Main content

Qasa鈥檚 Farm - Building Resilience in Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces sea-level rise and extreme flooding but it鈥檚 also adapting fast. Qasa Alom considers the future of his farm and asks what we can learn as extreme events increase.

Qasa Alom has always been told that his family farm in Sylhet, Bangladesh is his heritage. His parents have spent their time and money trying to maintain the estate and his father has always hoped Qasa would take on some of the strain. Born in Britain, Qasa had other ideas about how he wanted to spend his time but he now faces a new challenge; how to protect his family鈥檚 roots from climate change.

Bangladesh鈥檚 low elevation and high population density make it one of the most vulnerable countries as climate change accelerates extreme weather conditions such as heat and floods and sea-levels rise. Qasa鈥檚 village has always faced flooding but the future looks more unpredictable. Now as Qasa considers his future commitment to the farm he finds a country that is battling extremes but also finding solutions.

Early weather warning systems which incorporate local knowledge and using community resolve to insure everyone gets to safety are one example. Changing crops, farming shellfish and growing jute to build up soil naturally are also being trialled and, most importantly, migration by climate refugees is being planned for. As a leader in climate adaptation Bangladesh is leading the world but will it be enough to keep Qasa committed to helping to maintain his family鈥檚 way of life here?

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Wed 29 Sep 2021 21:00

Broadcasts

  • Tue 28 Sep 2021 15:30
  • Wed 29 Sep 2021 21:00

What has happened to the world's coral?

What has happened to the world's coral?

In 2016 reefs around the world the size of city blocks died. Here we explore why.

Podcast