The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm – the human cost of climate change

IRIN Films, in association with the UN Environment Programme announces the launch of two more short films as part of our ongoing series on the human cost of climate change. Continuing IRIN’s focus on Asia, these two films look at the severe problems Bangladesh faces as a consequence of storms, cyclones and floods. The ancient practice of floating gardens – beds of straw and water hyacinths on which crops are grown – is making a comeback in the face of increased floods. But in the south of the country, islands are literally being washed away by tidal surges and storms. Earlier chapters in the series highlighted the threat to Vietnam’s coastal mangrove forests, the dwindling fish stocks of Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, and the innovative introduction of floating schools to flood-prone Bangladesh. From a Sherpa village high up in the Nepal Himalayas where villagers are struggling to find fresh supplies of water now that glaciers have melted and farmers in the south of Nepal who have been forced to turn their back on rice production in favour of bananas, to an army of Buddhist monks replanting forests in Cambodia, these short videos tell some of the stories of how climate change is affecting communities throughout Asia. The series can be watched here.

Source: IRIN Film & TV, 5 February 2010.