All language subtitles for Equator.From.The.Air.S01E02.WEBRip.x264-ION10

This place, the equator, is
easily, hands down, one of the
most exciting,

most beautiful, most
vibrant places on the planet.

I'm Gordon Buchanan and
I'm a wild

life cameraman.
I'm traveling the line that
runs 25,000 miles

around the globe

to find out what's
happening to our planet.

Here, between the tropics, there
are more plantand animal species
than anywhere else on earth.

Every square inch has
some form of life

scurrying or
scuffling around.

But today this same
region is also home

to a staggering 40
percent of humanity.

This collision between
man and nature...

Oh my goodness.

...is affecting all of us.

To get to grips
with this reality,

experts are investigating
the equator from a new angle.

This is one flight that I am
very much looking forward to.

Up we go.

From the air.

Wow!

I can see something from up here
that would be impossible to see
from ground level.

From up high, startling
discoveries are being made.

Have we passed
a new species?

For sure.

Really?

This is really the front
line because you see

the soya plantations, cattle
ranches, illegal activity,

human population
growth, it is all here.

Around the equator
this aerial view

is changing our
relationship with nature.

Oh, got it, got it.

Look at that.

Unbelievable.

As we race to
protect its future

and ours.

We live in an
incredibly exciting,

pivotal time in our
planet's history

when salvation for the natural
world could come from above.

Never seen
anything like it.

Woo-hoo!

How's the adrenaline?

[BUCHANAN]
After crossing the Atlantic, the
equator reaches South America

where it tracks
more than 2,000 miles,

across the vast expanse
of the Amazon,

to the mountainous
spine of the Andes.

This continent is full
of life and colour:

sun kissed beaches,

soaring volcanic peaks,

and the rich green
world of the rainforest.

An

d it's a place that means a lot
to me. One of my first big
adventures at the s

tart of my career
was when I came to South
America at the age of 18.

Back then you could lose
yourself in the wilderness

for weeks and months, and a
lot has changed since then.

In the 21st century wild
places are disappearing fast

as land is cleared for
agriculture and urbanisation.

I'm back in South America to
see how people are f

ighting
to save precious habitats,
and ways of life

by taking to
the skies.

In Brazil, my journey begins
in the heart of the Amazon.

Covering more than two
million square miles,

this great rainforest contains
an incredible diversity of life.

An estimated one in ten
of all species on earth

call this place home.

A little way
south of the equator,

I'm heading to the
state of Rondonia.

Here, around the small
city of Porto Velho,

the Amazon faces
its greatest threat.

This is a little city that does
have a kind of a wild west

feel to it, and much of
what goes on here

isn't exactly
legitimate.

In the surrounding
area, illegal logging

is decimating
the rainforest.

And it's hard to control.

It's really the size of the
Amazon that makes it d

ifficult,
almost impossible, for the
government to police

illegal activities, and I've
heard that in recent years,

um, getting an aerial
perspective has been

a real game changer in
helping the military police

protect these,
these forests.

This troop

is at the frontline of the fight
against deforestation.It's led
here by Captain Renato Suffi.

[SUFFI]
It's the first time
you're in Brazil?

The future of the
Amazon is in their hands.

And today, I'm
joining an operation

to hunt down
illegal loggers.

Until recently, the unit of 120
officers had to patrol an area

of rainforest the size
of the UK on the ground.

Today, they keep
watc

h from above.

Yeah, you can see
straight away

why the helicopter
helps you in your work.

For sure, for sure.

[BUCHANAN]
How long ago was
this all forest?

[SUFFI]
In the middle of 80s,
something like that, yeah.

[BUCHANAN]
In the 80s?

Since then, the Brazilian
government has allowed

a limited amount of logging in
carefully chosen areas,

to boost the
local economy.

So this, this clear-cut
area, is that,

that's been
cleared for farms?

[BUCHANAN]
Trees have been lost here, but
by putting a cap on logging,

the government has
also tried to preserve

large swathes
of forest.

But then, around
100 miles from HQ,

the straight lines of the
legally cleared land

give way to chaos.

Huge chunks of rainforest
dese

crated by criminals.

It's quite shocking when
you see these areas

that have been
cut and burned.

It's so, it's so
sad, you know.

This flight, this is
really the frontline

because you see the
extent of the problem.

And it is all
alarming in so many ways.

The greatest forest on
earth is fast disappearing.

The black market timber trade is
worth up to $150 billion a year.

