Phuu Thit Kyaw

Phuu is an intern (Research, Collaboration & Innovation – Climate Risk Management, Climate Adaptation) at PlanAdapt’s Coordination Hub.

She is a recent graduate from Wageningen University and Research (WUR) with a master’s degree in Climate Studies. She is originally from Myanmar. After graduation, she relocated to Bangkok from the Netherlands.

Phuu has always been a climate enthusiast. Her focus is essentially on climate adaptation, and she is particularly passionate about community-led climate actions and ensuring equity in decision-making for adaptation planning. With this passion, her master’s thesis, in collaboration with Deltares, focused on developing the “Equitable Adaptation Development Pathways” (EADP) framework. This framework aims to integrate equity directly into climate adaptation planning for delta regions. In her thesis, equity was conceptualized through three dimensions of justice: distributive, procedural, and recognitional. EADP not only looks at how climate impacts are distributed but also how adaptation responses affect different groups. It emphasizes inclusive participation by involving all relevant stakeholders in decision-making and empowering communities to define their own needs and priorities for adaptation.

Alongside this, her mandatory internship project at Deltares, contributed to co-developing Climate Resilient Development Pathways (CRDP) as part of the EU Horizon REACHOUT project for Logroño, Spain. Using both quantitative methods (such as climate scenario analysis, GIS mapping, and data processing) and working with local actors, climate resilience actions and pathways were co-designed (see Triple-A Toolkit – Analysis, Ambition, Action). During her two years at WUR and Deltares, she also gained a strong understanding of climate mitigation, global climate frameworks, finance mechanisms, and the use of climate scenarios, in addition to her focus on adaptation.

Before starting her master’s journey in the Netherlands, Phuu worked as a Junior Consultant at Arcadis (Myanmar) for nearly three years, after completing her bachelor’s in River and Coastal Engineering. There, she built her foundation in transdisciplinary work and contributed to a range of projects, including Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), the Regional Water Security Study (RWSS), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies, and multi-hazard risk assessments. In these projects, she applied her skills as a modeller (Delft3D FM) and GIS expert (QGIS) to analyze data, identify climate-related risks, and support the development of mitigation and adaptation plans in the water and environmental sector. She also contributed to the social aspects of those projects through strong stakeholder engagement, ranging from community consultations to collaboration with government officials.

In addition, her role as an Employee Experience Specialist at Proximity Designs helped her strengthen her skills in program management, people management, and both internal and external communications. In Proximity Designs, she also learned about Myanmar’s farmers and food systems, and how social businesses can be designed to support them.

Phuu enjoys translating technical insights into accessible content for different audiences. In her free time, she writes stories and articles that explore themes of sustainability and climate change.

At PlanAdapt, she aims to continue research on equitable and actionable adaptation planning and contribute to capacity strengthening by designing approaches and methods for diverse co-learning. She also hopes to grow her skills in climate finance mechanisms and climate policy.