> 00:22:20,900
So what you will see here

380
00:22:20,900 --> 00:22:23,540
is basically the human footprint
expansion.

381
00:22:23,540 --> 00:22:25,780
That line is the border there?

382
00:22:25,780 --> 00:22:28,020
Yes, that's right.
And where we are standing

383
00:22:28,020 --> 00:22:29,660
would be somewhere around here.

384
00:22:29,660 --> 00:22:33,220
And you can see how the edge
of the forest

385
00:22:33,220 --> 00:22:35,500
is being nibbled away at.
That's right.

386
00:22:35,500 --> 00:22:38,300
That is completely stark.

387
00:22:38,300 --> 00:22:42,540
Around the world, an area of forest
nearly the size of Italy

388
00:22:42,540 --> 00:22:44,900
is being lost every year.

389
00:22:44,900 --> 00:22:47,460
That's billions of trees gone.

390
00:22:48,940 --> 00:22:51,620
Forests are our most critical
habitat.

391
00:22:51,620 --> 00:22:55,540
80% of the biodiversity found
on land lives in forests.

392
00:22:56,820 --> 00:22:58,500
Now, that is a coati.

393
00:22:58,500 --> 00:23:03,100
A little mammal,
lives on the forest floor.

394
00:23:03,100 --> 00:23:08,180
In recent years, almost 8,000 acres
of the Chiquibul has been lost,

395
00:23:08,180 --> 00:23:10,980
cleared illegally.

396
00:23:10,980 --> 00:23:14,940
Rafael and his men risk their lives
to protect their beloved forest.

397
00:23:14,940 --> 00:23:17,780
They're giving their all,
but there's only around a dozen

398
00:23:17,780 --> 00:23:21,900
of them patrolling an
area of 400,000 acres.

399
00:23:21,900 --> 00:23:23,260
What a day!

400
00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:27,100
HE EXHALES

401
00:23:27,100 --> 00:23:29,300
It's been hot and sweaty
and knackering,

402
00:23:29,300 --> 00:23:31,980
but quite extraordinary.

403
00:23:31,980 --> 00:23:34,700
What an amazing place this is.

404
00:23:35,940 --> 00:23:38,260
It's an extraordinary situation,
isn't it, Derrick?

405
00:23:38,260 --> 00:23:39,900
It's unusual.

406
00:23:39,900 --> 00:23:43,580
But, Derrick, who loves this forest,
he wants to conserve it,

407
00:23:43,580 --> 00:23:47,820
still has to become partly
a soldier...

408
00:23:47,820 --> 00:23:51,660
Yeah. ..partly a warrior to
defend what he loves.

409
00:23:51,660 --> 00:23:54,500
Yeah. We're police, we are soldiers.

410
00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:56,100
You know, we have to defend it.

411
00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:57,660
You know, we have to protect it.

412
00:23:57,660 --> 00:23:59,820
It's ours, you know?

413
00:23:59,820 --> 00:24:02,980
That's what the
rangers are committed to.

414
00:24:02,980 --> 00:24:06,420
And over the years, I have seen
that, you know, the challenge

415
00:24:06,420 --> 00:24:11,380
to protect, you know, the forest,
it's really... It's a big challenge.

416
00:24:11,380 --> 00:24:13,220
Hmm. It's a big battle.

417
00:24:13,220 --> 00:24:14,820
It's an uphill battle.

418
00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:16,420
We are protecting our forest.

419
00:24:16,420 --> 00:24:17,860
It's OUR forest.

420
00:24:34,980 --> 00:24:36,980
Breakfast is finished.

421
00:24:36,980 --> 00:24:40,220
We're going to pack
and head to Guatemala.

422
00:24:46,340 --> 00:24:49,340
The guys gave me a lift
to the border, where my guide

423
00:24:49,340 --> 00:24:52,500
in Guatemala was waiting for me.

424
00:24:52,500 --> 00:24:54,340
Morena!

425
00:24:54,340 --> 00:24:56,860
Hello! Hello. Simon.
Lovely to see you.

426
00:24:56,860 --> 00:24:59,100
Welcome. Welcome to Guatemala.

427
00:24:59,100 --> 00:25:02,780
OK. You need some help? There's
more. Yeah, if you don't mind. Sure.

428
00:25:04,580 --> 00:25:06,300
One, two, three!

429
00:25:08,020 --> 00:25:09,460
Good work.

430
00:25:17,620 --> 00:25:21,260
I've been to something like 130
countries, and I can never remember

431
00:25:21,260 --> 00:25:24,500
being held up by a piglet
in the road before.

432
00:25:24,500 --> 00:25:29,300
This whole region of Guatemala
is now dominated by farmland.

433
00:25:29,300 --> 00:25:31,900
The population here has grown
dramatically

434
00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:33,860
from around 20,000 50 years ago

435
00:25:33,860 --> 00:25:36,860
to three-quarters
of a million today.

436
00:25:36,860 --> 00:25:40,580
People need space.
It's led to massive deforestation.

437
00:25:40,580 --> 00:25:44,180
Until the middle
of the 20th century,

438
00:25:44,180 --> 00:25:46,180
this whole area of Guatemala was

439
00:25:46,180 --> 00:25:49,260
very much like the
Chiquibul Forest -

440
00:25:49,260 --> 00:25:51,940
lush, impenetrable jungle.

441
00:25:51,940 --> 00:25:56,780
Most of the 16 million Guatemalans
survive on less than $2 a day.

442
00:25:56,780 --> 00:25:58,620
Alex, can we stop?

443
00:26:00,220 --> 00:26:02,100
Thank you, mate.

444
00:26:02,100 --> 00:26:05,580
They work the land,
often relying on one crop -

445
00:26:05,580 --> 00:26:08,140
a real treasure and a creation
of the Americas...

446
00:26:08,140 --> 00:26:11,660
Corn! Maize!

447
00:26:11,660 --> 00:26:15,820
One of our most important
inventions ever.

448
00:26:18,060 --> 00:26:21,340
And we have the people of
the Americas to thank for it.

449
00:26:21,340 --> 00:26:24,420
It has no obvious wild ancestor.

450
00:26:24,420 --> 00:26:27,060
So the thinking is that corn

451
00:26:27,060 --> 00:26:29,500
was bred and tweaked

452
00:26:29,500 --> 00:26:32,500
and created over generations
to create

453
00:26:32,500 --> 00:26:36,700
this really quite incredible
foodstuff.

