Marcin Szczepanski

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Shrimp farmer Mosarrof (right) and his laborer Ruhul Aminin toss nets into the pond where Mosarrof, 56, raises shrimp on the farm that sits in a 500 yard wide strip of land between two rivers in a Gazipara Union in the Koyra Upazila in Bangladesh.

Mosaroff's and other farms are protected from flooding by 20 feet tall embarkments made mostly out of clay-like soil that is prevalent in the area. However Mosarrof and others live in a contact fear of cyclones that periodically hit this coastal area and destroy the embarkments. Mosarrof switched from growing rice to shrimp 25 years ago when the water filling his ponds became too saline to grow rice. Since then he has made a meager living out of his farm but when asked about his biggest dream, he says that he dreams of converting the farm back to rice production that he believes would be more profitable and provide more food for his family. Climate change-related warming of oceans and increasingly unpredictable and violent weather continues to push saline water further inland so Mosarrof's dream is unlikely to be fulfilled. Saline water pollutes local supplies of drinking water so Mosarrof's family needs to walk 2 miles to the nearest well with drinkable water, a task that takes at least an hour a day.

Koyra Upazila (administrative area of Koyra) in Southwest Bangladesh is located on the edge of Sundarbans National Park, a mangrove forest and wetlands, one of the largest such forests in the world (140,000 ha). The Sundarbans lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghan rivers. Koyra was historically part of the mangrove forest but the original trees were cut down by settlers when they arrived in the area.

July 12, 2017.

Photo by Marcin Szczepanski/Sinking Cities Project

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Marcin Szczepanski
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Bangladesh: A Country Underwater
Shrimp farmer Mosarrof (right) and his laborer Ruhul Aminin toss nets into the pond where Mosarrof, 56, raises shrimp on the farm that sits in a 500 yard wide strip of land between two rivers in a Gazipara Union in the Koyra Upazila in Bangladesh. <br /> <br /> Mosaroff's and other farms are protected from flooding by 20 feet tall embarkments made mostly out of clay-like soil that is prevalent in the area. However Mosarrof and others live in a contact fear of cyclones that periodically hit this coastal area and destroy the embarkments. Mosarrof switched from growing rice to shrimp 25 years ago when the water filling his ponds became too saline to grow rice. Since then he has made a meager living out of his farm but when asked about his biggest dream, he says that he dreams of converting the farm back to rice production that he believes would be more profitable and provide more food for his family. Climate change-related warming of oceans and increasingly unpredictable and violent weather continues to push saline water further inland so Mosarrof's dream is unlikely to be fulfilled. Saline water pollutes local supplies of drinking water so Mosarrof's family needs to walk 2 miles to the nearest well with drinkable water, a task that takes at least an hour a day. <br /> <br /> Koyra Upazila (administrative area of Koyra) in Southwest Bangladesh is located on the edge of Sundarbans National Park, a mangrove forest and wetlands, one of the largest such forests in the world (140,000 ha). The Sundarbans lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghan rivers. Koyra was historically part of the mangrove forest but the original trees were cut down by settlers when they arrived in the area. <br /> <br /> July 12, 2017.<br /> <br /> Photo by Marcin Szczepanski/Sinking Cities Project