Planeta Humano _ Desiertos. Documental
Podemos sobrevivir semanas sin comida, pero sólo unos días sin agua: es el elemento esencial de la vida. Sin embargo, muchos millones de nosotros viven en desiertos áridos de todo el mundo. En el segundo episodio de Planeta Humano, descubrimos cómo la eterna búsqueda de agua trae enormes retos – y soluciones ingeniosas – en los lugares más secos de la Tierra.
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00:00Only one creature has managed to forge an existence in all the habitats of the Earth.
00:11That creature is us.
00:15All over the planet, we continue to use our ingenuity to survive in wild environments,
00:24far from the city lights, face to face with nature in its pure state.
00:30This is...
00:32Human Planet.
00:48The deserts are the warmest and driest places on Earth.
00:53They cover a third of the continental surface.
00:58In some, you can never see the rain.
01:06We can survive two months without food, but only a few days without water.
01:13Before birth, we spend nine months surrounded by liquid in the womb.
01:20But birth throws us out of that luxurious aquatic world.
01:37From that moment on, the life of every child in the desert is determined by the search for water.
01:44However, in this brutal environment, the impressive number of 300 million people survives.
01:51These are their extraordinary stories.
02:15The Sahara Desert
02:26The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world.
02:35It is the size of the United States of America.
02:39And in its arid interior, the most powerful sandstorms on the planet are unleashed.
02:50The fierce winds beat thousands of millions of tiny grains of sand to form huge walls
02:57that rise to more than 5,000 meters in the air, ten times the height of the Empire State Building,
03:05and cover extensions the size of Great Britain.
03:20Making his way through the sandstorm in Mali, Sealy Mamadou, 16 years old,
03:26is a cowboy who left his home three days ago on a mission to find water for his cows.
03:33My cows are my life, because they provide sustenance for my family.
03:38If I don't find water, my cows will die.
03:42It is a tremendous responsibility that falls on his adolescent shoulders.
03:48He must resist only the fury of the desert.
03:52But an even greater challenge awaits him.
03:57He is racing against the largest terrestrial animal on earth, the African elephant.
04:03This desert herd is also desperate for water, as Mali is threatened by drought.
04:12At 40 degrees Celsius, most of the pools are dry.
04:18There is only one place 80 kilometers away that will still have water.
04:24The Banzena Lake.
04:27Both Mamadou and the elephants head there.
04:38I have to get to the lake before the elephants.
04:42If they get there first, there will only be mud left for my cows.
04:47If Mamadou takes a light step, he will reach the lake by morning.
04:53But only 50 kilometers behind him are the largest nomads of the desert.
05:01The elephant matriarchs guide their herd following an incredible mental map
05:06of all the pools that are located in an area of tens of thousands of square kilometers.
05:13The Acacias provide them with enough energy to carry on,
05:17but they cannot rest day or night.
05:24But for Mamadou, the fall of the night forces him to stop.
05:28He has no choice. A night encounter with the elephants would be fatal.
05:35A hasty breakfast of precious milk is what Mamadou can get from his cows.
05:41It keeps him out of dehydration for a while.
05:46But he has to go on.
05:50The herd of elephants has marched all night and regained ground.
06:05Finally, Mamadou has the end in sight.
06:10But he heads straight for danger.
06:14The large herd of elephants has not only outdone him,
06:18but is also blocking his access to the water of the lake.
06:25Mamadou knows that the elephants could charge him,
06:29so he takes care not to get too close.
06:34It is a fragile truce as he thinks about how to overcome them.
06:44But Mamadou does not give up.
06:49He thinks about how to overcome them.
06:59Suddenly, an elephant charges at the cows.
07:07Mamadou responds, but only armed with sticks,
07:11it is a battle of David against Goliath.
07:19Mamadou's courage has allowed him to keep away more than 50 elephants.
07:24Fortunately, conflicts like this are very rare.
07:29The thirst drives the elephants crazy,
07:34and Goliath does not give up.
07:39Finally, Mamadou heads his herd towards the healing water.
08:10The elephants move away and find their own sector of the lake.
08:15They also have the opportunity to drink,
08:22and even play.
08:28Two months will pass before the rain will fill the ponds,
08:33so Mamadou's difficulties will continue.
08:38But in a place in the desert,
08:43the flood of water generates a surprising opportunity.
08:49Hundreds of kilometers along the estuaries of Bandiagara,
08:54the weakening heat of 40 degrees has ended the life of the rivers of the country of the Dogon,
08:59leaving isolated ponds full of stranded fish.
