Environmental Refugees
Between the Tides is an independently produced documentary film exploring the plight of environmental refugees in the coastal Sundarban region of Southeast India and Western Bangladesh. The film is shot, produced and managed by 3I Mavericks Tyler Quintano and 3I Mavericks board member, Nick Manning.
Project Need: A call to action
The sea level rise south of Sagar Island (India) could go up to 3.5 mm each year over the next few decades because of global climate change. Sagar itself has lost about 30 km of land by now. The rising seas could wash out almost 15 per cent of the existing 9,000-plus square kilometres of the islands.
Sugata Hazra
Director of the Jadavpur School of Oceanographic Studies - Kolkata, India
Project Rationale: Bringing a voice to eco-refugees
In December 2006, researchers from Jadavpur University in Calcutta reported that the first inhabited island has been submerged as a result of rising sea levels caused by global warming affecting 10,000 people once inhabiting the island of Lohachara in the Bay of Bengal. They have recently become landless, or eco-refugees. Reports indicate residents are fleeing to the larger island of Sagar, which is also eroding into the Ganges estuary. Researchers at Jadavpur reveal 70,000 people in the Sundarban atoll will become eco-refugees within several years.
In today’s economically connected world, it is imperative to understand how the swiftly changing planet is shaping the way in which we live and interact. Through the presentation of the Sundarbans in a format easily accessible to all ages and backgrounds, the film Mavericks bring to light is a unique narrative of environmental social justice.
Between the Tides is using education as a platform to promote practical awareness of a potentially devastating effect of climate change. While the film is made accessible to a broader audience with an entertainment value, it is also being used to lobby policy makers to make sound decisions on climate change issues. The project is also giving audiences the opportunity to confront the idea of how decisions made in one corner of the globe directly affect people living in another.
Project Innovation: Shot on location with input from actual eco-refugees
The film project is an evolutionary narrative taking place on the ground in India and Bangladesh. Main characters are telling their unique stories in the very areas being affected by climate change. 3I Mavericks research is requiring them to live on the island of Sagar in the Bay of Bengal for a minimum of least three months. Our researchers are conducting video interviews with experts, victims of sea level rise, local NGO’s and lawmakers throughout India and Bangladesh. Our call to action is not only about telling the larger meta-narrative about eco refugees, we provide solutions to this eco-justice issue. Between the Tides scope of inquiry includes:
- Where are the eco-refugees relocating?
- How is their quality of life changing?
- How can eco-refugees be supported?
- When sea levels rise and large numbers of inhabitants are beig displaced, how are regions dealing with mass migrations economically, socially, and politically?
- Are the Sundarbans an isolated incident or is their plight a warning for additional coastal regions worldwide?
Project Hypothesis: From debate to direct action
Many ‘what ifs’ are being heavily debated in relation to climate change and nations and people’s relationship and responsibility to sustaining the earth’s natural systems. By revealing scientific evidence blended with visual narratives of some of the world’s first eco-refugees Between the Tides moves an audience past debate (with actual proof of the negative effects of climate change) to one of direct action.