454
00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:40,700
For tens of millions
of people across Central America,

455
00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:42,540
across South America as well,

456
00:26:42,540 --> 00:26:44,340
they depend on this.

457
00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:52,660
I continued my journey south,
up into Guatemala's remote

458
00:26:52,660 --> 00:26:54,900
and beautiful highlands.

459
00:27:01,860 --> 00:27:05,020
This is a rugged and unforgiving
landscape.

460
00:27:05,020 --> 00:27:08,660
Peasant farmers have grown
corn here for generations,

461
00:27:08,660 --> 00:27:11,660
just about surviving on these
steep slopes.

462
00:27:15,220 --> 00:27:18,980
In one of the hundreds of small
villages around here, Morena took me

463
00:27:18,980 --> 00:27:22,140
to meet a local farmer
called Jacinto Garcia.

464
00:27:23,180 --> 00:27:25,340
Buenas tardes. Buenas tardes.

465
00:27:25,340 --> 00:27:26,940
Buenas tardes.

466
00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:29,980
Jacinto took me to the nearby river,
which brings water

467
00:27:29,980 --> 00:27:32,460
down from the mountains.

468
00:27:32,460 --> 00:27:35,100
It's crucial for the crops here.

469
00:27:35,100 --> 00:27:38,380
TRANSLATION:

470
00:27:59,100 --> 00:28:02,500
Can I ask, do you remember the river
running full,

471
00:28:02,500 --> 00:28:04,900
the river running high?

472
00:28:09,220 --> 00:28:12,260
In the last seven years, you've
never seen the river run high?

473
00:28:25,500 --> 00:28:28,340
All right.
Look, very sorry for holding you up.

474
00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:44,220
Everyone I spoke to told
the same story.

475
00:28:44,220 --> 00:28:47,100
More unpredictable weather,
long drought.

476
00:28:49,220 --> 00:28:52,020
Buenas tardes.
How's your crop looking?

477
00:29:02,380 --> 00:29:04,500
There is - look, that's it!

478
00:29:07,540 --> 00:29:09,020
This is a disaster.

479
00:29:45,620 --> 00:29:48,180
That's quite ironic, really,
isn't it?

480
00:29:48,180 --> 00:29:51,940
So one of the main uses
you're going to get from this now

481
00:29:51,940 --> 00:29:56,060
is using the dry husk to
start fires.

482
00:29:56,060 --> 00:29:57,460
Si.

483
00:29:59,380 --> 00:30:02,220
When I visited, this area
of Guatemala was experiencing

484
00:30:02,220 --> 00:30:06,820
a terrible drought, putting millions
of people at risk of hunger.

485
00:30:08,620 --> 00:30:11,140
Stripping the land,
soil erosion -

486
00:30:11,140 --> 00:30:13,420
they're also major causes
of hunger here,

487
00:30:13,420 --> 00:30:15,940
and they've had droughts
in the past.

488
00:30:15,940 --> 00:30:17,540
These are tough people.

489
00:30:19,100 --> 00:30:22,700
But now our climate crisis
is on a different scale.

490
00:30:22,700 --> 00:30:26,140
Guatemala has been described as one
of the ten countries in the world

491
00:30:26,140 --> 00:30:29,220
most vulnerable to climate change.

492
00:30:29,220 --> 00:30:32,900
In so many parts of the world,
climate change isn't something

493
00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:35,060
to be worried about in the future -

494
00:30:35,060 --> 00:30:37,540
it's something happening right now,

495
00:30:37,540 --> 00:30:41,460
driving migration,
poverty and malnutrition.

496
00:30:41,460 --> 00:30:44,980
The failure of the harvest
has incredibly serious

497
00:30:44,980 --> 00:30:46,700
consequences for people.

498
00:30:46,700 --> 00:30:49,940
We've met up with a charity
called Action Against Hunger,

499
00:30:49,940 --> 00:30:52,580
and they're taking us to a remote
community.

500
00:30:55,420 --> 00:30:58,860
We headed high into the mountains
to a health clinic,

501
00:30:58,860 --> 00:31:04,540
the only one serving impoverished
villages in this entire area.

502
00:31:07,980 --> 00:31:09,220
We've arrived.

503
00:31:09,220 --> 00:31:12,660
I met up with a nutritionist
from Action Against Hunger,

504
00:31:12,660 --> 00:31:14,300
Joanna Chacon.

505
00:31:14,300 --> 00:31:17,940
Buenos dias, Joanna! Mucho gusto.
Mucho gusto. Simon.

506
00:31:17,940 --> 00:31:19,540
Mucho gusto.

507
00:31:31,940 --> 00:31:33,820
Buenos dias!

508
00:31:33,820 --> 00:31:36,460
Joanna's health care team
were weighing and measuring

509
00:31:36,460 --> 00:31:39,700
the children to assess levels
of malnutrition.

510
00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:41,580
What they've found is frightening.

511
00:31:57,180 --> 00:32:00,100
About half the children
across the whole country

512
00:32:00,100 --> 00:32:02,460
are malnourished?

513
00:32:23,580 --> 00:32:29,780
So malnourishment for a small
child affects their entire life.

514
00:32:32,980 --> 00:32:36,900
Guatemala has the fourth highest
rate of chronic malnutrition

515
00:32:36,900 --> 00:32:38,820
in the world.

516
00:32:38,820 --> 00:32:42,420
At this time of drought, Action
Against Hunger gives out

517
00:32:42,420 --> 00:32:44,900
emergency food rations to families.

518
00:32:46,100 --> 00:32:48,540
Many people can't make it
to the clinic,

519
00:32:48,540 --> 00:32:52,180
so Joanna and her team travel out
into remote rural communities

520
00:32:52,180 --> 00:32:53,980
where problems are most acute.

521
00:32:53,980 --> 00:32:56,460
Buenas tardes. Buenas tardes.

522
00:32:56,460 --> 00:32:58,060
Esperanza? Si.

523
00:33:00,140 --> 00:33:03,380
Esperanza lives
here with her husband and children.

524
00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:11,060
Can we ask, what are you planning
to have for dinner tonight?

525
00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:20,180
You're having tortillas
made from corn here.

526
00:33:20,180 --> 00:33:22,540
Is this corn from your own land?

527
00:33:32,300 --> 00:33:34,380
Do you have enough food?

528
00:33:39,300 --> 00:33:41,140
CHILD CRIES

529
00:33:51,340 --> 00:33:54,380
Eight days? Eight days of food left?

