Environmental Refugees: The Human Toll of Global Warming

The first environmental refugees are from flooded Bangladeshi villages; soon millions of people will flee to surrounding areas - and they will not be welcome.

Global warming threatens our global stability - as water levels rise and weather patterns change the landscape, humans all over the planet will be displaced, resources depleted, and traditional ways of life erased. The movement of human populations to higher ground will cause substantial conflict and cultural persecution.

Bangladesh is one of the world's first global warming victims. Its low-lying, river-fed plains - a fifth of the country - will be swallowed by ocean if levels rise as predicted by the turn of the century . It is one of the world's most densely populated countries with 140 million people; its huge coastal mangrove forest not only houses and feeds much of the country, it also filters pollutants and heavy metals from hundreds of rivers that flow to its delta. The monsoon flooding of July 2007 - attributed to climate change - affected millions of Bangladeshi families .

Along bangladesh's coast is the Sundarbans - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world's largest mangrove forest. The Sundarban honey hunters, whom we followed last April on their yearly harvest, collect 20% of Bangladesh's honey. But as the forest slowly retreats and the bee territory disappears, they will no longer be able to provide for their families. Refugees from the rural areas are already coming to the cities, such as Dhaka, where violence and extreme poverty grows as refugees compete for jobs, housing, clean water and food.

While many island nations and low-lying regions will be affected by rising ocean levels, Bangladesh is poised to be the most disastrous victim with a combination of extreme poverty, government mismanagement, and heavy loss of fertile fields and overly-populated land .

Already, the once-sweet fresh water wells are turning saline, and rice paddies have been transformed into shrimp farms due to surging salt waters . Currently, 77% of all legal disputes in Bangladesh are over land, eroded away by encroaching seas and rivers swollen by monsoons and Himalayan glacial melt . Half of Bhola Island has washed away and its inhabitants stream into big cities such as Dhaka, causing unrest and poverty.

Scientists predict that global warming could create 150 - 200 million Environmental Refugees by 2010. These refugees may completely lose their home countries, leaving the rest of the world to provide for them. How will our global community respond to hundreds of millions of displaced people? How can we prepare today for what may be the worlds most populous human migration?

The photographs taken in Bangladesh are intended to contribute to our understanding of the direct impacts of global warming. Our hope is that the images inspire governments to enact policies today, so that as the climate changes, relocation of villages can be done in a responsible, planned manner. We hope that the images will help western countries - the largest contributors of global warming - to accept the refugees as their responsibility. They must see the cobra tamers, the street merchants, the ship-breakers, and the honey hunters to have compassion for them.

To help the Bangladeshi we must inspire planning and organization in governments about the way we interact with, view, and help those who are displaced due to environmental changes. We need to prepare for a dangerous situation with peace in mind so that violence and persecution can be avoided. We hope that our images help inspire people to change their own habits to lessen the impact of those on the other side of the globe.

Our actions toward the Bangladeshi will speak volumes about our character and will set a precedent about future handling of Environmental Refugees.