Chindavone Sanlath

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, 2022-23

  • Home country: Laos
  • Specialization: Natural Resources, Environmental Policy, and Climate Change; Environmental and Social Consultancy
  • Current role: Environmental and Social Consultant, Earth Systems Mekong
  • Education: Master's in Environmental Management Flinders University, Adelaide; Bachelor's in Environmental Management, National University of Laos
  • Connect: cs2455 [at] cornell.edu (Email) | Earth Systems

Chindavone Sanlath (Chin) is an environmental and social consultant at Earth Systems and a certified lead auditor in integrated management systems. She has over five years of experience working with environmental consultant firms and INGOs. In her current role, Chin has provided consultation services to numerous organizations working in different industries such as renewable energy, agroforestry, mining, and international development. Her expertise includes integrated management systems, environmental and social due diligence assessments, environmental impact assessments, socio-economic survey design and conduct, and government relations. In 2021, Chin and her team successfully conducted a Circular Economy Project in Lao PDR, where they identified circular GHG mitigation opportunities for Lao PDR through a comprehensive metabolic (resources flow) analysis. Throughout her career, she also led several social consultation projects, where she realized the emerging land conflicts between industrial developments (mining, plantation, etc.) and local livelihoods that depend on the land. Sustainable land resources planning and management that balance the national socio-economic development agenda and the wellbeing of local livelihoods has remained a crucial challenge for Lao PDR. In her professional life, Chindavone aspires to be an impactful environment and social consultant in Laos and on the international stage through the provision of practical, effective, and innovative solutions to complex environmental and social problems.