530
00:33:54,380 --> 00:33:56,740
And then what happens?

531
00:34:12,940 --> 00:34:17,980
Is what you're seeing
here malnutrition? Hunger?

532
00:34:17,980 --> 00:34:22,180
Is it in some cases... Is it, as
some have suggested...is it famine?

533
00:34:35,300 --> 00:34:37,820
The weather here
is now much less predictable

534
00:34:37,820 --> 00:34:39,660
and more extreme.

535
00:34:39,660 --> 00:34:42,740
Longer periods without rain
and then heavy downpours

536
00:34:42,740 --> 00:34:44,260
that wash away crops.

537
00:34:44,260 --> 00:34:45,980
Buenas tardes!

538
00:34:45,980 --> 00:34:48,380
Locals are struggling to survive.

539
00:34:57,980 --> 00:35:02,060
Most people left here were women,
children and older men.

540
00:35:35,540 --> 00:35:39,740
So are you saying that one of the
main drivers behind migration now

541
00:35:39,740 --> 00:35:42,420
is climate change?

542
00:35:48,340 --> 00:35:50,660
On my journey
down through the Americas,

543
00:35:50,660 --> 00:35:53,660
I'd stood on the southern border
of the United States and witnessed

544
00:35:53,660 --> 00:35:58,020
a migration crisis, as thousands
of people from Central America tried

545
00:35:58,020 --> 00:36:00,500
to cross illegally into the US.

546
00:36:00,500 --> 00:36:02,980
Finally, here I could see why.

547
00:36:04,180 --> 00:36:08,020
Right on the border, I heard
from people who had been kidnapped

548
00:36:08,020 --> 00:36:12,660
and held hostage. It's a gamble -
people are risking their lives,

549
00:36:12,660 --> 00:36:16,540
but it sounds like they're risking
their lives here as well.

550
00:36:39,700 --> 00:36:42,780
Migration is emptying villages.

551
00:36:42,780 --> 00:36:46,820
It's been claimed 10% of the entire
Guatemalan population

552
00:36:46,820 --> 00:36:51,260
will try to migrate to the USA
alone in the next decade.

553
00:36:51,260 --> 00:36:53,500
I found this very moving.

554
00:36:53,500 --> 00:36:55,580
I feel like this is...

555
00:36:55,580 --> 00:36:58,820
This is the front line, this is
ground zero, call it what you will,

556
00:36:58,820 --> 00:37:01,620
for both our changing climate

557
00:37:01,620 --> 00:37:04,540
and also the migration crisis

558
00:37:04,540 --> 00:37:07,100
that has been affecting
Central America

559
00:37:07,100 --> 00:37:10,580
and the American border
over recent years.

560
00:37:10,580 --> 00:37:15,180
One of the main factors
that is forcing and encouraging

561
00:37:15,180 --> 00:37:18,460
people to leave their land and make
the perilous journey north

562
00:37:18,460 --> 00:37:21,980
to the United States
is our changing climate.

563
00:37:21,980 --> 00:37:26,380
It is crops failing
and people going hungry.

564
00:37:31,700 --> 00:37:36,540
As our climate crisis worsens,
migration will surely only rise.

565
00:37:37,820 --> 00:37:39,300
I travelled south

566
00:37:39,300 --> 00:37:42,580
through a beautiful and remote
region of Central America

567
00:37:42,580 --> 00:37:47,140
towards the next destination
on my journey through the Americas.

568
00:37:48,460 --> 00:37:52,740
I'm leaving Guatemala now and we're
heading towards El Salvador.

569
00:37:54,220 --> 00:37:56,780
Three countries in Central America -

570
00:37:56,780 --> 00:37:59,460
Guatemala, Honduras
and El Salvador -

571
00:37:59,460 --> 00:38:04,180
now account for almost 70% of all
migration into the United States.

572
00:38:06,420 --> 00:38:09,300
This region is remote and insecure.

573
00:38:09,300 --> 00:38:12,340
Smuggling, drug-running
and people-trafficking

574
00:38:12,340 --> 00:38:14,380
are serious problems here.

575
00:38:14,380 --> 00:38:18,820
I had a little help getting through
to the border with El Salvador.

576
00:38:18,820 --> 00:38:23,660
So we've got some local security
in front of us who are provided

577
00:38:23,660 --> 00:38:25,780
by the government.

578
00:38:25,780 --> 00:38:29,100
Looks like they're rather useful at
smoothing our passage.

579
00:38:29,100 --> 00:38:31,620
So we're right at the border.

580
00:38:31,620 --> 00:38:33,900
My luck was about to run out.

581
00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:36,700
Turns out they weren't so
used to foreign telly travellers

582
00:38:36,700 --> 00:38:39,180
and their kit crossing here.

583
00:38:39,180 --> 00:38:42,740
We had all the forms, but perhaps
we looked suspicious.

584
00:38:42,740 --> 00:38:45,020
If you're travelling in this part
of the world,

585
00:38:45,020 --> 00:38:46,860
you've got to accept a few hiccups.

586
00:38:46,860 --> 00:38:50,660
So while the team dealt
with the bureaucracy, I had a nap.

587
00:38:52,780 --> 00:38:56,220
We made it across the Guatemalan
border super quickly.

588
00:38:56,220 --> 00:39:01,460
We've now been held for an age
on the El Salvadorian side.

589
00:39:01,460 --> 00:39:05,940
And customs officials here
are going through paperwork,

590
00:39:05,940 --> 00:39:08,620
paperwork, paperwork.

591
00:39:10,980 --> 00:39:13,700
After hours of waiting,
we finally got through,

592
00:39:13,700 --> 00:39:17,340
and I met up with my guide
in El Salvador, Fred Ramos.

593
00:39:25,860 --> 00:39:30,100
El Salvador is the smallest
country in Central America.

594
00:39:34,940 --> 00:39:38,020
More than two million people live
in and around the capital,

595
00:39:38,020 --> 00:39:39,500
San Salvador.

596
00:39:41,100 --> 00:39:45,180
It's a beautiful country,
but it's had a horrific few decades

597
00:39:45,180 --> 00:39:48,820
with civil war,
endless conflict and, more recently,

598
00:39:48,820 --> 00:39:51,340
terrible gang violence.

599
00:39:51,340 --> 00:39:58,180
El Salvador is held back
and terrorised by having

600
00:39:58,180 --> 00:40:01,860
one of the biggest problems
with organised gangs

601
00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:04,460
anywhere in the world.