09:04The Dogon choose this moment for their fishing festival in the desert.
09:10Thousands of competitors come to Lake Antogo.
09:15Among them, Dialo, who has been coming for 30 years.
09:20For him, catching a fish is a matter of pride.
09:25All those who come want to fish something,
09:30so they come to the lake.
09:36I will try to catch one or two,
09:41but there is no guarantee of anything.
09:46I will be delighted if I get it.
09:51Any other day, fishing is strictly prohibited in these sacred waters.
09:56In this way, the elders protect an important food reserve
10:01in the middle of the dry season.
10:06But today, the community has the opportunity
10:11to catch their last symbolic dinner.
10:16Immediately, the river is full.
10:21The atmosphere is tense.
10:27Dialo has found a good place, but now he must wait,
10:32since Antogo has its unwritten rules.
10:44The ceremonial chief chants a prayer to drive away the evil spirits.
10:49He uses a fish trap that is believed to protect the words that are spoken.
10:54This is the opportunity of the year for Dialo.
10:59I want to catch a fish!
11:21Soon, the all-against-all becomes a fishing frenzy.
11:29They sink their baskets to catch the fish.
11:44Dialo has caught one, but there is no time for courtesy.
11:59He has to catch another one.
12:0415 minutes later, there is nothing left, and chaos reigns.
12:09Dialo has won, but he is exhausted.
12:14He has to catch another one.
12:34He has caught another one.
12:44Back home, his proud fishing becomes a feast for his family,
12:49which allows them to survive the last days of the dry season.
12:57When you fish, you feel as if the door of happiness
13:02has been opened to you.
13:12Far east of Bandiagara, finding water requires an immense skill in navigation.
13:22These women, Tubu, must enter the vast sands of the Sahara
13:27in search of a miniature of just one square meter
13:31that separates life from death.
13:54They call this place El Ténere, the country of nothingness.
13:59It is monotonous, overwhelming, and unreliable.
14:06Foni is a Tubu woman who can find water without a map or compass.
14:11I have been walking this path since I was a child.
14:14It is the hardest journey in the world.
14:19Sede, her daughter of just 10 years old, has joined them.
14:23The well they are looking for is three days away on foot.
14:27This is the hardest journey they will face together.
14:32Two people died because they crossed the well.
14:36We ask God to protect us.
14:40They embark on this risky journey to find food,
14:44and for this they must travel 240 kilometers to the market
14:48to exchange camels for food that will last six months.
14:54This caravan is only for women and children,
14:57because among the Tubu women are the great expeditionaries.
15:07For the blind, a dune is just a dune,
15:11but Foni knows which ones are reliable in a place where nothing remains fixed.
15:18The shape of the small dunes varies and moves with the wind,
15:23which makes them unreliable.
15:27But the larger ones, which rise more than 60 meters,
15:31are more stable and constitute the signs of something much greater.
15:36For more than a thousand years, the winds reigning in the desert
15:40have configured long chains of dunes,
15:43which are the only landmarks for travelers.
15:50The Tubus look at the sun and the silhouette of the chains to know where to go.
15:55Then they count them to know how far they have traveled.
16:07They have been walking under a scorching sun for ten hours and must rest.
16:14They camp with a single sheet and ration their water.
16:23The camel's ration is mixed with oats,
16:26while the women drink sweetened tea.
16:43They get up early before the sun gets too hot.
17:14They have enough water to get to the well,
17:17so the rhythm of the march is crucial.
17:24This specialized knowledge of the desert is disappearing rapidly.
17:29Today, only a few hundred Tubu women have this knowledge.
17:35Foni thinks that by teaching Sede,
17:38she could keep him alive for another generation.
17:43When it gets dark, Foni also teaches Sede how to read the sky at night.
17:48When it gets dark, Foni also teaches Sede how to read the sky at night.
18:18At least for now, they know they are on the right path.
18:32It is the third day. Today they must find the well.
18:38While collecting, Foni decides that Sede is ready to take the lead.
18:44But the well is so hidden that she may not find it,
18:48even if it is hundreds of meters away.
18:57She takes the right path,
19:00placing herself between the chains and the rising sun to the east.
19:07For some girls of Sede's age, only ten years old,
19:11finding the way to school is already quite difficult.
19:16But Sede has to find her way through 32 kilometers of the most desolate landscape on earth.
