The Geography of Flooding

Thailand is currently in the grip of widespread flooding owing to prolonged, intense Monsoon rains. Creating the worst floods experienced in the country for fifty years, 373 people have been killed, over two million people have been displaced, and at its peak, 30 out of 77 districts in the country were flooded. The floods are the outcome of an extreme weather event associated with climate change, government incompetence (including poor communication of risks to the public), poor flood management, and inappropriate development priorities. There has been a distinct geography to the flooding. Owing to excessive rainfall, dammed rivers have filled up and flood waters had to be released from the dams to prevent them from bursting. During the early stages of the crisis, while the countryside was flooded, the capital, Bangkok, remained untouched. Flood waters were intentionally diverted away from the city and its elites into surrounding districts. However, the volume of water that has been released from the North finally had nowhere else to go but to be carried south towards the Sea of Thailand through the river and other water systems. This has meant that slowly, Bangkok has finally had to experience its share of the crisis. However, even within the city some districts seem more protected than others. The government ‘sacrificed East Bangkok’ according to the Bangkok Post. As the Chao Phraya river overflowed its banks, the international airport must be spared at all costs; so too the Royal properties and as much of the business district as possible. The poor brace themselves for the flooding, while along the Chao Phraya river banks fish swim through the living rooms of people’s homes. A walk down a city side-street is instructive of a certain micro-geography of the flood. Along one soi, the Buddhist temple Wat Sam Phraya pumps water out of the temple grounds and into the streets of the local residents, flooding their homes.

Climate Justice Caravan in Bangladesh

Hi Folks:

Two excellent farmer’s movements in Bangladesh: the Bangladesh Krishok Federation BKF, (peasant farmer’s federation) and Bangladesh Kishani Sabha (BKS, peasant women's organization) the largest rural based peasant movement in the country, working on behalf of landless men and women. They have organized a 20 day “Climate, gender, food sovereignty caravan” in November and they’re inviting everyone to join them in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is considered to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change and sea level rise. Land degradation and scarcity have been growing in Bangladesh since the 1950s. Most Bangladeshis are poor and dependent on agriculture, and are thus more vulnerable to tropical cyclones, storm surges, floods, and droughts associated with climate change.
The purpose of the caravan will be to deepen and extend networks of grassroots movements in South and Southeast Asia and build international solidarity concerning issues of climate change and food sovereignty. Food sovereignty is one of the most important practices that enables peasant communities to both mitigate, and adapt to, the effects of climate change. Moreover, it also represents one of the most important solutions to the threats that climate change poses for the planet. The caravan will include a gender perspective on these issues throughout its duration.
The focus of the caravan will be on (i) movement to movement communication, learning, and the sharing of experiences, skills and strategies, for example concerning sustainable farming practices, and traditional and indigenous knowledges; (ii) education of communities about the effects of climate change; and (iii) holding trainings and workshops.

You can find out more about the caravan at http://www.krishok.org/uploads/3/7/5/9/3759913/all.pdf

Please try and support this fantastic initiative.

In solidarity
Pablo