602
00:40:04,460 --> 00:40:08,500
In some years recently, the murder
rate in this country has been higher

603
00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:12,580
than that in countries
which are in active conflict,

604
00:40:12,580 --> 00:40:15,020
like Libya and Somalia.

605
00:40:16,420 --> 00:40:18,540
TRANSLATION:

606
00:40:39,420 --> 00:40:41,740
These guys are the heavy mob.

607
00:40:43,260 --> 00:40:46,900
They're called the STO,
an elite new police unit tasked

608
00:40:46,900 --> 00:40:48,740
with battling the gangs.

609
00:40:51,060 --> 00:40:53,780
They're on the front line
as the government tries to take back

610
00:40:53,780 --> 00:40:55,420
control of the streets.

611
00:40:57,900 --> 00:41:00,500
What's the operation?
What's the plan?

612
00:41:07,020 --> 00:41:09,860
SIRENS BLARE

613
00:41:12,980 --> 00:41:15,180
The operation
that we're on is all part

614
00:41:15,180 --> 00:41:19,380
of an attempt by the new government
in El Salvador to retake the country

615
00:41:19,380 --> 00:41:21,220
from the gangs.

616
00:41:24,500 --> 00:41:28,980
MS-13 is the most notorious and
dangerous gang in Central America.

617
00:41:28,980 --> 00:41:32,620
It has tens of thousands of members,
and rules entire neighbourhoods

618
00:41:32,620 --> 00:41:36,980
across the whole region, using
extortion, kidnapping and murder.

619
00:41:36,980 --> 00:41:39,060
Part of the reason they're
moving quickly is

620
00:41:39,060 --> 00:41:40,540
they want the element of surprise.

621
00:41:40,540 --> 00:41:43,700
The gangs have lookouts everywhere,
and they'll be tracking our progress

622
00:41:43,700 --> 00:41:44,820
through the city.

623
00:41:51,500 --> 00:41:53,660
OK, they're deploying.

624
00:41:59,660 --> 00:42:02,620
The police were targeting
addresses they believe belonged

625
00:42:02,620 --> 00:42:04,060
to gang members.

626
00:42:04,060 --> 00:42:05,900
DOGS BARK

627
00:42:05,900 --> 00:42:08,060
BANGING

628
00:42:11,220 --> 00:42:13,060
They're staying clear of the door

629
00:42:13,060 --> 00:42:15,900
just in case somebody
shoots through.

630
00:42:15,900 --> 00:42:19,980
The government now calls the main
gangs terrorist organisations.

631
00:42:22,180 --> 00:42:23,700
So what happened?

632
00:42:35,780 --> 00:42:38,940
So, basically, you're keeping
an eye on him?

633
00:42:56,540 --> 00:42:58,540
Are you from a community like this?

634
00:42:58,540 --> 00:43:01,300
Do you know what it's like to live
in a place like this?

635
00:43:23,220 --> 00:43:27,580
Tens of thousands have died here
in gang violence in recent years.

636
00:43:27,580 --> 00:43:31,180
The roots of the tragedy lie in
the brutal civil war fought here

637
00:43:31,180 --> 00:43:34,060
during the 1980s, when left-wing
guerrillas battled

638
00:43:34,060 --> 00:43:36,140
a US-backed military regime.

639
00:43:36,140 --> 00:43:38,180
Hundreds of thousands
fled the fighting,

640
00:43:38,180 --> 00:43:41,020
many ending up in the United States.

641
00:43:41,020 --> 00:43:44,860
Young men formed gangs that
grew quickly, both on the streets

642
00:43:44,860 --> 00:43:47,100
and inside US prisons.

643
00:43:47,100 --> 00:43:49,940
Then, in the 1990s, the US began
deporting

644
00:43:49,940 --> 00:43:54,100
thousands of the now-violent
gangsters back to Central America.

645
00:43:54,100 --> 00:43:59,300
They basically dumped tough
and hardened criminals on countries

646
00:43:59,300 --> 00:44:02,060
that could not cope or deal
with them.

647
00:44:02,060 --> 00:44:05,700
And it was a recipe, quite frankly,
for disaster.

648
00:44:11,860 --> 00:44:13,900
It's getting dark now.

649
00:44:13,900 --> 00:44:18,180
And night is when the
gangs do most of their killing.

650
00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:22,620
The cocaine trade through Central
America drives this violence.

651
00:44:24,060 --> 00:44:27,740
Powerful Mexican drug cartels
recruit the local gangs

652
00:44:27,740 --> 00:44:30,740
and use their staggering wealth
to corrupt and control the police

653
00:44:30,740 --> 00:44:33,420
and politicians in Central America.

654
00:44:33,420 --> 00:44:36,900
They've overwhelmed weak states,
creating poverty and unemployment.

655
00:44:39,420 --> 00:44:42,500
We headed into a gang stronghold
where police had previously

656
00:44:42,500 --> 00:44:46,300
been forced back by gunfire
from automatic weapons.

657
00:44:46,300 --> 00:44:48,820
DOGS BARK

658
00:44:48,820 --> 00:44:51,300
SHOUTING

659
00:44:53,100 --> 00:44:55,540
GUNSHOTS

660
00:45:05,820 --> 00:45:08,700
There's a young lad on the floor
here.

661
00:45:49,580 --> 00:45:51,380
Bloody scary!

662
00:45:53,260 --> 00:45:56,620
Thank God nobody
with an assault rifle is home.

663
00:46:08,660 --> 00:46:10,740
It's astonishing how...

664
00:46:10,740 --> 00:46:12,740
DOGS BARK

665
00:46:12,740 --> 00:46:15,980
..police wearing balaclavas
are holding a man on the ground

666
00:46:15,980 --> 00:46:19,740
and people just walk around as if it
is the most normal thing,

667
00:46:19,740 --> 00:46:21,380
because it IS here.

668
00:46:30,220 --> 00:46:32,660
Actually, he's just a kid.

669
00:46:32,660 --> 00:46:38,140
But that's who the gangs use for
a lot of their really dirty work.

670
00:46:38,140 --> 00:46:40,140
Kids as young as 13

671
00:46:40,140 --> 00:46:43,740
are brought in as gunmen. Killers.

672
00:46:43,740 --> 00:46:47,180
Children of eight and younger

673
00:46:47,180 --> 00:46:49,940
are couriering drugs and guns around

674
00:46:49,940 --> 00:46:52,500
and brought basically into the gang.

