The Coastal Squeeze

A short documentary co-directed by Garima Jain, a young scientist supported by the Cuomo Foundation through the IPCC Scholarship Programme—an initiative of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the Foundation has supported since 2013.

What does “coastal squeeze” really mean today?

Moving beyond erosion and sea-level rise, the film explores the intertwined economic, social, and ecological pressures reshaping coastal life in South and Southeast Asia.

Filmed along India’s eastern coast and the Gulf of Thailand, it follows communities confronting land loss, intensive aquaculture, market dependence, and migration—adaptations that often deepen inequality while accelerating environmental strain. Drawing on the concept of aquarian change (after Dorian Fougères), the film reveals how capitalism, nature, and marine livelihoods collide, frequently to the benefit of powerful actors and at the expense of vulnerable communities.

Grounded in long-term field research, the film centers lived coastal experiences to illuminate the shared challenges facing aquarian communities across the region.
Based on PhD research by Garima Jain, Leo Baldiga, and Siddharth Chakravarty, and guided by the work of Benjamin Belton.