And the profits are
fuelled by our

global appetite
for this wood.

So, so, could it be that
people in, in Europe,

people in the United
States are buying

what they think is
sustainable hardwood

but in fact it comes from
illegal operations like this?

For sure I can
say that, for sure.

Finally, after scouring
the area for hours,

they spot
something on the ground.

[SPEAKING PORTUGUESE]

Fresh signs of
active logging,

in a protected area
of the forest.

[SUFFI

] You see the place that people
take the trees. They take the
trees and they put some cows.

I think the most
shocking thing of all

is when you see those
huge trees on the ground.

[SUFFI]
That's true.

[BUCHANAN]
So, when you see signs
of recent logging like this

what's the next step?

[BUCHANAN]
Once suspicious sites like these
have been identified

from the air, Captain Suffi can
put boots on the ground.

With intelligence suggesting
illegal loggers could be active

right now, the team
is scrambling

for a night-time raid, and
I'm going with them.

Now we are okay to go.

(inaudible)

Illegal logging is
big business here.

It's often corrupt
landowners and officials

who take the profits,
but it's ordinary people

trying to scratch out a living
who do the dirty work.

With the stakes so high,

they're frequently armed.
How do you feel right now at
the start of this operation?

It's not like a, we say not
like a cake recipe,

it's not like every time
gonna be the same way

because sometimes
we go down there

and catch everything but
sometimes we go there

and we lose.

So, it's a cat
and mouse game?

Well, the cat always try to, to
catch the, the mouse, you know,

and the mouse run
and run and run.

But I think that you
gonna have a fun time.

In my life I've had
a lot of fun times

but never wearing
body armour.

Yeah, it's a fun time.

Proceedo.

We're moving very, very fast
along thisincredibly narrow
track through the forest.

You know, the whole
thing is pretty surreal.

I can't quite envisage
what the kind of end point

of this is
going to be.

So have they found
something up here?

Yeah.

[BUCHANAN]
Five hours later our
troop arrives at a location

identified
from the air.

We are 1

00 miles
into the forest.

So, um, they are
not here now.

Someone is, is
staying here.

But probably someone
already tell him and alerted.

Yeah it's all, um,
recently, recently used,

it's like some
beans on the table.

You kind of get the sense that
we 're, we're kind of one step

behind the people
that we're after.

And so the chance
of success

seems to be sort of
slipping away from us.

Sometimes the cat
doesn't always get the mouse.

It may not look
li

ke a big operation,
but undetected, a network
of camps like this

could clear a section
of forest in no time.

We decide to stay on the
scene until first light.

But at dawn, a r

adio
call comes in.

Suspected illegal loggers
have been spotted

making their way
down the track.

[SPEAKING PORTUGUESE]

The crew and I jump on the
back of a police vehicle.

I don't really know
what going on to be honest.

It just went form everybody
standing around to

all action stations and
two vehicles sped off.

We've got, um, a
vehicle stopped up ahead,

can't really tell
what's going on.

Most of them get away.

But one man loses
control of his motorbike.

He don't want to cooperate,
that's the problem.

You know, everyone who come
here do all this devastate

and they don't want to cooperate
because they don't know

the big mess they
are doing here.

Whatever the truth of this
is he's not a rich guy,

he's not making hundreds
and hundreds of dollars.

The whole day they
receive 250 reals.

That will be
like, uh, $80.

If he help me, I
can get the big fish.

But I never saw that,
they don't want to talk.

I really can't help but
feel sorry for this guy,

cause you look at him, he's
like got a tattered old shirt,

he's not some
big fish, he's, uh,

sort of the pawn in this sort
of bigger, bigger issue.

For this man, it
ended in arrest.

But whoever employs him
will get off scot-free.

Putting an end to
illegal deforestation

will take far
more than this.

More than 70% of this illegal
wood goes to other countries.

We need the help of everyone
in this, in this fight.

This is not a Brazilian
fight, this is a world fight.

When you fly over this place
it becomes clear that policing

illegal logging is
an immense task.

I want to see what other
tactics are being used

to save this
precious habitat.

Du

ring my career,
I've lived with some of the
Amazon's 400 unique tribes,

and I've seen how they
depend on the forest

as food store, hunting
ground and a medicine cabinet.

Nearby, I've heard about
an equatorial tribe

whose territory and entire
way of life are under threat.

But they

're fighting
back from the air.

Their village is my
next destination.

It's a day's
journey upriver.

