Carrying Childhood Memories of Cyclone Sidr, Barguna Youth Munna Takes the Coast's Story to COP31 in Türkiye

As a child, he watched the devastation of the catastrophic Cyclone Sidr with his own eyes. That memory inspired him to work on the suffering of coastal people and the climate crisis. Now Md Khairul Islam Munna, from Hosnabad Union of Betagi Upazila in Barguna, wants to raise the voice of coastal residents on the world stage at the UN climate conference COP31 in Türkiye.

On November 15, 2007, Cyclone Sidr devastated Bangladesh's southern coast. Settlements were torn apart in moments and people's lives and livelihoods were thrown into chaos. Barguna did not escape Sidr's fury either. Munna saw the destruction, the cries of survivors and the struggle to live at close quarters as a child, and those scenes left a deep mark on him.

Time has passed and Munna is now a young man, but the memory of Sidr still drives him. That experience gradually turned into a sense of responsibility towards coastal people. Joining the international arena is part of his dream of presenting, on a larger stage, the crises, rights and expectations of coastal communities at risk from climate change.

Munna has been taking part in conference-related activities since November 8. His aim is to present the real experiences and crises of coastal people in international climate discussions and to highlight the need for effective action to address climate change loss and damage.

Munna's father, Md Siddiqur Rahman, is a businessman and his mother, Khadija Akter Baby, is a homemaker. His younger brother, Ariful Islam Manna, is also involved in voluntary and climate-related work alongside his studies.

His brother Ariful Islam Manna said that after witnessing Sidr's horror as a child, Munna began to realise that the crisis of coastal people is not limited to cyclones or tidal surges. It is tied to the crisis of safe water, livelihood insecurity, health risks, barriers to education, environmental degradation and the safety of future generations.

Munna's journey began by organising young people at the grassroots, identifying local problems and standing beside helpless people. But expanding youth involvement from one upazila to a wider arena was not easy; he had to move forward through limited facilities, various obstacles and the challenge of earning people's trust.

Realising the need for organised initiative for long-term social change, Munna founded the 'Green Peace Youth Development Society'. He is now the organisation's founder and executive director. The organisation works on tackling climate change, conserving the environment, developing youth leadership and establishing the rights of children, adolescent girls and women.

Although it began centred on Barguna, the organisation's activities have now spread to various districts of Barishal Division and to Dhaka. More than a thousand young volunteers are involved. Alongside climate and environmental conservation, they work on safe water, health protection for adolescent girls and women, prevention of child marriage and various social development activities.

Munna is also active in linking grassroots experience to national and international policy discussions. In 2026 he holds the communications and media leadership responsibility of the Local Conference of Youth Bangladesh. He is also president of Volunteer for Bangladesh's Barishal Division, a member of Plan International Bangladesh's Youth Advisory Panel and a youth representative on its Country Management Team. As a student of journalism and media studies, he is keen to present field realities and the experiences of affected people through the media.

On his aims at COP31, Munna said: 'At the COP31 conference in Türkiye, I want to give special importance to climate adaptation and to addressing the loss and damage caused by climate change. Presenting the reality of coastal people in international discussions is one of my main goals. I also want to exchange experience through discussion with young people, climate activists and representatives of different countries, and create scope for future mutual cooperation.'

Zakir Hossain Miraj, former president of Barguna Press Club and executive director of CBDP, said that as a young man from a coastal area, Munna's work on climate change and his participation in the international conference are a matter of pride for the area. He grew up seeing the coast's many problems, and now has the chance to raise its people's voices internationally. He hopes Munna will present the suffering, expectations and rights of the people of Barguna and the whole coast on the world stage.