My City, Your City. A Senegalese Mayor Fights Sea Level Rise

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Description

During the annual rainy season in Saint-Louis, one of Senegal's largest cities, thousands of people face upheaval from flood devastation linked to rising sea levels. There are no funds to build a cement sea wall, so the city dumps garbage along its waterfront in an attempt to shield itself. As mayor, Cheikh Bamba Dieye took on the responsibility of protecting his constituents from flooding, but with a severe lack of financial and infrastructural resources, the world stage became his principal weapon. Filmed prior to his appointment as Minister of Regional Planning in Senegal's national government, this program follows Mayor Dieye as he visits the imperiled streets, structures, and beaches of his city and as he travels to Mexico City to address the World Mayors Summit on Climate Change, hoping to focus global attention on the local impact of global warming. A meeting with host mayor Marcelo Ebrard brings out comparisons and contrasts in the ways that urban areas around the world face environmental challenges.