BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//pretalx//pretalx.com//wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026//speaker//EAN 9V9 BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:KST BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20000101T000000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=1 TZNAME:KST TZOFFSETFROM:+0900 TZOFFSETTO:+0900 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:pretalx-wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026-BWMFPF@pretalx.com DTSTART;TZID=KST:20260625T091000 DTEND;TZID=KST:20260625T093000 DESCRIPTION:The Indo-Myanmar frontier\, historically sustained by fluid eco logical\, cultural\, and commercial exchanges\, is undergoing profound tra nsformation as climate change reshapes landscapes and livelihoods. Drawing on oral histories from Naga\, Mizo\, and Kuki-Chin borderland communities \, this presentation explores how environmental disruptions—such as erra tic rainfall\, landslides\, crop failures\, changing river courses\, and f orest depletion—intersect with the region’s geopolitically sensitive b order regime. For generations\, these communities relied on shifting culti vation\, forest gathering\, and seasonal mobility across what is now an in ternational boundary\, guided by ecological cues and longstanding kinship ties. Their testimonies evoke memories of predictable agricultural cycles\ , abundant forests\, and shared cross-border resource practices that are n ow destabilized by climatic uncertainty.\n\nThese oral narratives reveal h ow climate change interacts with militarization\, tightening border contro ls\, and declining access to natural resources\, creating new forms of vul nerability\, livelihood stress\, and displacement. Elders recall a living landscape once experienced as open and relational\, now experienced as bot h environmentally fragile and politically constrained. By foregrounding li ved experiences\, the study demonstrates how climate change is not only an environmental phenomenon but also a social and geopolitical force that al ters cultural memory\, border ecologies\, and local notions of belonging.\ n\nUltimately\, the research argues that oral histories provide critical i nsights into how borderland societies interpret environmental transformati on\, negotiate new risks\, and reimagine their relationship with the land in an era of climatic and political uncertainty. DTSTAMP:20260412T124027Z LOCATION:Room 403 PC Desk (Seats 30) SUMMARY:Vanishing Ecologies\, Enduring Memories: Climate Change and Oral Hi stories from the Indo-Myanmar Borderlands - Dr Nikhil Kumar URL:https://pretalx.com/wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026/talk/BWMFPF/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:pretalx-wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026-FATG9R@pretalx.com DTSTART;TZID=KST:20260627T135500 DTEND;TZID=KST:20260627T141500 DESCRIPTION:Abstract (250 words)\nThe Indo-Myanmar frontier\, historically a porous cultural and commercial corridor\, has undergone profound transfo rmation in the contemporary era often described as “post-globalization. ” While global connectivity has widened through digital communication an d transnational economic flows\, physical borders in South Asia have simul taneously hardened due to intensifying geopolitical anxieties\, ethnic con flicts\, and strategic rivalries. This presentation draws on oral historie s collected from Naga\, Mizo\, and Kuki-Chin communities to examine how bo rderland residents interpret and experience these shifts. For generations\ , these communities engaged in free and routine movement across what is no w India and Myanmar\, sustaining kinship networks\, barter trade\, shared festivals\, and ritual landscapes that predated modern territorial boundar ies. Their narratives reveal a layered interplay between memory and geopol itics: recollections of shared ancestry and seasonal migration coexist wit h lived realities of fencing projects\, militarized checkpoints\, refugee flows from post-coup Myanmar\, and restrictions on traditional livelihoods . These testimonies capture both loss and adaptation\, illustrating how lo ng-standing cultural continuities persist amid new forms of surveillance a nd securitization.\nBy foregrounding lived experiences\, the presentation highlights how global disconnections—driven by political instability\, C hina’s growing strategic presence\, insurgency dynamics\, and India’s evolving border governance—shape everyday life in the frontier. Ultimate ly\, it argues that oral histories not only illuminate the human dimension s of geopolitical transformation but also challenge mainstream state-centr ic narratives of borders\, sovereignty\, and globalization’s uneven retr eat in Northeast India. Through memory\, border communities offer alternat ive understandings of mobility\, belonging\, and regional interconnectedne ss in a world where borders simultaneously close and global influences dee pen. DTSTAMP:20260412T124027Z LOCATION:Room 208 (Seats 40) SUMMARY:Border Memories in an Age of Global Disconnection: Oral Histories f rom India’s Northeast and the Geopolitics of the Indo-Myanmar Frontier - Dr Nikhil Kumar URL:https://pretalx.com/wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026/talk/FATG9R/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR