About
In mid-2025, six young storytellers from India and Bangladesh set out to capture the experience of those living alongside the Barak-Meghna river basin – a shared lifeline for millions of people across both countries. The basin is home to rich biodiversity and centuries of culture but faces mounting pressure from climate change and water stress.
Selected through IUCN’s BRIDGE Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) initiative, the fellows spent six months researching, visiting communities, and shaping what they found into folk songs, documentary film, among other storytelling formats.
Guided by IUCN and a network of experienced filmmakers, journalists and environmental communicators, and mentored by the Youth for Meghna (Y4M) platform, the fellows documented community-led approaches to climate resilience.
Storytelling Fellows
Meet the six storytellers who are documenting the past to shape the future.
Bangladesh
As a storyteller, I have always wanted to use my lens to tell stories that matter; stories that can contribute to society, inspire positive change, and make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Through its work on water restoration, environmental conservation, and youth empowerment, IUCN provided me with the platform to create and share such impactful stories. That is why I have always been deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from IUCN, while using storytelling as a tool for awareness, advocacy, and change.
– Fahmin Adnan
My motivation for this fellowship is to stand alongside the communities of the Barak-Meghna River Basin — the Khasi communities living through compounding ecological pressures in Jaflong, and the haor communities navigating an unravelling ecosystem in Sunamganj. Through documentary filmmaking, field journalism, community workshops, and water justice advocacy, my mission is not only to document their lived realities but also to honour their ecological knowledge and place them at the centre of transboundary water governance—as rights-holders, not subjects.
– Sagor Shil
I am interested in this fellowship because I am deeply passionate about saving the rivers of Bangladesh, which are closely interlinked with the country’s culture, identity, and way of life. Through my work, I hope to highlight the importance of protecting these rivers not only for the environment but also for the communities, traditions, and livelihoods that depend on them. This fellowship will give me the opportunity to tell meaningful stories that raise awareness and inspire action toward river conservation.
– Tajwar Mahmid
India
Salma Sultana is a wildlife biologist, conservation storyteller, and filmmaker from Assam, India. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Biology and Wildlife Sciences and works at the intersection of science, storytelling, and community engagement. Her work focuses on documenting the biodiversity, Indigenous knowledge, and community-led conservation efforts of Northeast India through research and documentary filmmaking. Passionate about amplifying underrepresented voices, she creates stories that inspire conservation action and strengthen the connection between people and nature. Through her work, Salma aims to foster meaningful dialogue and contribute to the long-term protection of wildlife and ecosystems.
– Salma Sultana
Kadiguang Panmei is an ethnomusicologist and cultural sociologist dedicated to documenting and preserving the rich folk songs and oral traditions of Northeast India. His work explores music as a living expression of culture and spans the study from folk songs to contemporary expressions such as folk fusion music. His research at a Storyteller Fellow combines his passion for music and the environment through the documentation of Ruangmei Naga (Rongmei) river folk songs in the hills of Manipur. Through this he shows how memories are passed on and carry ecological knowledge of living with the river. In this project, he documents how these memories can be helpful and contribute to more inclusive and community based approaches to fluvial governance.
– Kadiguang Panmei
Tanuz Kalita is an anthropologist and environmental practitioner based in Assam, India, with research experience across the Eastern Himalaya and the coastal communities of Sulawesi, Indonesia. His interests lie at the intersection of climate, communities, and biodiversity, with a particular focus on Indigenous, riverine, and coastal communities. Tanuz currently works on freshwater ecosystems, youth engagement, and climate action initiatives.
