Saltwater intrusion is one of the clearest signs of how climate change is reshaping coastal communities. As sea levels rise, saltwater moves inland and mixes with freshwater sources. It enters farmland, wells, streams, and low-lying fields. The soil becomes too salty for crops to grow, and plants that once fed whole families dry up before they mature.
In places like Kanuma, The Gambia, the change is visible in the colour of the water, the condition of the rice plants, and the shifting patterns in the soil. What used to be healthy green fields now show patches of brown, dying vegetation and salt-stained ground. Farmers talk about the water losing its taste, the soil losing its strength, and the land they depend on becoming harder to trust.
Saltwater intrusion comes slowly. Each season, the salt pushes further in, reducing harvests and forcing people to change how they work and live. It affects food security and income. For many communities along West Africa’s coast, this movement of saltwater is now one of their biggest climate challenges.
My work documents these signs, the fields, the water, the soil, and the people who face this change every day. Through these images, I aim to show how climate change enters the landscape in small but powerful ways, and how communities continue to adapt with resilience and dignity.
