I belong to the south-western part of Bangladesh as framed as the most climate vulnerable place in the world, low-lying coastal area, and a zone of climate crisis where the largest mangrove forest of the world named Sundarban exists. Located at the confluence of Brahmaputra River and the Ganga river, the villages here is surrounded by crisscross network of rivers and expansive delta with thousand variation of trees, plants and climbers. People share a never-ending relationship with water, nature and forest from the day they have been born.
In this part of the country global warming is increasing the severity and frequency of cyclones, storms, droughts and floods and salinization. Rising sea levels mean that low-lying coastal areas of Bangladesh may disappear altogether. Relative sea level rise in Bangladesh is greater than in many other countries, due to the simultaneous submergence of low coastal areas. As climate change is having an immediate impact on the everyday lives of the people throughout the country, extreme rainfall over Bangladesh’s coastal region is increasing, while silt-heavy runoff from glaciers in the Himalaya Mountains upstream is leading to more flooding riverbank erosion.
Advocates say this creeping salinity is having a huge impact on the environment around Bagerhat district, including a decline in crop yields and increasing the death of plants and trees. Also, natural diesters are already displacing large numbers of people. It has been estimated that up to 18 million people may have to move because of sea level rise alone. Climate experts predict that by 2050, rising sea levels will submerge some 17 percent of Bangladesh’s land, and 25 percent land of Bagerhat district will be submerge.
Yet people are persistently fighting this crisis and trying to exist.
Farhana Satu devotes as a documentary photographer based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. After finishing her LLB honors she attended Pathshala South Asian Media Institute and Danish School of Media and Journalism for her Diploma in Professional Photography.
Her work focuses to bring stories to light which might have been overlooked or taken for granted by the casual witnesses. She is well-versed in developing relationship with her subjects of photograph to understand and connect in more humanely presence.
Farhana is interested to work in such topic which consists a direct or indirect connection or relationship with her, such as she photographed her grandmother or her recent ongoing work where she focusses how global warming is affecting her home town and getting submerged and how people of her town is adapting this change.
Farhana received many national and international recognition by having many awards, grants exhibitions and workshops. She is having her latest exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria, Australia now.
Farhana is currently working as a freelance photo Journalist and Documentary photographer and part time co-curator.