We've been warned that people
linked with criminal gangs

could be watching us, so
we're on high alert.

We're just loading up the boat
at the boat at the moment,

I'm just filming
this on my phone.

We don't want to
have any of our

big camera equipment
on, on show.

I think because logging is such
a big part of, of life here,

you just don't quite know
who is connected to, to who,

so the safest thing is
just to try and keep,

try and keep a
low profile.

Taking us to the
reserve is Adriano,

the leader of the
Karipuna tribe.

He's joined by Patricia
Bonilha

of Greenpeace,
she's working with
the Karipuna

to try and protect the land
that's legally theirs.

Today they asked him
(inaudib

le) who you guys were.

If you guys are working
with them, you know?

It is quite dangerous,
and you need to be careful.

[BUCHANAN]
They're right to be cautious.

All over Brazil, indigenous
territory is coveted

for use as
farmland.

In 2017, more than 50
people lost their lives

defending the land.

This is what
they're hoping to save.

Since the 1990s, the ancient
rainforest in much of Rondonia

has been
systematically cleared

and used to farm
soya and cattle.

The Karipuna reserve now stands
out as an oasis of apparently
virgin forest.

But there are
fears it won't last.

Adriano has
invited me to stay

at the Karipuna's
main village,

it's a chance for me to find out
more about their relationship

with the forest.

[SPEAKING PORTUGUESE]

Beautiful, no?

Wesley?

Gordon.

Gordon.

Gordon.

Gordon.

This is what I like a
boy to show me

when introducing me
to his village is a,

is a pig's head
being, being grilled.

[BUCHANAN]
What a lovely place.

Everyone's really friendly,
there's lots of kids

running about.

And it's kind of not exactly
what I imagined.You think of an
Amazonian tribal group

and you think of them living
in thatched houses

deep within
the forest.

That is not really
the reality.

These are modern,
modern times.

As night falls the villagers
invite me to join them

for their
communal dinner.

I soon get chatting to
the village teacher, Batiti.

What is the connection that the

Karipuni have with the forest?

I'd like to say that I had
an amazing sleep,

but that wouldn't
be true.

It's the coldest night I
have spent in a hammock,

um, despite the fact I'm
on the, the equator

at night time it still
gets pretty chilly.

Like tribes across
the Amazon,

the Karipuna have
changed with the times.

But the forest around
them remains crucial

to their collective
identity.

The prospect of
losing it terrifies them.

They need to act quickly, and
convince the authorities that
their forest is under attack by
illegal loggers.

The best way to gather
enough evidence

is to get up
in the air.

So Greenpeace have
equipped a plane

with cutting edge
GPS technology

to complete a detailed
survey of the deforestation.

It's part of a wider effort
involving other charities,

scientists and even
INTERPOL, to try to protect

the most vulnerable
parts of the rainforest.

Are you nervous,
or worried

about what you might see
from the, the aeroplane?

[BUCHANAN]
From above, the full extent
of the Karipuna territory

is revealed, covering
150,000 hectares,

about the size of
Greater London.

As we move beyond
the village it becomes clear

the forest is scarred with
many pockets of clearing.

Undernea

th us right now there's lots of,
at least five places that I've
seen where there's freshly cut
wood.

I would be convinced there
actually at the moment

there are illegal
loggers down there.

And such, it's fresh
signs, another one here,

so there's at least six
places that we've seen

with a lot of timber that's
been, that's been cut.

It's a frightening
discovery.

But further from the village,the
scale of the recent logging
becomes apparent.

The information,
the data,

the, the intelligence that we've
gathered on the flight,

how will that be used?

So, now we have
pictures, we have image,

and then it's, it will
be possible after studying

everything to really have a good
idea of how many hectares

of the land has
been destroyed.

I suppose without this evidence,
without the, this information,

it's quite easy for
anyone to say,

oh, no, it's not that bad,
that's not really happening.

So, it's, it's essential
to have, have that proof?

It is, yeah.

Because it's a way to show and
prove there is this dangerthat
these people is not going to not
exist anymore.

[BUCHANAN]
Feels very different
to fly over a forest

and see this level of
destruction and, and loss

with someone that this
land belongs to.

It's no wonder that the
Karipuna feel, feel vulnerable

and feel intimidated because
the, the extent of the problem

is huge.

It's an atrocity.

And it's, even to use the word
genocide is, I don't think is,
is taking it too far because
these types of practices

are wiping out, um,
this, his culture.