675
00:46:52,500 --> 00:46:56,380
If you're a youngster, it can be
hard to avoid the lure of the gang.

676
00:46:57,620 --> 00:47:01,500
Heavy police crackdowns
on the gangs have been tried before.

677
00:47:01,500 --> 00:47:04,980
There are even allegations
of government-run death squads.

678
00:47:06,860 --> 00:47:09,820
My view is, the authorities have
used a lot of stick

679
00:47:09,820 --> 00:47:13,740
and not enough carrot, like
providing jobs and opportunities.

680
00:47:15,700 --> 00:47:18,580
Breaking the cycle of violence
here requires much more focus

681
00:47:18,580 --> 00:47:22,060
on combating high-level corruption
and low-level poverty.

682
00:47:33,260 --> 00:47:36,620
It's hard to find anyone in El
Salvador who hasn't been affected.

683
00:47:38,060 --> 00:47:42,140
My guide Fred and I were taking
a look at the centre of the capital

684
00:47:42,140 --> 00:47:44,700
when he started to tell me
HIS story.

685
00:48:00,980 --> 00:48:03,140
So, do you know what happened?

686
00:48:03,140 --> 00:48:06,260
Why did the gang go after your dad?

687
00:48:24,180 --> 00:48:28,580
So a 13-year-old child killed
your father

688
00:48:28,580 --> 00:48:33,300
as part of an initiation,
almost, to get into the gang?

689
00:48:33,300 --> 00:48:37,420
What has been the impact
on your family?

690
00:48:58,700 --> 00:49:02,340
Central America can seem trapped
by its past and its present,

691
00:49:02,340 --> 00:49:04,220
by civil wars,

692
00:49:04,220 --> 00:49:07,300
American interference,
a selfish powerful elite,

693
00:49:07,300 --> 00:49:10,860
and now global drug gangs and
climate change.

694
00:49:10,860 --> 00:49:15,140
Successive governments in Central
America have failed their people.

695
00:49:15,140 --> 00:49:19,140
More than anything, these countries
desperately need good leaders.

696
00:49:19,140 --> 00:49:22,460
But Fred wanted to show me some
of the thousands here who are trying

697
00:49:22,460 --> 00:49:25,620
to help others.
Some of the many heroes.

698
00:49:25,620 --> 00:49:27,540
Let's go.

699
00:49:27,540 --> 00:49:29,980
The Comandos de Salvamento
is a group

700
00:49:29,980 --> 00:49:33,220
of volunteer emergency paramedics.

701
00:49:33,220 --> 00:49:35,580
They're ordinary
but extraordinary people

702
00:49:35,580 --> 00:49:37,460
who brave the dangerous streets,

703
00:49:37,460 --> 00:49:40,820
responding to desperate calls from
the public. Unpaid.

704
00:49:47,660 --> 00:49:50,260
There's thousands of volunteers
in this organisation.

705
00:49:50,260 --> 00:49:52,940
They sometimes
take huge risks because they take

706
00:49:52,940 --> 00:49:55,980
first aid wherever it's needed,
sometimes across gang lines.

707
00:50:09,980 --> 00:50:13,900
They're a national organisation
of some 3,500 volunteers,

708
00:50:13,900 --> 00:50:18,100
and they recruit kids in their early
teens from tough neighbourhoods

709
00:50:18,100 --> 00:50:19,940
infested with gangs.

710
00:50:28,060 --> 00:50:29,700
Sandra? Simon.

711
00:50:29,700 --> 00:50:31,420
Sandra, how old are you?

712
00:50:33,740 --> 00:50:36,980
So you are a volunteer paramedic.

713
00:50:48,580 --> 00:50:51,420
When you first came here,
you were just 14 years old

714
00:50:51,420 --> 00:50:52,820
and you didn't like blood?

715
00:51:14,780 --> 00:51:19,260
Like many of the young people here,
Sandra grew up in a dangerous area.

716
00:51:19,260 --> 00:51:21,940
Her dad brought her here
to keep her safe.

717
00:51:21,940 --> 00:51:25,860
Giving a home to youngsters who are
at risk of being targeted by gangs

718
00:51:25,860 --> 00:51:29,180
or forced into gangs is part of the
Comandos' mission.

719
00:51:38,580 --> 00:51:41,420
Sorry for just busting in here
like this.

720
00:51:44,420 --> 00:51:46,460
Is this where you stay
as a volunteer,

721
00:51:46,460 --> 00:51:48,180
or are you actually living here?

722
00:52:10,860 --> 00:52:14,700
You're 18. What do you want to do
with your life, Sandra?

723
00:52:30,060 --> 00:52:33,780
So I think we're going to see
Dr Sandra in the future.

724
00:52:40,340 --> 00:52:42,540
SPANISH OVER RADIO

725
00:52:48,220 --> 00:52:49,860
On each 24-hour shift,

726
00:52:49,860 --> 00:52:52,700
the Comandos here will respond
to dozens of calls,

727
00:52:52,700 --> 00:52:56,140
from traffic accidents to
gang shootings.

728
00:52:56,140 --> 00:52:58,260
SIREN WAILS

729
00:53:00,420 --> 00:53:03,540
They've just said that we're going
to a dangerous area.

730
00:53:03,540 --> 00:53:06,620
They weren't sure about taking us,
but we said we're just going to stay

731
00:53:06,620 --> 00:53:09,060
in the ambulance, we're not going
to get out.

732
00:53:09,060 --> 00:53:12,820
The Comandos have been caring
for El Salvador for decades.

733
00:53:12,820 --> 00:53:15,620
They were treating the wounded
during the civil war,

734
00:53:15,620 --> 00:53:18,580
after earthquakes, mudslides,
flooding, hurricanes.

735
00:53:18,580 --> 00:53:21,740
Throughout the recent tumultuous
history of this country,

736
00:53:21,740 --> 00:53:24,500
they stood shoulder to shoulder
with the people.

737
00:53:24,500 --> 00:53:26,620
They ARE the people.

738
00:53:26,620 --> 00:53:29,020
MAN GROANS

739
00:53:41,860 --> 00:53:43,500
HE GROANS

740
00:53:56,300 --> 00:53:58,220
HE GROANS

741
00:54:31,180 --> 00:54:34,460
He's been beaten up by a
lot of people? Yes.

742
00:54:49,900 --> 00:54:54,820
What do you do for your normal job,
Manuel?

