Sonia Chand Sandhu

Sonia Chand Sandhu, an environment engineer and climate resilience and sustainable development specialist, is senior advisor to ADB’s Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development. Her experience in international development spans 25 years across ADB, World Bank (South Asia and Africa), and the private sector, covering multisector infrastructure operations. She has provided technical expertise for innovative sustainability solutions through policy, strategy, and institutional analysis for investment designs in challenging and complex governance systems. She holds a master’s degree in environment engineering (College Park, Maryland, United States), a bachelor’s degree in architecture (Chandigarh, India), and completed executive postgraduate programs in “Leading Economic Growth” (Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, USA) and “Urban Management Tools for Climate Change” (IHS, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands). She is appointed Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Philippines.  

Publications

• ADB. 2016. Nature Based Solutions for Building Resilience in Towns and Cities: Case Studies from the Greater Mekong Sub-Region
• ADB. 2017. Catalyzing Green Finance. A Concept for Leveraging Blended Finance for Green Development.
• SERD Flagship Publication: S. Sandhu, R. Naik Singru et. al. GrEEEn Solutions for Livable Cities. Manila: Asian Development Bank,  Peer reviewed by London School of Economics
• SERD Working Paper No. 9, 2014:  Enabling GrEEEn Cities: An Operational Framework for Integrated Urban Development in Southeast Asia (2014) Sandhu, Sonia Chand,  and Naik Singru, Ramola; SERD Working Paper Series, Asian Development Bank: Manila, 2014.
• SERD Working Paper No. 12, 2015:  Greenhouse Gas Inventories for Urban Operations in Southeast Asia: Challenges and Opportunities (2015) Sandhu, Sonia Chand,  and Kamal Sameer; SERD Working Paper Series, Asian Development Bank: Manila, 2015,
• ADB. 2016. GrEEEn City Action Plan, Hue, Viet Nam. Manila: Asian Development Bank
• ADB. 2016. GrEEEn City Action Plan, Vinh Yen, Manila: Asian Development Bank
• "India, Country Environment Analysis - Strengthening Institutions for Sustainable growth", The World Bank, 2005 to 2006, Co-author,
• "India, Country Environment Analysis - Strengthening Institutions for Sustainable growth in the Highways Sector", The World Bank, 2005 to 2007, Lead author
• "Management of Environment and Social Issues in the Roads and Highways sector in India", The World Bank 2006, Technical Dissemination Notes.
• "Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development in Road Transport", co-authored, and published for the International Seminar on Sustainable development in Road Transport, New Delhi Nov. 8-10, 2001, organized by the Indian Roads Congress in association with Permanent International Association of Roads Congress Paris.
• "Sustainable Decision Making Processes in Watershed Development", coauthored and published as proceedings for the National Workshop on Priorities for Watershed Management in India, Bangalore, May 21to 23, 2006.
• "A Review of the Effectiveness of Environmental Assessments in the World Bank Assisted Projects in India, FY 1990-1997" - A cross sector review of 14 projects.  Co-author.
• "Introducing Bio-engineering to the Road Network of Himachal Pradesh", co-author, presented at the Annual Conference of the India Roads Congress, Panchkula, Nov. 17 to 19 2002."