Manta BlueRise is a youth-led adaptation model for Bangladesh’s boat-dwelling Manta fisherfolk. Our objective is to enhance the physical and economic resilience of 300 households. The innovation is an integrated systems approach: combining amphibious architecture (a floating community hub) with off-grid solar power, digital early warnings, and mobile financial inclusion. By training 20 Manta youth to lead a Governance Board, we empower the community and create a replicable blueprint for floating populations.
What made you want to be engaged in the fight against climate change?
I was born and raised in one of Bangladesh’s most climate-vulnerable communities, witnessing firsthand how climate change devastates daily life. In my childhood, I watched extreme river erosion wash away an entire settlement, leaving people with absolutely nothing. That profound loss motivated me to deeply understand climate impacts and led to my work with the Lal Sabuj Society. Seeing marginalized, river-dwelling groups like the Manta fisherfolk endure repeated displacement and exclusion fuels my commitment today. I engaged in this fight because frontline communities cannot remain passive victims. We must be empowered to lead and design our own local adaptation strategies.
What motivates/inspires you?
I am deeply inspired by the incredible resilience of our people. When I talk to families who have lost absolutely everything to a cyclone, I find that they never complain. Instead, they immediately start rebuilding with whatever they have left, always holding onto hope. I have met individuals who have faced extreme river erosion more than 15 times- losing their homes and livelihoods to the river over and over- yet they always find the strength to start again. Their unbreakable spirit and refusal to give up, even when left with nothing, motivates me every single day. Witnessing this raw human strength drives my work to ensure these frontline communities get the tools and recognition they deserve to lead their own adaptation.
What advice do you have for the youth that want to be involved with climate action?
Start where you are, but always listen to the community first. Climate action is about human dignity and survival. My biggest advice is to listen deeply to those on the frontlines. The people facing climate shocks daily hold the best knowledge for true resilience.
Bridge local action with global policy. Whether organizing a community dialogue or tracking international negotiations, your voice is critical. Build alliances, use solid evidence, and stay resilient. Systemic change takes time. Let the hope of those who rebuild after losing everything inspire you to shift the narrative- from seeing vulnerable communities as victims to recognizing them as powerful, capable innovators.
Which type of organisation would be most valuable for you to connect with during the event and why?
Connecting with non-profit organizations and research centres will be most valuable for me. Engaging with non-profits focused on climate adaptation and Loss and Damage is crucial. At Lal Sabuj Society, we are particularly interested in organizations doing direct implementation in the Global South. They deeply understand frontline realities, and we can directly learn from their initiatives to help scale our own community-led resilience models.
Additionally, partnering with universities and research centres is vital to rigorously validate our community-based data on locally led adaptation. Generating robust evidence through academic collaboration is essential for influencing broader climate policy and unlocking climate finance for vulnerable population
Are there any topics you would especially like to speak about?
I would especially like to speak about Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) and Non-Economic Loss and Damage (NELD) in Bangladesh, a critical topic that remains underrepresented in mainstream climate discussions. I also want to highlight the unique challenges faced by landless and floating populations, such as the riverine Manta communities who endure repeated flooding and river erosion. Despite repeatedly losing their homes and livelihoods, these frontline communities continuously find ways to cope and adapt to the changing climate, demonstrating exactly why adaptation strategies must be community-led.
What is the most interesting story behind your project that you think people should hear?
The most interesting story behind Manta BlueRise is the profound resilience of the Manta fisherfolk. This semi-nomadic community has lived on Bangladesh’s rivers for generations, yet they remain socially invisible; lacking land titles or formal addresses, they are systematically excluded from government services, mobile banking, and disaster early warning systems. They face cyclones, floods, and extreme heat, and most lack access to formal education, with children often missing birth certificates.
But the true story is how our youth-led initiative can support their transformation. Through Manta BlueRise, we will equip the community with the tools to shift from being invisible to becoming active climate innovators. By facilitating the co-design of the “Jol Jibon” floating climate hub, deploying off-grid solar energy, and training local youth to lead a Community Governance Board, we will empower them to take charge of their own resilience. Our goal is to support marginalized communities in building and scaling their own solutions, showing the world that the future of climate adaptation might just float.