* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Christian Aid / Tom Pilston
A solitary woman navigates her way home through a vast network of flooded fields in south- west Bangladesh. A country carved up by more than 700 rivers and tributaries, and now widely recognised as one of the most vulnerable to climate change.
Millions of poor communities in Bangladesh risk their lives, homes, and land every year, because they are forced to live precariously along constantly changing river systems. The development charity Christian Aid highlights their plight on World Environment Day (5 June) and ahead of the Earth Summit in Rio, where world leaders will meet later this month to secure renewed political commitment to sustainable development.
Christian Aid / Kathleen Prior
This low-lying coastal region has always experienced cyclone activity, heavy monsoon seasons and flooding from Himalayan melt-water. But climatic changes and rising sea levels, as well as extensive deforestation, have exacerbated an already fragile situation.
Christian Aid / Tom Pilston
Many of its 150 million inhabitants live and work precariously along constantly shifting river-beds. More than 75 per cent of the population live on less than $2 per day and most are subsistence farmers. Fishing, crab, and duck farming are popular ways to make a living, while others cultivate rice or collect and sell vegetables.
Christian Aid / Tom Pilston
But the river tributaries are also met by the onward march of the Bay of Bengal, as rising sea levels and annual cyclones push the salty waters further inland. Fresh water once used to quench thirst and feed crops is being pushed up stream by tens of kilometres, having a significant impact on local communities.
Christian Aid / Tom Pilston
When the sea waters retreat, the ground they once occupied is filled with salt water and becomes impossible to farm with traditional crops – the soil can take up to four years to recover. Any remaining water sources are contaminated and most communities are forced to embrace new farming techniques - breeding ‘hardier’ livestock and cultivating saline-resistant vegetables and rice – just to survive.
Christian Aid / Tom Pilston
Christian Aid is helping poor communities adapt to their changing environment.
After Rashida’s home and land were destroyed by the sea during Cyclone Aila (2009), Christian Aid partners built her a storm-resistant house and trained her to farm shrimp, which thrive in this new salty environment.
Christian Aid / Kathleen Prior
But millions of Bangladeshis are likely to be displaced in the coming decades, as fresh drinking water and agricultural land becomes harder to find and low-lying coastal areas are increasingly submerged.
Christian Aid / Kathleen Prior
International development agencies, like Christian Aid, are urging decision-makers at the Earth Summit in Rio to achieve critical progress towards a fair green economy, as well as vital development to lift vulnerable communities in Bangladesh and around the world, out of poverty.