743
00:55:02,260 --> 00:55:04,300
What? Who speaks English?

744
00:55:04,300 --> 00:55:05,420
Somebody right there?

745
00:55:05,420 --> 00:55:09,020
Somebody right here.
Hey, hey. I can hear you.

746
00:55:09,020 --> 00:55:11,620
How are you doing?
I'm BLEEP!

747
00:55:11,620 --> 00:55:12,900
Oh, my God.

748
00:55:12,900 --> 00:55:14,540
I must go to the hospital.

749
00:55:14,540 --> 00:55:18,940
But I got... I got stamped on my
head and they're taking me

750
00:55:18,940 --> 00:55:20,660
to the BLEEP. To the hospital.

751
00:55:20,660 --> 00:55:23,540
To the national hospital.
That's right. National hospital.

752
00:55:23,540 --> 00:55:25,220
How you been?
I'm not a volunteer.

753
00:55:25,220 --> 00:55:27,140
I'm from British television.

754
00:55:27,140 --> 00:55:29,660
Oh, you're British? Yeah...

755
00:55:29,660 --> 00:55:31,020
Oh, shit, eh?

756
00:55:31,020 --> 00:55:33,140
You're British.
Give me that shit, hey?

757
00:55:33,140 --> 00:55:34,860
All right. How you been doing?

758
00:55:34,860 --> 00:55:36,420
Welcome to El Salvador.

759
00:55:36,420 --> 00:55:37,780
Thank you, mate. Yes.

760
00:55:37,780 --> 00:55:41,780
Are you a tourist here?
No, I was born right here.

761
00:55:41,780 --> 00:55:43,780
I'm just deported.

762
00:55:43,780 --> 00:55:45,340
I've been here ten years.

763
00:55:45,340 --> 00:55:46,980
Wow. Yeah.

764
00:55:46,980 --> 00:55:50,140
I'll be back soon. You're going to
go back across the border?

765
00:55:50,140 --> 00:55:52,060
Yeah. I don't want to be here.

766
00:55:52,060 --> 00:55:54,500
Look what happened to me!
God, yeah.

767
00:55:54,500 --> 00:55:57,500
I've got to come out your way. OK.
Good luck.

768
00:56:04,460 --> 00:56:07,020
So he's being taken into
a hospital there.

769
00:56:07,020 --> 00:56:10,180
So he was living in America
and he was saying

770
00:56:10,180 --> 00:56:12,300
he's been deported from America.

771
00:56:12,300 --> 00:56:14,980
He's been back here for ten years
and he's going to try and get back

772
00:56:14,980 --> 00:56:16,580
to the United States.

773
00:56:18,700 --> 00:56:22,300
It's just a chaotic situation,
but it's another Saturday night

774
00:56:22,300 --> 00:56:23,940
in San Salvador.

775
00:56:26,580 --> 00:56:29,140
Across El Salvador,
there are thought to be more than

776
00:56:29,140 --> 00:56:31,060
65,000 gang members.

777
00:56:31,060 --> 00:56:34,500
They've brought anarchy
and violence to many areas...

778
00:56:35,740 --> 00:56:38,860
..but they're less than 1%
of the population.

779
00:56:38,860 --> 00:56:43,260
Tackling them requires addressing
poverty and lack of opportunity.

780
00:56:43,260 --> 00:56:47,380
Organisations like the Comandos
show how it can be done.

781
00:56:49,140 --> 00:56:51,580
They give youngsters family
and identity.

782
00:56:51,580 --> 00:56:54,220
They teach the value of each
human existence.

783
00:56:54,220 --> 00:56:56,860
Perhaps most importantly,
they give volunteers

784
00:56:56,860 --> 00:56:59,060
a real sense of purpose
and meaning.

785
00:56:59,060 --> 00:57:02,460
Is this another group
of volunteer paramedics?

786
00:57:02,460 --> 00:57:04,580
What are you guys doing here?
And who are you, sir?

787
00:57:17,420 --> 00:57:21,380
One of the other volunteer team
was just ten years old.

788
00:57:24,460 --> 00:57:28,580
What would the 14-year-old Sandra
have made of the 18-year-old Sandra?

789
00:57:48,660 --> 00:57:52,740
It had been a real privilege to be
thrown into this extreme world,

790
00:57:52,740 --> 00:57:55,940
even for just a short time,
and to see the work

791
00:57:55,940 --> 00:57:57,620
of this brave team.

792
00:57:57,620 --> 00:58:03,020
Personally, I find everything here
and everything they're doing

793
00:58:03,020 --> 00:58:05,220
completely inspiring.

794
00:58:05,220 --> 00:58:08,780
In a very dark place and a very
dark situation,

795
00:58:08,780 --> 00:58:13,220
at a tricky time for this country,
they are a candle burning bright.

796
00:58:13,220 --> 00:58:15,500
SIREN WAILS

797
00:58:18,740 --> 00:58:20,620
Good luck, guys.

798
00:58:25,620 --> 00:58:28,420
This first part of my journey
through the Americas

799
00:58:28,420 --> 00:58:29,620
was coming to an end.

800
00:58:29,620 --> 00:58:32,940
As I'd seen, Central America is a
troubled region.

801
00:58:32,940 --> 00:58:35,820
But my final destination
was a country that's a real beacon

802
00:58:35,820 --> 00:58:38,580
of stability and hope -
Costa Rica.

803
00:58:54,260 --> 00:58:56,420
So I'm in Costa Rica,

804
00:58:56,420 --> 00:59:00,300
which is known as a bit of
a tropical paradise, I would say.

805
00:59:00,300 --> 00:59:04,020
This is the last country I'll be
visiting on this part

806
00:59:04,020 --> 00:59:06,700
of my journey
down through the Americas.

807
00:59:06,700 --> 00:59:09,300
So the end is ahead somewhere.

808
00:59:09,300 --> 00:59:13,380
And I'm travelling with Mari here.
Hello!

809
00:59:13,380 --> 00:59:16,500
Mari Jimenez is a guide
and environmentalist

810
00:59:16,500 --> 00:59:18,220
who organises adventure treks.

811
00:59:18,220 --> 00:59:19,620
Oh, look at this!

812
00:59:19,620 --> 00:59:21,300
It's so beautiful!

813
00:59:21,300 --> 00:59:25,460
I feel very honoured every day
to be born in this country,

814
00:59:25,460 --> 00:59:30,420
with no army,
surrounded by nature everywhere.

