K4DM scholars will be at the Global Development Conference (GDC) to present their research on climate change impacts in communities from Myanmar to the Indo-Myanmar border and Bangladesh. The 2024 GDC event will take place in Suva, Fiji from November 26-28, 2024 with the theme “Global Synergies: Climate Resilience Strategies for a Sustainable Tomorrow.” The event is organised in partnership with the University of the South Pacific and the Government of Fiji.
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No more flood, no more magic!
For generations, the annual monsoon flooding (yei gyi) on alluvial islands and surrounding lands has been a magical rhythm of nature nourishing Myanmar’s farming communities along the Irrawaddy River. The river brings life. Depositing nutrient-rich sediments from upstream and rejuvenating the land into fertile soil. Instead of fearing the rising waters, locals in their stilt homes eagerly welcome the annual floods. This way of life has sustained communities, providing bountiful harvests and defining the alluvial agrarian lifestyle. However, since 2015, the floods have failed to arrive. This unprecedented change marks the communities’ first tangible encounter with climate change. Without the flood waters, the once-fertile soil has become unproductive. Farmers, desperate to maintain yields, have borrowed heavily to buy expensive fertilizers and chemicals, yet crop production continues to fall, resulting in mounting debt. Many have had to leave their farms to seek unskilled work elsewhere, sometimes in dangerous conditions. When the ecological rhythm is disrupted, its consequences are far-reaching. Witnessing the end of this natural ‘magic,’ we’re reminded of our deep connection to ecosystems and the urgent need to preserve them amidst broader challenges of climate change.
Zar Chi Oo
The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Zar Chi Oo (Ma Oo) is a graduate student in Social Science, specialising in Development Studies, at the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Her thesis focuses on the lifeworlds of an alluvial farming community living off on an island in the middle of the Irrawaddy River. She examines their ways of living and particular farming practices, which have long thrived in the alluvial agricultural environment of Myanmar’s central dry zone. Her research also delves into the agrarian changes and land issues these communities face in an ever-changing riverine landscape. Ultimately, her work sheds light on how these alluvial farming communities, once in harmony with the river’s rhythm, are navigating environmental and agrarian transformations. Her research is featured in the book “Triple Crisis in Myanmar: Coup, COVID & Climate Change” (RCSD, Chiang Mai University).
Read Zar Chi Oo’s chapter “Transition Within an Agrarian Transition: An Alluvial Farming Community On The Irrawaddy In Central Myanmar” in the book Triple Crisis in Myanmar: Coup, Covid, and Climate Change
Zar Chi Oo’s presentation at the GDN conference
Watch The Lost Floods, a video produced by Zar Chi and colleague for the Korea-Mekong Video Contest @ALLUVIAPROJECT on YouTube.
Guarding ancestral ecological wisdom
Along the Indo-Myanmar border, one of the world’s most biologically and culturally diverse regions, climate change challenges traditional lifeways. The Earthkeepers’ team, from The Highland Institute, Nagaland, collaborates with local communities here in recording indigenous ecological knowledge and climate-change perceptions to support sustainability research. Initial findings showed some villagers were unaware of global climate change, instead attributing weather differences to road construction or new-style tin roofs. Deforestation is rampant, and villagers observe that fewer trees mean less rain. Population growth and Christianity’s advance have rolled back animist beliefs that protected trees and groves believed to be inhabited by spirits. Some traditional farming techniques are failing. To manage the agricultural cycle, villagers often used the position of sunrise relative to certain mountain peaks, but, with unpredictable weather, this is no longer reliable. In healthcare, up to 30% of people in the region still consult indigenous healers, but therapeutic herbs are becoming harder to obtain.
Credits: Photos by Highland Institute researchers (Kevisezo Khezie, Saktum Wonti)
Saktum Wonti
The Highland Institute, India
Saktum Wonti is an Earthkeeper. She and colleagues at Nagaland’s Highland Institute chronicle traditional ecological knowledge and the impact of climate change on tribal communities along the Indo-Myanmar border. Their work offers a first-hand look into issues confronting the tribal communities. With a master’s degree in Anthropology and ancestry from a tribe herself, Saktum brings a personal connection to her research. “The community that I’m from is one of the tribes residing along the border,” Saktum explains. “They face challenges resulting from an imposed international border which divides families and villages and disrupts Naga traditions linked to the land.” For example, there are about 200 Khiamniungan villages, 50 of them are in India while 150 other villages are in Myanmar. In some cases, villagers have homes in India while their ancestral farms lie in Myanmar. The border, established during British rule in 1826, was imposed without consultation with tribal leaders. The restriction to free movement within the ancestral tribal territories straddling this border has led to struggles for land and cultural preservation. Many villages have been left behind, lacking roads and basic amenities like markets and healthcare, requiring residents to walk for days to buy food and seek medical care. Saktum and the Highland Institute are also helping find ways to address climate change effects. The team is working on conserving traditional foods by substituting current ingredients with those expected to be available in 2050, reviewing changes in cooking and diets whilst collaborating internationally on issues affecting critical regions like the Himalayas, Arctic, and the Amazon. They participate in local events like the Biodiversity Festival, which empowers women of diverse backgrounds and sustainable biodiversity through activities like the revival of traditional climate-resilient crops and seed exchanges from different regions, contributing to the conservation of diverse plant varieties and sharing of indigenous traditional knowledge.
Read more in Visionaries shaping a new Myanmar, published in Asia Research News magazine.
Saktum Wonti’s presentation at the GDN Conference
Waves of resilience: A community’s battle against climate change
The fishermen of Kutubdia Upazila, Chittagong, Bangladesh, lead lives shaped by relentless hardship. Each dawn, they set sail, their skin weathered by the salty winds, marked with burns and rashes. Armed only with wooden boats, they brave treacherous seas, seeking fish to feed their families, risking everything without life jackets or modern technology. When cyclones and floods strike, their homes are reduced to rubble, highlighting their vulnerability to climate change. As sea levels rise, their struggles intensify, yet they receive no support, training, or warning systems to protect them. The journey to Chittagong City is perilous; there are no bridges, forcing them to cross turbulent waters for business and medical care. Basic facilities like land stations and ice fishing centres are absent, leaving them reliant on uncertain boat schedules to sell their catch. This is not just a story of struggle; it’s a call for change. The fishermen of Kutubdia deserve sustainable practices, better resources, and a voice in the narrative of resilience. Their strength is remarkable, yet their burden is too great to bear alone. – by Ms Sadia Salim
Photo credit: Ms. Sadia Salim, Community Development Officer, 3CEH, AUW.
Md Akib Jabed at K4DM’s 2024 Knowledge Marketplace in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Md. Akib Jabed
Center for Climate Change and Environmental Health, Asian University for Women, Bangladesh
Md. Akib Jabed is research and capacity development coordinator at Asian University for Women’s Center for Climate Change and Environmental Health (3CEH). Mr Jabed has Masters degrees from the University of Chittagong and Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is particularly interested in research related to climate change impacts, urban environmental issues, nature-based solutions, public health, and water resource management. At 3CEH, the researchers are looking into climate change threats in Asia, especially the low- and middle-income countries, with a particular emphasis on empowering female researchers.
Watch the video made by Ms.Tahiya Tasnim, Research Assistant (Academic), 3CEH, AUW.
Read Voices of Resilience newsletter and more about their research at Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp, home to almost 1 million refugees.
More information on the conference: https://www.gdn.int/global-development-conference-2024