On 17 and 21 September 2026, the first Community Awareness Program under the “চরের কথা: From Loss to Awareness and Action” project was successfully held in Chilakhal and Madhya Abashan areas of Kolkonda Union, Gangachara, along the banks of the Teesta River.
The programme aimed to listen to the experiences of people living in char communities and understand how climate change is reshaping their everyday lives, livelihoods and struggles for survival.
I had the opportunity to serve as the first speaker of the programme. My discussion began with an introduction to the local area and its geographical context. I then explored how local people themselves perceive changes in their surroundings and how those observations can help us understand the broader impacts of a changing climate.
I also discussed changes in several climatic variables and how these changes can affect vulnerable char communities. Another important part of my discussion focused on the formation of chars, explaining how rivers, sediment deposition, erosion and shifting river channels continuously reshape the landscape and influence where and how people live.
The wider session also addressed the causes and consequences of climate change, the importance of Climate Justice and the actions communities can take to better respond to the challenges they face.
What made the programme particularly meaningful was that the discussion was not limited to climate change as an abstract global issue. It was grounded in the lived experiences of people whose lives are directly shaped by the river, the changing climate and the fragile geography of the chars.
For me, being part of this first community awareness programme was an opportunity to connect geography, climate science and local knowledge and to understand how environmental changes are experienced at the community level.
Project: চরের কথা: From Loss to Awareness and Action
Programme: First Community Awareness Program
Dates: 17 and 21 September 2026
Locations: Chilakhal and Madhya Abashan, Kolkonda Union, Gangachara
Role: First Speaker
Topics: Local Geography, Community Perceptions of Environmental Change, Climatic Variables and Char Formation