‘Game of Thrones’ actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best known as Jaime Lannister, recently visited Odisha as part of his work as a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador. His visit appears in the new season of his global documentary series Optimist’s Guide to the Planet, which highlights stories of hope and climate action from around the world.
The latest season premiered on Wednesday and its opening episode titled “Protect” focused on the Indian Coastal Community Resilience Initiative (ECRICC) in Odisha’s Kendrapara region. The project – a collaboration between the Green Climate Fund, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Government of Odisha and UNDP – looks at the impact of climate change on vulnerable coastal communities.
During the episode, Coster-Waldau travels to the village of Bagapatia, where families displaced by rising sea levels and coastal erosion are rebuilding their homes and livelihoods. The segment highlights how local communities are restoring mangrove forests – nature’s protection against floods and storms – as part of the ECRICC programme.
The documentary also captures how men and women in Kendrapara are adopting climate-resilient livelihoods while protecting their coastline, and offers insight into the power of community-led environmental action.
“These are stories of optimism, not despair — of people coming together to create solutions in the face of global challenges,” Coster-Waldau says in the episode, highlighting the connection between local innovation and global resilience.
The Odisha segment, which appears around the 15-minute mark of the episode, is part of a larger story linking similar climate resilience efforts from Denmark and Ecuador, illustrating how communities across continents face shared environmental threats.
The six-part Optimist’s Guide to the Planet series airs every Wednesday on Bloomberg Originals and is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Samsung TV+, LG Channels, Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg.com and YouTube.
Odisha’s inclusion in the series, supported by many international and government partners, brings global attention to India’s ongoing efforts in mangrove restoration and climate adaptation, offering a promising model for the world.
