BBC - I Bought a Rainforest (2014)

Wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James has spent $10,000 on 100 acres of Peruvian rainforest, without even looking at it first. Situated at the end of a road, he hopes it is a strategic purchase, which will stop loggers illegally entering the Manu National Park and cutting down trees. But when he gets there, he quickly realises things are not quite so simple.

Part 1:
Once he has established camp and got his bearings, he discovers he has not bought the pristine virgin rainforest of his dreams, but instead 100 acres of secondary forest complete with a squatter, a cocaine field and some dangerous neighbours. A sign recently painted on a rock on his river reads 'Do not pass. Order to shoot!' alongside a crude picture of a gun. Undaunted, Charlie sets about looking for what animals and insects there are still on his land. But it is only when he goes to visit a local NGO, called CREES, which 30 years ago replanted a large area of forest which is now full of large animals and plants, that he begins to believe that his mission is not entirely hopeless.


Part 2:
Wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James has bought 100 acres of Peruvian rainforest situated on the borders of the world famous Manu National Park. Charlie's original aim was to ring-fence the whole area to prevent illegal loggers from entering the park. But four months on and his grand scheme has hit the buffers. His rainforest turned out to be little more than scrub and a squatter called Elias is still occupying the land. Charlie wants to evict the squatter, but Elias keeps delaying his departure - something Charlie suspects is little more than a cover for illegal logging. With morale at rock bottom, Charlie's wife Philippa flies out from England to raise his spirits and to see how he has spent their money. Keen to remind him of the original aims of protecting the park, Philippa persuades Charlie to take her in search of one of his favourite animals, the giant otter.


Part 3:
Episode 3
Unable to secure his land because of a squatter called Elias, Charlie had planned to evict him. But having now met his family and his disabled daughter, Heidi, Charlie is fast learning that if you want to protect the rainforest you need to include the local people. He goes to spend time with one of his neighbours, a Wacheperi shaman called Don Alberto, who treats sick people with traditional plants and hallucinogenic medicines. Initially sceptical, Charlie agrees to take ayahuasca in an attempt to try and understand the forest better from their perspective. As the power of the plants work their magic on him, he sees first hand how much knowledge and potential is being lost as the forest continues to be cut down.