tonight at ten — the government says the coronavirus outbreak remains at a "delicate and dangerous" stage, rejecting calls for an early easing of the lockdown. ministers warn we must all adjust to "a new normal". another 413 people have now died in uk hospitals. we need to take a sure—footed step forward which protects life but also preserves our way of life. so we're very focused on doing the homework that can hello, this is bbc news, allow us to do that. borisjohnson arrives back at no the headlines... the uk prime minister borisjohnson ten for work tomorrow after recovering from infection. is back in downing street, two weeks after being discharged there's growing concern in care

from hospital treatment homes in england over testing for conronavirus. for staff and residents. uk ministers say the public must at last, a chance to play in spain, adjust to "a new normal" in the fight against coronavirus. as children are allowed medics insist that social outside their homes accompanied distancing remains vital. by parents for the we now have a very definite trend in a reduced number of people in hospitals. that is definitely showing that our compliance with social distancing is proving to be beneficial. there's continuing concern in care homes in england over testing for staff and residents. italy, the first country in europe to introduce a lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak, is to ease some restrictions from early may. now on bbc news, deforestation has skyrocketed in colombia since the peace deal of 2016. our world joins a team of scientists from the royal botanic gardens. in the forests of colombia,

nature is under attack. since the civil war ended in 2016, deforestation has skyrocketed. i'm frank gardnerand i am heading into what remains of the virgin tropical rainforest. i traded in my wheelchair for a packhorse and am tested to my limits. i think this is too dangerous. i don't think i can do this. i am joining a crack team of scientists from the royal botanic gardens, kew. they are on a mission to discover and save unique plant species before they vanish forever. i am going to bear witness on the frontline of rainforest conservation.

this is where the journey begins — not in colombia, but in the royal botanic gardens, kew, london. kew is the world leader in developing plant science. the botanists are preparing for their mission to discover new species. and it is from here that this expedition will be launched. i have come here to see the expedition leader, doctor mauricio de bernardos. he works in a library for lab specimens. this is where we

identify new plants. we believe we have more than 200,000 different species here. you are a botanist and a biologist. and a scientist and an explorer in some sense. what are you expecting to get from this mission? the most remote areas are the best preserved and this is going to be our most important expedition. we're going to try to get into the of this area. into the heart of this area. we do not know what we expect to find. what is at stake with this whole trip that we're doing? why is this so important? we are in a race against time to protect this biodiversity from disappearing. we have rampant deforestation. we see how we are losing this forest very quickly and ourjob is to get an understanding about the diversity of these resources as well as their importance.

in 2016, the colombian government signed a peace deal with the farc rebels. for more than half a century, civil war actually slowed the pace of deforestation. but now remote tracts of land have opened up. farmers, loggers, and miners are scrambling for resources. colombia is now reportedly losing 3,000 square kilometres of forest every year. we are travelling to an area famous for its emerald mines, western boyaca. this is a bittersweet journey for me. this may be the last time that i could see this forest.

if i come back in ten years, this forest could be gone. colombia is still an eden. it's the second most biodiverse country in the world, after brazil. i may be the bbc‘s security correspondent, but my passion is for nature. you know, just look around you. there's incredible scenery. it is such a privilege to be here. i love being surrounded by the sounds and smells of nature. nature has always been something of an antidote to myjob as a security correspondent. in 2004, i was shot and partly paralysed while on the job. i won't deny, i have a certain trepidation about the trip itself because everybody else is walking. i will need to do this on horseback or i will not make it.

the team assemble at the edge of the rainforest in las quinchas. it's going to be a beautiful day. yes, it is going to be a beautiful day. estan listos, los caballos? this is the first time this area will be explored by scientists. for so many years, conflict and criminality made this area inaccesible to outsiders. if you see a snake, everybody please freeze, don't move. we are going to carry radios at all times. you, actually, frank, you'll have a radio. so this is going to be your radio. i'm going to be quite busy trying to control the horse. well, yes, maybe we can put this on the horse so you can have something that you can... the horse can do the radio.

there is a bit of a risk here. my legs are osteoporotic, like honeycomb, the bones. i cannot afford to fall off and break things. at the beginning of the track is a steep descent. the botanists hope to find new species deep inside the forest. but i am unable to hold on with my legs. guys, i don't think i can do this. i'm going to fall off. i think this is just too dangerous. i mean, it breaks my heart, ijust... i think you will have to carry on without me. but the local guides come up with an idea. well done. 0k.

i am so thrilled that despite my injuries, thanks to the endurance and kindness of these guys, i am able to see this amazing scenery. primary forests are the most bio—diverse terrestrial ecosystems anywhere on the planet. forests are not only vital in mitigating climate change, the botanists hope to find plants with untold potential. they get to work collecting specimens. we don't know what it is. it could be a philodendron. beautiful.

one of the local guides believes that he has chanced on something extraordinary. wow, perfecto! esto, yo lo recojo. hay varios. this, we actually don't know exactly what it is. it could be something new. we are the first botanists collecting in this area. so, basically every single collection is a new report for science in this area. the scientists will take the cuttings to the laboratory for further examination in kew.

beyond the fact that it is scientifically interesting, what does it mean to find a potentially new species like this in a remote forest? in a country like this, unusually biodiverse, we still do not know how many species are out there. we are estimating in colombia we have about 30,000 species, but still probably 6,000 new species to be discovered. so you think that there are new species out here in these forests that could actually vanish before they are even discovered? yes, absolutely. and we still don't know the uses of many species. some of the species could have the properties to cure important diseases for humans. and so as biologists, as botanists, we need to understand as much as possible as quick as possible of this amazing biodiversity. this is like a supermarket, or a pharmacy, and we don't know it, we don't appreciate the forest. 0ur quality of life relies on the preservation of these environments.