19:27But with her mother's instructions resonating in her head, she keeps moving forward.
19:33After 12 painful hours of walking, she finally finds the ninth chain.
19:42The lonely bushes on the top of the dune mark the sign of the well valley.
19:48Sede has found the only well 80 kilometers around.
19:53She has left her mother in a good place.
20:17Finally, Sede can give the camels something to drink.
20:28Satisfied with their thirst, they rinse three days of dust.
20:36Now that they have water, they go to the market.
20:39But they are weeks away from the end of their journey.
20:48Not all deserts are places of suffocating heat.
20:52The Gobi, in Mongolia, is a desert of extremes.
20:56Located far north of Ecuador,
20:59here the scorching summer heat gives way to the cold Arctic.
21:05It is February, 20 degrees below zero,
21:08and the few wells available are frozen.
21:13But surprisingly, the water appears in the form of snow.
21:19Here, the snow does not fall,
21:21but it arrives swept from Siberia, more than 3,000 kilometers away.
21:25The cutting winds mean that the snow will not stay for long.
21:33So Gamble and his camels of the Bactrian, or camels of two hives,
21:39must follow the snow to the mountains, where it endures.
21:43This strange snow is a life saver.
21:47The snow is like family, it gives our cattle something to drink.
21:55It is so important that his family and he have set up their winter camp at the foot of the mountain.
22:01But Gamble is taking a risk.
22:06His herd, including the pregnant females,
22:09is in the hunting territory of a pack of desert predators,
22:13who like nothing more than freshly born camel meat.
22:21We can't let the camels eat snow for a long time.
22:27There are wolves watching us here.
22:32The wolves of the Gobi Desert walk for thousands of kilometers.
22:37Their sharp sense of smell helps them detect the herds from a great distance.
22:45If Gamble lowers his guard, they will attack.
22:51He returns to the camp to find out that his son has surprised the wolves by attacking the flock.
22:57A sheep has been killed.
23:04The wolves are very greedy.
23:08If they have already attacked once, they will return.
23:18With the fall of the night, ice powder storms are formed.
23:27In the warm tent, the wolves are the only subject of conversation.
23:57At midnight, Gamble inspects his pregnant camels for the last time.
24:18Suddenly he realizes that his best female is not there.
24:23But due to the storm, they won't be able to look for her until daybreak.
24:45At dawn, the search begins to find out what happened to her and her unborn camel.
24:54Gamble meets his friends in his race against the wolves.
25:15They find traces.
25:23Gamble climbs the highest hill.
25:27The scale of his task becomes evident.
25:31Wolves know which prey is strong and which prey is weak.
25:46More fresh tracks.
25:53They are looking for prey.
26:09They have chased the enemy, but will the camel be close?
26:17In the end, they see a silhouette.
26:24Gamble's beloved camel is alive and has given birth.
26:34But the calf does not move.
26:48It is a great relief to breathe.
26:53It is a great relief to breathe.
27:04Everyone will be proud of the baby camel.
27:08He will not be able to get up.
27:12With only a few hours of life, the calf is too weak to walk to the camp.
27:18So Gamble takes her with him.
27:24His son comes soon to help.
27:27And the rest of the boys know the last incorporation to the herd.
27:35Gamble thanks his good fortune.
27:45Unlike the camel, there are some deserts where there is never water.
27:51In the Atacama desert, in Chile,
27:54some areas are as desolate as the surface of Mars.
27:58It is the driest place on earth.
28:04Here, nature has inspired people to get fresh air.
28:13Cactus flowers are a food resource for the guanacos,
28:17the wild camels of South America.
28:23But these cacti are also the key to their water supply.
28:27They are covered by a hairy lichen that catches all the moisture in the air.
28:34Orlando has found inspiration in the natural solution of the cactus.
28:39With his friends, he builds a vast network of six meters high.
28:48Now it's okay, with more strength, Charlie, with more strength.
29:01The mesh of the network is designed to cover the hairs of the lichen,
29:05since in this coastal strip of the Atacama desert,
29:08its saving grace is the humidity of the Pacific Ocean.
29:18Here, the cold currents of the sea refresh the warm air of the desert,
29:22generating huge banks of fog.
29:32The fog is swept from the coast and envelops the cacti.
29:40And also Orlando's nets.
29:47When the fog reaches the cacti, it condenses over the hairs of the lichen
29:51that capture the precious water.
29:58At this point, the cacti begin to drop dew.
30:08On the nets, the fog acts the same way.