815
00:59:30,420 --> 00:59:34,060
That's something quite extraordinary
about Costa Rica, isn't it?

816
00:59:34,060 --> 00:59:37,500
That you are in a part of the world
where armies have often

817
00:59:37,500 --> 00:59:39,620
been running the country.

818
00:59:39,620 --> 00:59:43,020
Yeah. But here you abolished
the army.

819
00:59:43,020 --> 00:59:46,460
We are not used to seeing people
walking on the streets

820
00:59:46,460 --> 00:59:49,500
with big guns.
That is really shocking for me.

821
00:59:49,500 --> 00:59:52,980
Like, when I go to some other
countries in Central America.

822
00:59:52,980 --> 00:59:54,820
Look, the iguana!

823
00:59:54,820 --> 00:59:58,980
There's an iguana just by the side
of the road.

824
01:00:00,700 --> 01:00:04,100
We were heading towards the
Pacific coast of Costa Rica,

825
01:00:04,100 --> 01:00:06,220
where I would finish my journey,

826
01:00:06,220 --> 01:00:08,980
but passing through stunning forest
along the way.

827
01:00:08,980 --> 01:00:11,500
How beautiful!
A lot of butterflies.

828
01:00:13,860 --> 01:00:15,620
Oh, look at this one.

829
01:00:15,620 --> 01:00:22,020
It's so cool how just one tree
can attract so many insects.

830
01:00:22,020 --> 01:00:27,300
And this is just like a tiny sample
of what we have here in Costa Rica.

831
01:00:27,300 --> 01:00:29,900
For its size,
Costa Rica is one of the most

832
01:00:29,900 --> 01:00:32,380
biodiverse countries in the world.

833
01:00:32,380 --> 01:00:34,660
There are more than half
a million different species

834
01:00:34,660 --> 01:00:36,460
of animals and plants.

835
01:00:36,460 --> 01:00:40,900
More than 800 different birds,
and unique types of frogs, lizards,

836
01:00:40,900 --> 01:00:44,900
snakes, spiders, monkeys,
crocodiles, hummingbirds.

837
01:00:44,900 --> 01:00:47,460
The whole place is just alive.

838
01:00:47,460 --> 01:00:49,220
I mean, this is...

839
01:00:50,660 --> 01:00:52,700
..right here.

840
01:00:53,940 --> 01:00:56,980
This tree attracts the scarlet
macaw.

841
01:00:56,980 --> 01:01:01,580
They usually travel in pairs.
They mate for life, don't they?

842
01:01:01,580 --> 01:01:03,260
Exactly.

843
01:01:03,260 --> 01:01:06,900
They are so endangered across
the rest of Central America.

844
01:01:06,900 --> 01:01:09,620
We are very, very lucky.
Here as well?

845
01:01:09,620 --> 01:01:11,580
Yeah. Here as well.
Here they're endangered.

846
01:01:11,580 --> 01:01:13,980
But we do have a lot of
organisations that are working

847
01:01:13,980 --> 01:01:17,180
to protect them, so we have a big
population, actually.

848
01:01:21,660 --> 01:01:24,500
Costa Rica is a very special place,
isn't it?

849
01:01:24,500 --> 01:01:27,580
You are...an incredibly...

850
01:01:27,580 --> 01:01:31,220
..a super-hot biodiversity hotspot.

851
01:01:31,220 --> 01:01:35,460
Exactly. 6% of the biodiversity
of the world, to be exact.

852
01:01:35,460 --> 01:01:38,780
6%? Yes. Of the planet's? Yes.

853
01:01:40,180 --> 01:01:43,220
That's astonishing. Yeah, it is.

854
01:01:45,100 --> 01:01:47,140
Bloody hell!

855
01:01:47,140 --> 01:01:50,380
That looks amazing!
Welcome to Costa Rica, Simon.

856
01:02:00,220 --> 01:02:02,540
Wow!

857
01:02:06,820 --> 01:02:08,860
That is overwhelming!

858
01:02:08,860 --> 01:02:10,420
SHE LAUGHS

859
01:02:10,420 --> 01:02:13,300
Did you expect something like that?
No. No, I didn't.

860
01:02:13,300 --> 01:02:15,020
When you said waterfall,

861
01:02:15,020 --> 01:02:17,740
I thought it would be significantly
smaller.

862
01:02:17,740 --> 01:02:20,260
That is totally breathtaking!

863
01:02:25,740 --> 01:02:30,220
Costa Rica is a poor but stable
democracy, that for life expectancy

864
01:02:30,220 --> 01:02:34,460
and wellbeing gets close
to countries in Scandinavia.

865
01:02:34,460 --> 01:02:38,020
Costa Ricans say they're committed
to protecting the environment.

866
01:02:38,020 --> 01:02:40,860
As a nation, they're aiming
to be the world's first

867
01:02:40,860 --> 01:02:45,020
carbon neutral country, massively
reducing the impact of industry,

868
01:02:45,020 --> 01:02:47,180
transport, of humans.

869
01:02:47,180 --> 01:02:49,060
Oh, this is very nice.

870
01:02:52,100 --> 01:02:54,860
A bit of rest for a weary traveller.

871
01:02:55,820 --> 01:02:57,020
Look...

872
01:02:57,020 --> 01:02:59,620
..at that view!

873
01:02:59,620 --> 01:03:01,980
HE GASPS

874
01:03:01,980 --> 01:03:03,780
The Pacific Ocean.

875
01:03:03,780 --> 01:03:05,900
BIRD CALLS

876
01:03:05,900 --> 01:03:07,980
Is that a toucan? Look!

877
01:03:09,660 --> 01:03:14,380
Well, this is all very eco touristy,
and that's very much the image

878
01:03:14,380 --> 01:03:17,980
of Costa Rica that many
foreign visitors have.

879
01:03:17,980 --> 01:03:19,940
It's not bad, is it?

880
01:03:28,580 --> 01:03:32,740
Tourism is at the heart
of Costa Rica's green plan.

881
01:03:32,740 --> 01:03:34,540
Of course, there's a contradiction.

882
01:03:34,540 --> 01:03:36,580
They want to preserve
the environment here,

883
01:03:36,580 --> 01:03:37,900
especially for tourists.

884
01:03:39,460 --> 01:03:42,140
But more than two million visitors
a year come here,

885
01:03:42,140 --> 01:03:47,220
most jetting around, like me,
on planes that burn fossil fuels.

