An aerial shot of the damage done to the Amazon rain forest by illegal mining

But Government officials have instead focused on a physical fight against illegal mining. Roughly a year ago, military and local police teamed up to shut down a mining site known as La Pampa. Less than six months later, the miners had returned.

"Jhin and I thought we would be able to take pictures of an empty site but some of the miners had already returned and it was too dangerous for us to take pictures. I was sitting behind Jhin on his motorbike and had my little video camera on my lap in the hopes no one would see me taking photos/videos," Bell recalls. "No one did obviously or I may not be here to tell the story."

Danger is a main concern for those that travel into the area. Miners protect their sites with guns and other weapons. Local police do their best to keep things under control, but are often outmanned and outgunned.

"The miners are armed and are everywhere. Madre de Dios is roughly the size of California and has about 400 policemen," Bell said. "There's also a lot of corruption so sometimes the police are threatened or bought off."

Seeing the destruction was enough for Bell to want to do something to change the situation. "I researched, looking for a Canadian organization working there and I couldn't find one so I realized I had to start my own charity," Bell said.

To assist Bell and Solis in their mission to obtain charitable status, they returned to the Amazon to make a documentary. Their organization, the Amazon Rainforest Conservancy (ARC), has since been approved as a charity but know that their work ahead is very challenging.

"We want to purchase threatened tropical rain forest habitat in order to assist in the preservation and conservation of endangered flora and fauna species," Bell said. "We also want to build a small biological station on the land that will be used for education and research in biodiversity and tropical conservation because we want people to be on the land to secure it.

Thanks to donations from friends and interested party, the Amazon Rainforest Conservancy was able to purchase a title transfer of 615 hectares of land located near Tambopata, Peru. About 603 hectares are considered "intact ancient primary rain forest"—which means the area hasn't been mined or logged. There are some trees in that region that have been wiped out in nearby areas.

Bell and the ARC want to involve the local community and give them an opportunity to move away from the damaging activity that's destroying the Amazon. In the land they have purchased, there are hundreds of Brazilian nut trees. protecting these trees ensures that the harpy eagle will continue to have a place to nest, but also allows locals to harvest the nut and obtain money from a new source.

While they are proud of their first victory, they know the road ahead will need a lot more effort and help.

"The reality is that it's harder to protect something, than it is to destroy," Solis explains. "That's the power of money.