The ISPAN study, which forms the basis of this article, is primarily concerned with riverine chars in Bangladesh. It looks into two different kinds of chars: island chars and attached chars. Island chars are defined by the study as land that, even in the Figure 1 Study area. dry season can be reached from the mainland only by crossing the main channel. The attached chars are accessible from the mainland without crossing the main channel during the dry season (crossing lesser channels may be required), yet are inundated or surrounded by water during the peak of a ‘normal’ flood (normal monsoon). The ISPAN study area (hereinafter referred to as the study area) extends from the border with India along the Ganges and the Jamuna through the Padma and the Lower Meghna as far as the northern edge of Bhola (Figure 1). Beyond the southern boundary of the study area, the Lower Meghna becomes increasingly estuarine in nature. The study area is divided into five sub-areas: the Jamuna, the Ganges, the Padma, the Upper Meghna and the Lower Meghna rivers. Confluences mark the divisions between the different rivers. The only exception is the Padma–Meghna confluence, where the flow of the Padma turns ninety degrees and where a complex and dynamic system of chars exists, which is included in the Lower Meghna study area. In fact, the Lower Meghna River is more of an extension of the Padma River than of the Upper Meghna River (see Haskoning et al., 1992). The study area in the Upper Meghna extends up to the junction with the Old Brahmaputra River, downstream of which one can find typical island chars. There are other areas of riverine chars in Bangladesh, along the Teesta and the Old Brahmaputra rivers, for example. But compared to the chars in the major rivers, these constitute much less land area and are not included in the ISPAN study. Sources of information Two types of information were generated by ISPAN (1995). One was a set of inventories of the physical and demographic features of the chars for each of the five sub-areas. The second sought to understand the socio-economic aspects of life on the chars. To accomplish this second task, Rapid Rural Appraisals (RRA) were conducted in six different locations covering the major river systems of Bangladesh. During the compilation of the Charland Studies of ISPAN, the EGIS project updated the information on the physical aspects of the Jamuna River. Brief descriptions of the information sources are given below. Inventory The inventory part of the ISPAN study, relied heavily on satellite images. For the Jamuna, Ganges, Padma, and Meghna rivers, Landsat (TM and MSS) image analysis on char physiography were carried out by superimposing a dry season image of 1984 on a dry season image 1992 of 1993. Digital image processing and GIS analysis helped in identifying the land cover in chars and the patterns of erosion and accretion of land, as well as mapping and quantification of char age and char persistence. Similar to the earlier study by Klaassen and Masselink (1992) of the Jamuna area, four broad land cover classes were assigned in analyzing each of the satellite images in the time series: water, sand, cultivated and vegetated land. Field-level checking was carried out before finalizing the classification of the images. Detailed reconnaissance information was gathered from the field on the age of chars in the Ganges, Padma and Meghna rivers. This was done at the mouza level (the mouza is the smallest unit related to land administration). The mouza-level reconnaissance also gathered information on char type, soil characteristics, population, human migration, infrastructure, cropping pattern, livestock and flooding. The mouza-level field information and other secondary information were used for developing GIS data layers. GIS analysis of the different data layers helped to produce the maps and tabular outputs. Rapid rural appraisal (RRA) Rapid Rural Appraisals (RRA’s) were conducted by the ISPAN study in six different locations of the river systems of the country (Upper Jamuna, Middle Jamuna, Ganges, Padma, Upper Meghna and Meghna Confluence) to generate relevant socio-economic information as well as information on the flood extent and duration of different floods over 1987 to 1991. The primary sources of information were key informants; for example, knowledgeable farmers, other occupational groups, members and ex-members of Union Parishads (the lowest administrative unit in Bangladesh), schoolteachers, fishermen, traders, landless people and women living in villages within the study area. Floodproofing study The floodproofing study (ISPAN, 1995) aimed at assessing household-level flood losses and developing floodproofing measures for char people. This study was based on a sample survey of households conducted in the upper (150 households) and lower (150 households) reaches of the Jamuna River. Additional information and analysis An effort was made to review relevant literature to obtain a better understanding of the historical process of evolution of the major rivers of the country. In studying the river systems of the country and the process of char formation, a number of hydro-morphological characteristics were investigated at some length. This involved the analysis of such data as water level, water discharge and sediment transportation, measured by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). Moreover, findings of the recent research of Sarker and Thorne (2003) were used to explain the behaviour of the rivers on a decade scale. In analyzing river and char dynamics for the Jamuna River in terms of flooding, erosion, accretion, widening of channel, char persistence and char age, a larger number of Landsat (TM and MSS) images were used by the EGIS study covering a 27- year period (from 1973 to 2000). The additional analysis and new explanations of the river behaviour helped to introduce new perspectives on river and char dynamics.