886
01:03:47,220 --> 01:03:50,180
At least here in Costa Rica,
they're trying to counter

887
01:03:50,180 --> 01:03:52,340
and offset the pollution.

888
01:03:52,340 --> 01:03:54,300
Mari, where are we going?

889
01:03:54,300 --> 01:03:57,100
I'm taking you to a re-forestation
project.

890
01:03:57,100 --> 01:04:00,940
That is something that Costa Rican
people do all the time.

891
01:04:00,940 --> 01:04:03,300
Well, this is quite the scene.

892
01:04:04,860 --> 01:04:08,340
Mari had found the perfect way
for me to end my first journey

893
01:04:08,340 --> 01:04:10,460
down through the Americas.

894
01:04:10,460 --> 01:04:15,820
So many times on my journey so far,
so many people in so many places

895
01:04:15,820 --> 01:04:19,860
have stressed the importance
of a simple, wonderful act -

896
01:04:19,860 --> 01:04:23,580
putting trees in the ground.

897
01:04:23,580 --> 01:04:25,220
Planting more trees,

898
01:04:25,220 --> 01:04:26,980
vast numbers of trees,

899
01:04:26,980 --> 01:04:30,460
is one of the biggest and cheapest
ways of taking carbon dioxide

900
01:04:30,460 --> 01:04:34,100
out of the atmosphere and tackling
the climate crisis.

901
01:04:34,100 --> 01:04:36,940
Costa Rica still loses land
to cattle ranching,

902
01:04:36,940 --> 01:04:38,780
but they're fighting back.

903
01:04:38,780 --> 01:04:42,020
Half the country's
forests are now protected parks.

904
01:04:42,020 --> 01:04:44,300
And across Costa Rica,
schoolchildren are taught

905
01:04:44,300 --> 01:04:47,500
about the importance and value
of the environment.

906
01:04:47,500 --> 01:04:51,620
We've got kids who are, what, five,
six and upwards from that.

907
01:04:51,620 --> 01:04:53,780
Start with the young.

908
01:04:53,780 --> 01:04:56,060
Yes, but the younger, the better,

909
01:04:56,060 --> 01:04:59,100
because if they feel the
connection, if they are part

910
01:04:59,100 --> 01:05:02,780
of the creation of a new forest,
in the future,

911
01:05:02,780 --> 01:05:04,660
they won't destroy it.

912
01:05:04,660 --> 01:05:06,580
OK?

913
01:05:23,260 --> 01:05:26,900
In the four
decades to the 1980s, Costa Rica

914
01:05:26,900 --> 01:05:28,900
lost two-thirds of its forests.

915
01:05:28,900 --> 01:05:33,420
But then people and the government
began to value the natural world.

916
01:05:33,420 --> 01:05:36,620
Since the 1980s,
forests here have doubled in size.

917
01:05:36,620 --> 01:05:38,100
They've gone green.

918
01:05:42,220 --> 01:05:44,980
At the dawn
of human civilisation,

919
01:05:44,980 --> 01:05:49,860
there were, very roughly,
six trillion trees on this planet.

920
01:05:49,860 --> 01:05:52,260
We've since lost about half.

921
01:05:52,260 --> 01:05:54,540
And we need a lot of them back.

922
01:05:54,540 --> 01:05:56,300
On this journey,

923
01:05:56,300 --> 01:05:59,100
I'd met people in the Americas
reeling from the impact

924
01:05:59,100 --> 01:06:01,020
of our changing environment.

925
01:06:01,020 --> 01:06:03,060
From melting glaciers in Alaska,

926
01:06:03,060 --> 01:06:05,100
to forest fires in California,

927
01:06:05,100 --> 01:06:08,740
and the tragedy
of drought in Guatemala.

928
01:06:08,740 --> 01:06:12,580
A thousand changes are needed
to improve life on this continent,

929
01:06:12,580 --> 01:06:15,180
but planting trees and projects
like this

930
01:06:15,180 --> 01:06:17,980
are a pretty good way to start.

931
01:06:17,980 --> 01:06:20,420
Is that deep enough, boss, or more?

932
01:06:20,420 --> 01:06:22,860
Just a little bit more.
Just a little.

933
01:06:22,860 --> 01:06:26,020
I'm going to bring the tree. OK.

934
01:06:27,340 --> 01:06:29,700
Rosewood!

935
01:06:29,700 --> 01:06:34,020
Other countries are talking
about investing in the environment,

936
01:06:34,020 --> 01:06:36,380
and combating climate change.

937
01:06:36,380 --> 01:06:40,060
Here in Costa Rica,
they're actually doing that already.

938
01:06:40,060 --> 01:06:44,540
Sometimes it's a small country
that can teach the rest of the world

939
01:06:44,540 --> 01:06:48,140
a thing or two, and show us
a possible path ahead.

940
01:06:55,020 --> 01:06:57,460
Get some back in the ground.

941
01:06:57,460 --> 01:06:59,460
That's fine, actually.

942
01:07:03,820 --> 01:07:08,500
It's more than 6,000 miles from the
start of my journey in Alaska

943
01:07:08,500 --> 01:07:11,300
to here in the heart of the tropics.

944
01:07:14,900 --> 01:07:16,860
I'd travelled through some

945
01:07:16,860 --> 01:07:20,020
of the most glorious landscapes
on the planet.

946
01:07:21,140 --> 01:07:25,100
My journey through the Americas
had included a few scary moments

947
01:07:25,100 --> 01:07:26,940
and a lot of emotion.

948
01:07:29,180 --> 01:07:33,620
But more than anything, I've been
bowled over by the extremes of life,

949
01:07:33,620 --> 01:07:38,300
and the warmth of big characters
that I'd met along the way.

950
01:07:41,900 --> 01:07:43,820
Oh, my goodness.

951
01:07:43,820 --> 01:07:47,700
I've reached the
Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

952
01:07:47,700 --> 01:07:50,940
This is the end of this
part of my journey,

953
01:07:50,940 --> 01:07:54,180
and my travels down through
the Americas

954
01:07:54,180 --> 01:07:57,900
have already shown me
such complete extremes.

955
01:07:57,900 --> 01:08:01,740
It's been completely overwhelming,
and I'm only halfway!

956
01:08:01,740 --> 01:08:04,140
I've travelled one continent.

957
01:08:04,140 --> 01:08:06,700
Next up is South America.

958
01:08:06,700 --> 01:08:08,980
I can't wait.