in the fight to save the forests, the colombian government has extended its protection to millions of acres of land. the army launched 0peracion artemisa in 2019 to combat illegal logging. colonel hermida has a thousand troops deployed in the area. what effect has this had on deforestation here?

but this can't really apply to the whole of colombia because deforestation is continuing throughout the country. even here, they are still doing it. this region, colonel, seems very secure, very peaceful but of course in the past, it wasn't like that. do you worry that if they don't find proper alternatives for people to make a living, that this region will go back to conflict?

under colombian law, illegal deforestation carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison. but in remote places,

the law is hard to enforce. illegal loggers are still at work in these forests.

the loggers say they have bills to pay. they've chosen their target — an 80—year—old rosewood tree. chainsaw revs.

creaking. this fallen giant will make the loggers $300. these valleys are populated by miners and loggers.

in the town of 0tanche, members of the community have been invited to a workshop organised by the authorities. they hope ecotourism will be the silver bullet, providing an income for the community while saving the forest. the botanists from kew have been invited to make their case. the fact that there is such

a good turnout here, proves that there is a lot of interest in alternatives to cutting down the forest. but the question is, is it going to give people enough of a livelihood, and that's a big question. the colonel has turned up. sitting next to him is edemildo, who's been a logger all his life. now, though, he is looking for new opportunities.

lidia is one of the pioneers of ecotourism. she set up a butterfly sanctuary to try and entice tourists into the region. it is a natural destination for tourism but there is no infrastructure for it at all. it's going to take years, isn't it, and by then, the forest will be almost gone? are you optimistic or pessimistic? are you going to win this fight to save colombia's natural heritage?

for future generations and the environment, time is running out. the need for a solution is urgent. i'm back on the horse on another field trip with the botanists. this time, on more even ground. oh, my god. it's like... this is incredible. of all the wild, remote places i've been to in the wild, been to in the world, i think this is got to be right up there near the top and as a disabled person, as somebody who can't walk, who has to use of wheelchair, it's amazingly liberating that here amongst all this rare flora and fauna, these beautiful butterflies and rare plants, it's this

amazing bio diversity. the scientists from kew remain hopeful of finding hidden treasures before it's too late. there are things i've never seen before. i have no idea what genus it belongs to. the thing about plants, there are no labels saying they are rare and special. they all look the same but it's when you go back and start comparing them with others. mauricio, do you think you can persuade people to stop cutting down the forest soon enough before the forest is gone? that is very hard to say. that's our hope and that's our mission. that's why we are here. i believe that we can make a change. we just have to do our best to protect the best of this biodiversity.

jennifer is a local botanist. she is exploring new areas of her country for the first time. how optimistic or pessimistic are you that you and others like you, who care about nature, who care about biodiversity, that you can save this forest? it's great that you're optimistic but the reality is, the area of forest is getting smaller every year.

colombia today is a post—conflict nation, but it faces a new battle to protect its natural resources. the biodiversity contained in these forests could prove to be its most precious commodity of all.

hello, for many parts of the country april has been extremely dry, but the weather pattern is set to change over the week ahead. the jet stream is moving further south, temperatures will drop and it will be wetter, all areas turning cooler. 0na be wetter, all areas turning cooler. on a sunday in the sunshine in eastern parts temperatures were up around 20 or21. eastern parts temperatures were up around 20 or 21. cooler air has come in and across northern areas and that comes in behind that weather front. that is the focus of a band of thick cloud and showery bursts of rain. that will continue to push its way southwards across england and wales, so a different look to the weather here. more sunshine follows further than ours, but there will be heavy showers and a breeze in northern scotland. the cooler air moves south was, dropping the temperatures, limiting the heat into

the south—east corner. there could be heavy showers there later on in the day. on tuesday we still have that weather front, but the pressure continues to drop. we develop this area of low pressure in southern parts of the uk, so it will turn wetter. i'll start to tuesday, further north a touch of frost in scotla nd further north a touch of frost in scotland with clear skies. most of the rain will affect southern england, wales, the midlands and east anglia. a few places by the end of the day may have as much as an inch of rain. elsewhere it will be drier further inch of rain. elsewhere it will be drierfurther north. for all inch of rain. elsewhere it will be drier further north. for all of us it will be cooler, particularly chili under that reign. temperatures below average for this time of year. that cooler, wetter weather pushes away into continental europe and we wait for the next weather system to come in from the south—west. there may be a fair bit of cloud around on wednesday, but a lot of places will be dry. this band of rain pushes in

from the south—west and heads into england and south wales. the south—east and east anglia should be a bit warmer with sunshine before the rain finally arrives. then we have got complications as to how far north that rain will push before we are dominated by this flabby area of low pressure. we could see the rain in this area on thursday and to the south we get a bit of sunshine and we will see some showers, which could be heavy and thundery, particularly in southern england. temperatures will be around 1a or 15. by the end of the week we say goodbye to that area of low pressure as it wanders into central europe. then we are waiting again for more rain to come in from the south—west. we may have wetter weather in the far north of scotland and an easterly wind. elsewhere, the winds will be like, some sunshine and a few showers before it turns wetter

later in the english channel. but the temperature should be back up to around 16 or 17. thejet the temperature should be back up to around 16 or 17. the jet stream the temperature should be back up to around 16 or 17. thejet stream is important, it is further south over the week ahead. it stays in the south as we move to the end of the week and then we get a lot of undulation. that means areas of low pressure is more towards the north and west of the uk and that is where we will find the wetter weather. but because of the position of the jet strea m because of the position of the jet stream we may draw up warm air from continental europe later on. that will affect the south—east where temperatures could be back to 20 or 00:28:38,706 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 21 celsius.