Our World: Colombia - Saving Eden
BBC Two | BBC News | BBC World | 24 mins
Deforestation has skyrocketted in Colombia since the Peace Deal of 2016. During more than half a century of civil war, vast areas of forest had remained inaccessible because of the conflict. Since the Peace Deal commercial forces are moving in to exploit the land and its natural resources. Colombia is now losing hundreds of thousands of hectares of rainforest every year.
In this documentary with reporter Frank Gardner, we followed a Colombian-led team of plant scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew into virgin tropical rainforest. The botanists were on a mission to discover and save unique plant species, before they are destroyed by deforestation and lost forever. We also filmed with illegal loggers and the Colombian army as they tried to hunt them down.
After broadcast, Hay Festival 2020 hosted an event centred around the film, discussing some of the issues raised and opening up the conversation to a wider audience.
" ****This short but tightly focused film tells a bittersweet story...Frank Gardner brought a fresh slant to this punchy account of a botanical expedition."
- Broadcast
Watch an Excerpt [full film available on BBC iPlayer]
CREDITS
Reporter: Frank Gardner
Produced, Directed and Filmed by Oliver Englehart
Editor: Gordon Watts
Series Producer: Inga Lovric
Executive Producers: Adam Grimley & Sarah Waldron
Produced inhouse for BBC Current Affairs 2020
