Abakar Chakma

Indigenous botanist who preserved Bangladesh's medicinal plants through guerrilla ecology

The Chakma tribesman (1948-2001) developed mobile seed banks during the 1971 Liberation War, preserving 412 endangered species in bamboo scrolls. His Phyto-Resistance Movement used traditional tattoos to map biodiversity, encoding plant locations in body art to bypass military surveillance.

Chakma's "Living Herbarium" technique involved micro-grafting endangered plants onto common weeds, saving 89 species from extinction. His 1983 treetop protest halted a dam project, inspiring modern bio-rights legislation across South Asia.