Deep Divide [film]

This 26 minute video documentary explores the issue of environmental justice in South Asia through three case studies filmed on location in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The film is based on the investigations of three journalists who set out in 2002 to explore cases of environmental injustice in their home countries. The results of their investigations were published first in local media, and then in the 2004 book Environment for All, compiled and published by Panos South Asia.

In Nepal, reporter Surendra Phuyal examines how the Bagmati river carries the capital Kathmandu’s pollution downstream, hurting the lives and livelihoods of millions of living on the banks of the rivers and tributaries. An entire economy, according to this film, is on the brink of collapse. Farmers, fishermen and duck farmers who have depended on the now poisonous waters of the Bagmati can no longer earn a living.

In Sri Lanka, the coastal areas have, over the last three decades, been developed for tourist resorts and shrimp farms. This development has, according to the film, involved the clearing of mangroves and damage of coral reefs, often done with a disregard of governmental guidelines. Journalist Dilrukshi Handunnetti discusses how removing the mangroves eliminated the natural protection of the coastline, leaving the landmass unprotected when the 2004 Tsunami hit.

In India, journalist Neel Kamal Chettri explores the water-shortages which have hit Darjeeling, forcing local people to go to extremes in search of drinking water. South Asia’s stark social and economic disparities are explored, as the film shows how water supplies are unevenly distributed between the rich and poor.

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