30:12The precious water is channeled drop by drop into a ditch.
30:17This is the only way to get rid of the fog.
30:23Thinking that many times we go up to the top,
30:26over and over again, people think that we are crazy,
30:30because we are going to hunt the clouds.
30:37Look, Charlie, everything is fine, we have a lot of water.
30:42Every day, these magic nets produce about 500 liters of water,
30:46which allows Orlando to grow a few plants in the sand,
30:50although he has bigger projects.
30:56The dream I have is one day to give the community
31:00the water of heaven.
31:05This is the most recent innovation in the eternal human enterprise
31:09to find water in the desert.
31:16All over the world, the landscape is engraved with signs,
31:20scars that show where the water used to flow.
31:267,000 years ago, a network of rivers and lakes crossed the Sahara.
31:30The water disappeared when the area was deserted.
31:34However, in these fertile lands,
31:37much of this water remains in the rocks of the underground depths.
31:46In Bahamar, in central Algeria,
31:49the population has the extraordinary ability to take advantage of this ancient water.
31:54But you have to know how to get rid of it.
32:00Mafurdi is 70 years old and committed to a life in the desert.
32:07We pray to God to help us in our work.
32:11Every morning, after prayer,
32:14the men set out to look for water.
32:20With dedication, perseverance and very simple tools,
32:24they have dug a well.
32:27It took them six months to dig a tunnel through the desert rocks.
32:31At last, they are ready for their most dangerous mission.
32:38Mafurdi, the oldest and most experienced, goes down alone.
32:42It is a 9-meter vertical fall.
33:07At the bottom, there is water up to the knees, in passages dug by hand.
33:11Mafurdi knows that they are vital for the supply of water to continue to flow.
33:15But many men ended up buried alive down here,
33:19when the walls collapsed.
33:23The water is filtered through the rocks.
33:27The water is filtered through the rocks.
33:31The water is filtered through the rocks.
33:35Mafurdi releases it from thousands of years of rock prison.
33:39This ancient water is all that is left of the rivers
33:43that once crossed these lands.
33:47For us, the well is life.
33:51The life of this water is pure.
33:59But a well is not enough.
34:03The real game is to connect several wells,
34:07and thus create an underground water channel.
34:15Abdullah, Mafurdi's neighbor,
34:19has also spent the last six months digging a well.
34:23Today, both wells will join.
34:33But Abdullah must leave Mafurdi.
34:37Joining the wells is the most dangerous part.
34:41With so much land removed,
34:4510 meters of rock could fall at any moment,
34:49rushing over Mafurdi, who would have no escape.
34:57On the surface, Abdullah prays for safety.
35:01On the surface, Abdullah prays for safety.
35:31At last, Mafurdi arrives.
35:35But will the walls resist?
36:01This new channel is only part of a much larger system.
36:05In the last 700 years,
36:09each generation has been excavating new wells and connecting them.
36:13In the last 700 years,
36:17each generation has been excavating new wells and connecting them.
36:21Over 60 kilometers,
36:25800 wells channel the water under the desert floor.
36:29The tunnels are dug so that the water always flows down.
36:33The tunnels are dug so that the water always flows down.
36:37When it reaches the surface,
36:41it is distributed to support a locality that otherwise would not exist.
36:49With its share of water,
36:53Mafurdi has created an oasis where date palms grow.
36:59This attracts all kinds of unsuspecting visitors.
37:07When I see my garden, I feel happy.
37:11This happiness keeps me working hard.
37:17With a permanent water supply, anything is possible.
37:21In the state of Nevada, in the United States,
37:25Las Vegas forces life in the desert to the limit,
37:29breaking all the rules.
37:33It is one of the cities with the greatest growth in North America,
37:37with one of the highest water consumption per person in the world.
37:41Is this an example of how humanity achieves an impossible dream,
37:45or is it a neon mirage?
37:49The deserts of the world are covered with ruins
37:53of the rise and fall of civilizations,
37:57when the water ran out.
38:01Petra, in Jordan, was an ancient city
38:05that once had a system of aqueducts
38:09that supplied 40 million liters of water per day
38:13to its 20,000 inhabitants.
38:17For most of the inhabitants of the desert,
38:21life revolves around the few rains.
38:25Rain is their only hope of survival
38:29during the next year of drought.
38:33But in Mali, the rains of the desert
38:37are anything but reliable.
38:41Some years do not produce any.
