UN expat life in Lao PDR

Eight Years in Lao PDR

A while ago, I had to take off all of my old blog texts for a variety of reasons.

Blogs are an excellent way to stay in  touch with people though.

I have been in Lao PDR eight years now. The first three years I worked at FAO working officially as Natural Resource Management Advisor, but in fact doing the job of a Deputy Representative. For instance, I coordinated the development of a multi-disciplinary GEF-4  project, the first GEF involvement for FAO in Lao PDR, on a project called Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Lao PDR's Agricultural and Land Management Policies and Programs. This was followed with mobilizing resources for the first FAO GEF stand-alone project on climate information systems (LDCF).

I got to work with four different bosses who each had a different management style, and I hence learned a lot of how to manage people.

I also got to work on high-level political issues with the development of the UN-wide development assistance framework, which aligns the framework of collaboration of the different UN agencies to support the host government in achieving their development objectives.

The next two years I worked for UNCCD in a climate finance - sustainable land management project. I was the only international consultant hired directly to support work on the Rio Conventions in Lao PDR (2012-2014). Besides working on Lao PDR, I also developed ideas for the combined components for the other 8 countries of the project in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

After that I was subjected to a case of identity theft and almost moved from Lao PDR, turned down a long term contract with FAO. This led me to work on shorter-term contracts for FAO, UNCCD, and NGOs over the last three years. I felt bad but many people came to me, including an Ambassador of a European nation saying similar and even worse cases had happened to them as well. Anyway, that "high-paying" post would have been in a highly polluted big city, which would have reduced the life span of my family and myself at the equivalent of each (incl. children) of us smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day.

This has meant however, that I have been able to work in new areas, both technically and physically. I have worked on evaluation, policy development, and grassroots field implementation in Lao PDR, as well as in Turkey. I am currently working on green resilient growth.

posted by Ilari Sohlo @ 7:07 PM