Where are you from ? I was born in Vientiane Capital , but my parents are from the south of Laos , near the Cambodian border .
How did you connect with the Kiawah Conservancy from across the world ? I applied to the program which is called Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program ( YSEALI PFP ). This program is supported by the U . S . Department of State and International City / County Management Association ( ICMA ), it ' s the leading partner for this program . I applied under Sustainability and the Environment ( SE ) and they connected me with the Kiawah Conservancy . So every fellow is from a different country which is from 10 ASEAN nations plus Timo-Leste , so they spread across the state .
Have you ever spent time in an environment like Kiawah Island ? Yes , I graduated over five years ago with a bachelor ’ s degree in Environmental Science . During the pandemic I got a postgraduate degree in International Development and Climate Change at the University of East Anglia ( UEA ), the UK . I now work for the World Wide Fund for Nature in Laos ( WWF-Laos ) and have spent a lot of time living and working in the field in remote areas of Laos . We have similar wetland areas there and are implementing similar programs .
What are you working on with the Conservancy ? I ’ ve been working closely with Lee Bundrick , supporting him and the Conservancy on various programs , such as creating strategies and guidelines for sustainable agriculture , sustainable forestry , and conservation easements on agricultural land .
Has there been overlap with the work you do in Laos and what you ' re doing here ? It ' s very similar . In Laos , I take a role for environmental and social safeguards . I was a civil society coordinator , so I supported the activities funded by USAID ( United States Agency for International Development ). They supported the wetland management and conservation of the final remaining urban wetland in Vientiane Capital .
Tell me about your experience here . This is such a very , very wonderful environment . It ’ s different from my country . It ’ s interesting to see the areas here on the coast and also go to the properties that the Conservancy has bought on Johns Island . It ’ s good to know that people donate money to the Conservancy and they are able to buy property for conservation . Also , that funding comes from the conservation bank as well as money from transportation tax . That was interesting and new to me . I ’ m interested in keeping in correspondence with Lee to see what I can apply at home when I return to my country . I will present what I have learned on Kiawah to my colleagues .
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