Associate - land & food

Dr. Chaya Sarathchandra is an interdisciplinary conservationist with an ecology PhD from Kunming Institute of Botany, China. She works as a post-doc at RCEES-CAS. She has deep interest and expertise in land use changes, land sharing and sparing policies, agroforestry and food systems. Previously she worked on projects with the World Agroforestry Centre and now collaborates with Belt and Road Initiative ecosystem service-related projects in Asia and Africa. Moreover, as she is from a

coastal city in Sri Lanka, she has a deep bond with the ocean and shares her knowledge in coastal ecosystem conservation projects. She volunteers in leading mangrove restoration projects in Sri Lanka and has extensive research experience on coastal and fishery resources management. She is keenly involved in policy and research related to biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource management.