May Thazin Aung

May Thazin Aung works on SUMERNET's Policy Engagement and is a Research Fellow with SEI Asia working on policy analysis and stakeholder engagement. May works closely with government agencies and civil society in Southeast Asia to promote evidence-based decision-making and multi-stakeholder participation.

May’s work focuses on understanding how political, regulatory and institutional structures in natural resource governance influence the use and control of resources by different actors and social groups. For example, May analyses the political economy of fossil fuels to understand social and political factors of fossil fuel dependency in Indonesia and around the globe. May is also assessing how the bioeconomy can help Thailand meet its sustainability and social equality goals. In Myanmar, May has used action research and stakeholder engagement to help SEI and Myanmar partners in establishing the Chindwin River Basin Organization towards promoting evidence-based decision-making and public participation for enhanced water resource governance.

Away from research and policy engagement, May is also interested in using innovative science-communications tools at the science-policy interface, and has published several photo-stories, discussion briefs and short-films.

Prior to joining SEI, May supported Myanmar policy-makers to develop environmental protocols to improve natural resource governance. May graduated from Vermont Law School with a M.A. in Environmental Law and Policy.