Join us for what will be fascinating a talk about the Sundarbans – a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal – by Dr Neil Burns, Lecturer in Ecology at the University of Glasgow’s School of Social & Environmental Sustainability in Dumfries.

This talk will take place alongside Between the Two Fires, Sayan Chanda’s current exhibition at CAMPLE LINE. The exhibition includes a new work by Sayan entitled Neither Land Nor Water, which makes reference to the aerial roots or pneumatophores of the mangrove or sundari tree: ‘It’s a region that is fraught with ecological issues that are also socio-political, cultural. If you are on the river, on a boat or even on land you would see these Sundari trees, that’s the local name for the trees in Bengali. These roots pop out – you will see countless roots of all different shapes and sizes.’

Neil will begin by introducing the geographical area of which the Sundarbans is part, which includes four protected areas,  one of which is in West Bengal – Sundarbans National Park – and the other three in Bangladesh. He will talk about the various often competing perspective and interests that frame the Sundarbans and the Ganges Delta more widely – to some it is forest, to others it is the sea, or a riverine system, or resource, or source of food security. Neil will also talk about his own research work as a marine biologist in the Delta region.