38:45And when they do,
38:49the locals know that they arrive with violence,
38:53so they must waterproof their barns.
39:01The rains come preceded by sandstorms,
39:05so now people watch the skies
39:09waiting for the arrival of the dust storm.
39:15With 50 kilometers ahead
39:19and advancing at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour,
39:23the sandstorm envelops the city in minutes.
39:45But people know that, in the end,
39:49this darkness is a good sign.
39:57At last, the rain is unleashed.
40:01150 millimeters above sea level,
40:05the sandstorm begins.
40:09At last, the rain is unleashed.
40:13150 millimeters in 20 minutes,
40:17turning the desert into a network of torrents.
40:25After waiting a whole year,
40:29this is a moment of joy.
40:39In the deserts of the world,
40:43the rains of the desert
40:47are the only means of transportation
40:51for the people of Mali.
40:55In the deserts of the world,
40:59the rains of the desert
41:03are the only means of transportation
41:07for the people of Mali.
41:11In the deserts of the world,
41:15the rains transform the landscape.
41:19This is the only moment
41:23in which life is not just a search for water,
41:27and pressure sends it.
41:31For the Widawe people of Niger,
41:35the rain is the only means of transportation.
41:39When the rains are abundant,
41:43they can abandon the daily isolation of their lives,
41:47since they have enough water and food
41:51to support hundreds of members of their people
41:55who gather for one of the most extraordinary
41:59celebrations of gallantry and fertility in the world.
42:03The Widawe dance is a traditional dance
42:07of the Widawe,
42:11who have walked 80 kilometers to get here
42:15and thus participate in a competition called Yerigol.
42:19It is a dance of sexual courtship
42:23whose winner will get a new lover.
42:27You dance the Yerigol to try to win a lover,
42:31to have an adventure.
42:35This year is special.
42:39It is the first Yerigol after six years of drought,
42:43so there is great expectation.
42:47Yao is already married.
42:51Tembe, his wife, is also here.
42:55In fact, this festival is full of married couples.
42:59The Widawe have held their wedding vows
43:03for these few days without carrying any stigma.
43:07Tembe is also looking for an adventure.
43:11I have seen three men that I like.
43:15But she knows that her husband is also a good match.
43:19Yao is handsome, tall and a great singer.
43:23He has a beautiful body.
43:27That's why I chose him.
43:39But in this gallant competition,
43:43it is the women who choose
43:47and, surprisingly, it is the men who fight.
43:51The beauty, the singing and the dance of Yao
43:55will be examined.
43:59He has a few hours left for his great performance.
44:03I'm painting myself because I want to win a girl.
44:11The men decorate themselves with clay of the desert colors.
44:15They use crushed bones of marmots
44:19as a pencil for black lips.
44:23Their perfumes are irresistible.
44:27It is time for Yao to face music.
44:49The men are subjected to a long trial
44:53of an audience with very clear ideas.
45:03A group of dancers retreats
45:07and Yao steps on the sand.
45:11He wants to be chosen by one of the three judges
45:15The women look for specific qualities.
45:19A great composure, like a garceta.
45:23The men must show their teeth,
45:27beat their lips and sing with their throat.
45:31They must also dance following the rhythm
45:35and use their shoulders to maintain their position in the formation.
45:45Yao feels the pressure.
45:49Any carelessness and he will lose
45:53what he has been waiting for seven years.
45:57After five hours, it is the moment of truth.
46:27The three judges approach to choose their champion.
46:39The first one takes a step forward
46:43and with a subtle gesture indicates which is the man of his dreams.
46:51But he does not choose Yao.
46:55Neither does the second one.
47:01Nor the third one.
47:07Yao has lost his chance.
47:11His best efforts were not enough to win a lover.
47:15It will take at least a year
47:19before he has another chance to dance again.
47:25Tenbe is looking for Yao.
47:29Many new couples are formed.
47:33But at least Yao and Tenbe have each other.
47:45The men and women are scattered.
47:49Some with new lovers, some with the old ones.
47:53But all have been touched by the euphoria of fertility
47:57and the community spirit before returning to the isolation of the desert.
48:17The deserts are places of brutal simplicity.
48:21They give very little and demand a lot.
48:25But with courage, resistance and intelligence,
48:29with dedication and ingenuity,
48:33the inhabitants of the desert have found ways to make life emerge
48:37from a very small amount of water.
48:51Against all odds,
48:55they have transformed a life of thirst into a life of thirst.
49:21To be continued...