Memoirs of MKF-II, Bangkok
The Barak – Meghna River basin is known for its rich aquatic biodiversity in Asia, which is geographically shared between Bangladesh and Bharat (India) on today’s world map. The Barak River originates in the state of Manipur in Bharat (India) flows southwest towards Bangladesh to culminate into the Bay of Bengal, the river splits into the Surma River and the Kushiyara River at Bharat-Banga border, later join in Bhairab Bazar, in Bangladesh to wherein the name changes to Meghna River, which flows further south into the ocean. The basin is not just a human habitat for over 50 million people, but also has a rich biodiversity (terrestrial, aquatic as well as avian).
But the biodiversity is deteriorating consistently. Call it impact of urbanisation, or industrialisation or global warming or climate change, but the impact is massive. Flash floods, flash droughts, irregular rains, changing weather patterns and many other eventualities often referred to as climate catastrophe have become new normal, making people lose not just their livelihoods, but also become vulnerable to many Water & vector-borne diseases, loss of habitat, health and happiness.
Therefore, 1st ever Meghna Knowledge Forum in the year 2021, was organised with IUCN and Bridge being the primary Convenors, while Aranyak, Asian Centre for Development, Asian Confluence, Balipara Foundation, Brotee, IELA, Cuts International CNRS, NEHU, IEC, Nadi Adhikar Manch, Riverine People, University of Guwahati, Waterkeepers Bangladesh and Nature & Life Foundation were co-convenors. The prime donors for the event were Sweden Sverige, TROSA (Trans-boundary Rivers of South Asia), OXFAM and the Media Partners were Bangla Channel, The Business Standard and The Third Pole.
The second Meghna Knowledge Forum (MKF II) was hosted in the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, organised by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in association with South Asian University (New Delhi), from July 23 to 25, 2025. The theme for MKF II was "Building Community and Ecosystem Resilience to Climate Change." The aim of the symposium was to create a learning exchange platform for governments, academics, civil society actors, private sector and youth on climate resilience, strengthening community livelihoods, and addressing poverty reduction in the Barak-Meghna River basin.
The Indian industry association partner this year was ASSOCHAM, which invite the private sector player working in the field of Water, wastewater treatment, Nature-based Solutions, Climate finance and climate technologies, due to which Vaidic Srijan LLP, along with Ira Sustainable Water Solutions, and Prime M2i Consulting got the opportunity to participate in the MKF-II in the month of July, 2025.
Our session was 2nd day of the forum, focused on "The Role of the Private Sector in Building Community Resilience to Climate Change". The session was moderated by Ms. Ashu Balhara from ASSOCHAM, who’s also been a part of Y4M, the session was chaired by Ms Bipasha Hossain, Country Representative, IUCN Bangladesh, while the industry of Bharat and Bangladesh was represented by Ms Shamima Akhter, Director - Corporate Affairs, Partnerships and Communications at Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, Bangladesh, Ms Sumaiya Tabassum Ahmed, Head of Sustainability, PRAN-RFL Group, Bangladesh, Syeda Afzalun Nessa, Head of Sustainability, Global Sustainability, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Bangladesh, Ms Paranee Adulyapichet, Head of Public Affairs and Sustainability ASEAN Bayer, Thailand, Mr Swapnil Potdar, Founder & Director, Ira Sustainable Water Solutions, India and Mr Madhukar Swayambhu, Research Head, Vaidic Srijan LLP, India.
The session started with a presentation by Ms. Ashu on the works of ASSOCHAM, followed by formal opening of the session by the session Chair Ms Bipasha Hossain (IUCN Bangladesh), who set up the context and got the ball rolling. The first to speak from the industry side was Ms. Syeda Afzalun Nessa (HSBC – Bangladesh) who elaborated on nature-blended finance, followed by Mr. Madhukar Swayambhu (VSLLP- Bharat) on learning from the traditional knowledge system for a sustainable future of Water abundance. After the enlightenment on the sustainable coexistence in harmony with nature, the discussion moved towards recycling and reuse of Water by the industry, which was presented and elaborated by Mr Swapnil Potdar (ISWS). The Chair now moved to Ms Shamima Akhter (Unilever – Bangladesh) explaining the approach the Uni Lever is taking towards circular economy principles in usage and recycling of plastics in packaging, as well as industry partnership with local authorities, ULBs and sanitation workers to make the whole model work on grassroot levels. After her, the opportunity was extended to Ms. Paranee Adulyapichet to explain the approach of climate smart agriculture being taken by Bayer, Thailand. Ms Sumaiya Tabassum Ahmed from PRAN-RFL Group of Bangladesh was the next speaker in the session, who spoke on their corporate policy and approach towards low carbon footprint in their industrial ecosystem and how are they involving rural communities for material sourcing for creating livelihoods and sustainability in the last mile of their value chain. After this the floor was opened for audience questions, wherein a few very pertinent queries were raised for Ms Sumaiya Tabassum, Ms. Syeda Afzalun, Mr Swapnil Potdar and Mr. Madhukar Swayambhu, who answered the queries to the audience’s satisfaction.
