Afloat: Bangladesh adapts to climate change

'Afloat', a film from IIED and Panos, shows how in Bangladesh they are combining tradition and innovation to adapt to climate change.

News, 10 January 2011

Most of Bangladesh is a giant delta lying in a cyclone ‘hotspot’. As these stupendous storms become fiercer and more frequent and sea level inexorably rises, flooding has become the norm in many parts of the country. The soil becomes salty, crops wash away, homes disappear.

In Bangladesh, climate change is a humanitarian crisis in the here and now. But millions in this beleaguered country are learning to stay one step ahead of the changes caused by a climate off kilter. Using a very modern mix of tradition and innovation, they are learning to adapt to an increasingly unpredictable new world.

Afloat is a a joint production between IIED and Panos Pictures that tells some of their stories.