I Bought a Rainforest

Wildlife photographer Charlie Hamilton James has just bought 100 acres of the Peruvian Amazon, without even looking at it first. He plans to spend a year photographing the animals on his land, before launching a campaign to protect more of the forest. But it turns out buying a piece of land over the phone isn't such a great idea. Instead of the green heaven he was imagining, he's bought a coca plantation, an illegal logging camp and a few fields of struggling crops. The reality of what he has taken on soon hits home. Over the series, Charlie discovers that the problems facing the Amazon are now all on his doorstep - the drug trade, illegal gold mining, logging and even poverty. In order to make the right decisions about his land he needs to understand these problems. He sets out to learn more by living and working with the local people and begins to realise that the way to help preserve the rainforest is not to buy it, but to engage with the people and work with them rather than against them. Incorporating Charlie's photographs of wildlife and people into the story, this is a jungle adventure that takes in everything from poisonous snakes and hallucinogenic shamanic brews to flesh eating diseases. In the end, his quest comes down to one very simple choice; the question is, has Charlie learnt enough about the Amazon to make the right decision? (Verleiher-Text)