[BUCHANAN]
Back at the village, Andre and
the Greenpeace team

show the tribe what
they discovered.

[BUCHANAN]
Who do you give
this information to?

Is it to military police?

[BUCHANAN]
If land grabs like
this continue here,

it could drive the Karipuna
from their indigenous territory.

[BUCHANAN]
There's, there's two
possible scenarios here.

If I was to come
back in 10, 15 years

I could come back and find that
this place is a, a ghost town.

The Karipuna that remain
have been split up

and they live in the
towns and cities.

[BUCHANAN]
But what I really hope is that
by using this aerial technology

to, to give the first
comprehensive view from the air

of what is happening
to their land,

I'm hoping that's gonna be
the turning point that's gonna

ensure a happier ending
for their, their story.

It's inspiring to
see the Karipuna

fight to save
their tribal home.

But they're just one of
many groups near the equator

who depend on the
land to maintain

a traditional
way of life.

Where I'm
heading next,

the relationship between
people and nature

could also benefit one of South
America's most iconic species.

I'm travelling
west, to Ecuador.

A country carved in two by
the mighty Andes mountains.

My destination is
just south-east of Quito,

in a high altitude volcanic
habitat next to the equator.

I'm hoping to
catch a

glimpse
of the world's biggest bird of
prey, the Andean Condor.

Sebastian Kohn is part
of a research effort

to assess the prospects for the
Condor population in Ecuador.

With as few as 200 thought
to remain in the wild here,

you have to know
where to look.

[KOHN]

We are 4,100 metres
high in elevation. [BUCHANAN]
That'll explain why I'm feeling
quite so short of breath.

Before too long, our
efforts are rewarded.

[KOHN]
We have one here.

[BUCHANAN]
Yay!

With their three metre wingspan,
the Condors are unmist

akable,

soaring on the
updrafts in the valley.

This is unbelievable.

I think being able to get so
close to such a big raptor

is, and be, be up above
them and look down on them,

it's, it's amazing.

[KOHN]
Yeah, yeah, it's
an, it's an amazing sight.

So graceful.

[BUCHANAN]
I've filmed these
birds before

but never from such an
amazing vantage point,

and I can't resist taking
an even closer look.

It makes the world of
difference being up here

on the Condor's
eye level.

And I think, think
they're really beautiful.

If you get a close enough shot
of a male you can identify him

from his face
and his crest?

[KOHN]
Yeah, the
crest actually has these,

uh, these lumps that, that
serve as like fingerprints,

uh, each male is different.

[BUCHANAN]
It's quite
mesmerising, really,

to be able to be so close
and for there to be

some kind of engagement,
cause they are curious.

So it's this kind of
curiosity that works both ways.

I'm looking at them as
they're looking at me.

[BUCHANAN]
Wow, that's great.

[BUCHANAN]
But there's a problem.

This isn't just
Condor territory,

this is cowboy country.

The Chagras have herded
cattle through these lands

for centuries.

In the past, they
have killed Condors,

believing that they
attacked their precious cattle.

But Sebastian's
fellow ornithologist,

Michael, has been
working with the Chagras

to change
their ways.

Hola, I'm Gor,
I'm

Gordon.
[MICHAEL]
So, uh, there's
65 families, and uh,

like you can see,
they're all generations.

[BUCHANAN]
Yeah, that is quite some sight.

[MICHAEL]
The youngest
member, Alexandra,

she's four years old.

[BUCHANAN]
The cowboys have b

een
convinced it's in their interest
to help protect the Condors,
instead of killing them.

That's great.

Is that beef?

[PEOPLE SPEAKING SPANISH]

There's some tripe there.

Tripe?

Tripe.

[BUCHANAN]
Vladimir Acosta is the head
of the Chagras community.

How has the Chagras relationsh

ip
with Condor changed?

[BUCHANAN]
Many of the Chagras now
earn money as guides,

bringing tourists here to catch
a glimpse of these rare birds.

In return

for their commitment to the
Condors,they've been allowed to
continue grazing

this rich
upland pasture.

The future looks
promising.

To assess the
Condor population,

Sebastian has embarked
on a pioneering survey.

Wi

th dusk approaching, we head
back to the cliffs, as the
Condor start to settle down for
the night.

The roosting sites are tucked
away on the sheer cliffs below.

But aerial technology

offers a better chance
of picking them out.

So has, has
drone technology

revolutionised your
studies and research?

