“The sea, the great unifier, is man’s only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat.” Jacques Yves Cousteau
Man and Nature: Facing Climate Change
‘The Sinking Sundarbans: Climate Voices’ - India, 2009 Report for Greenpeace International.
Lalmohan Mondal stands on a fragment of what was Ghoramara Island. The island is all but lost to the rising sea.
‘The Melting of the Gangotri Glacier: a threat to the River Ganges’ - India, 2009 Report for Greenpeace International
A pilgrim walks across the dry bed of what was formerly a lake in Goumoukh, at the source of the Ganges.
‘The Melting of the Gangotri Glacier: a threat to the River Ganges’ India 2009. Report for Greenpeace International
At the confluence of the Ganges river, Hindus gather to celebrate the Ardh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 2007.
‘The Aftermath of Cyclone Sidr on the Sundarbans islands’ Bangladesh, 2007 Report for CARE International
Girls come together to mourn. The cyclone’s tidal surge created a 25 foot wave that swept through villages and drowned many.
‘The Sinking Sundarbans: Climate Voices’ - India, 2009 Report for Greenpeace International
(Left) Widow Kanaklata Das stares at the sea and searches for an answer to the future of the Sundarbans’ Islands. (Bellow) Lakshan Mondal from Satjellia Island under a tropical storm in the Sundarbans. Lakshan lost his home due to cyclone Aila (May 2009). Thousands of families are living in improvised tents by the roadside.
(Below) The villagers of Satjellia Island constructed a new dyke 100 metres inland from the shoreline. Their brave effort was in vain. A high tide inundated the entire island.
Bipra Mondal, Satjellia Island: “I fear the floods. I will move to the city.� (Right) Hand pulled rickshaws during a flood in Kolkata.
The river banks that protected the islands of the Sundarbans were washed away in the storm surge caused by Cyclone Aila. Using an archaic method, locals try to rebuild the barrier with mud, bamboo and grain sacks.
(Right) A little portion of rice, three potatoes and a candle are distributed as emergency relief by a local NGO. (Left) A boy waits with his mother for emergency supplies. (Opposite page) Araty and Pinky Sheet, from Sagar Island. “I don’t want my children to grow up here and want to go somewhere far away from this place”, says Araty.
"My name is Shyamapada Mondal. I had one boat. The cyclone Aila destroyed this boat. I cannot earn anything now. I had three ponds to cultivate prawn and fish but they were also destroyed. I have no income."
“My name is Bisakha Mondal.
“My name is Anjana Koyal.
“My name is Sampa Mondal.
“My name is Falebasi Mondal.
“I want to go to the city for fear of the floods.”
“I am a student from class seven. There are no books, no slate to write on and there is no road to go to school.
“All of our family members had to leave. While coming back to our place, we saw there was no trace of our home as everything had been washed away.
“I am ninety years old and I have no family.
There are too many mosquitoes, flies, and a bad smell comes from the water. We walk through water up to our necks.”
It is so hot… It seems to me that due to the melting of ice, the water level increased and it is now harming us.”
My house is damaged due to cyclone Aila. I am staying there anyway because I don’t have any other place to go. I have nothing to eat.”
Badhari Mistry grieving for her loss due to Cyclone Aila. (Centre) Vestiges of displaced homes in Ghoramara Island, the most vulnerable island to be submerged due to rising sea level.
Shukdev Das: “I lost my house due to the Ganga. We are certain that in the near future, our Ghoramara Island will also be under the Ganga.�
Ajit Das and his grandchild on Ghoramara Island: “We don’t know where we will go or what we will do.”
Kali Nagar, Sundarbans, Bangladesh, 2009. Report for Tearfund.
Apple tree.
‘Erratic weather and pests affect apple orchards’ - Himachal Pradesh, India, 2009 Report for Greenpeace.
(Above) Hail is a new phenomenon in these orchards. The farmers increasingly use nets to protect their trees. (Right) “The apple trees are not resistant to diseases anymore. Spraying chemicals has now become routine for me”, explains Arun Negi who used to be an organic apple farmer.
The Kraho
Guardians of the Cerrado
Kraho Indigenous leaders claim chemicals used in nearby soya monoculturessspollute their rivers and drinking water.
‘Coal Mines and Lime Kilns of Cherrapunjee, North-East India, 2007’. Independent story published at Geographical Magazine. Coal mines and Lime industry are a significant carbon dioxide emitter. Ironically, Cherrapunjee used to be the wettest place on Earth, but deforestation and industries such as coal and cement are rapidly transforming the region.
‘The True Cost of Coal: Jharia, the Living Pyre’ India, 2008. Report for Greenpeace International. Toxic gases are released from the ground in Jharia, where unscientific open cast mining set the fire alight for a century. Jharia holds the biggest coal belt in India and its coal supplies 67% of India’s electricity. Unfortunately, the coal industry is still growing around the world and it is the main emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the planet.
From dawn to dusk, coal workers spend thier days carrying pieces of coal, at Rajapur Mining Project, Jharia- India.
A kiln worker continues to work despite thick smoke, Cherrapunjee, India.
(Above) Greenpeace Action taken at Bay of Bengal, 2007: Activists write their message on coal tanker. (Opposite page) Bijon Bayen fishing prawn seeds in Sundarbans, Bangladesh, 2009. Report for Tearfund.
Living with HIV: on the front line According to the 2008 AIDS global epidemic report (UNAIDS/WHO) around 33.4 million people are infected by HIV around the world. The report tells us that improved access to antiretroviral therapy is helping to drive a decline in HIV- related mortality, more people are having access to information on how the disease is transmitted. Homosexuality has been decriminalised in countries such as Nepal and India in order to promote access to sexual reproductive health to men who have sex with men and their partners. Counselling and community based programs are being implemented to combat misinformation, stigma and discrimination. I have documented campaigns across the world to prevent HIV infection in high-risk communities and raise awareness about the deadly disease.
Chimoio, Mozambique June 2008. Report for Tearfund.
Chimoio, Mozambique June 2008. Report for Tearfund.
Infected Drug Users, Hyderahabad 2007. Report for Aids Alliance.
Bubhaneshwar, Orissa, 2007. Report for Aids Alliance.
Hyderahabad 2007. Report for Aids Alliance.
Ko Kong Prostitution Village, Cambodia 2003. Published in Marie Claire and runner up in the Observer Hodge Awards in 2003.
‘Hidden Lives: The Homosexual Underground’, Mumbai, India 2008.
(This page and next two pages) Report for IPPF and the Government of Japan. Presented at the G8 meeting in Japan, June/08 and the World HIV/AIDS Conference, Mexico, July/08.
‘15 and Counting’ Campaign for Youth Empowerment towards Sexual Reproductive Health. Report for IPPF, Uganda 2009.
‘15 and Counting’ Campaign for Youth Empowerment towards Sexual Reproductive Health. Report for IPPF, 2009. Adolescents and peer educators from Hong Kong, Uganda, Nepal and Bangladesh design their own educational posters.
Dying Young: 2008 Infant Mortality, Bangladesh Report for Save the Children
Saving Sight: back into the light
Cataract sufferers in Koralep Hospital, Orissa, India, 2005.
Leprosy:the final push
Bolangir, Orissa, India 2005. Report for LEPRA.
Nagipur, India 2000. Work displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Nagipur, India 2000. Work displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, London.