{"id":31287,"date":"2026-08-08T22:23:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T02:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/?p=31287"},"modified":"2026-08-08T22:23:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T02:23:17","slug":"ug-students-research-journey-prepares-him-for-a-greater-role-in-guyanas-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/ug-students-research-journey-prepares-him-for-a-greater-role-in-guyanas-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"UG student\u2019s research journey prepares him for a greater role in Guyana\u2019s climate action"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For 21-year-old University of Guyana Geography student Rahul Changa, climate change is not simply a subject he encountered in a textbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is something he has been studying through the experiences of people in his home region. Changa chose Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast as the focus of his final-year dissertation on community perceptions of climate change, vulnerability and adaptation strategies. The choice was personal, but it was also driven by what he saw as a gap in the way climate change is studied and discussed in Guyana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Regina sits at the centre of a township comprising 18 villages, and Changa believes communities of this size deserve greater attention in climate research and planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that climate discussions can often focus on larger urban centres, while smaller and mid-sized coastal communities receive less attention, despite facing their own climate-related challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If we want the top-down approaches that we take to combat climate change to be effective and successful, we need data for mid-sized coastal communities, small coastal communities and, in general, communities that aren’t as large as the ones in Georgetown or other places that get attention,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His research found that residents were generally aware that climate change exists and were already adapting to its effects, although many lacked a scientific understanding of the climatic processes driving those changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example was agriculture. Some residents have begun investing in shade houses to protect crops from increasing heat and unpredictable weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Changa, documenting these experiences is his way of honouring his hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It means that I am [giving back] to the place that raised me and made me who I am,” he said. “It really feels like something I am obligated to do to give back to my region.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Changa’s experience brought him into contact with Indigenous communities, conservation professionals and field-based research<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Changa’s experience brought him into contact with Indigenous communities, conservation professionals and field-based research<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That sense of purpose has also shaped what he hopes to do with the research. Changa intends to submit his findings to the LCDS 2030 team, believing the information gathered from Anna Regina can add community-level evidence to Guyana’s wider climate planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His research methodology was also developed with that potential in mind. Resource Management and Training Director at the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, Dr. Raquel Thomas provided guidance on his methodological approach and helped him shape his questionnaire around government adaptation priorities, allowing the information gathered through the study to align more closely with the needs of climate planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came an opportunity to take his understanding of environmental issues beyond the coastal community and into Guyana’s forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a two-week internship at the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, Changa worked alongside conservation professionals and Indigenous communities, gaining practical experience while encountering another important source of knowledge about the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the experience gave him a deeper appreciation for Indigenous ecological knowledge and the ways communities have adapted to environmental change through generations of lived experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It reinforced the idea that scientific knowledge is only one form of knowledge, and that traditional ecological knowledge is equally valuable in understanding climate resilience, food security, and sustainable resource management,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That lesson has strengthened a view that he believes is important to Guyana’s climate future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Meaningful climate action depends on bringing together science, Indigenous knowledge, and the lived experiences of communities,” he posits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principle also mirrors an important element of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, which has included consultations with Indigenous and forest communities as part of discussions on climate, forests and development. For Changa, his time at Iwokrama gave him a closer understanding of why community perspectives and Indigenous knowledge belong in those conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Changa’s experience brought him into contact with Indigenous communities, conservation professionals and field-based research<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Changa’s experience brought him into contact with Indigenous communities, conservation professionals and field-based research<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Changa’s experience brought him into contact with Indigenous communities, conservation professionals and field-based research<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The internship also gave him practical experience in environmental monitoring. Working under the supervision of Rebecca Xavier, he assisted with the Young Naturalists Programme, conducted upstream and downstream water quality testing along the Essequibo River and carried out traffic monitoring at the Kurupukari Crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He participated in specialised forestry and diatom workshops and supported river and road monitoring, as well as wildlife monitoring, with particular attention to avian species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people he encountered made just as strong an impression as the work itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changa said the commitment of Iwokrama’s staff changed the way he thinks about professional life. He was struck by their work ethic and their genuine passion for protecting Guyana’s biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Their dedication to conservation went far beyond financial compensation; they were there because they truly believed in protecting Guyana’s biodiversity,” he said. “It reminded me that meaningful work is driven by purpose as much as profession.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience was further strengthened by conversations with staff from the Office of the President’s Office of Climate Change who were visiting Iwokrama. Their insights, along with Dr. Thomas’s guidance, encouraged Changa to think beyond the dissertation itself and consider how his research could contribute to national climate planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changa credits several people for helping make the experience possible and meaningful. He expressed appreciation to Former UG Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin, for facilitating the internship opportunity, and to Dr. Raquel Thomas and his Iwokrama supervisor, Rebecca Xavier, for their guidance and mentorship throughout the placement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he prepares to complete his Geography degree, Changa hopes to bring those experiences into the wider climate action conversation in Guyana, carrying with him a belief that effective climate responses must account for the science, the knowledge communities already possess, and the realities of the people living through environmental change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for a young geographer who began his research by asking how one coastal community was adapting, the answer is now pointing toward a much bigger question: how can those community experiences help shape Guyana’s climate future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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