Bangladesh Climate Change

Scientists are predicting that climate change could lead to a rise in sea levels that would flood at least 17 percent of Bangladesh and create around 20-35 million refugees by 2050. Monsoon rains in the region are concentrating into a shorter period, causing a cruel combination of more extreme floods and longer periods of drought. In the capital of Dhaka, the impact is already being felt, with some half a million migrants arriving in the city each year. These “climate change refugees” are pouring mostly into squalid slums and the biggest reason for moving is environmental degradation. Mamtaz Begum lives in the fishing village of South Tetulbarian in Bangladesh. Her husband died in a boat accident after capsizing because violent weather. Her mother died later in a cyclone and now she is left with 4 children to feed and very little means to support them. Twenty percent of the women in this village are widows because so many have lost their husbands in the seas. Coastal and fishing populations are particularly vulnerable and Fishing communities in Bangladesh are subject not only to sea-level rise, but also flooding and increased typhoons. Yet the largely fishing community cannot live without the sea.

Director: Ami Vitale
Length: 5:55
Country: Bangladesh
Language: Bengali
Date: 28.03.2015