[KOHN]
Well, completely, you know,
we're, we're studying

a, a species that flies very
high up in the mountains,

so the drones,
they're an incredible tool

that help us get very good
images of their roost sites,

so being able to have
this perspective

it's, it's
incredible.

Let's give it a fly!

I'm good.

Okay, taking off.

[BUCHANAN]
Oh wow!

Instantly you have that
Condor-eye view and...

That's amazing.

It's an impressive cliff!

It's pretty craggy.

[KOHN]
Looking back at us.

[BUCHANAN]
How do they react to the drone?

Any aggressive reactions?

[KOHN]
Uh, Condors don't
have aggressive reactions here.

You can see
them flying.

[BUCHANAN]
Amazing!

Within minutes, Sebastian
reveals a roosting Condor.

A bird that would never have
been spotted without the drone.

[KOHN]
You see the
Condor's just landed there?

[BUCHANAN]
Oh, yeah, I see it.

Gosh, but it was rubbing its
wattles on the, um, on the
ledge.

So you wouldn't have any
idea that those Condor

were, were down there if it
wasn't for the drone?

[KOHN]
No, they're incredibly useful to
get, uh, this, this view.

Before the
research project started,

there were 32 known
roost sites in the country,

now we have a database
of over 500 places

where Condors
go to sleep.

[BUCHANAN]
So it is much happier times
for the Condor in, in Ecuador.

I think they
just like the view!

I came to South America fearing
the worst for its wildlife.

But with everyone working
towards a common goal

here for now, a win-win
situation seems to be emerging.

As I continue west
through Ecuador,

I'm heading for a place where
another collaboration

aims to save not just one
species, but thousands.

Close to the peaks
of the Andes,

and just 10 miles
north of the equator,

is a pocket of a
remarkable habitat

I've always wanted to
visit, the cloud forest.

It's teeming with life.

Cloud forests are home to
hundreds of species

found nowhere
else on earth,

and many more are
still to be identified.

This is very
beautiful forest,

it's got quite a lost world feel
to it, these big huge ferns.

Most of the trees are
festooned with moss.

In a world where dozens of
species are thought to be lost

every day, protecting
places so rich in life is vital.

But across
tropical

South America,
this rare type of
forest is fast disappearing,

as the land is developed
for farming and mining.

So, in the
Mashpi Reserve,

scientists are working to
increase our knowledge

of this fragile ecosystem, to
help safeguard its future.

It all happens here.

Hidden amongst the trees
is a luxury eco-lodge

where research is
funded by tourism.

Carlos Morochz heads up the
research team here at Mashpi.

Hello Gordon, nice
to meet you.

Welcome to
Mashpi, man.

It is an amazing place.

[BUCHANAN]
They're turning their
attention upwards

to the forest's most
unexplored area, the canopy.

To access these
fragile treetops,

Carlos and his team
have taken to the air.

[BUCHANAN]
This is incredible.

[MOROCHZ]
Welcome to Dragonfly.

[BUCHANAN]
This does feel a lot
like being at the fairground.

[MOROCHZ]
We're like
being on a...

[BUCHANAN]
Jungle fairground.

[MOROCHZ]
...rollercoaster.

[BUCHA

NAN] This cloud forest, how much
is known about the species that
are living on the ground?

On the ground it's
pretty well-known,

especially mammals, big animals,
mammals or bird species

and things like that,
it's, uh, known to science.

[BUCHANAN]
Carlos has spent eight years
studying life on the shaded

and damp forest floor, recording
a diverse range of species,

from coatis to ocelots.

Now, the cable car gives
him access to the canopy,

so he can catalogue life at
this unexplored frontier.

[BUCHANAN]
Is it entirely likely that we
have p

assed a new species?

For sure.

Really?

Not only one, I'm sure 20
or 30 or 40, easy.Uh, huh.

Look that, uh, tree!

That's beautiful.

[MOROCHZ]
It's the tallest tree that we
have here in Mashpi and it's new
for science.

[BUCHANAN]
Really?!

[MOROCHZ] Yeah, uh, and we name
it Magnolia Mashpi. [BUCHANAN]
How important is that for fu

ture conservation?
Uh, everything that
is new to science,

you can use
that to say,

Hey, we have a unique
species in this area,

if you touch this area, well,
that species gonna be gone.

[BUCHANAN]
To find out which
creatures live this high,

Carlos has set up
aerial camera traps.

And I'm helping
him rig two new ones.

So, why have you picked
this particular tree?

