Meet Nushrat Chowdhury: Storytelling on loss and damage from Bangladesh’s frontlines

I would love to describe myself as a traveller who spends a significant time of her life, more so since I am working independently now, on buses, cars, trains, ferry boats and airplanes (mostly during international travels) to experience human and cultural diversity and indulge in nature.

You might have seen me sipping a cup of hot tea under the scorching sun or enjoying a hot bowl of curry soup in winter - yes, my taste buds are a bit crazy and crave hot meals regardless of the weather!

When I am not travelling, I support my parents to restore their orchard - an ancestral property passed down from my grandparents. It is located in Barisal and is often battered by floods, excessive rains, storms and cyclones. We lost bigger trees during Cyclone Sidr in 2007 and many more plants and trees since then - the memories of the cyclone are still vivid. Planting new trees almost every year, taking care of them during cyclone and flood seasons demand a lot of energy, time and resources. We love to have local fruits and flowers, medicinal plants and herbs in the orchard.

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A summer harvest from our orchard from the family orchard. Photo: Nushrat Chowdhury

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My work entails producing evidence to influence decisions and policies rooted in climate justice. My area of specialisation is loss and damage, which is considered as the third pillar in climate policy. My areas of interest extend to nature-based solutions in addressing climate change - my works connect the dots between nature and the efforts to reduce disaster risk.

I have been mainly doing research, conducting surveys, producing reports, policy briefs and case studies to exhibit and feature the adversity of climate change experienced by people, communities and their environment in the Global South. As I am from Bangladesh, a lot of the evidence I have presented so far is drawn from here. My passion for storytelling encourages me to take photos - many portray the disproportionate impacts of climate change borne by the frontline communities and the environment they live in.

Growing up in Dhaka, I have seen how it has become a major destination for people fleeing disasters in their localities in the last few decades. Slums are growing across Dhaka serving as shelters. Every morning migrants, both male and female, are seen looking for work in Dhaka - many gather in construction and factory sites. Some are permanently landless and some were forced to leave their traditional earning options after experiencing repeated losses. Like them, millions of climate migrants are on the move looking for jobs in bigger towns and cities - female migrants are predominantly from coastal locations like mine.

During emergency responses, I saw farmers and their families’ cry to save crops from early floods, fishermen's increased life-threatening risks due to more frequent and intense cyclones and in both types of cases, families plunge into severe debt. I had the opportunity to interact with distinct communities from the country's south belt - both Manta and Rakhine communities shared how climate change threatens their cultural livelihoods. The changing climate shapes daily survival for millions here in Bangladesh.

However, their stories do not end here - the rest is about them fighting back. I remember meeting a mother, whose children were suffering from high fever and were in desperate need for food and medicine, who was looking for ways to comfort a kitten after a sudden flash flood or an exchange with an elderly couple in a distant climate vulnerable location or the conversation with a volunteer from the coastal belt who plants trees knowing those might get uprooted in the coming cyclone season. Their spirit and optimism have been my source of inspiration.

For Loss and Damage policy-making, the scenario reminds me of the ‘oiled bamboo and the monkey’ story. The newly created Loss and Damage Fund could run out of money next year. The new climate finance goal not recognising Loss and Damage as a separate climate pillar is seen by many as the agreement failing to meet the needs of climate vulnerable countries in the Global South. Though these setbacks are deeply frustrating, it must not prevent me from seeking justice. I believe every action, no matter how small or big, has the potential to bring change. Remembering the teaching of the Holy Quran - never to underestimate small, good deeds as they can lead into positive lasting change.

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Students participate in a disaster resilience awareness activity organised by Bangladesh’s humanitarian sector. This photograph was selected among the top 10 entries in Bangladesh’s first disaster risk reduction photography competition, “Tell Us Your Story,” organised by Dhaka North City Corporation and SEEDS Asia with support from JICA Bangladesh. Photo: Nushrat Chowdhury

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There are moments in missions and deployments I feel emotionally heavy towards for not being able to adequately support the affected people. The aid did give them temporary relief but failed to assist them in rebuilding their lives and livelihoods - exposing a persistent and significant gap in the traditional disaster relief system. At the same time, there are rewarding moments too. The International Tax Review (ITR) awarded me ITR Global Tax 50 2023 for ‘The Loss and Damage Fund: Where does the money come from?’ where we identified potential sources of revenue for rich, polluting countries to contribute to their fair share to the Loss and Damage Fund, currently known as the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage. In 2018, I was awarded for my contribution in the disaster risk reduction photography competition ‘Tell us your story’ supported by Japan International Cooperation (JICA). Before that, CARE International awarded me for Best Human Stories in 2015.

While recognitions have helped me to grow professionally, the greatest highlight of my career is to work with climate impacted frontline communities who have been consistently refusing to let circumstances dictate their lives. It is an honor to be a part of the collective action aiming to bounce back and speak justice.