[proof]
Fix $t_0 \in [0,T]$. Define the reverse-time velocity field $\tilde{u}: [0,t_0] \times M \to \mathbb{R}^n$ by $\tilde{u}(s,w) := -u(t_0 - s, w)$, and let $\Psi: [0,t_0] \times M \to M$ be its flow map:
\begin{align*}
\frac{d}{ds}\Psi(s,w) &= \tilde{u}(s, \Psi(s,w)) = -u(t_0 - s, \Psi(s,w)), \quad \Psi(0,w) = w.
\end{align*}
We claim that $\Psi(s, \Phi(t_0, x)) = \Phi(t_0 - s, x)$ for all $s \in [0, t_0]$. To see this, define $\eta: [0,t_0] \to M$ by $\eta(s) := \Phi(t_0 - s, x)$. Then $\eta(0) = \Phi(t_0, x)$. Differentiating with respect to $s$ using the chain rule and the flow equation $\partial_t \Phi(t,x) = u(t, \Phi(t,x))$:
\begin{align*}
\frac{d\eta}{ds}(s) &= -\frac{\partial \Phi}{\partial t}(t_0 - s, x) = -u(t_0 - s, \Phi(t_0 - s, x)) = -u(t_0 - s, \eta(s)) = \tilde{u}(s, \eta(s)).
\end{align*}
Hence $\eta$ solves the ODE $\frac{d}{ds}\eta(s) = \tilde{u}(s, \eta(s))$ with initial condition $\eta(0) = \Phi(t_0, x)$. But $s \mapsto \Psi(s, \Phi(t_0, x))$ solves the same ODE with the same initial condition. By the uniqueness part of the [Picard Lindelof](/theorems/69) theorem, $\Psi(s, \Phi(t_0, x)) = \eta(s) = \Phi(t_0 - s, x)$ for all $s \in [0, t_0]$; in particular, $\Psi(t_0, \Phi(t_0, x)) = \Phi(0, x) = x$. Since $\|\nabla \tilde{u}(s)\|_{L^\infty} = \|\nabla u(t_0 - s)\|_{L^\infty}$, the Upper Bound applied to $\Psi$ with starting points $w_1 := \Phi(t_0, x)$ and $w_2 := \Phi(t_0, y)$ gives
\begin{align*}
|x - y| &= |\Psi(t_0, w_1) - \Psi(t_0, w_2)| \le |w_1 - w_2|\,\exp\!\Bigl(\int_0^{t_0} \|\nabla u(t_0 - s)\|_{L^\infty}\,d\mathcal{L}^1(s)\Bigr).
\end{align*}
The substitution $r = t_0 - s$ gives $\int_0^{t_0} \|\nabla u(t_0 - s)\|_{L^\infty}\,d\mathcal{L}^1(s) = \int_0^{t_0} \|\nabla u(r)\|_{L^\infty}\,d\mathcal{L}^1(r)$. Hence
\begin{align*}
|x - y| &\le |\Phi(t_0,x) - \Phi(t_0,y)|\,\exp\!\Bigl(\int_0^{t_0} \beta(s)\,d\mathcal{L}^1(s)\Bigr),
\end{align*}
and dividing both sides by the exponential (which is strictly positive) yields
\begin{align*}
|\Phi(t_0,x) - \Phi(t_0,y)| &\ge |x - y|\,\exp\!\Bigl(-\int_0^{t_0} \beta(s)\,d\mathcal{L}^1(s)\Bigr).
\end{align*}
Since $t_0 \in [0,T]$ was arbitrary, the lower bound holds for all $t \in [0,T]$.
[/proof]