[MOROCHZ]
You can also see
it's the river,

uh, below that huge tree,
so it looks like a nice,

um, bridge of connectivity
of the canopy in order for,

um, mammals
to cross.

[BUCHANAN]
So when we drop down,

it's really a place that
would be impossible to reach

from the ground because the,
the branches are too weak?

[MOROCHZ]
Right.

[BUCHANAN]
There's something
quite strange about

abseiling down to the
top of a very high tree.

You do get slight heebie-jeebies
looking over the side.

[BUCHANAN]
It's a 50-metre drop to the
uppermost branches

of our chosen tree, and a
further 40 metres to the ground.

[BUCHANAN]
So Carlos, we're
gonna go down together?

[MOROCHZ]
I'm gonna say a
lot of bad words.

[BUCHANAN]
Earlier that was just the
precursor to the heebie-jeebies.

It just feels kind of a bit
wrong to step off something

that is perfectly
substantial.

It's got my weight, cool,
letting go, fully suspended!

Righty.

Let's get to work.

Are you moving
Carlos?

[MOROCHZ]
Yeah.

[BUCHANAN]
How's the adrenaline?

[MOROCHZ]
Amazing.

[BUCHANAN]
It's just the weirdest,

weirdest sensation
just descending from the
sky, down into the top

of a very, very tall
rainforest tree.

[MOROCHZ]
It's fantastic.

We're almost there.

Slightly uncomfortable in the
old nether regions, this harness
is a little bit tight.

This is a good work-out.

[MOROCHZ]
This might be the right place
to set up two cameras,

you know, one
facing that direction,

and the other
facing that branch.

[BUCHANAN]
Yeah, okay.

[MOROCHZ]
I'm sure we'll
get some anteaters,

we'll get white-face
capuchin monkeys.

[BUCHANAN]
We can maybe just
give it a fasten on

and just give
it a fiddle.

Job well done.

Yeah, all set.

[BUCHANAN]
Right, let's
return to planet earth.

Goodbye tree.

Way!

Feet wet.

Do you like it?

[BUCHANAN]
Amazing, thank you very
much, it was fabulous.

[BUCHANAN]
You walk through the
forest, you realise how

important it is that
these places exist.

98% of forests like
this in Ecuador have gone.

These are stunningly
beautiful places,

they're exhilarating
places to, to be.

And so much can be
lost and destroyed

before we even can answer
the most simple question:

which is, what
lives here?

We hea

d back into the air to retrieve
two more cameras that have been
spying on the canopy for the
last 20 days.

[BUCHANAN]
Back at base, the footage
reveals something extraordinary.

Check this out, Gordon.

[BUCHANAN]
What is this?

[MOROCHZ]
A surprise!

You see it's
a kinkajou.

It's a very fluffy
animal, very nice.

[BUCHANAN]
That's amazing, so up,
right up there in the canopy

at, what, sort
of 30 metres

is this little kinkajou
in the dead of night.

To find a mammal that high up
is, is quite amazing really.

[MOROCHZ]
Yeah, check it again.

Kinkajou is nectar
species, it feeds on nectar,

so it's looking
for food I'm sure.

[BUCHANA

N] Also know as honey bears,
kinkajous play an important
rolein pollinating plants as
they criss-cross the canopy.

In this snapshot, you're,
you realise how much life

is, is up there.

This is just one
branch of millions.

[MOROCHZ]
It's fantastic, you know, it's,
it's great, might be the only,

uh, record of
this, uh, species

that we have at
the canopy level.

So it will show us pictures
that help us to show

all around the world that
these species are here

and they need to
be protected.

[BUCHANAN]
So, this is just the start of a
very exciting aerial project.

You're invited to
come every month,

when I do abseiling.

Okay, yeah, I can do
that, once a month.

Once a month.

[BUCHANAN]
Supported by the eco-lodge, the
team can begin

cataloguing
life throughout
the canopy.

Showing how many species
depend on the cloud forest

should strengthen the
case for its protection.

And that gives me real
hope for the

future
of this unique and
magical world.

It's been an

incredible journey along
this stretch of the equator.

From the Amazon, to the Andes,
my eyes have been opened

to the new realities
faced on the ground.

Despite some of the deeply
shocking destruction

that I've seen along the
equator in South America,

I am leaving with a
real sense of hope.

And as long as there are
people passionate about

protecting these
precious places,

then there's a still a
chance they can flourish

and survive into
the future.

[***]